Category Archives: This Other Cool Stuff

Three Boring Things Prince Did in the Strangest Ways Possible

Find Religion For most, getting straight with God is a nonevent. When Prince does it, it’s a national news story. In 2001, Prince became a Jehovah’s Witness. According to a popular story, he converted in accordance with his mother’s dying wish. The religion is an odd fit for Prince for a variety of reasons—it’s characterizedContinue reading “Three Boring Things Prince Did in the Strangest Ways Possible”

Prince Ruined this Post

So the original plan was that I would do a “worst (or maybe the best) of Prince” post. It was going to focus on “Bat Dance,” his ass-less MTV movie award stretch pants, whatever scenes I could find from Under the Cherry Moon and probably more oddball stuff Prince has done in front of cameras.Continue reading “Prince Ruined this Post”

Something Wrong with the Machinery: How Prince Created and Was Doomed by the Sound of the ’80s

While he’s grown into an internet-hating technophobe, in the ‘80s, Prince embraced new technologies with enthusiasm. He was one of the first to buy the LM-1, a $5,000 drum machine innovative for its use of sampled sounds. The LM-1, designed in part by the drummer from Toto, was a revolutionary device. Previous drum machines madeContinue reading “Something Wrong with the Machinery: How Prince Created and Was Doomed by the Sound of the ’80s”

Dig If You Will the Picture: Track by Track with Purple Rain (Side 2)

When Doves Cry Prince blazes out of the side two gates with a jarring guitar solo set over a weird industrial beat and horror movie sounds in the last and greatest of the album’s fake-out openings. Then we get into an irresistible keyboard hook and Prince starts singing nonsense real smooth and electronically over aContinue reading “Dig If You Will the Picture: Track by Track with Purple Rain (Side 2)”

Electric Word Life: Track by Track with Purple Rain (Side 1)

Let’s Go Crazy Every song on the first half of Purple Rain starts with sections that are irrelevant to the rest of the song. “Let’s go Crazy” has the longest one, a full minute of free associative pseudo-preaching over a trembling keyboard solo. Then the song kicks into an up-tempo rocker that, minus a couple ofContinue reading “Electric Word Life: Track by Track with Purple Rain (Side 1)”

Prince Week: The Most Talented Man in Music and why he Will Almost Certainly be Forgotten

Someday, when Michael Jackson and Madonna are still part of the pop cultural conversation, Prince will be forgotten. Despite his talent, his fascinating and difficult persona and truly impressive body of work, there will come a day that no one will remember Prince. A woefully bad self-editor and a terrible curator of his own music,Continue reading “Prince Week: The Most Talented Man in Music and why he Will Almost Certainly be Forgotten”

How Greatest Hits Go Wrong Part 5: The Dreaded Reimagining

For a brief explanation on this series, click here.  “Don’t Stand So Close to Me” isn’t the upper tier of Police tunes, but it’s an agreeably perky little pop song with a slightly uncomfortable undertone. Or at least the original version is. On their 1986 compilation album Every Breath You Take: The Singles, history’s blondest three-pieceContinue reading “How Greatest Hits Go Wrong Part 5: The Dreaded Reimagining”

How Greatest Hits Go Wrong, Part 3: Dramatic Change in Personnel

Buying Van Halen’s greatest hits probably seems like a pretty solid choice, right? Especially the collection called “Volume I” that would seem, by virtue of its title, to focus on Van Halen’s first two decades of hard rockin’ David Lee Roth tunes. But nine out of 17 songs are Van Hagar. They never put outContinue reading “How Greatest Hits Go Wrong, Part 3: Dramatic Change in Personnel”

Christopher Hitchens: My First Critic

Christopher Hitchens sent me an email in response to the first story I ever published. And he was an asshole about it. I don’t have the email and the story is no longer online. But, in short: I wrote a rambling, self-indulgent review of Infinite Jest, a book that I had not at the timeContinue reading “Christopher Hitchens: My First Critic”