I never went anywhere!'
I still have the cassette I got for my 13th birthday.
It was with that record I became an obsessive, a fanboy lover and a fanboy hater.
His Symbol days and his bitter years confused me and betrayed me in my know-it-all twenties.
His comebacks and his persistence in recent years have brought me back to him here in my humbled forties.
I wanted to see him in his current Piano and Microphone tour.
It would have been my sixth Prince concert.
Now Ill never see him again.
It was during theMusicologycomeback of 2004.
I was supposed to have dinner with him before a show in Glendale, Arizona.
He kept me waiting for hours.
I was digging them out of the bin when my phone rang.
Prince was ready to see me now.
I met him as he was coming off the stage from rehearsal.
He wore cranberry and black.
His handshake was firm.
His eyes were gorgeous.
And I had no idea what to say.
As we walked to a cafeteria, he broke the ice by talking about movies.
He had just seen Kevin SmithsJersey Girl.
He wasnt a fan.
We sat down to eat pasta.
you’re gonna wanna pray for your food, he said.
you’ve got the option to read about it in the story below.
Prince famously refused to let journalists record his voice, but he did let me take notes.
I drifted out of his presence excited and terrified of this prospect.
Im going to hang out with Prince!
I never once thought to ask about the protocol for how this might happen.
But he said to meet him here!
That he wanted to hang out with me…
The security guard gave me a look that said, Yeah, right.
He was all diamonds and pearls and paradoxes.
Can I tell you one more story about Prince?
It was the very first time I listened to theSign o the Timesalbum.
I remember every single second of that experience.
It was Washington, D.C., the summer of 1987, humid as hell.
I bought the tape from a discount record store four blocks from The White House.
), I lifted off.
No other record had ever moved me like that.
It moves me still.
Today, of all days.
See the full cover story below.
Now its time to show him the love.
He covers his me-so-pretty face with his hands, and the applause only gets louder.
Its a big, messy wet kiss, and it clearly means a whole lot to him.
More than his fans might have considered possible.
More, perhaps, than hes willing to admit.
Changing his name to an unpronounceable symbol.
Scrawling the word slave on his cheek.
That moment finally seems to have arrived.
In February, his electrifying Grammy duet with Beyonce opened the show, and stole it.
His current touron which hes allegedly playing his hits for the last timeis selling out across the country.
Critics are calling his new CD, Musicology (in stores April 20), his best in years.
Yes, Prince eats.
He also goes to the multiplex.
Its just that according to Prince, Smith didnt replace it with anything interesting.
We walked out after an hour, he sniffs.
Guess thats what happens when the potty mouth dont work for you anymore.
Though 5 foot 2, Prince does not radiate short.
He even has a scent, though an elusive one.
Not a perfume but a powder, like hes been dusted with incense.
Prince in the flesh is pop evanescence incarnate.
Its only when he opens his mouth that he resembles the rest of us mortals.
Hearing him talk about ordinary things is almost a shock.
He speaks in hushed-voice gushesmegabyte downloads of wit, logic, and Christian evangelism.
(We were discussing whether he thinks hes misunderstood.)
Strangely, the whole thing makes sense.
Of course, he does have his obsessions.
Or perhaps obsession would be more accurate.
Princes attitude about the music industry in a nutshell: He wishes it would go away.
He hates how labels have exploited our warp-speed culture at the expense of nurturing long-term careers.
It took me four albums to get on the cover of Rolling Stone.
Now it takes new artists only one.
There should be rules for that kind of thing!
But occasionally, some grace breaks through.
His beef is with the system, not the people who run it.
When I realized that, thats when I took the word slave off my face, he says.
I realized that they are as much slaves as I am.
I think of the music business as a city, he says.
You tear one down, another whole city starts developing.
But a city needs human beings to run it.
This is what we need today.
This is what I want to bea musical mentor.
To pass on the knowledge.
He doesnt find the current system completely useless: Columbia Records is handling the traditional retail distribution of Musicology.
Obviously, he doesnt feel the same way about us as he does about [his old label].
I hear what hes saying.
I dont necessarily have to agree with everything hes saying, but I hear him.
Prince does see a place in his new world order for the current power players.
You know that guy who dances funny on American Idol?
He means William Hung (see review on page 79).
That works for the record industry, he says with a laugh.
We need somebody to release those kind of records.
Does his implied critique include packaged popsters like Britney Spears, too?
Prince begs off, not wanting to name names.
I mean no disrespect, he says.
But I see it as my duty to school young people coming up.
What does a kidwhat do other artists get out of that?
I dont mind if Mariah Carey hits bad notes.
Being a role model doesnt mean Prince lacks mentors of his own, like Stevie Wonder.
His insight is priceless, says Prince.
Its easy to see why he would connect with Wonder.
Both are undisputed musical geniuses who fought forand gottotal creative control over their music.
Prince Rogers Nelson was just 19 when he signed a multimillion-dollar, three-album deal with Warner Bros. in 1977.
After Janet, weve gone too far.
You cant push the envelope any further than I pushed it.
So what is he learning from Stevie these days?
I learn just by watching him, he says.
Here, hold my hand.
Prince extends his palm, and I take it.
Its warm and dry, and his nails are exquisitely manicured.
Now at first, its like Whoa, Im holding hands with a man!'
He quickly releases his grip and throws his hands up.
Hes telling me he respects me.
And by extension, hes teaching me that I have to have that same respect for everybody in life.
There are two things Prince doesnt talk about.
Her husband looks longingly toward the door, then invites me to sit on a small sofa.
Musicology is steeped in the pining of a man not only in love but in love with fidelity.
Thats for all of you to decide.
I dont intellectualize my music.
Im a different person.
Im about the present and moving forward.
New joke, new anecdote, new lesson to be discovered, he says.
You know that old lady in Sunset Boulevard, trapped in her mansion and past glories?
Getting ready for her close-up?
I dont run with that.
Im cool with him not liking Jersey Girl, says Smith.
I fing hated his album Crystal Ball, so now were even.)
As a result of his faith, Prince has developed an uncharacteristic modesty.
Still, it appears he has some kinks to work out in squaring his dogma with his golden-god persona.
Asked if he feels hes alienated his fans over the years, Prince says: No.
The love has never left.
Ive always felt that there were people in my corner.
Its a gift, that God gives us the chance to feel such love.
And its all for His glory: I dont believe in idol worship.
Thats why I dont sign autographs.
This from a man who often prompts his concert audiences to scream his name.
Ironies, contradictions, and exceptions escape Prince like doves from a cage.
But Prince has this problem solved as well.
He doesnt perform those songs anymore.
Look at this situation with the FCC after Janet: Weve gone too far now.
Weve pushed the envelope off the table and forgotten there was a table.
You cant push the envelope any further than I pushed it.
Weve all used shock value to sell things, he says.
I used shock to get attention.
But back when I was doing the freaky songs in the freaky outfits, we were exploring ideas.
I wanted my band to be multiracial, male and female, to reflect society.
The song Sexuality was about education and literacy.
P Control and Sexy MF were about respect for women.
Go and listen to the verses.
All people focus on is the hooks.
To me, hes the best of our generationa total musician making almost otherworldly music.
The DJ wondered if Prince had heard itthen said he couldnt care less if he had.
Just no respect, says Prince.
I wonder if thats the kind of thing the FCC would like to clean up, too.
So…does he like the cover?
I dont like anyone covering my work.
Write your own tunes!
If anyone tried to cover Respect, by Aretha?
I would shoot them myself!
Which is a savvy position for Prince to adopt in our 80s-crazed moment.
Whatever you call it, dont use the C-word.
People are calling this my comeback.
I never went anywhere!
I never stopped playing and recording.
Never had a problem filling arenas.
My appearance on Ellen wasnt part of some master strategy.
She asked if I would perform; I said yes.
Then, quoting from another mans song, Prince says, Dont call it a comeback.
Ive been here for years.
As a result, Prince has to cut the acoustic set, which means no Little Red Corvette.
But dont worry, Phoenix: You should take the whole last-time-for-the-hits thing with a grain of salt.
Well, it is called the 2004ever tour, says Prince when pressed on the subject.
And time is forever.
So…probably not the last time?
Earlier, I asked Prince what the Little Red Corvette ovation at Staples meant to him.
What I was thinking in that moment was, Without any real sacrifice, theres no reward.
The affirmation of the Staples show was a blessing from God.
Youve read the magazines, the gossips.
Im not supposed to be here.
But here I am.
Guess thats what happens when the potty mouth dont work for you anymore.
