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Prince Says Internet Is Over

Posted by samzenpus on from the it-was-fun-while-it-lasted dept.

the_arrow writes "According to the artist currently known as Prince, 'The internet's completely over.' At least that what he says in an interview with the British newspaper Mirror. Quoting Prince: 'The internet's like MTV. At one time MTV was hip and suddenly it became outdated. Anyway, all these computers and digital gadgets are no good. They just fill your head with numbers and that can't be good for you.'"

33 of 450 comments (clear)

  1. Like how in the 80's Prince was hip... by elrous0 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    ...and suddenly he became outdated.

    Now get off Prince's lawn, ya young whippersnappers with yer noisy electronic doo-hickeys!!

    --
    SJW: Someone who has run out of real oppression, and has to fake it.
    1. Re:Like how in the 80's Prince was hip... by Monkeedude1212 · · Score: 4, Funny

      Sorry, what was that?

      I couldn't hear you with my iPod earbuds in, pumping numbers in my head and all.

    2. Re:Like how in the 80's Prince was hip... by sorak · · Score: 5, Funny

      Do you really want to mess with a guy who owns ass-less pants and who invented the bat-dance? I say just nod politely and walk away.

    3. Re:Like how in the 80's Prince was hip... by xtracto · · Score: 5, Funny

      Well, I won't believe the internet is over until Netcraft confirms it.

      --
      Ubuntu is an African word meaning 'I can't configure Debian'
    4. Re:Like how in the 80's Prince was hip... by Austerity+Empowers · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Prince was only hip with love stricken teenage girls and sexually confused young boys.

    5. Re:Like how in the 80's Prince was hip... by commodore64_love · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Prince doesn't understand.

      The internet is no more a "fad" than radio or television. It merely changed how we receive the radio and television. NOW instead of fixed schedules we can get things on-demand, whenever we wish.

      MTV and VH1 have not died. They simply moved. Now they are on the net and have a new name: youtube.com and googlevideos.com and itunes.com

      --
      "I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it." - historian Evelyn Beatrice Hall
    6. Re:Like how in the 80's Prince was hip... by timeOday · · Score: 4, Insightful
      I say, Prince could be right in a sense. Smarthphones, Facebook, and twitter have a faddish aspect; they are "hot" lately. After these blow over, it's possible most people will be done with them - and I don't just mean those particular websites, like the passing of the guard from myspace to facebook - but with the idea of checking in 100 times per day to make inane comments that nobody reads.

      Like with cars. (Yup, a car analogy). I was talking to my dad about the classic cars of the 60s that sell for big bucks and said I couldn't see what cars from the 80s or 90s would reach that status. He said, probably none. When he was a kid, all the guys lusted after cars and wrenched on them all the time. Now that they have money, these same guys bid up those same cars at auction. Nowadays, we still have cars, but they're just "there" doing what the do, and the buzz isn't there. I think that's what Prince means, not that the Internet will stop existing or even stop being used.

    7. Re:Like how in the 80's Prince was hip... by AngryNick · · Score: 4, Funny
      Crazy like a fox! FTFA:

      "I hope you like it. It's great that it will be free to readers of your newspaper. I really believe in finding new ways to distribute my music."

      The guy is a genius! Who would have ever imagined using a dying news media as a promotional venue for music? I'm assuming the free music was distributed on cassette tape, rubber-banded to the paper.

    8. Re:Like how in the 80's Prince was hip... by DIplomatic · · Score: 3, Funny

      Let's just change the internet's name to "The Global Data Transfer Protocol Formerly Known as The World Wide Web".

    9. Re:Like how in the 80's Prince was hip... by Asic+Eng · · Score: 5, Informative
      To put his statement into context, here some other parts of the interview:
      • says "people, especially young people, don't have enough God in their lives"
      • has been a devout Jehovah's Witness for more than 10 years
      • has a space set aside which he's labelled The Knowledge Room, with a library of religious books
      • strict teetotal vegan
      • says "Playing electric guitar your whole life does something to you. I'm convinced all that electricity racing through my body made me keep my hair."

      If it comes to insightful statements about the internet, I'd suggest to look elsewhere.

    10. Re:Like how in the 80's Prince was hip... by Rip+Dick · · Score: 4, Funny

      Dinosaurs evolved into birds, Derp. Alligators evolved largely alongside dinosaurs. They are living fossils. In conclusion, Libya is a land of contrast.

    11. Re:Like how in the 80's Prince was hip... by spike+hay · · Score: 5, Informative

      As a gay guy I can assure you nobody finds him cute.

      --
      If you don't understand any of my sayings, come to me in private and I shall take you in my German mouth.
    12. Re:Like how in the 80's Prince was hip... by DJ+Jones · · Score: 3, Insightful
      Really? There are a lot of cars from the 80's and 90's that sell for top dollar. You're just not thinking outside the box, kid. You're comparing rare muscle cars from the 60's to generic crap boxes from the 80's. Ignoring the obvious fact that classic value increases with age and you have a 20-year difference in your comparison, here are a few winners:
      • Toyota Supra
      • Mazda RX7
      • De Lorean
      • Lamborghini Diablo
      • Any Ferrari
    13. Re:Like how in the 80's Prince was hip... by commodore64_love · · Score: 4, Insightful

      >>>MTV was a music video transport system, youtube is a video sharing system.

      I don't see the difference. In the 80s and 90s the record companies used MTV to share their music videos with the teenagers. Today the record companies used Yotube to share their music videos with the teenagers.

      Same players, same purpose. All that's changed it now the videos are on-demand, instead of following a preplanned schedule.

      Same goes for watching Sci-Fi Channels in the 90s versus watching scifi.com today - it's the same old crap but now you can watch Stargate whenever you feel like it.

      --
      "I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it." - historian Evelyn Beatrice Hall
  2. Kevin Smith by Scared+Rabbit · · Score: 3, Informative

    Not that anyone ever should have taken prince seriously, but if anyone still can they need to go watch an evening with Kevin Smith lol.

    1. Re:Kevin Smith by interval1066 · · Score: 3, Funny

      Or the story Charlie Murphy tells about Prince's basketball game.

      --
      Python: 'And then suddenly you have a language which says "we're all stuck with whatever the whiniest coder wants".'
  3. The internet says "Prince is over" by jsepeta · · Score: 5, Insightful

    the days of rockstars selling $20 cd's and people paying attention to monotonous radio stations that only play a short playlist of over-publicized artists is over. he'll never make the millions he used to, and to be successful (wealth-accumulating) in the post internet world one needs to get off their ass and tour, actually PERFORMING music like the minstrels of yore.

    --
    Remember kids, if you're not paying for the service, YOU ARE THE PRODUCT THAT IS BEING SOLD.
    1. Re:The internet says "Prince is over" by jythie · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Or even worse.... one ends up being paid based of actual sales rather then convincing some executive how much you are worth ahead of time. That seemed to be his big beef.

    2. Re:The internet says "Prince is over" by Nadaka · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Anyone who becomes an artist for wealth is a fool. The purpose of being an artist is to create art because it is what you love. If you can manage to not starve while you do it, more power to you.

    3. Re:The internet says "Prince is over" by S.O.B. · · Score: 3, Insightful

      The purpose of being an artist is to get laid.

      --
      Some of what I say is fact, some is conjecture, the rest I'm just blowing out my ass...you guess.
    4. Re:The internet says "Prince is over" by jeffmeden · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Funny, Prince basically says the same thing; he is very paranoid about Top-40 stations and exploitative record companies... Except that 8 years ago when he was saying this, people just added it to the list of reasons why he was crazy. Oh, and do you not realize that Prince still tours regularly, after more than 20 years? He doesn't seem to be toting the record company line of "the internet is stealing our music and killing our puppies", rather he has an admittedly dated opinion that there is simply now too much "noise" on-line for real art to flourish there.

      Disclaimer: I am not a huge Prince fan, but I don't think the guy's work gets a fair shake thanks to the crazy that comes out of his mouth when he's not singing.

    5. Re:The internet says "Prince is over" by zoward · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Even performing live may not be profitable for artists. I just learned that Lilith Fair canceled 1/3rd of its summer schedule due to lack of ticket sales. AND apparently it's not the only concert calling t quits. This summer has been lousy.

      This isn't surprising. Between Ticketmaster, promoters, sponsors, concert hall "renovation fees", parking fees, etc ad nauseum, and the fact that we're in a recession, most bands large enough to tour have been priced right out of the largest target market for concerts - teens and young adults. If the Lilith Fair, which usually has many popular acts, can't fill a third of their venues, I can't imagine solo acts are doing well on tour either.

      --
      "Can't you see that everyone is buying station wagons?"
    6. Re:The internet says "Prince is over" by Mad+Hamster · · Score: 4, Funny

      In all fairness, Prince is touring and performing in Europe atm. This last Sunday he was the final act @ the Roskilde Festival in Denmark, played competently and honestly but imo there was no greatness or star quality to the performance.

      The best thing about Prince coming to the festival was Lemmy's remark at the end of the Motörhead performance earlier that day: "I don't know if you know us...well if you're here for Prince, you probably don't". :P

      --
      Yandelvayasna grldenwi stravenka
    7. Re:The internet says "Prince is over" by Remus+Shepherd · · Score: 3, Insightful

      The purpose of every human endeavor is, ultimately, to get laid.

      Artists just get to lay the freakier chicks.

      --
      Genocide Man -- Life is funny. Death is funnier. Mass murder can be hilarious.
  4. A series of tubes formerly known as The Internet by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    Is to be renamed Prince.

    And the artist formerly known as Prince will be renamed ColecoVision.

  5. Elle, Oh, Elle by whisper_jeff · · Score: 3, Insightful

    There was a time when Prince was an amazing musician, making some spectacular music. Purple Rain remains one of the better albums ever created. But. Prince has jumped the shark. He is so utterly out of touch with reality that the mind simply boggles. And he hasn't made any great music in a very long time. Well, that may not be true - he may have made a ton of spectacular music but it's all stored away in his vault, protected from pirates and music execs and, well, fans.

    The man truly is insane.

  6. Prince by circletimessquare · · Score: 3, Funny

    He has no standing
    On the Internet, he's cold (so cold)
    He's not going to stop piracy, he's being too demanding
    Maybe he's being too bold
    Maybe he's never satisfied (never satisfied)
    But we shouldn't scream at each other
    That's what it sounds like
    When a short 50 year old purple has been Jehovah's Witness
    Makes trolls cry

    --
    intellectual property law is philosophically incoherent. it is your moral duty to ignore it or sabotage it
  7. He's just mad because... by lalena · · Score: 4, Funny

    he can't type his name on a computer. He's jealous of the numbers.

  8. If you feed the troll, you get to keep it by Rogerborg · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Nice job publicising that he's got a new album out. How else would we have heard?

    Then again, if it's only available on CD, I guess nobody here is going to buy it, so that'll be a target market FAIL for lil' Princey there.

    --
    If you were blocking sigs, you wouldn't have to read this.
  9. The internet IS over by twoallbeefpatties · · Score: 4, Insightful

    The internet is over in the same way that MTV is over: they both exist in a gentrified form. And maybe if you stay up late, you'll actually catch them both staying true to their roots. :V

    --
    Libertarians somehow believe that private businesses should be stronger than governments but weaker than individuals.
  10. The network formerly known as the "Internet"... by Lazy+Jones · · Score: 4, Funny

    ... will be using the symbol ¥ from now on. After 7 years or so, we'll switch back to calling it "Internet" because, quite frankly, using a symbol is a bit silly.

    --
    "I love my job, but I hate talking to people like you" (Freddie Mercury)
  11. IPv4 Only! by kybur · · Score: 3, Funny

    This is a blatant misquote by the media. Prince was merely saying that IPv4 is over. Prince recently dropped all IPv4 support in his home network, and is excited to be making the switch from unhealthy decimal "numbers" (actually he said "octets") to long 128bit hexadecimal strings. WTF is wrong with the media.

    The Internets are not deadz.

  12. Heh. by BrokenHalo · · Score: 5, Funny

    Internet: Prince is over.