76. "Reefer." So quaint.― dinner boat, Friday, May 20, 2016 10:33 AM (3 days ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
― dinner boat, Friday, May 20, 2016 10:33 AM (3 days ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
even more so, who calls it "horse"??
― flappy bird, Monday, 23 May 2016 05:13 (eight years ago) link
I thought horse is a fairly common slang word for heroin, or at least it was back when Prince wrote the tune?
― Tuomas, Monday, 23 May 2016 07:07 (eight years ago) link
Both jazz terms, yeah?
― Mark G, Monday, 23 May 2016 07:22 (eight years ago) link
When I think of the magic of this record it makes me sadder than all others, that this guy is not with us any more.
― MatthewK, Monday, 23 May 2016 08:45 (eight years ago) link
My guitar teacher thought it would be interesting to help me figure out the chords to "Dorothy Parker," and yeah, it was! We realized one reason Prince played everything himself is that it would take a lot less time to do that than to explain to someone else how to contribute to a totally out there sui generis song like that one. In fact, there are a couple of tracks on "Sign" that similarly transcend genre in really fascinating and less than obvious ways.
Also, I decided the opening drum sequence of the title track makes a really cool ringtone.
― Josh in Chicago, Monday, 23 May 2016 12:54 (eight years ago) link
Which tracks are you thinking of?
― vmajestic, Monday, 23 May 2016 14:10 (eight years ago) link
Well, Dorothy Parker, for one. It's funky, and jazzy, and just - weird. The bridge-thing where he quotes Joni Mitchell, wtf is that? Or Forever In My Life, what is that? Strange Relationship, that's another one that's funky but not really funk. It's like looser influences like jazz or folk have altered more immutable forms, like funk or dance pop or whatever. I mean, Play In the Sunshine is essentially ... rockabilly? Something like that. But then it's got that crazy fusion-y coda.
― Josh in Chicago, Monday, 23 May 2016 14:15 (eight years ago) link
forever in my life is quite gospelly in its arrangement i think.
― StillAdvance, Monday, 23 May 2016 14:18 (eight years ago) link
the melody i mean.
― StillAdvance, Monday, 23 May 2016 14:19 (eight years ago) link
xps what are the chords to Dorothy Parker?
― Pentenema Karten, Monday, 23 May 2016 14:51 (eight years ago) link
And does it feature the famous Prince "sus 2" chord?
― The Wally Funk Bible (James Redd and the Blecchs), Monday, 23 May 2016 14:58 (eight years ago) link
Dorothy Parker doesn't have that sus2 chord. That's the weird chord in the third line of the chorus in "Sometimes it Snows in April." It does have plenty of weird quirks and changes.
The main progression in TBDP is a descending progression from Am7 (iv) to Em7(i), making every stop in the descending bassline before a quick trip to the V to build tension before the final line (before "Dorothy was fast," etc). Looks like this:
Am7 Dorothy was a waitress Ab(flat 5) On the promenadeEm7/G in bass F#m7 She worked the night shift Fmaj7 BDishwater blonde, tall and fine EmShe got a lot of tips
The bridge, as it were, changes from E minor to G. The second bridge modulates from A minor to A major on the "should have done it sooooneeeer" part. The ballad of dorothy parker line looks something like this:
A Bm Am Bm B+ This is the ballad of Dorothy Parker
Then it goes back to the main progression. This tab (and the rest of the tabs on this website) seems pretty good: http://princetabs.50webs.com/dorothy.txt
― a poon shaped mule (voodoo chili), Monday, 23 May 2016 15:09 (eight years ago) link
Sorry, click the link for better spacing, I haven't been able to figure out how to space text on ILX
― a poon shaped mule (voodoo chili), Monday, 23 May 2016 15:11 (eight years ago) link
xxxps to StillAdvance --- To me, Forever In My Life seems to be a minimalist version of a Sly Stone song. The melody reminds me a lot of Everyday People, weirdly.
― a poon shaped mule (voodoo chili), Monday, 23 May 2016 15:16 (eight years ago) link
I'm not good enough at this stuff to recognize if it's right or wrong, Only chord in our own little chart not up there is Cmaj7, maybe in the very early intro? Before the singing starts. There's a brief measure or two at maybe the end of the bridge where we just wrote a big "?," because it just goes wacky.
― Josh in Chicago, Monday, 23 May 2016 15:19 (eight years ago) link
xpost It's totally Sly-y, but the muted-ness of the vocals and rhythm are even weirder, kind of like sing in the shower demo-esque.
― Josh in Chicago, Monday, 23 May 2016 15:20 (eight years ago) link
It could be a Cmaj7 with a G in the bass in the verse progression (instead of the Em7 with the G in the bass)
Whatever the chords, what a weird little masterpiece
― a poon shaped mule (voodoo chili), Monday, 23 May 2016 15:21 (eight years ago) link
Dorothy Parker doesn't have that sus2 chord. That's the weird chord in the third line of the chorus in "Sometimes it Snows in April."No, that chord on the third line of the chorus is really unusual. I think in that song he actually uses the sus2 as the third chord on the verse and then as the first chord on the chorus. He also uses it in "Purple Rain" and a number of other songs.
― The Wally Funk Bible (James Redd and the Blecchs), Monday, 23 May 2016 15:44 (eight years ago) link
Anyway, the weird, weirdest? most interesting? most surprising? chord of "Sometimes It Snows," which appears in the third line of the chorus, seems to be a G#7 with an open B and E on the top. Which I guess you could call a G#7#9#5, which is a strong enough chord in itself, but is particularly surprising in the context of the song, since a) the prior two times in the chorus he just played a G#m7 and b) the chord introduces a new note, the B#(=C), which your ear will not be expecting given what the harmony was doing up until then and c) if you voice the chord so that the B and B# (=C) are right next to each other, a half-step away, instead of using a more open voicing, it packs even more of a punch.
― The Klosterman Weeknd (James Redd and the Blecchs), Wednesday, 25 May 2016 10:56 (eight years ago) link
Re: "Now he's doing horse" — wow, I've misheard that lyric all these years. Embarrassed to admit I thought it was "now he's doing whores."
― dinnerboat, Wednesday, 25 May 2016 17:52 (eight years ago) link
Reefer was totally a hooker gateway drug back in the day, don't worry about it :)
― Iago Galdston, Wednesday, 25 May 2016 20:28 (eight years ago) link
78. He rhymes "moon" with "June" in the title track.
― in twelve parts (lamonti), Tuesday, 31 May 2016 13:19 (eight years ago) link
79. "Her favorite number was 20"
― a poon shaped mule (voodoo chili), Tuesday, 5 July 2016 21:27 (seven years ago) link
https://theshibeparkvaults.bandcamp.com/album/sign-o-the-times-rehearsals-disc-1
https://theshibeparkvaults.bandcamp.com/album/sign-o-the-times-rehearsals-disc-2
― a poon shaped mule (voodoo chili), Tuesday, 5 July 2016 22:19 (seven years ago) link
cool but who gets the 7 bucks if you actually pay for those things?
― fact checking cuz, Tuesday, 5 July 2016 22:24 (seven years ago) link
80. The way "I Could Never Take the Place of Your Man" takes a curve from 80s New Wave pop into an early 70s "Can't You Hear Me Knocking"/Traffic blues rock jam, from which it only returns for a very brief instrumental reprise of the first part of the song, then out.
― Hare in the Gated Snare (James Redd and the Blecchs), Wednesday, 6 July 2016 05:23 (seven years ago) link
78/79/80 all v great things
― albvivertine, Wednesday, 6 July 2016 08:21 (seven years ago) link
Those Sign O The Times rehearsals are currently free to download btw
― I am using your worlds, Wednesday, 6 July 2016 14:07 (seven years ago) link
still looks like they're $7 to me. weird to see bootlegs posted so brazenly on Bandcamp.
― sam jax sax jam (Jordan), Wednesday, 6 July 2016 17:12 (seven years ago) link
wtf I'm not paying some asshole for these
― Οὖτις, Wednesday, 6 July 2016 17:17 (seven years ago) link
i've just been streaming, it's free to stream in full
― a poon shaped mule (voodoo chili), Wednesday, 6 July 2016 17:37 (seven years ago) link
maybe just free in Europe then?
― I am using your worlds, Wednesday, 6 July 2016 18:06 (seven years ago) link
interesting recreationg of "Dream Factory" the album that was scrapped then combined with the Camille album to become Sign O the Times
http://albumsthatneverwere.blogspot.com/2016/05/prince-and-revolution-dream-factory.html
― Steve Gunn Mann-Dude (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Thursday, 14 July 2016 20:43 (seven years ago) link
Heyo
http://www.okayplayer.com/music/princes-sign-o-times-concert-movie-will-air-showtime.html
― Οὖτις, Wednesday, 23 August 2017 19:46 (six years ago) link
I haven't seen this since we threw out our VCR (we had a VHS copy) so I'm pretty excited to hear that my Twin Peaks:the Return-motivated Showtime subscription comes w this bonus
I don't understand why that article calls the SotT movie "rare" and "out of circulation"? It's been reissued on Bluray which is pretty easy to find, or at least it was when I bought it a couple of years ago. Great concert movie anyway, all the little stories that come with each song's performance are neat, and the choreography is gorgeous. And it has that massive Sheila E drum solo, my favourite part!
― Tuomas, Wednesday, 23 August 2017 21:26 (six years ago) link
it is not available in America
― Οὖτις, Wednesday, 23 August 2017 21:27 (six years ago) link
multi-format copies of it on Amazon are currently $175
― Οὖτις, Wednesday, 23 August 2017 21:28 (six years ago) link
Oh, that's weird. Why would they reissue it in Europe but not the US?
― Tuomas, Wednesday, 23 August 2017 21:35 (six years ago) link
some rights dispute, I assume. bigger Euro market, who knows
― Οὖτις, Wednesday, 23 August 2017 21:37 (six years ago) link
Forget it Shakes, it's Paisley Park.
― to fly across the city and find Aerosmith's car (C. Grisso/McCain), Wednesday, 23 August 2017 21:59 (six years ago) link
[snips nostril]
― attention vampire (MatthewK), Wednesday, 23 August 2017 22:02 (six years ago) link
There's a Japanese Blu-Ray you can get for about $50 which is Region A, meaning it will play on standard US players.
Here you go.
― grawlix (unperson), Wednesday, 23 August 2017 22:39 (six years ago) link
80. The way "I Could Never Take the Place of Your Man" takes a curve from 80s New Wave pop into an early 70s "Can't You Hear Me Knocking"/Traffic blues rock jam, from which it only returns for a very brief instrumental reprise of the first part of the song, then out.― Hare in the Gated Snare (James Redd and the Blecchs), Wednesday, July 6, 2016 1:23 AM (one year ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
― Hare in the Gated Snare (James Redd and the Blecchs), Wednesday, July 6, 2016 1:23 AM (one year ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
Yes, with a screaaaaaaaaam.
That's my favorite song on this. It has a good message too -- don't lead on single mothers looking for companionship when you're out at the bar on a lonely friday night.
― Treeship, Thursday, 24 August 2017 01:12 (six years ago) link
Region 2 DVD available for as little as £3.36 - multi-region DVD players are CHEAP
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Prince-Sign-O-Times-DVD/dp/B0009PZ89E/ref=sr_1_1?s=dvd&ie=UTF8&qid=1503572329&sr=1-1&keywords=sign+o+the+times
― Gulley Jimson (Ward Fowler), Thursday, 24 August 2017 11:01 (six years ago) link
yeah I had that dvd and... gave it away :O
quite a few dvd players can be made multi region using a universal remote (or another customizable ir-transmitter, some old phones can be used)
― niels, Thursday, 24 August 2017 11:36 (six years ago) link
Until Youtube just started putting up Prince videos, I had never seen the video for Sign O The Times before, so I didn't realize that Prince was somewhat responsible for the birth of the lyric video.
― MarkoP, Thursday, 24 August 2017 14:39 (six years ago) link
movie news
PSA: Sign O’ The Times is on Amazon Prime.— Chris McKay (@buddboetticher) March 10, 2018
― ice cream social justice (Dr Morbius), Monday, 12 March 2018 18:08 (six years ago) link
If only Stop Making Sense had plasma ball interludes, then it might be as good as Sign O' The Times.
― Mungolian Jerryset (bendy), Monday, 12 March 2018 18:16 (six years ago) link
Also, the outfits in the So'TT film have held up better than Purple Rain.
― Mungolian Jerryset (bendy), Monday, 12 March 2018 18:18 (six years ago) link