Prince remained holed up at Sunset Sound for almost the entirety of February of 1984. At some point, however–sessionographer Duane Tudahl estimates between Tuesday, February 21 and Sunday, February 26–he nipped back to Chanhassen, where he continued to work unabated at his Kiowa Trail home studio. The result of this brief homecoming was “Traffic Jam”: a slick instrumental with a title ironically more evocative of the Southern California sprawl he’d just left behind.
Well, another month has come and gone, so I’m back with another Patreon video update! August wasn’t as eventful a month for me as July, but I still have some extended thoughts on my last two posts on “Manic Monday” and “Ooo She She Wa Wa,” as well as an updated timeline for the next few months and (despite my stated intention to keep my mouth shut) some very off-the-cuff thoughts about the incoming Prince Estate. If there’s anything you’d like me to address next month, just let me know–otherwise, thanks for watching, and I’ll see you again soon!
Just two weeks after beginning “Take Me with U”–and a little less than three months after finishing “Sex Shooter”–Prince had nearly enough material for a full album by Apollonia 6; the only thing missing was a feature for the group’s third member, Susan Moonsie. According to Brenda Bennett, the oversight may have been deliberate: “Susan and Prince were fighting,” she told sessionographer Duane Tudahl (Tudahl 2018 255). So, never one to shy away from a passive-aggressive slight, on February 5, 1984, His Royal Badness dashed off “Ooo She She Wa Wa” with zero input from his protégée and on-and-off paramour.
Sometimes, the uncanny ease of Prince’s creative process can make it tempting to presume that his songs simply sprang forth from him, like Athena from the forehead of Zeus. This is doubly true when one considers that, in at least a few cases, that’s pretty much exactly what happened. Engineer Peggy McCreary likes to tell the story of when Prince called her back into Sunset Sound on the morning of February 4, 1984, after a typical marathon session the previous night: “I remember going to bed at six in the morning and he called and said, ‘Can you be at the studio at noon?’ because he had dreamed a song,” she told sessionographer Duane Tudahl. “He said if he dreamed a chorus he’d call me, and he did, and it was ‘Manic Monday’” (Tudahl 2018 253).
Believe it or not, it’s already time for a July Patreon update! This was a pretty good month for me, writing-wise, so I spent some time reflecting on that, as well as my ongoing Apolloniassance, a preview of my plans for the podcast, and some questions from longtime patron/podcast guest/friend of the blog Snax! On that note: In an effort to make talking to a camera for an hour once a month feel slightly less weird, I would love for more topic suggestions/questions/whatever from patrons. Please leave ’em in the comments (here or on Patreon), send ’em to me via Patreon DM, or hell, even email me at dmsr@dystopiandanceparty.com. Thanks for your support, and I’ll see you in August!