If Tracks Are Good, Let's Get 2 Pollin - PRINCE TRACKS POLL RESULTS

K, I just listened to Emancipation again and it's significantly more rhythmically diverse than I'd remembered. For a better example of jeep-beat fatigue, see Digital Underground, The Body-Hat Syndrome, which does work quite nicely in limited doses.

I do think Emanciaption suffers heavily from not being what people assumed it would be; I think a good amount of the material stands on its own but I can see why someone looking for Sign O' The Times (3 disc edition) would be disappointed.

yeah I referenced this on the voting thread but the biggest problem is he lost his way sonically. a lot of the 90s stuff just straight up doesn't SOUND good, the combinations of instruments + production gear come across as haphazard and lazy.

oddly I think he's largely rectified this in recent years. 2131 and Musicology in particular are both much more pleasing to the ear than a lot of his 90s stuff. (the problem now is that his songwriting has gotten lazier and his lyrics mostly insufferable since he's not interested in sex anymore)

see Digital Underground, The Body-Hat Syndrome,

aw. there is great stuff on this record! but it is way too long and overstuffed.

To be fair, I had no idea what to expect when I bought it for $6.99 in 2002. At the time it sounded quite dated. But era-specific production excesses/gimmicks don't irritate me the way they did 10 years ago, probably because my tastes are a fuck of a lot broader nowadays.

^^xp to DJP

I think Prince has the opposite problem nowadays, actually - lesser songs that might actually benefit from a little production gimmickry. It's easy enough to hear through "dated" production and get to the strong songs underneath with prolongued exposure. It's crazy, but I didn't even like Purple Rain much when I first bought it heading off to college in 2001 - all I heard was bad reverb on the drums.

aw cmon who doesn't love a little gated reverb with their Linndrums!

Funny thing is, the drums sound exactly the same in concert recordings from '84 - did they use electronic pads or what? Records still shouldn't sound as if you're listening from the back row at the LA Coliseum. I guess they thought differently 25 years ago. But I guess people figured, hey, it worked for Phil Collins.

hoping Bob George makes this list btw

'84... was he even using a live drummer at that point? I'd guess they used the actual Linn Drum tracks, with whatever drummer he had playing fills/percussion on top? I dunno though

http://img832.imageshack.us/img832/838/32450726.jpg

44. Black Sweat (from 3121, 2006) - 128 points, 7 votes

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K05K17JzAoE&feature=related

43. Money Don't Matter 2 Night (from Diamonds And Pearls, 1992) - 130 points, 7 votes

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mtjvnctg8eE

^^^^^^^ one of mine

think Prince has the opposite problem nowadays, actually - lesser songs that might actually benefit from a little production gimmickry.

Exactly my problem with Musicology and 3121. They sound -- too dry? crumbly? Luckily he's still singing like an MF.

He rectified this on Planet Earth, on which "Chelsea Rodgers" and "Lion of Judea" gave me exactly what I wanted from latter-day Prince. Too bad the rest of the album sucked.

lol amazing Sign O' The Times pic up there

42. The Most Beautiful Girl In The World (from The Gold Experience, 1995) - 133 points, 7
votes

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H8noCrJvvvA

Last one for today

41. Gett Off (from Diamonds And Pearls, 1992) - 138 points, 7 votes

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6msW7wNh85E

42. The Most Beautiful Girl In The World

guess I was wrong about no shitty songs showing up

:P

I'm one of its seven votes.

what is there to like about this song? idgi

It's just light and sweet with a solid melody.

It's totally classic.

OMG how can you hate The Most Beautiful Girl in the World? that melody...as one critic once quoted, it's like a smoother 90's Al Green. plus I love him doing that little riff in his low voice at the end.

this was the first track I voted to place!

Three of mine in that first ten: Black Sweat, Money Don't Matter 2 Night, The Most Beautiful Girl In The World. Cream and Hot Thing were in my 40, so I'm happy.

It's pretty music. Don't get the hate.

That said, man we're squeezing in a lot of '90s Prince up in here.

OMG how can you hate The Most Beautiful Girl in the World

really easily...? I find the melody repetitive and the production cloying and goopy, the lyrics stupid beyond belief. "you're the reason god created a girl?" wtf does that even mean.

There really are 23 positions in a one-night stand. I counted.

One of my friends quipped that Prince wrote TMBFITW about himself, and I've never been able to get that interpretation quite out of the back of my mind.

Uptown and especially Let's Pretend We're Married are way too low...LPWM is like top 3 for me...

I do hate the keyboards on TMBGITW.

Eric, I had the same thought.

I mostly stuck 80s Prince towards the top of my list,w/ a few exceptions

the Cross at 45 wtf

Someone stick on the SOTT vid when Sheila comes in on that tune, jesus

i forgot to vote in this, but i hope pop life places well

Yeah - I hope this poll doesn't end up chock full o' 90's stuff. Not his finest decade IMHO.

I love that SOTT band photo upthread. New desktop!

His best band as far as I'm concerned (see "For Those Of U On Valium..." concert boot).

I can't believe I missed this poll. I'll be happy if the magisterial "Life Can Be So Nice" cracks the top 20.

voted for "The Cross" and "Uptown" (my only Dirty Mind vote, never been big on that album), glad to see i helped them make the cut.

there's not way this will be 'chock full' of '90s stuff since we've already seen virtually all of the big obvious later hits. my 4 votes for lesser known post-'80s jams were for naught, i guess.

xpost I voted for it!

i've never really had a high opinion of "Money Don't Matter 2 Night" but i was listening to it the other day and it felt especially true and profound to me in that moment

Calling it now: "Every Day Is A Winding Road" at #1

and "Insensitive" at #2.

i'm serious you guys, i want to do a funniest and/or worst prince song poll thread after this thing runs its course

also possibly a "most WTF song written after 1980 that Prince has covered" poll

That poll would be a nonstarter because the obvious winner would be his football song

yeah i kept thinking of that as a standout

oh i didn't even see 'black sweat' in there. that's one of mine.

"Black Sweat" is really good but it feels a little on the nose as an '00s pick, i went with "Call My Name" because i love gloopy slow jam Prince sometimes

I came really close to voting for "Beginning Endlessly" from 20 Ten, but didn't love it enough to squeeze it in. It's definitely one of his finest post WB songs, though.

we could do this again, probably get twice as many ballots

Nickname? Dot? Dottie?

my hypothesis is that the waitress has been nicknamed dorothy parker - most likely by Prince, but perhaps by another patron of the place on the promenade - because she makes sharp/witty remarks to the customers, ie she's a real dorothy parker.

xxpost:

Yeah, it may be well worth running this poll again at some point in the future!

This one needs a redux imo.

seconded

Firsted.

When You Were Mine is nowadays my favorite Prince song. So glad it won this.

Controversy used to be my favorite Prince album and Dirty Mind a close second. I'm not sure anymore.

I think it would likely still win even if we redid the poll