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The artist you better not call Prince
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Sept. 27, 1999 |
Well, for one thing, he's keeping up his hissy fit against Warner Bros.,
the label he broke free from three years ago after 17 years of spinning
out the hits. Because Warner Bros. owns the tune "1999" -- as it does
all of the former Prince's music recorded under contract -- the purple
wonder has gone and rerecorded a whole bunch of new versions of the
song, from hip-hop "1999" to Latino "1999," and made them available
through his retail arm. Warner Bros. still may have its own plans for
the song; in the meantime it has just released a disc of previously
unreleased Prince material called "The Vault -- Old Friends 4 Sale," which
the ex-Prince has dissed on his Web site thus: "An
anonymous in4mer who just recently heard a testing pressing 4 the
upcoming "PRINCE" release (aptly titled) 'Old Friends 4 Sale' said this
recording sounds like a CONtractual obligation ... nothing more or
less." Ah, the hissy fit. It seems the Prince who dare not speak his name can't
let go of what he has already let go of. And how else is the purple wonder preparing for the millennium? Why, by
suing his fans. Not just the fans who buy his music. But the fans who
love him so much they actually took the time to create Web site shrines
to his greatness. The little litigator has accused these devotees of
infringing his copyright by using that nifty symbol he now goes by. But
here's a catch: He not only gave them permission years ago to use the
symbol, he e-mailed it to them and said, "Here, please use it." The Artist -- his default name these days -- is acting a bit fevered in
this, the year of his storied prognostication. You'd think he'd be
partying all the time. After all, he's rich, he had a huge success with
"Emancipation" -- the triple-CD tour de force he made to celebrate his
divorce from Warner Bros. -- he seems happily married and all his
Olympian music-making gifts appear intact. This spawn of Jimi and Joni,
of James Brown and Gershwin, of the Beatles and Al Green, of Ellington,
Dylan, Aretha -- you
name it, he's synthesized them all into soundscapes
unprecedented in their scope and grandeur -- could hardly be better
positioned to exit 1999 with a bang. From now on he gets the glory and
owns his masters. And on top of all that, he has a really cute ass. So whence the peevishness? Well, there have been setbacks. He and his
wife, Mayte, lost their kid, for one thing. Two years ago their
1-week-old son died of a rare skeletal disorder called Pfeiffer Syndrome
Type 2. The Artist has never discussed the death publicly. Beyond that, there's the problem with the limelight: It has dimmed, even
while his own inner flame hasn't. The limelight's flicker is fickle, of
course, and it's remarkable that the Artist has basked in it for as long
as he has. Who would have thought, back in 1982 when the 24-year-old
Prince cut "1999," that he'd actually still be working when the big year
came to pass? Much less that he'd have made hits virtually the entire
time? This accomplishment alone gains him admission to the exclusive
club occupied by the likes of Elvis and the Stones. But where in the '80s Prince could do no wrong, the '90s have been
fraught. First he was attacked for selling out by incorporating rap into
his music. Then there was the name change to the unpronounceable glyph.
Next came the disgruntlement with Warner Bros. -- which had just lavished
a $100 million contract on him. Record sales declined a bit, and that alone
was enough to sour
the taste makers who once considered the Artist their darling. Then,
once free from his contract, he released so much product -- 10 discs of
material in the past three years alone -- that no one but the die-hard
fan could possibly keep up. | ||
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