Tag: 2003

Dirty Mind, 1980 Podcast

Podcast: 40 Years of Dirty Mind

Post author By Zachary Hoskins
Post date September 11, 2020
2 Comments on Podcast: 40 Years of Dirty Mind

Way back in February of 2020, I asked Darling Nisi and Harold Pride to record a third episode in our series of in-depth retrospectives on Prince’s albums, this one for the 40th anniversary of 1980’s Dirty Mind. The podcast was intended to predate De Angela Duff’s DM40GB30 symposium, which in those simpler times was still scheduled to be held in-person at New York University.

Well, you know what happened next: DM40GB30 was delayed, then went virtual, while I slipped into a pandemic-related depression fog that only lifted, appropriately enough, after I participated in the virtual symposium back in June. Meanwhile, the podcast continued to lavish in the D / M / S / R Vault (a.k.a. the “Documents” folder on my computer) until the end of last month, when I was promptly reminded of just how laborious a task editing a three-hour podcast recording can be.

Now, the wait is finally over: the D / M / S / R podcast is back, in all its wildly self-indulgent glory. I want to thank everyone for their patience, and assure you that there won’t be a two-year wait before the next episode; in fact, I’d recommend you go ahead and use one of the links above to subscribe on your podcast service of choice using one of the links above, because I’m aiming to put out one of these bad boys (i.e., podcasts, not necessarily review episodes) per month. As always, let me know what you think, and feel free to leave a review on your podcast provider if you’re so inclined.

Tags 1979, 1980, 1981, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1988, 1993, 1999, 2003, 2016, adore, allen beaulieu, american bandstand, andre cymone, andrea swensson, atlanta, august darnell, baby i'm a star, bambi, beatles, beautiful ones book, beauty school dropout, bernie worrell, bobby z, brother marquis, cc club, chanhassen, contort yourself, controversy tour, cynthia horner, darling nisi, david bowie, de angela duff, detroit, devo, dez dickerson, different world, dirty mind, dirty mind tour, dm40gb30 symposium, dmsr, do it all night, do me baby, dortmund, dr fink, elvis costello, enterprize, fire it up tour, first avenue, freddie mercury, funkytown, game of thrones, got to be something here book, gotta broken heart again, grand funk railroad, grease, harold pride, have a heart, head, how come u don't call me anymore, i feel for you, i wanna be your lover, i'm yours, ice-t, international male, james chance, joe jackson, john lennon, joni mitchell, jurgen reisch, let's pretend we're married, let's go crazy grammy salute to prince, lipps inc, little red corvette, lovesexy 30, lovesexy tour, madonna, mary tyler moore show, michael dean, michael jackson, minneapolis, morning papers, morris day, motown records, mtv, musician magazine, musician magazione, neil young, new york city, nwa, oar folk, on time, one nite alone tour, parade tour, paris, parliament, partyup, press rewind, prince, prince from minneapolis, prince from minneapolis conference, prince podcast, prince tour, public enemy, purple rain, purple rain film, purple rain tour, purple reign conference, rebels, revolution, rick james, right on magazine, ritz, sharon nelson, sheila e, sister, sister sledge, so blue, sometimes it snows in april, still waiting, super freak, tim curry, time, twin tone records, tyka nelson, university of salford, uptown, uptown neighborhood, uptown theatre, warner bros records, wembley arena, when we're dancing close and slow, when you were mine, worcester centrum, you, ze records

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Prince Track by Track: “What Do U Want Me 2 Do?”

Post author By Zach
Post date December 3, 2018
8 Comments on Prince Track by Track: “What Do U Want Me 2 Do?”

Prince and (soon-to-be-ex-) wife Manuela Testolini in 2004. Photo by Frank Micelotta, stolen from Heavy.

As I divide my writing time this week between d / m / s / r and the various year-end list obligations from my other side hustle as a freelance music writer, here’s the latest of my guest appearances on Darren Husted’s Prince: Track by Track podcast, talking about a nice-but-not-beloved song from a nice-but-not-beloved album:

Prince Track by Track:
“What Do U Want Me 2 Do?”

Speaking of end-of-year stuff, I suppose now is as good a time as any to give some indication of how I see the rest of the month shaking out. I plan to get at least one or two songs into the Time’s second album–ideally starting this week, though the aforementioned freelancing obligations mean that next week is a safer bet. Before I shut down for the holidays, I also plan to post (by request!) a new installment in my series of alternate universe fan-fics masquerading as serious historical thought experiments. And I think I’m on the slate for at least two more episodes of Track by Track in 2018. My own podcast is currently dormant, but will return in the new year with, at the very least, another album review. And then we’ll be on to 1999 before we know it in 2019! As always, a heartfelt thanks to everyone who takes the time to read and/or listen to my thoughts–I know you have many choices when it comes to Prince-related commentary, etc., etc.

Prince, 1979

I Feel for You

Prince by Jurgen Reisch, from the Prince inner sleeve; © Warner Bros.

As we discussed last week, Prince responded to his scuppered 1979 tour plans in characteristic fashion: by throwing himself even further into his work. Pepé Willie, his cousin by marriage–and, at the time, his informal manager–recently recounted a story from around this period to Rolling Stone’s Kory Grow. “One night, at around 10:30, I tried to call Prince and I didn’t get an answer,” he said. “So I went over to his house, because he wasn’t far from where I lived, and I see his car parked in front of his house. I rang the bell, knocked on the door and I didn’t get no answer. Then I hear this little tapping sound, and I went around to the side of the house and I peeped through the basement window, and Prince was down in the basement playing drums. I mean, he was wailing away. And this was after 12 hours of rehearsing. It was just unbelievable. So I had to tap the window in-between the drum beats so he could hear me, and then he came to the door and we talked. But after that experience, I had said to myself, ‘Gee, no wonder why he’s so good. This guy practices all the time’” (Grow 2016).

In addition to the non-stop rehearsals, Prince also wasn’t above picking up a session gig or two. In February of 1979, Tony Silvester from soul trio the Main Ingredient (of “Everybody Plays the Fool” fame) contacted Willie with an opportunity: he was producing an album by Pepé’s old employers, Little Anthony and the Imperials, and needed musicians. “I told him, ‘Look, I got two musicians who can play everything,’” Willie recalled (Thorne 2016). So Willie, Prince, and André Cymone left for Music Farm Studios in New York, where they cut a handful of backing tracks in a one-day session. Silvester and the Imperials didn’t end up using them–though two of the songs they recorded, “If You Feel Like Dancin’” and “One Man Jam,” would later show up on the 94 East compilation Minneapolis Genius. Of more historical significance, however, were the personal demos Prince and André squeezed in at the end of the session: including one song, “I Feel for You,” that would become one of Prince’s enduring classics.

Prince Track by Track:“What Do U Want Me 2 Do?”

Prince Track by Track:
“What Do U Want Me 2 Do?”