Music That Defines Our Memories
On the surface, Prince’s “Let’s Work” is a fun, funky, upbeat dance song from his stylistically all-over-the-place 1981 album, Controversy. He leaves the politics, religion, and nuclear fears behind for this particular party track that happens to be buried in the middle of Controversy’s Side B, sandwiched between two political tracks. Instead of all that … Continue reading High-Speed Dub Review: Prince – Let’s Work Dance Remix 12″
From day one, Prince exuded sexuality. There he was, shirtless, or possibly even nude (if you bought a dirty mind), for his album and record sleeve appearances on For You and Prince. Breathy, risque vocals and lyrics could be found on “Soft & Wet,” “When We’re Dancing Close & Slow,” and “Sexy Dancer.” These artistic … Continue reading Prince’s Sexual Revolution – Dirty Mind/Controversy Era
For my latest "High-Speed Dub Review," I do a quick down and dirty look back at an album in my collection that impacted my youth. The intent isn't to go super in-depth on each track, give a mini-biography on the artist, or offer a thesis on their cultural impact (if any was actually made). Simply … Continue reading Mötley Crüe – Theatre of Pain (1985)
Little Princie Rogers Nelson. Is that what Warner Brothers was hoping for when they signed the teenage wunderkind out of Minneapolis, Minnesota, in 1977? Were they hoping to capture the singer/songwriter/producer/multi-instrumentalist lightning in a bottle that Motown had captured with Stevie Wonder a decade earlier? Possibly. Or possibly they wanted to sign a super-talent to … Continue reading The Would Be Teen Heartthrob…. All Of This And More
https://youtu.be/BpA4YWnQvgU Prince's vault is well known and immensely speculated about. We know there's lots of stuff in there we've never heard. We also have to accept there's lots of stuff in there we may never get to hear. Thankfully for us, but maybe less so for Prince while he was alive, vault leaks and bootlegs … Continue reading Prince’s Vault Material – 1977 to 1978
After spending the previous couple of years either clearing out the vault or creating new tracks designed to fit the narrative of feature films (Batman, Graffiti Bridge), Prince was likely ready to MOVE ON. Not a simple, "Alright, let's get in the studio and create a new song" type of MOVE ON. I mean the … Continue reading Prince – Diamonds & Pearls (1991)
Madonna's self-titled debut album, Madonna, was a bit of a slow burner. It was released in the summer of 1983 after a couple of modestly successful dance singles, "Everybody" and "Burning Up," hit the radio and dance floors. Her record label, Sire, was ready to unleash the full length on the world in July of 1983 … Continue reading Madonna (1983)
"Hi, Prince? It's Warner Brothers. You know, the record company that signed you as an unproven teenage musician over ten years ago? The record company that pulled your already pressed record from distribution channels last year when you decided it was evil? The record company that really needs a commercial success from you after your … Continue reading Prince – Batman (1989)
What time is it? It’s time for a quick review of The Time’s self-titled debut album from 1981. The album was officially produced by Morris Day and Jamie Starr, one of Prince’s many alter-egos when writing or producing music for other artists. It was also composed and written primarily by Prince, with additional writing contributions … Continue reading The Time (1981)
Prince frames his left nipple so perfectly here. Prince's Lovesexy, also known as "the album where Prince is naked on the cover," indeed came about quickly. Primarily recorded in a two-month burst from December 1987 and January 1988, Lovesexy was the response to Prince's "spooky electric" period in late 1987. There's been speculation about what caused this period … Continue reading Prince – Lovesexy (1988)