Prince interviewed about "dead celebrity" digital performances....

[jberryhill]

https://sites.google.com/site/themusicinterviewarchive/prince/prince-1998-guitar-world-interview

GW: With digital editing, it is now possible to create a situation where you could jam with any artist from the past. Would you ever consider doing something like that?

0{+> : Certainly not. That's the most demonic thing imaginable. Everything is as it is, and it should be. If I was meant to jam with Duke Ellington, we would have lived in the same age. That whole virtual reality thing... it really is demonic. And I am not a demon. Also, what they did with that Beatles song ["Free As a Bird"], manipulating John Lennon's voice to have him singing from across the grave... that'll never happen to me. To prevent that kind of thing from happening is another reason why I want artistic control.

[zaj]

1. I thought this seemed to be a respectful way to feature him and not be too "demonic"

[cbdo2007]

2. Obviously his kids feel differently.

I thought the tribute was well done and did not in any way try to portray him as still being here, so I think JT can sleep peacefully tonight in his giant mansion.

[unblock]

3. i thought "free as a bird" and "real love" were tasteful and lovely and i am grateful for them.

i see prince's side, and i think some of the talk about such a recording, particularly something like a video with a live performer side-by-side with a ghostly image of the deceased performer, as if performing together, that's kinda weird.

but i find nothing wrong at all with posthumously adding harmonies and such to a recording made by a deceased musician.



prince has an extensive collection of unreleased musical creations. i can't imagine they'll keep that locked up forever, and i can't imagine they won't put some production effort into cleaning it up, at a minimum.

[WhiskeyGrinder]

4. Lots of perspectives on Black Twitter about the concept of the zombie, which in the Haitian

tradition embodies the fear of an enslaved person that their body can be forced to work even after death.

Justin Timberlake has made a lot of money off appropriation over the years. I wasn't thrilled to see this use of Prince's image myself.

[Tipperary]

6. I agree. Timberlake surely knew Princes feelings on this, but he did it anyway.

It was mercenary and disrespectful.

[global1]

5. I Thought It Was Cool The Way Around The Stadium....

they lit it up with purple lights and the Prince symbol. I would like to see that again. Are there any YouTube clips of that available?

[Lochloosa]

11. ....

[global1]

12. Thanks For Posting....

is there an explanation anywhere as to how they pulled this off. It was fantastic.

[lindysalsagal]

7. Anyone who names themselves Prince isn't exactly attention-averse. My take:

Both Prince and JT are pop stars. No golden idols, here.

His heirs hold the rights, so, that's water under the bridge. They allowed this. I think JT did him justice. JT admits Prince is the far greater artist/musician/writer. Good for him. Gotta give it up to JT for that.

Is JT the correct one to stage a rememberance? Possibly. Not a terrible musician, by any means. He has good taste. The dancers were all clothed, which to me, is a relief. I'm sick and tired of "singers" who can't "sing" with their clothes on. I like that about JT.

Which brings up the Janet fiasco. No one thinks he did that by himself. It was staged. She played along. Utter crap. He should have refused. It was tacky, but no harm done. Janet knew what she was doing. She made her choice. Could she get any attention just from singing? If so, why didn't she?

Do past artists benefit from exposure with newer ones? Absolutely. No one else is promoting the past.

Can different genres share the same space? Certainly.

Did this substantially damage Prince's legacy? No. I think, the opposite. This was his hometown. They loved it.

Was JT using the legacy for his own notoriety? Maybe. But they're both pop stars, so, what's the harm?

Is JT's new album a hit? Apparently not, but whatever. That's the business, and he's no kid, anymore. Maybe he needs some musical maturation. Sting and Paul Simon went into world music. James Taylor went jazz. Lady Gaga and Rod Stewart and Linda Rondstadt went standards. JT will have to find his own future. Not my responsibility.

I like him. He seems like a really nice guy, but apparently, not all of his lyrics are harmless. But, does the world need a male Taylor Swift?

It's a tough business and he's taking his hits. Not really a fan, but I do like him and hope he'll keep turning up. He's taking a beating out there, and well, he asked for it when he took the contract....

[Cobalt Violet]

9. He didn't name himself that. He was given that name.

[Aristus]

10. Prince was his birth name. He didn't give it to himself.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prince_(musician)

[msongs]

8. prince music now available on youtube. live prince didnt like it but his heirs are ok with it nt

[phylny]

13. Justin Timberlake on The Tonight Show

Here's what he said, after Fallon said, "You made Minneapolis turn purple and had the Prince symbol on it.":

"He's a...it's a moment for me, if I'm being quite honest, because he's always been the pinnacle of musicianship for me and when we decided that like the serendipity and synergy that we would be in Minneapolis and that, you know, he's such a special thing here, aside from what he is all over the world, I just felt like i wanted to do something for this city and something for him that would just be the ultimate homage to what I consider the g.o.a.t. of musicians. And also, like, I'm not going to lie to you guys, because Questlove is the encyclopedia on music but also like, the, I feel like a gatekeeper on Prince, so, like, if I got the thumbs up from Quest, I'm good....I just wanted to use that opportunity to do something special for this city, but most of all, for my favorite musician of all time."