Books, Music, and More...

(No review this week.  I will return with a review of the new Iggy Pop album soon.  Until then, more pressing matters.)

There have been a lot of untimely deaths in the music world over the last few months.  For me personally, when Scott Weilend and Lemmy Kilmister died, it stung.  When David Bowie died, it was painful.  But the unexpected death of Prince has left me numb.

I'll try not to be long winded.  Prince is my favorite musician.  I'm not saying that as a reaction, I've been saying that for years.  If you know me long enough, you will hear me talk about Prince, it just happens.  To me, he IS American music in the last half century, all of it.  Rock, jazz, pop, hip-hop, soul, blues, disco, punk, electronic, funk, prog (maybe not country, unless there's some b-side I haven't heard) he mastered it all.  He accomplished everything an artist could ever wish to achieve, took risks, and stayed true to himself, even if it meant changing his name to an unpronounceable symbol to get out of a record contract, or releasing challenging music that his fan base couldn't stomach.  He never stopped being Prince.

Alright, I'm starting to get long winded.  Just listen to Forever In My Life, the last song off the first disc of Sign O' The Times.  It's the greatest love song of all time.  Listen to it on repeat.  I set up a shelf of Prince items in the music section of the library.

R.I.P.

Labels: Books Music & More, Mike's Picks, Music, Prince