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Monday, April 25, 2016

THE WORLD REACTS TO THE LOSS OF PRINCE (MONDAY UPDATE)

As the world weeps over the untimely passing of the innovative legend that was (and is) Prince, members of the music community take to Twitter, Instagram and other forms of social media, as well as traditional outlets, to express the magnitude of their sense of loss. See a selection of posts below.

“The first time I met him was at a urinal at a nightclub in St. Paul. There he was, and I said, ‘Hey, what's up?’ And he answered, ‘Life.’ One word: ‘life.’ And I can't say that we went on to be pals. But we did record a lot at Paisley Park, and he became comfortable enough to grace us with his presence, not bejeweled and not dressed up. He'd be wearing maybe his jammies and sweat pants or maybe a pair of jeans and sneakers. He could sort of just hang out. He may have been a little more normal than he would've liked people to know. That's the treasure that we got, to be able to sit in the big atrium where you're taking a break and Prince shuffles by in his slippers and makes some popcorn in the microwave. My sister's a disc jockey, and he would pass by and say, ‘Tell your sister hi for me.’ People like to paint him as a reclusive this or that; I think he was genuinely truly, truly shy. But one thing says a lot about him: I was there making a solo record a few years later, and I got a message that said that my friend had just died. I was truly rattled, and the next time I went back into the studio, he had filled it up with balloons. Now I'm gonna cry.”—from Paul Westerberg’s essay in Rolling Stone

I got Sign o The Times the day it came out, two weeks before my 16th birthday. It was the first tape I played in my first car that I got right before that first summer of freedom, and that summer it was always on. For some reason I keep thinking back to that summer today, driving to work, drinking in fields w my homies, mowing lawns, dealing with heartache, all the times I had just that one momentous summer with just that one album. One Prince album among so many that were so inspired and so inspirational. I keep thinking: how could it happen, isn’t this way too soon? No more Prince shows? No more Prince shenanigans? I hate it. What I’m gonna try and think instead about is this: what it felt like watching Prince play. It was like watching God’s love. He was the greatest performer of his generation, almost unbelievable on stage. He knew it, everyone watching knew it. You could so clearly read the joy he felt performing, so much that it was hard not to feel it yourself. Everything was in synch for a couple hours. It felt like an almost tangible thing you could take home with you. You certainly left with a feeling. It’s easy to focus on how it feels too soon or too big to understand, instead I'm gonna try and feel that feeling. I believe it’s love --BD

A photo posted by SPOON (@spoontheband) on

I Miss My Brother. Prince Was A Funny Cat. Great Sense Of Humor.

A photo posted by Spike Lee (@officialspikelee) on

It was Raspberry Beret. I was 4 years old. Yes, 4. I remember that I instantly loved it. "Mommy, who is that singing?" Seems weird but it's true. More than a "once in a lifetime" artist... Just a ONCE IN FOREVER ARTIST. I'm still in shock as I write this and I feel this overwhelming grief. But, we should all turn away from that and HONOR this musician that changed all of our lives, our perspectives, our feeling, our whole being. From another planet? Probably. Royalty, for sure. Us worthy..? Laughable. They say don't meet your idols... That they let you down. But, some of my greatest, funniest (yes, he was hilarious), and most prolific encounters and conversations about music came from the moments that I spent with him. It would be silly to say that he has inspired our music... It's beyond that. He's somewhere within every song I've ever written. I am sad, but I will smile when I think of every second that I had the fortune of being in his company. We have lost our greatest living musician. But his music will never die. Prince, NOTHING COMPARES... #RIPPrince

A photo posted by Justin Timberlake (@justintimberlake) on

 
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