The Prince oeuvre, song by song, in chronological order.

Tag: u got the look

Ephemera, 1984

Sugar Walls

Sheena Easton, circa 1984; © EMI Records.

At the beginning of 1984, Prince had a lot of proverbial balls in the air: not only his big-screen debut and accompanying album, but also spinoff projects by the Time, Apollonia 6, Jill Jones, and, soon, Sheila E. Most artists would consider this more than enough to juggle; Prince, however, was not most artists. On January 20, the day after completing the Time’s Ice Cream Castle, he was already at work on a new song for yet another protégée, Scots pop-rock belter Sheena Easton.

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Press Rewind: “Strange Relationship”

Post author By Zachary Hoskins
Post date August 9, 2021
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Single cover for "If I Was Your Girlfriend"--not "Strange Relationship," but close enough. © Warner Bros.

Last week, I made my long-awaited (by somebody, I’m assuming) return to Jason Breininger’s Press Rewind podcast to talk about one of my favorite songs, “Strange Relationship.” Turns out it was actually the 100th episode, so I’m honored to have been able to participate in this milestone. Check it out below–and, if you haven’t been keeping up with Jason’s podcast, check out the other episodes, too. Every Sign “O” the Times episode I’ve listened to so far has been great.

Press Rewind: “Strange Relationship”

Now, here’s the part where I give a general update of where I am with my own stuff. The next post, on “Computer Blue,” is still coming along, but probably won’t be ready this week. In the meantime, I just recorded a podcast with Jack Riedy, author of a really cool new collection of writing about Prince. That will be available (to patrons, anyway) by the end of the week. See you then!

Tags 1983, 1985, 1986, alex hahn, ballad of dorothy parker, beatles, camille, christy norman, computer blue, duane tudahl, electric word life, elton john, eye love u but eye don't trust u anymore, for you, i could never take the place of your man, i wanna be your lover, i've seen that movie too, if i was your girlfriend, jack riedy, jason breininger, jealous guy, jill jones, john lennon, katrina's paper dolls, laura tiebert, lisa coleman, los angeles, mayte, minneapolis, press rewind, prince, prince and the purple rain era studio sessions, purple rain film, rise of prince 1958-1988, she's always in my hair, shep pettibone, something in the water, starfish and coffee, strange relationship, sunset sound, susannah melvoin, u got the look, under the cherry moon film, vanity, waiting to exhale, wendy melvoin, when you were mine, why you wanna treat me so bad, wonderful ass

Patreon Exclusives

Patreon Exclusive: So, Let’s Talk About That Sign “O” the Times Reissue

Post author By Zach
Post date June 29, 2020
No Comments on Patreon Exclusive: So, Let’s Talk About That Sign “O” the Times Reissue

Cover art for the forthcoming Sign "O" the Times Super Deluxe Edition; photo by Jeff Katz, © Warner Bros./NPG Records.

Last Thursday, after weeks of rumors and leaks, it finally became official: the next expanded reissue from Warner Bros. and the Prince Estate is Sign “O” the Times, and it’s a doozy: 8 CDs (13 LPs, for the wax-inclined) and a DVD covering the full breadth of Prince’s output from late 1985 to early 1987. I won’t be “officially” writing about this music until 2021 at the earliest (more on that later), but damned if I can’t share some preliminary thoughts about it now. Here they are, disc by disc (and, in the case of the Vault discs, track by track)…

Tags 1979, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1985, 1987, 1993, 1998, adore, all my dreams, and that says what, ball, ballad of dorothy parker, big tall wall, bob george, can i play with u, cocoa boys, crucial, crystal ball, dawn musical, dream factory, eggplant, emotional pump, forever in my life, glam slam, good love, i could never take the place of your man, i feel for you, i need a man, in a large room with no light, international lover, jealous girl, joey coco, joy in repetition, last heart, lisa coleman, love and sex 1986, make your mama happy, michael howe, miles davis, movie star, nevaeh ni ecalp a, paisley park studios, power fantastic, prince, promise to be true, rebirth of the flesh, sexual suicide, shep pettibone, shockadelica, sign o the times film, soul psychodelicide, strange relationship, susan rogers, teacher teacher, there's something i like about being your fool, train, u got the look, visions, walkin in glory, wally, warner bros records, we can funk, wendy melvoin, when the dawn of the morning comes, witness 4 the prosecution, wonderful day, yah you know

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Prince Track by Track New Year’s Roundup

Post author By Zach
Post date January 3, 2019
2 Comments on Prince Track by Track New Year’s Roundup

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!

Tags 1978, 1985, 1998, 1999, 2001, 2004, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2016, alexander nevermind, andre cymone, apollonia, apollonia 6, are you ready for freddy, atlanta bliss, blitz club, boni boyer, brit awards, camille, carmen electra, catherine keener, cheshire sound studios, christopher tracy, cologne, darren husted, disorderlies, dmsr, eddie m, eric leeds, fat boys, first avenue, flock of seagulls, forever in my life, get out, hanns-martin-schleyer-halle, holly rock, hypnoparadise, it's gonna be a beautiful night, jamie starr, jill jones, john blackwell, john l nelson, juan escovedo, justin timberlake, kirk johnson, krush groove film, krush groovin, kurtis blow, lisa coleman, love bizarre, lovesexy, lovesexy tour, manuela testolini, mayte, miko weaver, minneapolis, morris day, most beautiful, nightmare on elm street 4, npg music club, oakland, paisley park studios, peggy mccreary, pete escovedo, prince, prince track by track, purple rain film, raspberry beret, revolution, robert englund, run-dmc, sexy dancer, sheena easton, sheila e, sign o the times film, social network, spandau ballet, steve silk hurley, stuttgart, susan rogers, tamar, time, u got the look, vanity, wendy melvoin

Podcast

Podcast: It’s Time Someone Programmed You – Leah McDaniel on the Salford Purple Reign Conference

Post author By Zach
Post date August 11, 2017
2 Comments on Podcast: It’s Time Someone Programmed You – Leah McDaniel on the Salford Purple Reign Conference

The infamous "Prince's Women" cover, Rolling Stone, April 1986; photo by Jeff Katz.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

For the third installment of my miniseries on the University of Salford’s interdisciplinary Prince conference, I’m talking to Leah McDaniel (née Stone), a businesswoman, world traveler, and lifelong Prince fan. Her paper was on the eternally unsettled question of whether or not Prince was a feminist; we reflect on that question, as well as the contrast between his artistic warmth and his sometimes-chilling approach to interpersonal relationships, and why even Prince at his worst was still better than R. Kelly at his best.

Tags 5 women, albert magnoli, apollonia, bambi, beautiful ones, carmen electra, controversy, david bowie, erica thompson, extraloveable, fame, girl power, god, graffiti bridge film, hayward baker, i would die 4 u book, it's gonna be lonely, jane clare jones, jeff katz, john l nelson, leah mcdaniel, let's go crazy, lisa coleman, lust u always, manuela testolini, mattie shaw, mayte, michael jackson, most beautiful, mtv news, oakland, owen husney, paisley park studios, paramount theatre, prince, prince from minneapolis conference, prince tour, purple rain film, purple rain tour, purple reign conference, question of u, r kelly, revolution, sheila e, strange relationship, susannah hoffs, susannah melvoin, the war, tom attah, toure, u got the look, under the cherry moon film, university of minnesota, university of salford, vanity, wendy melvoin, william blinn, wuthering heights, zack stiegler