I have written a few thousand words about Prince so far, but I have no idea what I am trying to say. His death is devastating and I am shocked to be devastated by it because I didn't think I was a fan. Then I glanced at my phone and saw the dozen or so Prince songs that seem to have found their way into my life.
I was struggling to say that Prince was a soul made of music in the same way that Hendrix was. My relationship with Prince was mixed but I appreciated that he pushed the boundaries of music and integrated so many influences that he transcended gender, race, colour and was just "Prince". He was prolific, just like Hendrix. Music was his whole life, just like Hendrix. He was a great guitarist, just like Hendrix and they shared many influences but Prince was no copyist, he was influential like Hendrix and like Hendrix, he existed because of music, he was a collection of musical notes in human form, creating music from touch and from the heart.
He was a man that said, "Baby I'm a star, that's what I are" and whilst I laughed and cringed, I understood that. He picked a perfect rhyme with poor English where he could have picked a lesser rhyme with better English but it would have spoiled the vibe and I absolutely understand that and it still makes me smile.
I live in the UK and we have royalty but when you say Prince, there is only one man that springs to mind.
Here are some of the songs that I have on my phone. When you listen to "When Doves Cry" the arrangement is so sparse, you forget how much space and emptiness the song has, much of it is purely vocal and drums yet it's not how you remember it.
I still haven't said what I hoped to say because words are failing me. This year seems to go from disaster to disaster and it is difficult to speak from the heart when you have said all the words you would want to say about Prince, but you have said them about someone else.
This is heartbreaking.
