I'm surprised how many members of this forum venerate Prince. I don't know a lot about him, but have been around long enough to be familiar with his legacy and some of his music. The only two songs I remember clearly are Purple Rain and When Doves Cry, but only because of the movie (Apelonia) and MTV constantly playing it. I've heard him playing solos, etc..., but I've honestly heard better club guiarists. There are far more talented guitarists on this forum, in my opinion, yet somehow Prince commands nearly as much respect in the USA as Jimmy Page.
Not to speak negatively of him, but when I first heard he died, it seemed like his death made more of an impact than his music career. The pervasive liberalism of white Americans has given them a tendency to extol black celebrities and athletes, and the media has a zealous approach to representing black people. It seems that this fact lends substantially to the impact of his death. Moreover, his eccentric metrosexual personality compounds his praise in this day and age when the acceptance of deviant sexuality is preceipitated on American society; despite himself apparently bein averse to homosexuality.
Though Prince seems to be lauded on forums like this, I doubt (in all honesty) that 99% of the people positively commenting have blown the dust off of their digitally remastered Prince's Greatest Hits CD in 20 years. I've always been under the impression that the general public is swayed and influenced by popular opinion and the media, and therefore generally have pathetic taste in music compared to people who listen and appraise music solely on their own music preference and knowledge.
Take away the popularity and adulation, and you have another lavish celebrity dead from a drug overdose in an age where recreational drug use has become a huge epidemic for young Americans. Unfortunately, this enormous problem has been successfully repressed by the mainstream media which colludes with the current presidential administration. Together with the boom of deviant television media and even cable channels dedicated to pot smoking, Americans haven't been hit with the realities of the current drug epedemic.
Rather than looking at things for what they are, we have adopted an idealistic approach to celebrity deaths. Now these popular tragedies come and go and people don't realize that they're just a symptom of of a prevalent national problem. Much like the gun debate, where the sheeple are turned against guns rather than the mental illness and extreme ideologies which source the crimes, we casually cast aside reality for a fluffy little idea of what happens.
I'm sorry to diverge from popular opinion, but I have a tendency to see things for what they are. What I remember about Michael Jackson is dangling a baby from the balcony, buying a dead body, and little boys in his bed. I remember Whitney Houston making ten lifetimes of wealth from a song done better by Dolly Pardon many, many years earlier. I remember Prince as a commercial artist with mediocre talent made popular by his eccentricity, ethnicity, and the politics of the time, yet hasn't been relevant for a very long time.
