The best Prince song - tell us why

[monstro]

@Biggirl

Don’t know what makes a song qualify as best, but Sexy MF is my favorite all time Prince song. Funky, jazzy, naughty with crazy good solos. Anytime I find a good version of it on the internet to show everyone what I’m raving about, it is soon muted.

There is a thread now asking why Prince should be considered a musical genius. I think now that he has passed his estate should let loose its grip on his internet presence and then everyone can enjoy and see what we enthusiasts know to be true.

Maybe I should post WordMan’s link in that thread: https://www.facebook.com/gino.vannelli.94/videos/860538120626650/. Maybe hearing a more minimalist Prince will persuade those snobs that he wasn’t just a flamboyant black guitarist with a few catchy tunes.

[Dangerosa]

There is a lot of speculation about who now controls his estate.

The first time I heard Controversy - it was unlike anything I’d heard before.

[WordMan]

@monstro

Maybe I should post WordMan’s link in that thread: https://www.facebook.com/gino.vannelli.94/videos/860538120626650/. Maybe hearing a more minimalist Prince will persuade those snobs that he wasn’t just a flamboyant black guitarist with a few catchy tunes.

My fucking god. Really?

Yes, monstro - please, please, please: fight that ignorance!

[puzzlegal]

Slight hijack. I’m not really familiar with Prince’s work, but I’d like to find one of his songs for a dance event. Any advice on a good Prince sing with a strong beat, 4/4, or maybe 2/4, approximately 115-125 beats per minute?

[you_with_the_face]

America

There is no way you can listen to it and not feel like doing splits.

[RikWriter]

I’ve always liked 1999.

[Dangerosa]

DMSR - no idea of beats per minute, but its on my playlist for running, which is about there.

[puzzlegal]

Thanks! I had never heard America before. That’s a great song. Unfortunately, it’s too fast for what i need. 1999 and dmsr are both possible.

[infinitii]

My favourite has always been “U Got the Look”. I heard that he was challenged to make the ‘perfect’ pop song, using all kinds of criteria (I assume BPMs, the fact that it is a duet with male and female vocals, whatever else) and this was the result. It is hard to argue with its fantastic-ness.

[Cat_Whisperer]

@Biggirl

<snip> I think now that he has passed his estate should let loose its grip on his internet presence and then everyone can enjoy and see what we enthusiasts know to be true.

Dear God, please let this happen.

For a dance song, I recommend “Housequake” from “Sign ‘O’ The Times”.Shut up, already. Damn.

My favourite Prince song is “The Dance” from “3121”.

[Les_Espaces_Du_Sommeil]

@EinsteinsHund

As I have mentioned in the memorial thread, I’m not very qualified to vote in this thread because there are large gaps in my knowledge of his music, but my favorite has always been Raspberry Beret.

@TheInimitableMaven

Girls And Boys, for its being a funky jazz tinged party, complete with the most fun video next to “1999”.

These are among my top favourites, too - especially Girls And Boys. Perhaps his sexiest song IMO: sweaty mid-tempo, baritone sax, and sultry French lyrics that, for once, don’t make me cringe (Je vous enlacerai avec mes jambes, baby… mmmm ).

But really, my absolute favourite is When Doves Cry. It’s just a great, catchy pop song with a goovy synth hook, a furious guitar solo and bittersweet lyrics. Plus, I love the way the chorus could basically go on forever, always building upon itself.

[Baron_Greenback]

@monstro

A while ago, Prince performed an acoustic version of this song on a TV show. Can’t remember what show it was. While he was playing the introduction, he gave the audience a sly smile and said, “Takes you back to high school, doesn’t it?” Everyone went wild.

It doesn’t remind me of high school since I was just a little kid when it came out. But if I had been in the audience, I would have been all “OMG YES!”

This very thing just shared onto my Facebook page!

https://www.facebook.com/gino.vannelli.94/videos/860538120626650/

Prince is remarkably chatty in this - he’s clearly loving the gig.

Edit: I should have read the whole thread…

[SykoSkotty]

I’ll go ahead and pick a song from the brilliant Batman soundtrack -

Electric Chair.

So. Damn. Funky.

“If a man is considered guilty for what goes on in his mind then give me the electric chair for all my future crimes…”

[tenacious_j]

@Two_Many_Cats

I’m going to say Purple Rain. It might look superficial to choose one of his more famous songs, but that’s the song that I’ll pull over the car to listen to (if I still had a car that is). I prefer the long version, with the long twinkling die out at the end. Like an all over massage for the soul.

I agree. As I listened this weekend, more than I should have, to my CDs & MP3s, the radio and TV tributes, and the Sirius Prince channel (channel 50 for a limited time), I had a hard time saying any one was my favorite. Each was better than the last, or at least unique enough to remind me why I love almost all of them.
Then I listened to Purple Rain again.
Then I heard the Springsteen tribute cover, and cried, and decided this is the song. It has everything- the story, the music, the drama. Love it.

[monstro]

@SykoSkotty

I’ll go ahead and pick a song from the brilliant Batman soundtrack -

Electric Chair.

So. Damn. Funky.

“If a man is considered guilty for what goes on in his mind then give me the electric chair for all my future crimes…”

I’m embarrassed because I consider myself a big fan. But I never heard “Electric Chair” until the SNL special this past weekend. How did a song that bad-ass escape my notice?! I imagine that there are hundreds of others out there that I’d like just as much, but there isn’t enough time to discover them all.

[Peremensoe]

Now that Prince’s creativity has been arrested, maybe we can catch up.

[JohnGalt]

I get a kick out of the lyrics in Raspberry Beret, although I’m not surprised we’re still listening to 1999 even 17 years after that date - I don’t think it will get old.

I hadn’t heard much beyond his greatest hits, but on a road trip this weekend I caught SiriusXM channel 50 which is playing a tribute channel. There aren’t any of the songs that I don’t like; I can listen to it all the time even as a background station.

[Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew]

@Molotok

Kiss. Because it’s the first song I performed and really started getting ‘‘out of my shell’’.

I’m going to sing it tonight at open mic (along with “Starfish and Coffee”). And I’m wearing purple for the occasion.

[G0sp3l]

Strange Relationship - Would have to be my absolute, pick only one.

Not only are the music and vocals fantastic but the lyrics are almost talking about me. A man self-aware enough to understand his emotional distance/borderline abuse.

Followed by
Adore
I Could Never Take the Place of Your Man
Scandalous
Lady Cab Driver
Starfish and Coffee
My Name is Prince (and I am funky)
I’ll stop now or I’ll be here for a while.

[Frank]

Everything off 1999:

Oh, yeah, 1999 is my favorite Prince song.

Oh, yeah, Little Red Corvette is my favorite Prince song.

Oh, yeah, Delirious is my favorite Prince song.

. . . and so it goes. . .

1999 is just about the best bouncing around album I’ve ever listened to. Every song on the album is spectacular.