Tag: karen turman

See You at #1plus1plus1is3 This Weekend!

Post author By Zach
Post date March 22, 2021
2 Comments on See You at #1plus1plus1is3 This Weekend!

When I shared the 1983 Piano Rehearsal post on social media a few weeks ago, I mentioned that March is going to be a “quality-over-quantity month” on the blog. Well, here’s why: This Sunday, March 28, I will be presenting at the latest in De Angela Duff’s series of academic symposia commemorating Prince album anniversaries. This year’s symposium, the aptly-named #1plus1plus1is3, is a three-for-one: celebrating 20 years of 2001’s The Rainbow Children, 30 years of 1991’s Diamonds and Pearls, and 40 years of 1981’s Controversy.

My presentation–on Allen Beaulieu’s infamous Controversy “shower poster”–will be part of a panel featuring Christopher A. Daniel, Steven G Fullwood, and Edgar Kruize, moderated by C. Liegh McInnis. Presenting on other panels and roundtables are longtime friends of the blog Darling Nisi, Harold Pride, Erica Thompson, Laura Tiebert, Karen Turman, and others; there will also be special guest appearances by Rainbow Children cover artist Cbabi Bayoc, Revolution keyboardist Dr. Fink, longtime NPG Records webmaster/art director Sam Jennings, music video director Scott McCullough, recording artist Nicolay, and photographer Afshin Shahidi. I can’t wait to hear from each and every one.

Like last year’s #DM40GB30 symposium, #1plus1plus1is3 is a virtual symposium–so, no masks/vaccines required–and also 100% free (though the organizers do suggest a small donation to the PRN Alumni Foundation). You can register to attend at the link below:

Free Registration: #1plus1plus1is3

I will, of course, be live-tweeting the event as it happens, and will post a summary of my thoughts early next week. Then, it’ll be back to regularly scheduled programming with what is shaping up to be a very hefty post on “Let’s Go Crazy.” Thank you all for your patience during this quiet month; I hope that the deluge of Prince content coming this weekend, from myself and so many others, will help make up for my radio silence otherwise! Last but not least, thank you to Joseph Swafford for (re-)joining the Patreon last week! There will be plenty more quality and quantity in April.

Roundup Posts

d / m / s / r Year Two in Review

Post author By Zach
Post date June 8, 2018
6 Comments on d / m / s / r Year Two in Review

My quick 'n' dirty d / m / s / r logo; apologies to Warner Bros. and Andy Warhol.

It’s hard to believe that it’s been a whole two years since I launched dance / music / sex / romance. I want to thank everyone who’s been following along thus far; many of you, I know, have been here pretty much from the beginning. If you need a refresher on (most of) what’s happened since the last year-end round-up, here you go:

Dirty Mind, 1980
The Time, 1981

And for those who are just stumbling upon it now, here’s where I recommend you start (all of the posts in chronological order):

The Story So Far

Last but not least, here are the podcast episodes released since last June. First, the miniseries on the University of Salford’s Purple Reign conference:

Jane Clare Jones
Zack Stiegler
Leah McDaniel
Felicia Holman and Harold Pride
Carmen Hoover
Joni Todd and Karen Turman
Erica Thompson
Chris Aguilar-Garcia and Natalie Clifford
Chambers Stevens

Then the miscellaneous episodes, including a few with noted authors in the Prince community:

Snax
Duane Tudahl
Marylou Badeaux
Kimberly C. Ransom
Stuart Willoughby

And finally, the first installment of what I hope will become another miniseries offering alternate perspectives on Prince’s studio albums:

40 Years of For You

So, what have we done in the last 12 months? A little less than I promised this time last year, but also a lot more. If you look purely at the number of songs covered on the blog, my progress has slowed significantly: a mere 20, versus last year’s 45. If I keep up this pace, the 2036 end point I semi-jokingly offered last year just might become a reality. But I’ve also been doing a lot more than I was doing in June 2017. The podcast has taken on a life of its own; I’ve become a regular guest on another podcast, Prince: Track by Track; I wrote an essay about Prince and New Wave for publication in an anthology on Prince and the Minneapolis Sound; I presented on two panels at the Prince from Minneapolis conference; I launched my own magazine, thanks in large part to the support and goodwill of a small but dedicated group of readers.

I’m not gonna lie, I have more plans for extracurricular activities in 2018-19. Some of them depend on external forces outside my control; some of them you’ll probably be hearing about in the near future. But I also think that the next 12 months of d / m / s / r will be a little bit of a “back to basics” move. I really want to get through more than two albums by next June; I really want to go back to my weekly post routine. I have some thoughts about how to make this possible with my other commitments, which I’ll be sharing in the near future. For now, if you’ve been reading this blog, thanks for hanging in there for the lean times and thanks for your support. And if you’ve just started reading, welcome! I hope you enjoy this labor of love as much as I continue to.

Podcast

Podcast: I am Something That You’ll Never Understand – Chris Aguilar-Garcia and Natalie Clifford on the Salford Purple Reign Conference

Prince at his most gender-nonconforming on the Lovesexy tour program cover, 1988; photo by Jeff Katz.

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After much delay, here is my conversation with Chris Aguilar-Garcia and Natalie Clifford, two presenters from this May’s interdisciplinary Prince conference at the University of Salford. Both Chris and Nat identify as queer, and both have interesting things to say about Prince’s legacy of “revolutionary queerness” and the space he created for less conventional expressions of gender and sexuality in the mainstream. If you liked the last episode with Snax, chances are you’ll like this one.

This is the part where I would normally say we’re switching gears and moving away from the Salford conference, but as it happens, we already have another interview with a presenter in store. So basically, I’ll keep doing these as long as people want to talk to me. If you still want to listen to me–and, more importantly, my eloquent guests–feel free to subscribe on your podcast service of choice. And if you really like us, take that aforementioned podcast app and shoot us a rating or review; it will make us more “discoverable” and broaden the listening base. In the meantime, thanks as always for listening!

Tags antioch university, bell hooks, black lives matter, boy george, bruce springsteen, carmen hoover, chris aguilar garcia, controversy, culture club, david bowie, de angela duff, dereca blackmon, dick clark, elton john, emancipation, erica thompson, felicia holman, first avenue, freddie mercury, george michael, graffiti bridge film, harold pride, i wanna be your lover, i would die 4 u, if i was your girlfriend, janelle monae, jeff katz, john mellencamp, joni todd, joy ellison, karen turman, kdko denver, let's go crazy, little red corvette, little richard, lovesexy, madonna, malcolm x, manchester, mayte, michael jackson, michel foucault, minneapolis, monique morris, mountains, muhammad ali, natalie clifford, national black women's justice initiative, new power generation, npg, oprah winfrey show, paul bonomo, prince, prince from minneapolis conference, purple rain film, purple rain tour, purple reign conference, rashad shabazz, revolution, rick james, robin power, rock and roll hall of fame, rolling stones, snax, sylvester, under the cherry moon film, uptown, what's my name, y should eye do that when eye can do this, young thug, zaheer ali

Podcast

Podcast: I Know That the Lord is Coming Soon – Erica Thompson on the Salford Purple Reign Conference

Post author By Zach
Post date September 15, 2017
5 Comments on Podcast: I Know That the Lord is Coming Soon – Erica Thompson on the Salford Purple Reign Conference

Purple Rain Tour Shirt, 1984; photo stolen from the Current.

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It’s been just under two months since I started interviewing presenters from this spring’s interdisciplinary Prince conference at the University of Salford, and I’ve been absolutely thrilled with the results. But all good things must come to an end, so I had planned to make this chat with writer Erica Thompson the last of my post-conference podcasts. It would have been a great choice, too; Erica’s presentation was the result of many years of research for a book project on Prince’s spiritual journey, so our conversation was less about the conference in particular and more about her findings more generally: a nice segue into future, less Manchester-centric episodes.

But just when I think I’m out, they keep pulling me back in. Contrary to my own statements in this episode, I have already set up another interview with a few presenters from one of the conference’s gender and sexuality panels. So basically, expect me to keep interviewing scholars from the Purple Reign conference until the next milestone in Prince scholarship comes along. And in the meantime, please enjoy my and Erica’s conversation about the importance–and, sometimes, difficulty–of understanding Prince’s religious faith in relationship with his art.

Tags 3rdeyegirl, al green, alex hahn, andre cymone, anna fantastic, anna stesia, bria valente, cat glover, chris moon, chuck zwicky, columbus, computer blue, controversy tour, craig rice, cross, d'angelo, darling nikki, devin devasquez, dez dickerson, erica thompson, eye no, gayle chapman, god, god is alive, graffiti bridge film, graham central station, grand progression, hannah welton, hayley drinkall, howard bloom, i would die 4 u, ingrid chavez, jane clare jones, jehovah's witness church, jill jones, john l nelson, joni todd, joshua welton, judith hill, karen krattinger, karen turman, ladder, larry graham, laura tiebert, let's pretend we're married, little richard, love and sex, manuela testolini, marvin gaye, mayte, miami, michael jackson, most beautiful, musicology tour, one nite alone tour, orange bowl, park avenue methodist church, possessed book, prince, prince from minneapolis conference, purple rain, purple rain film, purple rain tour, purple reign conference, questlove, rainbow children, rise of prince 1958-1988, robert johnson, robin power, roy bennett, seventh-day adventist church, sexuality, sheila e, shockadelica, susan moonsie, susan rogers, susannah melvoin, temptation, university of salford, uptown, utopia, vanity, work pt 1

Podcast

Podcast: Vous êtes très belle – Joni Todd and Karen Turman on the Salford Purple Reign Conference

Post author By Zach
Post date September 8, 2017
5 Comments on Podcast: Vous êtes très belle – Joni Todd and Karen Turman on the Salford Purple Reign Conference

Prince in French Dandy Mode, Under the Cherry Moon, 1986; © Warner Bros.

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Just under two weeks ago, I had the pleasure of speaking with two more presenters from the University of Salford’s interdisciplinary Prince conference: Joni Todd and Karen Turman, who you may know by reputation as the “esoteric French panel.” But if all that sounds too highbrow, don’t worry; we mostly talked about Prince’s impeccable fashion sense and uncompromising artistic vision, just with a lot of references to Charles Baudelaire and Marcel Duchamp. It’s probably the only Prince podcast you’ll hear that mentions both “Pussy Control” and Walter Benjamin, and that’s the best endorsement I can give.

Tags 1999 new master, alexandre dumas, all the critics love u in new york, andre 3000, andrea foy, annie potts, apollonia 6, ballad of dorothy parker, baltimore, batdance, batman film, ben greenman, black journalists association, blue light, bob george, bobby z, brown mark, bunkers, cab calloway, camille, camille film, carmen, cat glover, chanhassen, charles baudelaire, chicago, chris aguilar garcia, collette snowden, darby, darling nikki, diamonds and pearls, do u lie, dorothy parker, dr fink, dr funkenberry, duke ellington, endorphinmachine, erica thompson, erotic city, felicia holman, first avenue, flowers of evil, fonzworth bentley, galpin blvd, gett off, greazy meal, greta garbo, gustave flaubert, harold pride, hayley drinkall, head, henri murger, herculine barbin, hot thing, hunchback of notre dame, i wonder u, i'll do anything, if i was your girlfriend, international lover, jack nicholson, jill jones, john l nelson, joni todd, josephine baker, just my imagination, karen turman, kirsty fairclough, kiss, la boheme, linn lm-1, lisa coleman, little richard, love or money, madame bovary, mall of america, man ray, manchester, marcel duchamp, mia bocca, michel foucault, minneapolis, minnesota historical society, monica miller, morning papers, morris day, mtv video music awards, musicology tour, nasty girl, natalie clifford, new position, new york city, nicholas brothers, npg music club, one nite alone tour, p control, paisley park studios, paris, parliament, piano & a microphone tour, pop life, prince, prince from minneapolis conference, puccini, purple rain, purple rain film, purple reign conference, rashad shabazz, raspberry beret, rent, revolution, rhonda garelick, rising star, rock and roll hall of fame, rockhard in a funky place, sam jennings, scarlett brown, scenes of bohemian life, sexy mf, sign o the times, slaves to fashion, super bowl, tipper gore, tommy barbarella, under the cherry moon film, university of salford, vanity 6, victor hugo, walter benjamin, warner bros records, welcome 2 america tour, wendy melvoin, when doves cry, while my guitar gently weeps, zaheer ali