Slashdot Mirror
RIP Prince, A Legendary Musician With A Complicated Internet History (networkworld.com)
alphadogg writes: Reflecting on the popular musician's uneasy relationship with the Internet and social media upon the 57-year-old surprising death. In 2010, Prince "famously shuttered his LotusFlow3r.com website," proclaiming that "The Internet is completely over... All these computers and digital gadgets are no good. They just fill your head with numbers and that can't be good for you." In 2014, The Guardian ran a story titled "Prince quits the Internet," after the singer deleted his social media accounts. He filed a lawsuit against his fans, which was later dropped, for sharing bootlegged copies of his music online. He even banned fans from taking smartphone photos at his concerts in 2013. Prince did seem to open up to the Internet to some degree in the past couple years. Prince's HTNRUN album was posted on Jay Z's Tidal music site last year. In Silicon Valley, Prince is being remembered as a social innovator and a passionate advocate for Black youth," inspiring YesWeCode, Van Jones' initiative to teach 100,000 low-income kids to write code, and hackathons across the country to expose kids in underserved communities to computer science. Bob Brown from Networkworld writes, "News of Prince's death Thursday briefly crashed the TMZ news site. From there, fans flocked to the Internet and social media to mourn this music star who did his darnedest to stay off the grid." RIP Prince.
Seriously, I could never get into the guy. He seemed completely full of himself, and I thought his music was overrated. Can't deny he was talented, though, and lots of people liked him.
Still loving to have sex listening to his records.
Tribute from Bloom County
The "Civilized World" jumped the shark ca. 1973.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...
by TheSpoom (715771) Uncaring Linux user here. I have nothing to add to this but please continue. *munches popcorn*
Sounds like I missed a great opportunity to troll Prince by showing up to one of his concerts carrying one of those tripod cameras with the curtain you pull over yourself while holding up a giant exploding bulb.
"Our two-party system is like a bowl of shit looking at itself in a mirror." - Lewis Black
The artist formerly known as the artist formerly known as Prince is now "formerly alive"?
"News of Prince's death Thursday briefly crashed the TMZ news site."
Every dark cloud has a silver lining.
Growing up in the 70's and 80's....
RIP Prince. Phenomenally original were you
Dear idiot,
It is very difficult to find songs on Youtube to listen to to remember Prince's works by, at the moment, because Prince himself made it difficult. He was not just any musician who had problems with how the internet affected his music, but perhaps the primary one. This site is a site for news for nerds, and Princes death is relevant to those of us who use the internet for music.
Cool story AC. Scroll on by.
I warned him purple rain was not good for his health, but he ignored my advice.
Table-ized A.I.
Dear Slashdot,
A story about the death of Prince is not remotely on topic for what slashdot used to be about. No, it doesn't matter that he was musician number 105 to dislike the Internet. The word Internet does NOT make a topic relevant for slashdot in 2016. Maybe in 1995 it was news if something happened with regard to the Internet, but not today.
Could you please try to post stories about science or technology again. And real stories, not something at such a low level that tabloid magazines might post the same story.
Thanks in advance!
And yet le allow you anonymous Cowards to post good morning from the golden girls, ATK your mother and your homoerotic fantasies.
So as a tradeoff, I'll take Prince news any day, and a whole lot less ouf your crybabying about what should or should not be on Slashdot.
Which in my opinion is you. You're irrelevant.
The shepherds did so well protecting the flock that the sheep no longer believed that wolves existed.
Have gnu, will travel.
Drugs killed him? Going to need a citation on that one. He had been a devout Jehovah's Witness since the early 2000's.
Indeed. His war on the Internet makes him the peculiar counterpoint to a man who died a few months ago; David Bowie. Both incredibly talented men, genre-busting artists, but one recognized the Internet for what it was and embraced it, and the other only saw it as a den of thieves and waged war against it.
The world's burning. Moped Jesus spotted on I50. Details at 11.
I guess he'd been sick for quite awhile according to recent obits. Had to give up playing the guitar because of weakness. So I guessing either cancer or aids.
The rumors floating around was that it must have had something to do with the flu he was suffering for the last week or two. He was pretty religious (a Jehovah's Witness, as ironic and odd as that may seem), so I have my doubts that he died of drugs. I'm wagering either a misdiagnosis of a more severe ailment, or a flu that went out of control (this can happen, and influenza still is a major killer).
The world's burning. Moped Jesus spotted on I50. Details at 11.
First celebrity death that made me shed a tear since Johnny Cash.
I comment occasionally so that I can mod others -1 overrated or -1 offtopic.
Thanks, Prince, for helping to remind youth that being smart at math isn't cool.
Secession is the right of all sentient beings.
And both end up in the same state, and take just as much of their profits with them to the grave.
"You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
Eric Clapton was once asked how it felt to be the world's greatest guitarist. His response: "I don't know. Ask Prince."
If anything, Prince was the opposite of someone with a "major identity crisis". He knew exactly who he was and did not give one single fuck if you didn't like it. Watch his solo on While My Guitar Gently Weeps from his induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and tell me if you think he looks like someone who has an identity crisis.
https://youtu.be/6SFNW5F8K9Y
He strolls onstage in the middle of the song, at about 3:25 in the video. And all the other rock stars on stage just give him room and watch with their mouths open. He ends his Citizen Kane of guitar solos by doing the guitar equivalent of a mic drop, except instead of dropping the guitar he sort of just flips it up to air and pimp-walks off the stage like he owns the motherfucker. My guess is the guitar ascended directly into heaven, because it knew it could never top that moment.
That my friends, is how a rock star makes an entrance and an exit.
Prince was the ultimate musical nerd. He not only could play every instrument on his records, but could do all of it better than most people who play those instruments. He was five foot goddamn four inches tall and still managed to be the Jesus of scoring hot babes.
You are welcome on my lawn.
LEGENDARY? Barney Stinson was legendary. And only fags listen to Mozart. Bach is ok.
Barney Stinson
Who? QED
Seven puppies were harmed during the making of this post.
Check on Kevin Smith talking about his experience of working with Prince. Weird guy, but definitely left his mark.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?...
If you post as Anonymous Coward, don't expect a reply.
The guy had been sick for at least 2 weeks before he died. Drugs probably could have helped save him, actually.
Oh wait, you're not talking about those drugs though, right? You're talking about the things that the government says are bad for you, like weed. Not drugs like caffeine, aspirin, alcohol, penicillin, lipitor, nexium, plavix, abilify, prilosec, amoxicillin, viagra, zoloft, ambien, hydrocodone, oxycontin, you know the completely harmless non-addictive drugs. You're talking about things like plants and mushrooms, right?
I forget, are Bayer's Heroin and Merck's Morphine on the good or bad list these days? Whatever the government says, right?
"Our two-party system is like a bowl of shit looking at itself in a mirror." - Lewis Black
James Brown and Jimi Hendrix all rolled into one
Saw him live many times and it was always a kick ass show
Compared to the shit today, he truly was a musical genius
QED? Only fags speak Latin and listen to Mozart. Bach is ok.
So you're saying you don't have a citation, then. Just randomly accusing a person who passed away of being a drug addict -- despite his being a devout member of a religion that takes a pretty dim view of drug use for the past 15 years -- to push your political agenda. Nice.
He was pretty religious (a Jehovah's Witness
Sounds like he had mad cow.
The man had far too high an opinion of himself to dilute himself like that. His main appetites were music and sex. I don't think he even drank.
Linux, you magnificent bastard, I read the fucking manual!
now we'll never know.
lose != loose
Thanks for the link to that video. Never really got into Prince that much, and certainly did not recognize his talent with a guitar. Until now. That performance gave me chills.
It's easy to chip away at the marble with your rubber chisel when you're posting anonymously on the Internet.
Is "gay AIDS" different than other kinds of AIDS?
Other things besides AIDS can kill the immune system, like leukemia, and with his JW beliefs, the whole blood transfusion angle could have taken him out.
The world's burning. Moped Jesus spotted on I50. Details at 11.
https://youtu.be/6SFNW5F8K9Y
Thanks for the link to that video. I never really got into Prince that much, and I certainly did not appreciate his talent with a guitar. Until now. That performance gave me chills.
A college roommate's girlfriend died of the flu. She was a normal, healthy 20 year old until that point.
When a performer passes away I always seem to end up on YouTube listening to a few of their songs. I didn't even bother trying today because I knew it was unlikely I'd find anything.
Here ya go:
http://www.tmz.com/2016/04/21/prince-treated-drug-overdose-dead/
http://www.tmz.com/2016/04/21/prince-treated-drug-overdose-dead/
You might also want to look at his live performance at the 2007 Super Bowl. That was the last one, by the way, that did not use any pre-recorded tracks.
As Prince like to say, "When I go on stage, my mike is ON. I'm live, not memorex."
You are welcome on my lawn.
You can say many things about Prince, but "talentless hack" isn't among them.
I think that his fame came more from singing and songwriting, but Prince was greatly underappreciated as a guitarist.
Proof: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6SFNW5F8K9Y
His solo starts at about 3:26. I recommend watching it from the beginning, because it's a wonderful tribute.
His solo is exquisite, in my opinion, at times at the forefront, extending, expanding upon the lyrics and melody while never overwhelming either, and at times also complementing them, moving back and forth until the end.
No showboating, I think, but verve, gusto, pure enjoyment and musicianship. He was asked there to play, and to solo, and he did both masterfully.
Watch/listen it in its entirety, once. Then just listen to it.
As you watch it, note that Prince is not only soloing GREAT, playing well, he's also engaged with the other musicians. He knows the song, knows that he's playing with some of the best musicians in the rock world and is aware of all of that as he plays.
And you can TELL that he's having a blast being there. He's playing his best, and I think that the others in the band recognize it.
As you just listen, note how well what he plays fits, both solo and together with the rest of the band. Clean, complex, precise, not a missed note, nor a note played that doesn't fit the song overall in some way.
At one point he just vanishes, merges back into the song with the band and then emerges again.
Wonderful!
All that being said, I was never a huge Prince fan over the years, but that video gave me a new appreciation of him, when I first watched it, years ago.
As to whether or not his death deserves to be of note on Slashdot? The most relevant justification would be Prince's stance on digital copyright, and I don't care to discuss that.
I made the mistake of doing that in general here, years ago, and I shan't revisit that here ever again.
All that being said: Say what you will of Prince, but don't ever say he was a "talentless hack".
Regards,
dj
Prince is completely over
Prince is in Rock 'n Roll Heaven, making pancakes for Rick James.
The record industry needs to take some of the responsibility for and how they treat and exploit artists (including Prince and so many other artists) who almost ALL eventually turn to drugs to deal with the pressure.
I'd say they both recognized the Internet for what it is.
Lol! Sure.
[Citation very badly needed]
As far as I know he is the only artist who turned down Weird Al multiple times on requests to make parodies.
Damn_registrars has no butt-hole. Damn_registrars has no use for a butt-hole.
If I had mod points... very well said!
/* * pope1 */
Who're you calling anonymous?
http://www.latimes.com/enterta...
Quote:
If your children ever found out how lame you are, they'd murder you in your sleep
Dude never even bothered to get his new "name" registered as a unicode symbol. Could have been the only musician with one :P
Monstar L
http://www.newser.com/story/22...
http://whnt.com/2016/04/21/cel...
http://www.slate.com/blogs/bro...
You are welcome on my lawn.
I recently battled the flu for six weeks. I don't have AIDS, in fact I have a healthy immune system. Maybe you don't catch anything because your mother cleans the basement regularly.
"I like to lick butts!" by MobileTatsu-NJG (#32700246) (Score:5, Informative)
Let's dance like it's 1999!
Do you know what a citation is, dipshit? It names the source, it doesn't just repeat hearsay.
So you're saying you don't have a citation, then. Just randomly accusing a person who passed away of being a drug addict -- despite his being a devout member of a religion that takes a pretty dim view of drug use for the past 15 years -- to push your political agenda. Nice.
Moron. If you argued that the poster had no facts to base their opinion on... but wait, you argue (badly) that your opinion, for which you have no facts, is the truth. i.e. I believe Prince was a member of the Moron Church, therefore he wouldn't use "drugs". Bullshit!
Just like the king in that ballad who killed his troubadour and was cursed for it by being forgotten since no singer would sing his praise and remind later generations of his deeds, fearing that he will suffer the same fate as the hapless one who the king's wife laid eyes on, Prince will probably suffer the same fate for disallowing video pages on the internet to use his music.
Ask anyone younger than 25 who Prince is. Prince? Who, Prince William? Oh, Prince Albert. Yeah, I got one of those.
But music? What's Prince got to do with music? Never seen any of his videos.
We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
I'd never thought much about Prince and wouldn't you know while stumbling around YouTube I found a very impressive all-star performance of 'While My Guitar Gently Weeps'. His solo starts around 3:30...
http://www.rollingstone.com/
http://www.rollingstone.com/mu...
http://www.rollingstone.com/mu...
I'm here for the experience, not the Hyperbole.
Totally messed up and disrespectful. :-9
I'm here for the experience, not the Hyperbole.
Well I'll tag in. I never much cared for his records/songs, but the guy was a talented player. The alleged Clapton quote is interesting. The link to the youtube vid with "While My Guitar" is pretty cool. He knew his way around the fretboard. It's pretty damn good. But he does fall into flash a bit much, running through hyper fast scales and that Eddy Van Halen tapping crap. I know they are dead, but "best guitarist in the world" title would have to fall to Rory Buchanan (in the modern rock style), Charlie Christian, Wes Montgomery, Doc Watson... Prince, don't think so. If Clapton said that, me thinks he was just being a snarky twit to the interviewer.
He actually did miss a few notes, probably because he was too concerned with what he was seen mucking with his guitar compared to playing it. In other respects he isn't too different from other electric guitar players I've heard, a bit flat perhaps and nothing special. There are also one or two moments where he shows that he has made the mistake of thinking that notes / second and technical perfection equals art, a mistake many professional musicians make. On the whole, that solo was nothing special.
I find the when my guitar gently weeps video quite awkward. Prince is on stage the whole time but he isn't in the shot until all of the sudden, he steps forward and the spotlight is pointed at him. Also, the contrast between the guitarist soloing in the first half of the song and Prince was too extreme, to the point of being embarrassing. Also, I think, apart from his own awesome work that isn't available on social media, his cover of Radiohead's Creep show of his skills much better:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?...
0x or or snor perron?!
Note: I am not the grand parent.
For someone to come out as "The Artist Formerly Known as Prince", I'd say they had an identity crisis and I don't even know the man. Whether or not the identity crisis is self inflicted or not is irrelevant.
Looks like his video is blocked in my country, looks like he's got a licensing crisis too? Not that I can grasp how a performance could show someone doesn't have an identity crisis.
I've never heard any of his music, so I wouldn't even know if he was any good at it.
I've never had a scoring problem before with "hot babes" or "hot guys" before, is that just an issue for rock stars?
Change is certain; progress is not obligatory.
Those guys were dead at the time of the alleged quote. And of course, if you want to go across styles, you could list Jim Hall, Bill Frisell, John Abercrombie, and a few dozen young players like Julian Lage.
The "While My Guitar" performance was clearly meant to be a shredding display because of the iconic meaning the song has taken on (and because of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame venue). Also, it was a tribute to George Harrison.
While there are lots and lots of rock guitarists who can play as well or better than Prince, very few can manage to look as cool while doing it.
You are welcome on my lawn.
These statements always amaze me. Was it your only purpose to click on the article and leave a disparaging comment to a recently deceased entertainer?
/. because the rest do not interest me.
Different strokes for different folks. Don't like his music? Scroll to the next story. I probably click on less than 1/4 of stories on
"Action without philosophy is a lethal weapon; philosophy without action is worthless."
I'm curious, Is offering an opinion on things you don't know about something you often do?
"How do you like spaghetti?"
"I've never eaten it, but it sucks."
You are welcome on my lawn.
Oh, you're new here.
I'll have to listen to talk radio for a week or two until they stop playing Prince songs constantly. Prince is OK, but if I hear "Purple Rain" one more time I'll lose it.
Thank you for that YouTube link, greatness indeed.
Prince was bored with being a pop star and was determined to push his and our boundaries. It didn't always make for the most popular songs and I find much of it not to my taste but when he wanted to be a pop star, boy oh boy, could he.
Democracy is a sheep and two wolves deciding what to have for lunch. Freedom is a well armed sheep contesting the issue
I'm not sure what you mean?
I looked at the rest of the comment and saw established knowledge like:
Outside of that, the rest of my comment were questions that you failed to answer and instead ask a personal question, changing this thread into what seems to be an ad hominem attack. But, let's review the questions:
I guess they could be construed as opinions, but asking the question of licensing crisis regarding not being able to view one of his videos doesn't seem like it's unfounded. Then the next one referring to my personal experience with having fun with people that have nice bodies shows my opinion is based on personal experiences on the matter.
I would also add that since these were asked as part of open questions, it's quite clear I haven't simply decided to claim these opinions as very solid ones either.
Sorry, but I just don't really see what you're referring to. Perhaps you could clarify the opinion you're seeing I expressed on something that I had no knowledge about?
Change is certain; progress is not obligatory.
Do you mean he's new to Slashdot, or new to the Internet in general?
I so wish the link you supplied lead to Rick Astley.
- First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then ???, then profit.
With some forms of influenza, a healthy immune system can backfire, as the infection can generate a cytokine storm. It is one of the leading theories of why pandemics so often kill off teenagers and young adults, the people you would think were most likely to fight off an infection.
The world's burning. Moped Jesus spotted on I50. Details at 11.
++1.0E+6
> Watch his solo on While My Guitar Gently Weeps
Wow! I had never seen that before. Thanks for the link.
Not to dish Prince for his work on that stage, but there where too many guitars on stage all competing for the same frequency band.
Most of what Price actually did you couldn't even hear because of that mess, not because he wanted to be in the background.
I just heard some sad news on talk radio - horror/fiction writer Stephen King was found dead in his Maine home this morning. There weren't any more details yet. I'm sure we'll all miss him, even if you weren't a fan of his work there's no denying his contribution to popular culture. Truly an American icon.
Moron.
Unlike yourself, who wouldn't recognize real music if it up and bit him on the ass.
The name business was entirely due to a long running (years long) dispute with his record label and not due to any sort of identity crisis.
Aren't you the tragic hipster?
I'll take that bet idiot.
Fuck you, Coward. Sideways with a rusty chainsaw.
crisis: a time of intense difficulty or danger.
I consider the impending threat of life changing legal issues and difficulties created by preventing him from using his own name in official capacities to be a crisis. Regardless if it's self inflicted or not. If you don't, I guess we have a difference on opinion on what a crisis is.
Change is certain; progress is not obligatory.
There's no difference of opinion over the word "crisis" that I can see. It's just that you don't understand that the term identity crisis has a definition already.
It may be a crisis, but it had nothing to do with his self-identity. It had everything to do with being screwed over by a record label. But, a troll is a troll i guess, so piss off.
They called him before the performance and told him it was raining and if he was okay with that. He responded, "Can you make it rain harder?"
"Lack of speed can be overcome. In the worst case by patience." --Znork
I never once brought up psychology, sorry.
Change is certain; progress is not obligatory.
I also appreciated that bit of humor where he had someone holding him and then pushing him back to the standing position when he leaned back.
Yet you felt comfortable opining that "for someone to come out as 'The Artist Formerly Known as Prince', I'd say they had an identity crisis and I don't even know the man" without knowing what the term means?
I certainly don't know that he died a practicing Jehovah's Witness, but I do know that he made an apparently serious conversion to Jehovah's Witnessism and made an equally serious overhaul of his life and habits at the time. Is it possible that he was secretly doing drugs the whole time? Sure, I guess. But why bother hiding it? It's not like anyone gives a shit if a rock star does drugs. Likewise, I realize that his being a Jehovah's Witness does not magically guarantee that he doesn't do drugs, but it would be a rather perplexing decision for a rock star in the midst of his career to suddenly join a very strict religion with no intent of taking it seriously. It's hardly a decision that made him more popular or benefited him in any obvious way.
Regarding the political agenda comment, I would invite you to take a close read of the OP's original remark:
But don't worry kids: drugs are cool. Its just a matter of personal choice right? You can quit anytime, right? Don't need no gubmint telling ME what to do!
Do you see it now? Here, let me make it extra clear:
Don't need no gubmint telling ME what to do!
The OP directly framed his post as an attack on drug legalization; that is why I accuse him of pushing a political agenda. Next time, instead of assuming the worst of a comment you read, perhaps you could try reading the entire quote tree to understand what is actually being discussed. Then perhaps you wouldn't embarrass yourself quite so badly.
identity: the fact of being who or what a person or thing is.
crisis: a time of intense difficulty or danger.
Change is certain; progress is not obligatory.
Reductionism doesn't work on technical jargon.
You might also want to look up the definition of "idiom." You can't assume you know what the phrase means, just because you know what the individual words mean.
"It's a good computer... for I to BM on!" - apologies to Triumph, the insult comic dog
The guy asked the question how I was confident in responding to that, I gave him my understanding of the words. Which really should have been sufficient to understand.
But, since you can't even understand that, I give up.
Change is certain; progress is not obligatory.
Hello PopeRatzo,
Just a quick message to congrats you for this awesome tribute of Prince. This have to be one the my "Top10 Best /. comment of all time".
Never cared much about the guy since this very moment. This comment mixed with the video gave me the chills.
Elok
An update: I might have been mistaken. That video wasn't from Prince's induction to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. It was actually during George Harrison's posthumous induction, I think. That's means they got together with Harrison's son Dhani and Harrison's bandmates in the Traveling Wilburys and put together a tribute to George Harrison, using one of the best songs for a rock guitarist to solo over, While My Guitar Gently Weeps (the chord progression and the turnaround are perfect for dramatic soloing).
When it was time to decide who to get to do the big solo part, these guys came up with Prince. That in itself is a hell of a tribute to him.
You are welcome on my lawn.
Does that mean you're done talking out of your ass? I highly doubt that. Being uninformed has never seemed an impediment to you expressing an opinion.
"It's a good computer... for I to BM on!" - apologies to Triumph, the insult comic dog
I apologize.
Change is certain; progress is not obligatory.