RIP Prince, 57

[CapnJack]

More details to follow.

[urth]

HOLY FUCKING FUCK!!

http://consequenceofsound.net/2016/04/r-i-p-prince-legendary-musician-has-died-at-the-age-of-57/

[mshray]

TMZ's coverage is pretty thorough: http://www.tmz.com/2016/04/21/prince-dead-at-57/

I don't know how many of you've ever heard of Michael Franks, and even if so I'd doubt you know this particular song, "When Blackbirds Fly".  But not only is it very lovely, it is also - by the final verse - a poignant reflection on the brevity of our lives.

Www.youtube.com/watch?v=zJlMSAItfkE

[Lightnin' Rod]

RIP.  Pretty shocked right now.  He wasn't an artist I particularly followed, but his talents and contributions to popular music can't be denied.

It's selfish, but I can't separate his passing from the fact that I turn 57 in a couple of weeks.  I need to set up an appointment for a physical...

[RGMike]

[RGMike]

To their credit, KFOG played 2 hours of Prince when the news broke (interspersed, I'm told, with Pinfield's personal Prince stories). Some were bemoaning the fact we'll never get to hear AL's Prince 10@10... except she did one in March when the Purple One was in town:

3/04/16 - Friday!  It's Purple Friday... Prince

1. Prince - Let's Go Crazy
    (Dave Chapelle talks about Prince and inviting Eddie Murphy to his house: "assemble your crew")
2. Prince - Little Red Corvette
    (Dave Chapelle on Prince challenging his guests to a basketball game against him and the Revolution)
3. Prince - Delirious
    (Dave Chapelle on playing basketball against Prince and the Revolution)
4. Prince - I Would Die 4 U
    (Dave Chapelle on playing basketball against Prince and the Revolution)
5. Prince - Baby I'm A Star
6. Prince - 1999
7. Prince - Take Me With U
    (interview with Queen Latifah cites Prince and Purple Rain as an early influence)
8. Prince - Kiss
9. Prince - Darling Nikki
    (Movie:  Purple Rain trailer)
10.Prince - Purple Rain

[darryl]

So, if you haven't see the Cast from The Color Purple on Broadway sing their tribute to Prince, I'm sharing this again, because it blows me away:

[darryl]

This has made it around the Internets, but local Minneapolis public radio music station The Current (http://www.thecurrent.org/) is doing an A to W of Prince's catalog and it runs *deep*, since this was his local station. I was listening yesterday too. Article talked about how he was a listener, a supporter (donor), and even a guest at their local parties.

Most reliable stream for me has been through TuneIn: http://tunein.com/radio/The-Current-893-s20620/

On Thursday, April 21, Minnesota and the world lost a beloved musical icon when Prince died at the age of 57. So we're celebrating the life, music, and legacy of Prince by playing his catalogue, A to W, with 26 hours of music.

Listen starting at 6 p.m. Central Daylight Time on Friday, April 22, when The Current will play Prince's catalogue from A to W (strictly speaking, it doesn't include the letters X, Y and Z). The playlist will run approximately 26 hours and conclude at 8 p.m. on Saturday, April 23.

I don't know 1/100th of this stuff, but it's great! Nice too that it's *LIVE DJs*, talking about their experiences with Prince, etc. (After "Feel U Up" - female DJ backsold it with, "I would've let him feel ME up. Yep." :-)

ETA: Great piece about the station and its relationship with Prince: http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/04/21/prince-s-love-affair-with-minneapolis-radio-an-analog-artist-in-a-digital-world.html

Last year, with Prince’s personal blessing, the station ran a marathon called “Prince A-to-Z,” which started the second an inch of snow fell in Prince’s hometown of Chanhassen. Prince then spent a good chunk of the marathon listening along and tweeting about it.

“For somebody that’s this very mysterious, enigmatic, global superstar, he had a great relationship with us, and he was so involved in our local music scene,” said McGuinn. “He fostered that relationship with us, and The Current really benefitted from it.”