# Prince: I find him to be a problematic artist **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 1, 2018, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prince-i-find-him-to-be-a-problematic-artist/811571 "2018-04-01T04:38:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 13
**Author:** ![Aeschines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aeschines/32/16251_2.png) [@Aeschines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aeschines)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2018, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prince-i-find-him-to-be-a-problematic-artist/811571/241 "2018-04-07T02:54:40Z")
> [@you\_with\_the\_face](#): > > It’s that you have done this and then gotten upset when people essentially call your opinion unimpressive and “problematic”, just as you’ve done Prince! My point is really quite simple: let’s not try to “win” the argument by invalidating the poster. Let’s talk about the topic and not about the poster’s right to have an opinion, etc. If you don’t get this point, then you don’t. A lot of people here haven’t. It’s occurred to me that the tactics of the courtroom have infected a lot of discourse in the US, and not just in the Dope. One tries to discredit the witness by any means possible. If you discredit the witness, then what they say doesn’t count–and you win! Quite literally, in a court case. To me, that’s not how you have a good discussion in a forum like this. > [@](#): > > The question is why can you not move past this? It is not clear what you really want. You see Prince as “problematic” because you don’t like his music. Ok. Peel back all the pseudo-intellectual analyses and that’s the bottom line. The people challenging you either like his music and/or think your opinions/assertions are shallow and weak…and what else is there to say? Probably nothing. But, again, one could say that about any opinion one disagrees with. So maybe we just don’t discuss matters of opinion, then? > [@](#): > > My position is simply that when say debateable shit, expect a debate. Sure. And my position is debate the shit, not the person expressing the shit. > [@](#): > > Who has accused you of being impolite? I believe arrogant and pretentious have been the adjectives offered. As well as uninformed and biased. I am saying that if one is sufficiently polite, then there is no reason to debate the poster and not the content of the post. > [@](#): > > You seem more interested in complaining about politeness than the topic at hand. Not sure if you see the irony. I didn’t like the behavior I saw in this thread, I don’t think it’s good for a forum such as the Dope, and I said so. I’m not sure what’s ironic. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2018, 10:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prince-i-find-him-to-be-a-problematic-artist/811571/242 "2018-04-07T10:28:18Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > I won’t argue with the OP. Of all the thousands of CDs I own, exactly zero are from Prince. I thought he was cool when I saw him on Night Flight. I saw _Purple Rain_ in the theatre and thought it was good but have never re-watched it. I understand what people are saying when they refer to him as a genius and I think they’re right: he was a musical genius. > > I just don’t really _like_ enough of his songs to want, let alone need, an album of his. I love his guitar playing but not most of the songs he wrote so he could play guitar. I got no hate for him, but nothing he did appeals enough to me, I guess. **Aeschines** , take a look at this early post in this thread. Bo agrees with you, while framing everything as his opinion. No one has jumped on this post and folks tend to treat Bo as someone who knows music. You complain about the harsh tone of other posters, when you start a thread with a problematic tone, seemingly grounded on a limited exposure to the topic, on the SDMB, whose mission is fighting ignorance. You think you are presenting yourself like Bo’s post, but you’re not. Understanding the difference is part of the way discussion works. Own the buttons you chose to push in the OP, dude. ---
**Author:** ![you\_with\_the\_face](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/ecccb3/32.png) [@you\_with\_the\_face](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/you_with_the_face)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2018, 10:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prince-i-find-him-to-be-a-problematic-artist/811571/243 "2018-04-07T10:52:51Z")
> [@Aeschines;20889936⚾️](#): > > I didn’t like the behavior I saw in this thread, I don’t think it’s good for a forum such as the Dope, and I said so. I’m not sure what’s ironic. You really can’t see what’s ironic about policing the tone of others (to the distraction of your own thread topic), but then saying we shouldn’t incentivize egg shell walking when people express opinions? If the irony still eludes you after reading the sentence above, then we’re at an impasse. Btw, The Cross never did much for me. I like it but it doesn’t get me moving. One of my favs from that album is It. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2018, 11:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prince-i-find-him-to-be-a-problematic-artist/811571/244 "2018-04-07T11:16:56Z")
> [@you\_with\_the\_face](#): > > Btw, The Cross never did much for me. I like it but it doesn’t get me moving. One of my favs from that album is It. I literally wore the grooves out on It on the album we had at the time. It’s another simple song that builds in layers, but about sex, not god. Oh that Prince. ---
**Author:** ![you\_with\_the\_face](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/ecccb3/32.png) [@you\_with\_the\_face](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/you_with_the_face)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2018, 11:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prince-i-find-him-to-be-a-problematic-artist/811571/245 "2018-04-07T11:28:19Z")
> [@Aeschines](#): > > Probably nothing. But, again, one could say that about any opinion one disagrees with. So maybe we just don’t discuss matters of opinion, then? **WordMan** has suggested ways you could’ve framed your OP to actually invite discussion. Did you read this? ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2018, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prince-i-find-him-to-be-a-problematic-artist/811571/246 "2018-04-07T20:00:38Z")
Prince covering Radiohead’s Creep at Coachella: ["Creep" - Prince at Coachella 2008 (Uploaded via Permission from Radiohead & NPG Music Publishing) - YouTube](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=NFXZNt4oLkE) Some pretty decent guitar, eh? ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2018, 11:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prince-i-find-him-to-be-a-problematic-artist/811571/247 "2018-04-08T11:00:35Z")
This acoustic clip has persisted on YouTube for a bit: [Prince MTV Unplugged The Art of Musicology - YouTube](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Naj7oxbQYtw) His ease with the instrument is just a joy to watch. He starts grooves, adds fills as easily as Stevie Ray between vocals, and carries the audience along. Even the bit of “I Could Never Take the Place of Your Man” is played with interesting chords. So fun - I love how he teases the audience and gets them to step up. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prince-i-find-him-to-be-a-problematic-artist/811571.md?page=12)