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

Podcast: It’s Time Someone Programmed You – Leah McDaniel on the Salford Purple Reign Conference

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by

Zachary Hoskins
in

For the third installment of my miniseries on the University of Salford’s interdisciplinary Prince conference, I’m talking to Leah McDaniel (née Stone), a businesswoman, world traveler, and lifelong Prince fan. Her paper was on the eternally unsettled question of whether or not Prince was a feminist; we reflect on that question, as well as the contrast between his artistic warmth and his sometimes-chilling approach to interpersonal relationships, and why even Prince at his worst was still better than R. Kelly at his best.

00:00:00   “Girl Power” (1988 Recording)

00:03:24   My Post-Conference Podcast with Jane Clare Jones

00:03:45   My Other Post-Conference Podcast with Zack Stiegler

00:05:15   “Let’s Go Crazy” (from the opening scene of Purple Rain, 1984)

00:08:50   “Slave” (from Emancipation, 1996)

00:10:58   One Example of the Posthumous Feminist Prince Hagiographies

00:13:58   “The Beautiful Ones” (from Purple Rain)

00:16:40   Zach’s Original, Marathon Conversation with Jane Clare Jones (Parts 1, 2, 3, and 4)

00:19:56   Mayte’s Book

00:21:32   “Computer Blue (‘Hallway Speech’ Version)” (1983 Recording, from Purple Rain – Deluxe Edition)

00:22:32   Prince’s “Breakup” with Owen Husney

00:34:15   “Motherless Child” (Live at Paisley Park, 2016)

00:35:45   In Case You Missed It, Here’s Jane’s Presentation

00:39:18   Touré’s Book

00:40:30   “God (Love Theme from Purple Rain)” (1984 B-Side, from Purple Rain – Deluxe Edition)

00:46:15   “The Question of U” (Live at the Paramount Theatre, Oakland, 2016)

00:48:28    The Guy Whose Name Neither of Us Could Remember is Tom Attah (Sorry, Tom)

00:48:37   “5 Women” (1990 Recording)

00:51:35   The Original Screenplay for Purple Rain; See Scene 98

00:55:53   “Lust U Always” (1982 Recording)

01:03:26   “Strange Relationship” (from Dream Factory, 1986)

01:12:34   “It’s Gonna Be Lonely” (from Prince, 1979)

01:14:38   Prince from Minneapolis: A Symposium at the University of Minnesota

01:15:40   The David Bowie Blog d / m / s / r Rips Off

01:19:15   “U Got the Look (Extended Version)” (1986 Recording)

01:20:03   Leah’s Travel Site, Eclectik Girl

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2 responses to “Podcast: It’s Time Someone Programmed You – Leah McDaniel on the Salford Purple Reign Conference”

  1. gwen mattison Avatar
    gwen mattison

    Excellent conversation. Prince was very much a product of his early 70’s cultural environment and male role models (Morris Day’s early stage persona shows remnants of it, and being gay for either sex was never uttered in the 70’s). His early treatment of women (and men for that matter) was all about controlling his environment in an effort to exert control over himself. We all have doses of that! I think he saw himself as an “n” of one, it was him against the world. I think he initially saw women as less threatening and more appealing than men, I am not just talking sexually but in terms of openness and flexibility, given the restricted male role model accepted at the time. As he grew older and more enlightened by the realities of life, including the traumatic loss of his child, he began searching for a way see people beyond their physical attributes, looking more at what might be called their “souls/spirits.” JW worked for awhile but not entirely. Prince was a supremely talented MAN searching as all humans do for life’s meaning while at the same time trying to integrate his introverted internal self with the musical extrovert self. I think he was lovable guy who wanted love but was too consumed trying to protect a fragile inside. We the public get the luxury of observing and sharing his 40 year “personal” musical journal of his life’s journey. (Wow… I gave myself a headache haha) Peace and love!

    Reply
    1. Louise Be Avatar
      Louise Be

      I also recall that in a conversation about music, Prince said he found that women had a tendency to be better listeners than men.

      I think your “of 1” comment resonates with Prince’s questioning along the lines of, “What if there was just me?” Control…such a fraught issue for Prince. Maybe he could feel like an “of 1” conductor calling for “on the 1.”

      Reply

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