Don't tell any of his Jehovah's Witness friends, but Prince Rogers Nelson turns 52 glorious years old today. As always, I'll be celebrating in various nerdly ways. Right now that involves a quick listen to the "Gett Off" maxi-single (whatever the hell a maxi-single is), including the ridiculous "Flutestramental" version.
Despite some difficult artistic and business decisions as of late, this is actually a great time to be a Prince fan. After years of stomping on and suing anyone who posted anything on the internet featuring his work (his internet cops even asked YouTube to take down a video of my toddler daughter swaying to his music), he's either fallen asleep or seen the light because there's a treasure trove of unreleased concert videos and songs being posted and watched right now. It's crazy, amazing, genius stuff I never even knew existed.
If you have a minute or two, check out the Minnesota Dance Theater Benefit show from August 1983, where he and the Revolution debuted the songs that would become "Purple Rain." Prince even used some of the tracks recorded live that night as the foundation for the album. But besides its historical significance, the show is also just totally amazing to watch. This is Prince before he became all manicured. He's raw, sweaty and sleazy. Watch it while you can.
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