Prince's pop life, song by song, in chronological order.

While “Glamorous” sounded tailor-made for Sheila’s particular talents (even if it wasn’t), “Belle” is well-crafted but faceless, embodying the essentialist cynicism of the publishing imprint Prince used for his female side projects: “Girlsongs.”

A “weird” guitarist with multiple girlfriends, a piano in his bathroom, and an Oedipal complex? They may as well have called the song “Prince’s House.”
The sheer celebration of life visible in every frame of Sign “O” the Times was a balm for the soul, an antidote to fascism’s anti-life equation.