Tag: sheila e

Post-Vacation Update: Patreon-Exclusive Originals Review, plus “Sister” on Press Rewind

Post-Vacation Update: Patreon-Exclusive Originals Review, plus “Sister” on Press Rewind

(Featured Image: Cover art for the new Originals compilation; photo by Allen Beaulieu, © NPG Records/Warner Bros.)

Hello again! Last week was quiet on the d / m / s / r front because I was out of town on a family vacation, which was great fun but decidedly light on writing time. I did, however, get one thing done for supporters of the new Patreon: a review of the Originals compilation, which released on TIDAL early this month and on CD and other streaming platforms last Friday.

Patreon Exclusive: Originals Review

As I explained on the Patreon over the weekend, this is just one of the kinds of things I’ll be offering over there, but I’ll probably be keeping the patron exclusives Originals-related for the next month or so; my next exclusive post will be a full-blown song post on “You’re My Love,” which happened to be recorded right around the time I’m currently covering on the blog.

Also while I was out, the second episode I recorded for Jason Breininger’s Press Rewind podcast was released. Check that out if you haven’t already:

Press Rewind: “Sister”

Finally, I am still writing a blog, and I plan on putting up the next post, “3 x 2 =6,” on Thursday. In fact, the Patreon has been doing so well that I wouldn’t be surprised if we reached my $50-a-month goal by next week–meaning that there will be a guaranteed four new posts in July. My sincere thanks to the latest group of patrons for helping make that happen: Cliff Dinwiddie, Marilyn Hinson, Jessica, Darling Nisi, and Kaitlyn. If you want to be the one to put us over the edge toward that first goal, you know what to do:

Patreon: dance / music / sex / romance

As always, thanks for reading! Coming back from vacation is rough, but I’m happy to return to this project.

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Press Rewind: “Head”

Press Rewind: “Head”

(Featured Image: Our favorite rude boy; photo by Allen Beaulieu, stolen from Lansure’s Music Paraphernalia.)

It was a stroke of good timing that just as Darren Husted’s Prince: Track by Track podcast was coming to an end, I got the opportunity to guest on another track-by-track podcast, Jason Breininger’s Press Rewind. Similar to my and Darren’s respective projects, Jason’s is to go through the full Prince catalogue song by song, but with a specific focus on lyrics that pleases my inner lit major. It also made for an ideal opportunity to talk about some songs that I didn’t get to talk about on Track by Track, starting with “Head” from Dirty Mind:

Press Rewind: “Head”

It was a pleasure talking to Jason about the second dirtiest song on Dirty Mind. And if you enjoyed it as much as I did, you’re in luck: we also recorded another episode talking about the first dirtiest song on the album, which should be coming out in the next couple of weeks.

While I have you here, I want to thank everyone who has already signed up for my Patreon! Pierre Igot, Caroline S., Oliver A., and Demetrius, your day-one support was extremely heartwarming. If you’re just joining us now and interested in supporting, check out my Patreon page here:

Patreon: dance / music / sex / romance

I’ll have my first patron-exclusive post ready soon–hopefully as soon as tomorrow! And of course, the next “official” post will be here soon as well. Thanks for your patience.

Review: Ultimate Rave

Review: Ultimate Rave

(Featured Image: Cover art for Ultimate Rave; photo by Steve Parke, © NPG Records/Sony Legacy.)

Hi again! As promised, I’m back with my review of the new Ultimate Rave collection, which went up today on Spectrum Culture:

Review: Ultimate Rave

I wish I could say that the critics had been wrong all along and this is a buried, misunderstood gem, but quite frankly, it isn’t; even 20 years later, this still one of (the Artist Formerly Known as) Prince’s most deeply mediocre records. But I find that the additional hindsight, as well as Sony Legacy’s excellent presentation, has made me a lot more affectionate than I may have been otherwise. I look forward to this deluxe treatment being given to more of the albums that deserve it!

In the meantime, if you’re interested in supporting this release but have found the price tag too steep, at time of posting it’s a little less than $16 on Amazon; that’s about $10 less than I paid for it, even lower compared to list price. And if you use my affiliate link, you can support me, too!

Okay, that’s enough shilling for one day. See you tomorrow!

Prince Track by Track: “3121”

Prince Track by Track: “3121”

(Featured Image: Prince tries to make “3121” happen on the 3121 album cover; © NPG Records.)

Things have gotten quiet again around here, both because I’ve been feeling under the weather and because I’ve been buried in other writing assignments. I’m working on the latter and crossing my fingers that the former is on its way out, but in the meantime, here’s an episode of Darren Husted’s Prince: Track by Track podcast I recorded late last year:

Prince Track by Track: “3121”

Also! YouTuber Prince’s Friend was kind enough to ask me back on his channel to talk about the blog, which we did over the weekend. Please check out the video and everything else he’s doing below:

As I alluded to in the Prince’s Friend interview, I will be posting about the Time’s “Wild and Loose” very soon. Thanks for your patience!

Prince Track by Track New Year’s Roundup

Prince Track by Track New Year’s Roundup

(Featured Image: European 12″ cover for “A Love Bizarre,” 1985; photo by Rebecca Blake, © Warner Bros.)

As usual, I took the last couple weeks of December off for the holidays, which meant I didn’t post the links to my last two appearances on Darren Husted’s Prince: Track by Track podcast. So here they are now: one of my favorite tracks from Prince’s extended universe, as well as one of the most forgettable. I’ll let you guess which one is which:

Prince Track by Track: “Hynoparadise”
Prince Track by Track: “A Love Bizarre”

With this bit of business out of the way, I’m now officially on track to kick off the blog for 2019. We’ll start tomorrow with a belated post from one of our alternate timelines, then it’s back to the Time’s second album next week. Happy New Year!