Prince's pop life, song by song, in chronological order.
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The Belle of St. Mark
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.”
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Roundup: The Time, 1981
Folks, it’s been a whole-ass seven months since the last roundup post on Dirty Mind–where has the time gone? Dunno, but here at least is where the Time has gone (sorry): five posts on the first album by Prince’s first and arguably most accomplished protégé act. My ranking this time is decidedly anti-climactic, since I basically
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Cool
The mental image evoked by “Cool” was inseparable from the literal image being created around Morris Day and the Time.
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The Stick
If “Get It Up” was a proof of concept for the Time, then “The Stick” is the moment when their own distinct personality begins to shine through: cut from the same Minneapolis Sound cloth as Prince, but more unselfconsciously funky, with a sexuality that is less provocative than cartoonishly tongue-in-cheek.