MUSIC: Prince Is Dead Long Live the Symbol!

By Farhan Haq Reprint | | Print |

NEW YORK, Nov 8 1994 (IPS) - One of the most popular international music stars “killed” himself this year, but immediately resurrected himself as a “symbol.”

You probably knew him as Prince.

But the artist, born Prince Rogers Nelson, says that “Prince” is gone forever. Instead, we now have a new name – an unpronouncable symbol which combines the male and female glyphs with a trumpet – a typical combination of music and androgyny.

On the cover ‘Come’ (from Warner Bros) – claimed to be the last album of Prince – the artist appears stretched out dead, under the logo ‘Prince, 1958-1993’.

Prince’s latest hit song from that album, ‘Letitgo’, is an unambiguous farewell: “All I ever wanted to do is/ Bang bang bang on my drum/ And play play play my guitar/ And love someone/ But now I got to let it go.”

What accounts for this mysterious metaphorical death from someone who has sold millions of records worldwide and even became something of a film star since his 1984 starring role in ‘Purple Rain’?

In a word: capitalism.

Simply put, Prince is one of an expanding roster of musicians dissatisfied with how he is marketed. Many in the music business see his latest antics as an attempt to leave the Warner Brothers conglomerate, who have put out his work since 1979, to strike out for greener pastures.

In recent years, the artist – always risque and off-kilter for the music business despite his profitability – has chafed that Warner did not appreciate his art. Prince even accused the label of “killing” his best work because they didn’t think it would sell.

As a result, Prince has followed in the footsteps of George Michael, the British pop star who unsuccessfully sued Sony to end his contract with the Japanese firm. Like Michael, Prince is keeping his company from getting his latest songs (the songs on ‘Come’ were written last year) and has sought to record with the independent record company BellMark.

In that effort, he has ‘killed off’ one of the company’s most profitable creations: the sex-starved, arrogant, whimsical and multi-talented caricature called Prince.

In fact, the ‘Come’ album seems to display a strong desire on Prince Rogers Nelson’s part to exorcise himself of this “Prince”. (MORE)

= 11080258 DAP0001