An interesting post from Housequake.com:

Sure, P killed it this weekend at Coachella, if the media and fan reports are to be believed. Who didn’t think he would?

But as he basks in the afterglow of the “Creep” cover, which is sure to become at least semi-legendary, shouldn’t Prince wonder why some of his biggest cultural sensations in recent years (the Rock n’ Roll Hall of Fame Harrison cover, and now Creep) are coming on others’ songs?

We’re all familiar with the reasons why it’s unreasonable to expect a pop musician to still be a leading innovator 30 years after his or her debut — and that’s not what I’m talking about. But, in my opinion, there’s just no excuse for a song like “Turn Me Loose,” as debuted on Leno last Friday. There’s no poetry in it (something both Creep and WMGGW have). And Prince is capable of poetry (at least pop poetry). He’s still capable of melody and rhythmic virtuosity (if not innovation), as we’ve seen on recent records: think of “The Word” on 3121, or “The One You Wanna See” on Planet Earth. The problem is that both of those songs have powerfully boring lyrics. They’d have been boring even if Prince hadn’t essentially written them several times before (i.e., the undercooked spirituality of the former, or the I’m-so-rich-come on of the latter).

Prince probably isn’t going to change the face of pop anymore, and that’s fine. But he can still write a melody, and he can still play his many instruments. Nothing would be a more fitting testimony to those impressively undiminished talents than if he were to put a bit more effort on lyricism and craft overall (perhaps by hiring a top-notch producer like Nigel Godrich — who’s been a big part of fine records by Radiohead, Beck, and Paul McCartney).

The reason Prince gets the general public excited with the Creep cover — or his live performances in general — is because he’s reaching out to them in some way, inviting people to a shared cultural experience (and giving great guitar, too). Yet his recorded output over the last decade has become increasingly insular and boring, lyrically, even as Prince’s musicianship still excites. The best new Prince tracks of late have either been styles in search of a song (Glass Cutter, PFU, etc.) or songs in search of credible meaning. The missing link is poetry, or, failing that, an engaging mystery that connects with those of us who don’t live amid the touchstones of his self-erected mythology. Man, how cool would it be to hear just one more fully-formed song from Prince? It’s not out of the question. The only mystery is whether he’s willing to do “the work” to find it.


SOURCE: Housequake.com



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