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The Prince Superbowl Halftime Show.

Posted: 08 Mar 2018, 21:33
by Diamond Dog


When you can overcome driving rain, a truly shitty sound mix..... and still pull off making a fucking Foo Fighters song sound like Beethoven's 9th.... and get the crowd going apeshit.... all in 12 minutes.... you're pretty fucking special.

That is all.

Re: The Prince Superbowl Halftime Show.

Posted: 08 Mar 2018, 21:38
by Quaco
Appropriately enough, the NFL has blocked this video!

Re: The Prince Superbowl Halftime Show.

Posted: 08 Mar 2018, 21:41
by Diamond Dog
You should live in the UK!

*EDIT* Well now that is really fucking weird... it blocks the show to me on here... yet I can go to Youtube and play it in its entirety!


WTF is that all about....

Here is the full Youtube link : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-WYYlRArn3g

Which plays perfectly...

Re: The Prince Superbowl Halftime Show.

Posted: 08 Mar 2018, 21:47
by bobzilla77
Watch it soon before PRince's people block it. They take down his stuff from Youtube all the time.

But yes, that was easily the best halftime show that I've ever seen. He really thought about how to shrink his whole show down to 12 minutes and make it work.

Re: The Prince Superbowl Halftime Show.

Posted: 08 Mar 2018, 22:45
by Quaco
Diamond Dog wrote:You should live in the UK!

I've often thought that.

And I wouldn't think I'd have to explain a football joke to you. Blocked. Brilliant!

Re: The Prince Superbowl Halftime Show.

Posted: 08 Mar 2018, 22:56
by Goat Boy
Yes to everything. I mean, creatively he was well past his peak - live he was still producing the goods mind - but I loved those moments (see also the George Harrison thing) where he'd turn up, blow everybody out the water and remind us how special he was. It was like him saying, "I'm still here and I'm still great".

Can I just add that those dancers are really fucking working it. Fabulous.

Re: The Prince Superbowl Halftime Show.

Posted: 08 Mar 2018, 23:35
by clive gash
Oh I don’t know.

He reminds me of live Mercury/Queen. Revue, entertainment, crowd-pleasing, a sort of weightless/frictionless version of what you think you want. Calorie free. A semi-decent night out in the presence of a star.

If you can put up with the interminable funk jams.

Or the gruesome guitar wankery, his tone a slippery, mass-free squeal (just like Mays).

Even at his peak (and that starts/ends exactly where you know it does, like Bowie his later work rarely shines) his records are riddled with filler (Parade doesn’t kick off until track 5 or something, SotT is one record too long). His habit of hiding behind characters/strange voices pushes you away, reminds you that it’s all an act.

Don’t get me wrong, there is a solid body of work there with a good two dozen absolute classic tunes but most of the time the music is a bit chintzy/saccharine. His attempts at heaviosity often lack any bottom end.

We ‘needed’ an 80s figure like him I suppose, perhaps we willed him into being.

Re: The Prince Superbowl Halftime Show.

Posted: 09 Mar 2018, 02:23
by TG
bobzilla77 wrote:But yes, that was easily the best halftime show that I've ever seen.


Everyone forgets Up With People in Super Bowls XIV & XVI. They were like the Grover Cleveland of halftime performers. So uplifting and wholesome.

Re: The Prince Superbowl Halftime Show.

Posted: 09 Mar 2018, 06:11
by Diamond Dog
nev gash wrote:Oh I don’t know.



No, you're right, you don't.

Re: The Prince Superbowl Halftime Show.

Posted: 09 Mar 2018, 06:12
by Diamond Dog
Quaco wrote:
Diamond Dog wrote:You should live in the UK!

I've often thought that.

And I wouldn't think I'd have to explain a football joke to you. Blocked. Brilliant!


:lol:

So good they have to repeat it. Twice.

Re: The Prince Superbowl Halftime Show.

Posted: 09 Mar 2018, 09:44
by clive gash
Diamond Dog wrote:That is all.


If only.

Re: The Prince Superbowl Halftime Show.

Posted: 09 Mar 2018, 10:17
by Darkness_Fish
Prince Superbowl isn't discussed often enough round here, an oft overlooked legend of the early reggae scene.

Re: The Prince Superbowl Halftime Show.

Posted: 09 Mar 2018, 12:59
by KeithPratt
I think Nev has a point. Prince was an outstanding performer - perhaps because since him there just hasn't been anyone who comes remotely close to his virtuosity.

I went on a Prince binge about a year ago and I failed to connect with much of his recorded output - which is frankly huge. There is enough for a 30 song playlist but beyond that, I just don't hear too much in terms of variety. The guy cornered his place in the market and nailed his reputation. But I don't think his songs will have the enduring impact of, say, Marvin or Curtis.

Re: The Prince Superbowl Halftime Show.

Posted: 09 Mar 2018, 13:23
by naughty boy
80s, see.

Re: The Prince Superbowl Halftime Show.

Posted: 09 Mar 2018, 13:28
by clive gash
His main thing is a kind of melange (rock pop soul funk) that he renders flavourless, emulsifies, becomes paste-y. When he was on form in that initial burst it didn’t matter because the songs/arrangements were there, later all that slop was all that remained.

Re: The Prince Superbowl Halftime Show.

Posted: 09 Mar 2018, 13:30
by BARON CORNY DOG
I more or less agree with Nev.
I’ve never quite been able to articulate it!

Re: The Prince Superbowl Halftime Show.

Posted: 09 Mar 2018, 13:30
by clive gash
You must have because I stole the emulsification from you!

Re: The Prince Superbowl Halftime Show.

Posted: 09 Mar 2018, 14:25
by George P. Smackers
I too never connected with Prince as much I thought I was supposed to. I'm happy to admit I'm missing something.

But what I don't like makes a pretty long list including

The instrumentation on his records
The sound of his records
His lyrics
His voice
His facial hair
His symbol thing
Him being "sexy" which always just seemed kind of gross
Wherever he took time out to prove he's a really great guitar player!

I do admire his showmanship in the abstract. And I like that he had a kind of funny-looking band and that he stayed in Minneapolis.

Re: The Prince Superbowl Halftime Show.

Posted: 09 Mar 2018, 14:34
by Diamond Dog
It's clearly so much easier to critique a career spanning 35+ years than just to comment on the 12 minutes of a specific show, I'm somewhat confused as to why I didn't name the thread "Give us your career overview of Prince" and not accompany this with an inane picture of the artist.

Re: The Prince Superbowl Halftime Show.

Posted: 09 Mar 2018, 14:36
by Goat Boy
nev gash wrote:When he was on form in that initial burst it didn’t matter because the songs/arrangements were there, later all that slop was all that remained.


Sorta like your BCB career then