:: propagandART ~ february 26 ::

the calendar has lots of theater events listed.
and i've got some more in my inbox.
but it's lacking of good music.

i know there are some musicians on this list,
and a bunch of you have friends in bands,
so help a brother out and send some music tips my way.
i'd love a blurb about the band and why you like them.

and while i'm on the subject, here's a blurb about a guy i like...

:: his royal badness ::

prince is the baddest cat on the planet.

that's a bold statement, i know. but hear me out. when compared to other artists working in popular music today, he's on the shortlists for best songwriter, best producer, best vocalist, best guitarist, best keyboardist, bass player and best live performer. he might not be the best at any of these but he's at least in the conversation for all of them. and no one else can come close to making that claim.

he's as innovative as he is prolific. he's a near-virtuoso on a few instruments. he can write good songs in just about any style. he's synthesized the talents of those before him and his influence will be felt by generations. he's not my generation's james brown. he's my generation's mozart.

on wednesday, april 7, the qwest center in omaha will host the largest dance party the state has ever seen. i guarantee that every head in that building will be bobbing at some point in the evening. and by the end, literally every person will be on their feet shaking their ass. we've all seen great concerts, but this could be one of the best shows you'll see in your life. tickets go on sale saturday. i assume it'll be via www.ticketmaster.com. you should prolly call the qwest center to double-check.

:: his royal badness ... supplemental ::

ok. that's the main thing i have to say. but, just for entertainment, here's more of my 'prince as the baddest mf on the planet' case...

we all know he was one of the premier artists in the 80s along with madonna and michael jackson. numerous prince songs from the 80s have become part of pop music lore. i'll be all of you can sing (at least) the choruses to: purple rain, raspberry beret, let's go crazy, 1999, kiss, when doves cry, little red corvette, u got the look, etc.

countless people have said to me 'yeah, prince is brilliant. but i haven't heard anything from him since the 80s.' to which i answer 'yup. and that's why he was so mad at his record company.' he was putting out the best music of his career in the 90s, and warner brothers just didn't seem to care. in general, purple rain is regarded as his seminal album. which is too bad. it should be the gold experience (released in 1995). it's every bit as brilliant: the entire thing is danceable, the hooks are infectious, his guitar work is stunning, the lyrics were party-happy on some and thought-provoking on others. it was a monster...but no one heard it.

the fact is, he was so prolific in the 90s that warner stopped wanting to promote a new prince record every year. he put out 9 records of new music in the 90s (one of which was a 3cd set). he also put out 6 cds of treasures from his vaults and most of those songs were written in the 90s. he also released an album that was sitting in the can since 1987. that's 18 cds he released between 1990 and 1999 and he had one minor hit to show for it. the lack of hits wasn't for lack of quality...it was for lack of exposure.

in the 90s prince took his music to a whole new level. his grooves were just as danceable. his hooks were just as catchy. his musicianship just as mind-boggling. his production just as immaculate. his vocals as sublime. but he put together a backing band that packed a soulful punch worthy of the material. his 80s music used canned drums as often as real drums. and his studio records were predominantly prince on all instruments. the revolution only recorded on a couple of records and were mostly used as his live band. and besides that, they really weren't that good. in the 90s he cleaned house and got the baddest musicians he could find and his sound exploded. the biggest revelation came from his rhythm section. they took his music from the pop realm and planted it in the rock realm. not only did it have the glitz of dance music as the body, it now had the muscle and adrenaline of rock'n'roll. i'll put the gold experience up against any pop, rock or r&b record of the 90s. it's a shame i'm one of 12 people who own it.

so far in the 00s, he's been just as prolific and far more experimental. much of this material was released only through his internet music club. but the few commercial releases were as impressive as they were varied. his last commercial release, n.e.w.s. (2003), was a herbie hancock/headhunters-style exploration of funky jazz instrumentals. previous to n.e.w.s. was the rainbow children (2001). it showed flashes of the soulful improvisation to come, but also included some beautiful ballads and foundation-rocking, funky, dance-inducing jams. it was a brilliant album mired only by mildly distracting voice-overs. other projects between n.e.w.s. and 1999's rave un2 the joy fantastic included: rave in2 the joy fantastic (2000 - remixes, alternate versions and outtakes from rave un2...), one night alone (2001 - piano-based, pared-down soul/pop), one night alone...live (2002 - 3 live cds), xpectation (2002 - an internet-only album of instrumentals) and tons of new and vaulted songs released via his online music club (approx 35 studio & 35 live tracks). this should total out to about 12-14 albums worth of material and we're not even half way through the decade.

oh, and just for the record, the whole symbol-as-his-name thing was a was a way to get out of the publishing contract with warner brothers. the big money in music is in the publishing rights. that's why pete townshend is filthy stinking rich and roger daltrey drives a subaru. when they signed prince, warner bros. gave him complete creative control (unheard of at the time), but owned his master recordings and publishing rights (industry standard). prince doesn't own any of those anthems listed above.so by legally changing his name, he started to own the publishing rights of his new music. but now that the original contract has expired, he's taken his name back. so we can now call him the artist formerly known as the artist formerly known as prince. or simply, his royal badness.

to get a better idea of his prolificness (so i'm making up words. i can do that. i'm a communication major.)
check out the prince section of my music library site:
http://www.landisarts.com/music/ <- then click on prince
(there's even a separate page for bootlegs)

all of his virtuosity will be on display at the qwest center on styles of music are sure to be included in his april 7th. but has now fully embraced his past. he's not playing slivers of hits anymore, he's playing the whole songs. and he's got funk legend maceo parker in his band. this concert is going to rock, y'all. serious-like.

did i mention he's being inducted into the rock'n'roll hall of fame in march? no? well he is.

my 5 favorite prince albums:
-the gold experience - 1995
-chocolate invasion (cd i created of his music club downloads) - 2002
-the black album - 1987
-the rainbow children - 2001
- - 1992

peace...
and b wild...
-m@

Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention
of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body...
but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up,
totally worn out and loudly proclaiming: WOW! What a Ride!!