The Question of Prince

If there’s one thing my mom and Prince had in common (and I never thought I'd utter THOSE words), it was their disdain for the internet.  While my mom often declares that “the internet is the worst thing they ever invented”, the little purple guy was in typical “crazy, old man” mode 20 years ago when he warned of the doom that would accompany said invention if it ever caught on.  Well, it did catch on and while my mom has pretty much ignored its existence, His Purpleness spent the rest of his life trying to figure out how to use the internet without letting it use him.  He even refused to let his music be uploaded to YouTube.  I’m not sure whether he himself did it or he just hired someone to, but the moment a song of his was posted to the site the audio would immediately be removed.  Honestly, that’s the reason I haven’t made more references to him in this blog – there were no videos to post…until this past week, that is.  Within minutes of the official confirmation of his death, people began to upload his music to YouTube and the plays began to mount.  I guess whoever was in charge of police-ing the site decided to let the fans mourn their idol by sharing his work.  I spent a few hours listening to his music that night, but not on YouTube.  I listened to the vast collection of Prince songs that resides on my computer hard drive…and I’m proud to say that every single one of them was downloaded legally or ripped from CD’s I actually purchased.  I guess that’s my tribute to Prince.  I never digitally stole from him while he was living and I won’t start now.  I’m sure virtually everything he ever recorded is available on YouTube by now, but I prefer to respect his wishes and honor him without audio.

So what is the answer 2 the question of u?
What do I look 4? What shall I do?
Which way do I turn when I'm feeling lost?
If I sell my soul, now what will it cost?
Must I become naked, no image at all?
Shall I remain upright or get down and crawl?

All of the questions in my life will be answered
When I decide which road 2 choose
What is the answer 2 the question of u?

That lyric is from the first Prince song I listened to after hearing of his death.  I was out at the time, so it was a couple of hours before I got home.  I sat down at my computer, clicked the mouse a few times and then stared at the folder named after him for several minutes before finally clicking on it with a lump in my throat.  As I stared at the song titles, I realized how upset I was.  It always seems a little ridiculous to me when people get emotional over the loss of someone they never met just because they enjoyed their work.  But I was literally on the verge of tears as I sat there.  I must have read every song title twice before one finally jumped out at me.  It wasn’t one of his big hits, but it was a song I had always liked.  I clicked on it and was startled a little at the chaotic little flute-ish sound at the beginning.  I was wearing ear buds and the volume was VERY loud.  By the time I got it turned down, the drums had started.  Every beat hit me right in the pit of my stomach as I anticipated what it would be like to hear his voice for the first time since learning of his passing.  When I heard him sing that first line, I lost it.  I was sitting a few feet away from my girlfriend at the time and the living room was dimly lit.  I did my best to hide my tears from her.  If she noticed, she didn’t say anything.  I listened to “The Question of U” two more times before finally moving on.  After listening to a handful of other songs, I unplugged the ear buds and she & I listened to several more of his songs together before going to bed.

When I woke up the next morning, Prince was the first person I thought of.  I think that’s when I realized that I had truly lost someone important to me.  It didn’t matter that I never met him.  It didn’t even matter that I wasn’t the biggest Prince fan in the world.  I own six Prince CD’s (two from THIS century, mind you).  I own another five of his albums and several of his singles digitally.  And I can tell you EXACTLY what grade I was in or where I worked and where I lived and who I was dating when each one of them was released.  Prince may not have been a friend of mine, but he had been there for most of my life…and now he isn’t.  And that makes me sad.

Prince Rogers Nelson

June 7, 1958 – April 21, 2016