Photo Credit Ann Treacy
Intro Rebecca Marx
I was out of town when the musical community of the Twin Cities and beyond came together to celebrate the life of Prince, a life gone too soon. I never felt so far from home as I watched the global news coverage of our collective mourning. I felt like a voyeur when Bowie passed away, this time it was all too personal.
Returning to my Sin City hotel room every night, I pored over the Facebook posts and messages from loved ones at home in Minnesota. I’d like to extend gratitude to my like minded community, thank you for the lifeline that kept me connected to all that was going on at First Avenue and the pilgrimages to Paisley Park in honor of Prince’s life.
I admit that I took Prince for granted, I thought that he would always be there, a constant creative force. In life, as in death he will remain an enigma, there’ll never be another like him, EVER.
What follows are personal reflections about Prince from fellow writers at Rift. We are just like you, reeling from the loss of Prince, but proud of the Minnesota kid that made good. He made all of us good by association-what a debt we owe him. All of our communal stories are part of his legacy, part of his legend that will continue to grow and never cease.
Ann Treacy:
Everybody in the Twin Cities has a Prince story. We saw him at First Avenue. We danced with him at Glam Slam. We went to late night Paisley Park gigs. He supported our friend’s new bands and careers. We knew people who knew people who knew him, which is kind of like knowing him too when you might actually run into him hanging out in Minneapolis.
He supported his community. He hired local talent. He played surprise gigs in unexpected places – all in Minneapolis. He set a standard in the industry. He made us love our community a little more.
He was an amazing musician. He performed like no one else. As a kid I would
have been much more likely to see Husker Du than Prince but it was a tough call if you had tickets to both – because he was a Sexy MF on stage. His music crossed all boundaries – those of us luckily enough to see Bob Mould and Suicide Commandoes cover “When you were mine” last Friday night at First Avenue were reminded of his range.
He was the soundtrack of a generation (maybe two) around the world. And that’s what made us all a little cooler.
I didn’t understand Prince’s reach until I moved to London in 1987 and saw his records featured in the Virgin Megastore. Until people quit asking me if I knew about cars (Indianapolis 500 – aka Minneapolis 500 in areas outside the US) and started asking me about Prince. I don’t even feel like I lied (much) when I said yes – because I did know him. I knew where he danced and worked and lived. We were from the same place. Prince made everyone in Minnesota cooler.
Desney Cody:
Prince is someone who will live on forever. Him and his music inspired people all across the world. Especially, here in Minneapolis. Prince’s movie Purple Rain put Minneapolis on the map, and basically created the music scene here. Prince has inspired people in more ways than just his music. He inspired people to be themselves and to not care about what others have to say or think about you. For me, while I am not a musician; I am just a music lover, Prince has still had a huge impact on me.
Prince’s music can really take you to a different place that is out of this world. His lyrics are so powerful. Most people don’t know that his song Purple Rain is actually about Heaven, or at least his idea of Heaven. And he is trying to take you there throughout the whole song. That’s why the music and his voice gets higher and higher, as you get closer and closer to his idea of Heaven; Purple Rain. Then it slows back down once you’re there. When I listen to that song, I can feel it in my heart and soul. It is one of the greatest songs of all time, to me. Prince has also created a world of his own within his music, and that is how he inspires me.
He found something he loved, and did it the way he wanted it done and he didn’t care what anyone else had to say about it. He wasn’t going to change, or quit. And that attitude shows throughout every single one of his songs and you saw it in his eyes when he was performing. If only I could, or more people in this world, have that same attitude and mindset. To him, he knew this world wasn’t perfect but he was going to do everything in power to make it perfect in his eyes.
Ryan Meaney:
It is difficult to ruminate on the loss of a giant. How does one even go about praising the work of someone who needed no praise? Everyone has a Prince story; something that he provided in their life that changed it for the better. His music transcended time and genre, gender and space. He could sing with sharpness that could cut glass and play the guitar like a virtuoso.
He left a mark on R & B, soul, funk, hip-hop, and rock. Ask any musician who did it best, and surely Prince will come up. And Minneapolis was his. He changed a city by creating its sound. Sure he left a few times, but he always came back. This was his home, and he was as tied to the city as the city was tied to him.
What makes this loss so great is that there will never be anything close to him again. All we have is the beautiful noise he left behind. To say he will be missed is an understatement; Prince was needed, he is needed, and he will be needed far into the future.
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