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Friday, April 22, 2016
Prince: Uncharming
I'm a fan of the classics, so the music of the late Prince is outside my competence to judge. I mention the man's passing in order to direct your attention to the above video, in which the delightful Kevin Smith tells a hilarious -- and appalling -- behind-the-scenes story. If Smith is right, The Artist Formerly Known As Among the Living was so weird and so narcissistic as to make Michael Jackson seem normal. (This article barely scratches the surface.)
Eccentricity is accepted, even expected, in an artist. But when an artist seems preternaturally convinced of his spiritual superiority even as he treats other people like shit -- well. To describe such a person, we need a far stronger word than "eccentric."
Partway through the story, I was reminded of Honey from Doonesbury talking about her time as interpreter for Chairman Mao. He would ask for outlandish things like tearing down the Great Wall, so she would just tell him that it had been done. Then when he asked for it to be replaced, she would once again tell him that the people had mobilized and done it. Of course, she had just spent the time goofing off.
ReplyDeleteI remember that arc in Doonesbury. ^_^
ReplyDeleteMeanwhile, since our host mentioned classical music...
Pince?
ReplyDeleteYOW! Thanks. Fixed.
ReplyDelete"The Artist Formerly Known As Among the Living"
ReplyDeleteThat's cold, dude. Very funny, but cold.
I as a minnesotan, have been amazed by how much he is loved here, and around the world. He seems to have been private, and people respected his privacy. He was also passionate about many things which were recently revealed in here. http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/prince-the-secret-philanthropist-his-cause-was-humanity-20160425?page=2
ReplyDeleteHe was odd, but it may have been a way to protect his privacy.
Purenoiz