Susan Rogers has offered so many great stories, but if I'd seen this one (about the recording of "Dorothy Parker") I missed it:
https://daddyrockstar.tumblr.com/post/44079621006/susan-rogers-on-princes-sign-o-the-times-part-2
Prince commissioned engineer Frank De Medio to custom-build a recording console for his home studio–the same type of console that De Medio built for Sunset Sound in Los Angeles, where Prince normally recorded when he wasn’t recording at home. Long story short, De Medio was taking much longer than anticipated to complete the console and Prince, being extremely eager to record, finally issued an ultimatum that De Medio deliver the console that week. The console was delivered and installed but Rogers hadn’t gotten the opportunity to test it properly. Tested or not, Prince was ready to record and did so, even though, as it turns out, the console wasn’t working properly. However, technical issues aside, Prince recorded the Sign O’ The Times fan favorite, “The Ballad of Dorothy Parker”.Daddy Rock Star: So you’ve got this recording console that’s not working right. You eventually got it fixed but not before Prince recorded “The Ballad Of Dorothy Parker?”Susan Rogers: Right. I hadn’t finished testing the audio wiring or anything; in other words I had just soldered the last connection and Prince said, “Let’s record.” He had been asleep and had this dream about a woman and a bathtub and a waitress and all that, he scribbled down all those lyrics very quickly and called it “The Ballad of Dorothy Parker.” I don’t know how aware he was of who Dorothy Parker actually was, but he knew the name, so it wasn’t the real historical Dorothy Parker; and it was inspired by Joni Mitchell, I remember him saying that. Anyway, he came running downstairs, we put in fresh tape and started recording. As always, he’s playing every instrument and I’m just panicking on the inside because something doesn’t sound right–it’s really dull, there’s no high end and I can’t wait for this song to be finished because I’ve got to check it out and see what’s going on. Of course the song is coming out really well and the whole time I’m thinking, ‘I wish he would just stop,’ (laughs) but that’s not going to happen. The whole time he hasn’t even said anything, hadn’t even commented on it and I know he hears it but he’s really happy because he likes this song. At the very end, he gave me my final instructions and he said, “There’s something about this console that doesn’t sound like the one at Sunset Sound, it’s really dull,” and then he goes upstairs and goes to bed. I’m thinking, ‘Hell yeah it’s dull, there’s no high end at all!’ (laughs) So he goes upstairs and goes to bed and then I finally had a chance to test the board and it turns out that it was working on only half the power, and one side of the bipolar supply had gone out, so it was just drawing half the current. But he conceived of the song in a dream so he didn’t mind that at all because it gave it this dreamy-like quality.
Daddy Rock Star: So you’ve got this recording console that’s not working right. You eventually got it fixed but not before Prince recorded “The Ballad Of Dorothy Parker?”
Susan Rogers: Right. I hadn’t finished testing the audio wiring or anything; in other words I had just soldered the last connection and Prince said, “Let’s record.” He had been asleep and had this dream about a woman and a bathtub and a waitress and all that, he scribbled down all those lyrics very quickly and called it “The Ballad of Dorothy Parker.” I don’t know how aware he was of who Dorothy Parker actually was, but he knew the name, so it wasn’t the real historical Dorothy Parker; and it was inspired by Joni Mitchell, I remember him saying that. Anyway, he came running downstairs, we put in fresh tape and started recording. As always, he’s playing every instrument and I’m just panicking on the inside because something doesn’t sound right–it’s really dull, there’s no high end and I can’t wait for this song to be finished because I’ve got to check it out and see what’s going on. Of course the song is coming out really well and the whole time I’m thinking, ‘I wish he would just stop,’ (laughs) but that’s not going to happen. The whole time he hasn’t even said anything, hadn’t even commented on it and I know he hears it but he’s really happy because he likes this song. At the very end, he gave me my final instructions and he said, “There’s something about this console that doesn’t sound like the one at Sunset Sound, it’s really dull,” and then he goes upstairs and goes to bed. I’m thinking, ‘Hell yeah it’s dull, there’s no high end at all!’ (laughs) So he goes upstairs and goes to bed and then I finally had a chance to test the board and it turns out that it was working on only half the power, and one side of the bipolar supply had gone out, so it was just drawing half the current. But he conceived of the song in a dream so he didn’t mind that at all because it gave it this dreamy-like quality.
― Josh in Chicago, Monday, 7 March 2022 17:43 (two years ago) link
I love that story so much. Also the first song I ever sang karaoke - aged 43 - was Purple Rain. I sang it with a guy who went on to be one of my best friends, we didn’t know each other and we sang it to a room of people we didn’t know in a small bar in Okinawa. We’d fucked up the song selector and as we finished … it cued up again. After a flash of dread I leaned over to him and whispered “falsetto” and the rest is a a hideous blur.
― assert (matttkkkk), Monday, 7 March 2022 18:00 (two years ago) link
haha, great story
― corrs unplugged, Tuesday, 8 March 2022 08:27 (two years ago) link
♥ all around for this revive.
― Let's disco dance, Hammurabi! (Austin), Tuesday, 8 March 2022 16:36 (two years ago) link
Third Man Records to Issue Prince’s Previously Unreleased 1986 Album Camille
― Les hommes de bonbons (cryptosicko), Wednesday, 16 March 2022 04:05 (two years ago) link
too late, I made my own Camille years ago ...
― assert (matttkkkk), Wednesday, 16 March 2022 04:35 (two years ago) link
Makes sense, since Jack White's singing sounds like he's trying to do the Camille voice without speeding up the tape.
― Josh in Chicago, Wednesday, 16 March 2022 12:02 (two years ago) link
WCCO in Minneapolis uncovers archival footage of an 11-year-old Prince, the earliest known moving film (and sound!) footage of him.
― birdistheword, Monday, 4 April 2022 04:47 (two years ago) link
awwwwww
― assert (matttkkkk), Monday, 4 April 2022 05:00 (two years ago) link
I was born that month!
that page wouldn't work on my computer but here's the film excerpt:
The earliest public footage of Prince yet found is this clip of him at 11 years old, stating his support for teachers in the 1970 Minneapolis public school teachers strike. "I think they should get extra money, because they ... work extra hours for us" https://t.co/MNMUjhSRyH pic.twitter.com/FW31ETWtvY— anildash (@anildash) April 4, 2022
― o shit the sheriff (NickB), Monday, 4 April 2022 06:35 (two years ago) link
<3
― SQUIRREL MEAT!! (Capitaine Jay Vee), Monday, 4 April 2022 14:57 (two years ago) link
So my admiration for Prince just went up by about a million clicks.
― Let's disco dance, Hammurabi! (Austin), Monday, 4 April 2022 15:02 (two years ago) link
One of our friends had the discipline to sit on this video for a month, apparently.
― Came Here to Roll the Microscope (James Redd and the Blecchs), Tuesday, 5 April 2022 00:38 (two years ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ObwzeGuefVo
― eatandoph (Neue Jesse Schule), Tuesday, 5 April 2022 01:26 (two years ago) link
The Young Prince knew his ethics
― | (Latham Green), Monday, 17 October 2022 03:06 (one year ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i9LMWuSIGVY
https://www.apollotheater.org/event/imagenations-cocktails-and-sol-cinema-11-17-2022/
Anybody got another line on how to see this?
― “Cheeky cheeky!” she trills, nearly demolishing a roadside post (forksclovetofu), Thursday, 10 November 2022 20:27 (one year ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0NkmTQNtmnw
― “Cheeky cheeky!” she trills, nearly demolishing a roadside post (forksclovetofu), Thursday, 10 November 2022 20:28 (one year ago) link
this guy's ambivalence is pretty movinghttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lRX2BwTiSwoh/t to fact checking cuz
― “Cheeky cheeky!” she trills, nearly demolishing a roadside post (forksclovetofu), Tuesday, 10 January 2023 16:48 (one year ago) link
prince wouldn't have paid him anyway
― Blues Guitar Solo Heatmap (Free Download) (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Tuesday, 10 January 2023 16:52 (one year ago) link
Seriously this bass tho
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EXUNUOriErA
― I got two Clark Gables and a slide trombone (Ye Mad Puffin), Tuesday, 10 January 2023 16:54 (one year ago) link
Museum conservator job opening at Paisley Park: https://www.applicantpro.com/openings/paisleypark/jobs/2868989/MN-Minnesota/Chanhassen/Museum-Conservator-Full-Time
― sctttnnnt (pgwp), Sunday, 30 April 2023 19:31 (one year ago) link
oh if only I had the qualifications. what a job.
― Cthulhu Diamond Phillips (Neanderthal), Sunday, 30 April 2023 19:52 (one year ago) link
lol that pay is hilarious given the scope of the job. They aren’t gonna get a real conservator for that.
― Cow_Art, Sunday, 30 April 2023 19:55 (one year ago) link
oh didn't even see the pay. I make more than that and I don't have a master's degree in anything.
― Cthulhu Diamond Phillips (Neanderthal), Sunday, 30 April 2023 19:56 (one year ago) link
They are going to shit their pants when a real conservator tells them how much archival materials cost.
― Cow_Art, Sunday, 30 April 2023 20:01 (one year ago) link
“Some knowledge of Prince is helpful but not required.”
― Are You There God? It's a-Me, Mario (morrisp), Sunday, 30 April 2023 20:10 (one year ago) link
They posted an archivist job a few years back that was similarly deeply underpaid. Undervaluing of cultural heritage work is unfortunately a rampant problem but Paisley Park takes it to a rare extreme.
― OneSecondBefore, Wednesday, 3 May 2023 17:23 (one year ago) link
Perhaps the presumption is akin to editorial assistants "breaking in to publishing" by doing an unpaid internship and living in Manhattan while their parents pay their rent. It's a plum job, and a great stepping-stone. If you want it enough, you will accept starvation wages. (Or you want it and you have another source of income.)
― Ice cubist (Ye Mad Puffin), Wednesday, 3 May 2023 21:48 (one year ago) link
Are we due another deluxe reissue soon? Which album will it be?
― dicbo=v2-ubswizzb&hrt (stevie), Wednesday, 3 May 2023 21:57 (one year ago) link
hoping for Parade
that archivist ad does not fill me with hope re: the state of the actual archives
― Perverted By Linguiça (sleeve), Wednesday, 3 May 2023 22:12 (one year ago) link
screwing employees out of money is really carrying on Prince's legacy
― Blues Guitar Solo Heatmap (Free Download) (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Wednesday, 3 May 2023 22:19 (one year ago) link
Supposedly sets for Parade and Diamonds and Pearls have been ready for a while but scheduling a release came to a halt when the estate was finally settled and the legal owners basically fired everyone who was handling the archive.
― birdistheword, Wednesday, 3 May 2023 22:21 (one year ago) link
"Medical, dental, vision, pet insurance, 401K with match, HSA, complimentary tour tickets" LOL
― fact checking cuz, Wednesday, 3 May 2023 23:00 (one year ago) link
Wow, Prince tour tickets!
Um
― coolgnoscenti (Ye Mad Puffin), Wednesday, 3 May 2023 23:32 (one year ago) link
the hardest working man in show business
― Blues Guitar Solo Heatmap (Free Download) (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Wednesday, 3 May 2023 23:33 (one year ago) link
The tickets come with a meet and greet
― birdistheword, Thursday, 4 May 2023 00:53 (one year ago) link
tired: the aftershowwired: the afterlifeshow
― fact checking cuz, Thursday, 4 May 2023 01:17 (one year ago) link
"If I was Your Dead Girlfriend"
― Cthulhu Diamond Phillips (Neanderthal), Thursday, 4 May 2023 01:23 (one year ago) link
Just give me the Controversy deluxe reissue and I'm good
― fair but so uncool beliefs here (Eric H.), Thursday, 4 May 2023 01:44 (one year ago) link
― Cthulhu Diamond Phillips (Neanderthal)
nice try, prince, but robyn hitchcock already did it better with "my wife and my dead wife"
― Kate (rushomancy), Thursday, 4 May 2023 02:14 (one year ago) link
but I’m here to tell you -there’s something else
― assert (matttkkkk), Thursday, 4 May 2023 03:17 (one year ago) link
Electric word, life, it means forever
― coolgnoscenti (Ye Mad Puffin), Thursday, 4 May 2023 10:47 (one year ago) link
Newly released demo version of "7": https://open.spotify.com/track/6C0KzzELDiWNQkmlUyKY5Y?si=11de9c7a5d364bbb
― fair but so uncool beliefs here (Eric H.), Friday, 7 July 2023 14:13 (ten months ago) link
Some track listings on PPL for a release of Live at Glam Slam, Minneapolis 1/11/1992. Presumably as part of a bigger box set? The release date is 2023. Here's the track listing:
PRINCE Thunder [Live at Glam Slam, Minneapolis, MN, 1/11/1992] USRH12300225 Warner Music UK Limited 2023 4:18sec PRINCE Daddy Pop [Live at Glam Slam, Minneapolis, MN, 1/11/1992] USRH12300226 Warner Music UK Limited 2023 6:23sec PRINCE Diamonds And Pearls [Live at Glam Slam, Minneapolis, MN, 1/11/1992] USRH12300227 Warner Music UK Limited 2023 5:31sec PRINCE Willing And Able [Live at Glam Slam, Minneapolis, MN, 1/11/1992] USRH12300228 Warner Music UK Limited 2023 5:40sec PRINCE Jughead [Live at Glam Slam, Minneapolis, MN, 1/11/1992] USRH12300229 Warner Music UK Limited 2023 6:52sec PRINCE The Sacrifice Of Victor [Live at Glam Slam, Minneapolis, MN, 1/11/1992] USRH12300230 Warner Music UK Limited 2023 10:05sec PRINCE Nothing Compares 2 U [Live at Glam Slam, Minneapolis, MN, 1/11/1992] USRH12300231 Warner Music UK Limited 2023 4:50sec PRINCE Thieves In The Temple [Live at Glam Slam, Minneapolis, MN, 1/11/1992] USRH12300232 Warner Music UK Limited 2023 7:01sec PRINCE Sexy M.F. [Live at Glam Slam, Minneapolis, MN, 1/11/1992] USRH12300233 Warner Music UK Limited 2023 5:45sec PRINCE Insatiable [Live at Glam Slam, Minneapolis, MN, 1/11/1992] USRH12300234 Warner Music UK Limited 2023 7:42sec PRINCE Gett Off [Live at Glam Slam, Minneapolis, MN, 1/11/1992] USRH12300242 Warner Music UK Limited 2023 6:11sec PRINCE Gett Off (Housestyle) [Live at Glam Slam, Minneapolis, MN, 1/11/1992] USRH12300243 Warner Music UK Limited 2023 8:05sec PRINCE 1999/Baby I'm A Star/Push [Live at Glam Slam, Minneapolis, MN, 1/11/1992] USRH12300362 Warner Music UK Limited 2023 9:12sec
― birdistheword, Friday, 18 August 2023 20:20 (eight months ago) link
where is my Parade box dammit
― out-of-print LaserDisc edition (sleeve), Friday, 18 August 2023 20:27 (eight months ago) link
^^
― Tracer Hand, Friday, 18 August 2023 20:41 (eight months ago) link
I'd much prefer Parade too, but they haven't put out a real box set of stuff since Sign 'O' the Times three years ago, so I'll settle for this - a shame, they definitely had at least two sets ready that could've been released in the interim but everything with the estate got in the way.
Also more stuff from this era came up on PPL - someone posted this as well, all tracks listed on PPL:
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/F34TO0eXcAAB-5b?format=jpg&name=medium
― birdistheword, Saturday, 19 August 2023 18:57 (eight months ago) link
FWIW, this is what comes up as search results:
PRINCE Daddy Pop (12" Mix) USRH12201992 Warner Music UK Limited 2023 6:07secPRINCE Martika's Kitchen USRH12201993 Warner Music UK Limited 2023 4:21secPRINCE Spirit USRH12201994 Warner Music UK Limited 2023 4:32secPRINCE Open Book USRH12201995 Warner Music UK Limited 2023 4:59secPRINCE Work That Fat USRH12201996 Warner Music UK Limited 2023 4:35secPRINCE Horny Pony (Version 2) USRH12201997 Warner Music UK Limited 2023 4:21secPRINCE Something Funky (This House Comes) [Band Version] USRH12201998 Warner Music UK Limited 2023 7:04secPRINCE Hold Me USRH12201999 Warner Music UK Limited 2023 4:36secPRINCE Blood On The Sheets USRH12202000 Warner Music UK Limited 2023 5:46secPRINCE The Last Dance (Bang Pow Zoom And The Whole Nine) USRH12202001 Warner Music UK Limited 2023 5:36secPRINCE Get Blue USRH12202003 Warner Music UK Limited 2023 4:43secPRINCE Tip O' My Tongue USRH12202004 Warner Music UK Limited 2023 4:08secPRINCE The Voice USRH12202005 Warner Music UK Limited 2023 4:42secPRINCE Trouble USRH12202006 Warner Music UK Limited 2023 5:36secPRINCE Alice Through The Looking Glass USRH12202023 Warner Music UK Limited 2023 4:18secPRINCE Hey U USRH12202025 Warner Music UK Limited 2023 6:10secPRINCE Letter 4 Miles USRH12202026 Warner Music UK Limited 2023 4:36secPRINCE I Pledge Allegiance to Your Love USRH12202027 Warner Music UK Limited 2023 4:41secPRINCE Thunder Ballet USRH12202028 Warner Music UK Limited 2023 10:56secPRINCE Schoolyard USRH12201981 Warner Music UK Limited 2023 7:10secPRINCE My Tender Heart USRH12201982 Warner Music UK Limited 2023 5:06secPRINCE Pain USRH12201983 Warner Music UK Limited 2023 5:57secPRINCE Streetwalker USRH12201984 Warner Music UK Limited 2023 4:48secPRINCE Lauriann USRH12201985 Warner Music UK Limited 2023 4:15secPRINCE Insatiable (Early Mix) USRH12201986 Warner Music UK Limited 2023 8:01secPRINCE Glam Slam '91 USRH12201987 Warner Music UK Limited 2023 6:16secPRINCE Live 4 Love (Early Version) USRH12201988 Warner Music UK Limited 2023 7:32secPRINCE Skip To My You My Darling USRH12201990 Warner Music UK Limited 2023 3:57secPRINCE Cream (Take 2) USRH12300245 Warner Music UK Limited 2023 4:50sec
― birdistheword, Saturday, 19 August 2023 19:00 (eight months ago) link
Skip To You My Darlingaw, Skipper
― assert (matttkkkk), Saturday, 19 August 2023 19:48 (eight months ago) link