On Episode 114 of the Press Rewind – Prince Lyrics Podcast, Arthur Turnbull from The Music Snobs Podcast joins me to talk about the “new year, new you” Prince he presents to us on Lovesexy’s opening track, “Eye No.” Prince is in world-building mode, and he introduces several new words and phrases used for testifying his reconfirmed faith.
“No! Is what Spooky Electric say, it’s not OK.”
From a lyrical perspective, “Eye No” is a perfect opening track to Lovesexy. It’s energetic, engaging, and catchy. On top of all that, it presents Lovesexy’s concepts and themes in a way that makes them digestible for the uninitiated. “Eye No” is a concoction of what Prince was into at the time. A splash of an unreleased Crystal Ball track, “The Ball,” an Ingrid Chavez poem, funky horns courtesy of Eric and Atlanta, gospel-inspired background vocals from Boni Boyer, and a whole new lyrical focus (God, spirituality, promotion of positive endeavors). The result is a song that immediately puts the audience in the correct frame of mind for this listening experience. Lovesexy is the one, ’til my day is done. Hundalasiliah!
The goal of each episode of Press Rewind is to:
- Take a track by track look at the lyrical content of Prince’s discography
- Discuss my own interpretation of each song’s lyrics along with any guest I may have
- If submitted, discuss listener’s interpretations of each song’s lyrics
Thank you for joining me on this journey through Prince’s catalog!
