Singapore's musicians and artists share their favorite Prince songs
If you're still in mourning.
It's been three days since Prince took over our Facebook feeds, all flamboyance and showmanship even in death, but if you still haven't gotten your Prince fix (or if you're taking his passing as a chance to school yourself), here's what our favorite local nightlife and music gurus say are his best songs.
"Dearly beloved/We are gathered together/To get through this thing called life," from “Let’s Go Crazy” struck a chord in me. Pessimistic about online streaming models that proffer creators a pathetic slice of the pie, Prince was often in the limelight for wrestling with industry heavyweights and fighting for his artistic freedom. How far is too far? Perhaps it was a misstep to launch a legal battle against a mother whose baby pranced to “Let’s Go Crazy”. But that’s Prince personified: Forever pushing boundaries and just figuring out how to get through life.
Prince has always been this: retro MTV at my grandparents house on Saturdays. We didn't have cable at home so my sister and I got our fix there. I remember him in the "Kiss" video, the first gender-bender-falsetto-pop-god I ever knew. Now the video is a lot more sexual than I remember it being. I don't know how my grandparents left it on!
My favorite Prince song of all time is "Kiss". From the opening "UHH" of the track to the shrieking caterwaul at 3:27 to the lyric "Act your age not your shoe size, mama", this song is all dripping sex; all unabashed desire and power. It's the song you play when you're putting on THAT dress to go out with THAT man in THOSE heels.
"Diamonds and Pearls" is my favorite because the lyrics "If I gave you diamonds... Would you be a happy boy or a girl" struck me as curiously bisexual and tantalizingly erotic when I first heard it. Prince was like an unconscious transgender deity in the field of popular culture who transcended categories like Bowie and Freddy Mercury before him: what a postmodern inspiration!
I would say my favourite is "Cream". I heard it the first time on MTV. Love the video and it pretty much sums up Prince’s role as an icon in terms of music, style, fashion, sexuality and beyond. He will be missed.
My whole life as an artist I've wanted to be like Prince but I've never been brave enough. "I Can't Make U Love Me" is not by Prince. It was recorded by Bonnie Raitt. But I remember hearing his version in the late 90s and thinking, "This is how you sing heartbreak, this is how you make people feel with music." It was a lightbulb moment for me as a musician and artist. Prince didn't just make great songs; he made other people's songs great as well.
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