A Prince Playlist
Dirty Mind – The gamechanger, where he figured that as a one man band with little bands trailing out, he could mix his biracial dudeness into a song of not seduction, which is where you expect it, but immortality in intercourse. A Mick without the paradise postponed cultural aristocrat working class vibe to fuck up his dirty mind – A+
One Of Your Tears – A slow fuse 1990s heartbreaker, that works as a coda to “When You Were Mine”, with one of the most stupendous poetic images to top it off. His last full out masterpiece, after Crystal Ball he couldn’t maintain it over an album – A+
When You Were Mine – A little lost in the midst of Dirty Mind, Cyndi Lauper retrieved it and while it didn’t make her a superstar, it gave a wallop to Cyndi’s so unusual, sex traumatic dream of female power and freedom. No it didn’t make Cyndi a star, it made her an artist – A+
Head – What a guy, he seduces a virgin bride but ever the gentleman, he agrees to sharing the title sexual position. But funny and ridiculously filthy, this was a first salvo that would lead directly to “Darling Nikki” and the warnings on albums – A
U Got The Look – “The dream we all dream of…” a hysterically funny and sexually duet with one Sheena Easton, it is not ALL ABOUT the beat (at his best, it never was), but the stupendous chorus which is like one huge hook and a ‘Your face is jammin’
Your body’s heck-a-slammin’…” to last a lifetime… He took Sheena, and the rest of us, from 9 to 5 to 69 – A
Kiss – Refusing to get suckered into Live Aids bizarre ego stroking cluster fuck, he sent the video to this song: the first time the trap happy, melody plus staccato beat with again, an endlessly witty lyric and a falsetto at the tip of the tail. This is a standard bearer 80s pop funk move, with the greatest bridge know to man. Think I’m gonna dance… – A+
Delirious – The first time I saw him live was on the 1999 tour, this is a deep album track which simple jumps off the album, that little verbal, the “in and out around your legs” pushes you too your fate. It reminds me of Bruce’s “Promised”, his “I ain’t a boy…”. It is to sexual freedom what “Promised Land” is to financial mayhem – A+
La La La Means I Love You – The Delfonics classic gave Prince the chance to prove that Thom Bell didn’t phase him at all and gave Prince the chance to sell you completely on his falsetto. Off Emancipation in case you wanna go in search – A
