I've been thinking a lot about Prince lately. Do we call him that these days? He's not that squiggly sign anymore, right? His latest cover is Crimson and Clover, originally by Tommy James and the Shondells. Prince manages to take a tired, perhaps even rote, song, flip it on it's head and turn it into a Prince-ified gem. The first time I heard it a few weeks ago I was in the car and turned on the radio, mid song. I knew IMMEDIATELY that the sexy guitar licks were coming from Prince. I've had the pleasure of seeing him in concert a number of times, including once at the Hollywood Bowl, another time at the Staples Center. What is it that Prince has?
In the writing world, there is a lot of talk about 'voice'. Your voice is not necessarily your literal voice. It is that ephemeral thing between your thoughts and what gets captured on paper. It is your body of work, your style. Flannery O'Connor, for example, has a very distinct voice.
Some books are forgettable and that is often because the author's 'voice' or the narrator's 'voice' isn't distinct, isn't resonant. Prince's voice, both literally and in the way he plays/strums/manipulates the electric guitar/piano/whatever-other-instrument, is.
Then there's the charisma. Would someone please explain to me how, at the sold out Staples show (seating 20.000), it felt like he was performing solely for me? How does someone connect on that level?
There's the sheer volume of his work spanning decades and always fresh and interesting. What creative well is he mining from? I don't even know how old he is because he truly seems ageless.
I've been thinking a lot about Prince because I yearn to be Prince (Princess?) in my world. I want to be at the top of my game, I want to connect with masses of people, I want a distinct voice and the respect that comes with it. I want my work to evolve and thrive over the years. I want to be ageless, and to have creativity flow like hot lava. I'm aware it's an odd choice for a nerdy writer to pick Prince as her role model, but in '09 I'm going to dig deep and summons my inner rock star, my inner Prince. Sure, it's aiming high, but what's wrong with a little healthy ambition?
I leave you with a picture of one Sexy Motherf**ker...
...and another of a girl still trying to find her voice.
Happy New Year!!
1 comment:
Love this post! I still remember the feeling I had walking out of Purple Rain when I was in high school and feeling like the world was waiting for me. Prince does have a way about him -- but other than his eyes, I'm missing the sexiness you see!
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