Celebrating Prince

Five years ago this week, Prince’s death left us wondering if we’d ever see another talent who could compare to his. And the truth is, we won’t. But we can celebrate his genius and promise we’ll never make a party playlist without 1999.

In fact, that’s a pretty good place to start — the party anthem to end all others. While it may have the most mass appeal in his discography, Prince very literally sought Controversy. Today, far too many songs are manufactured for mass appeal, but because 1999 had a simple message so brilliantly executed, we’ll still be dancing to it in 2099.

1999 album cover.

Rather than create personas, Prince gave us glimpses into what were authentically his own. He was private, unbelievably prolific and utterly fearless. If you couldn’t handle it, he didn’t care. He worshipped women, yet embodied both the masculine and feminine. He was very religious yet overtly sexual. He instinctively knew how to get people onto a dance floor, yet expressed himself just as fluidly through eccentric, poetic lyrics. Think about Little Red Corvette versus Starfish & Coffee, for example.
A body like yours, oughta be in jail / ’Cause it's on the verge of bein' obscene
Now, move over, baby, gimme the keys / I'm gonna try to tame your little red love machine”

Then there’s his G-rated masterpiece:

“It was seven forty-five we were all in line / To greet the teacher Miss Cathleen
First was Kevin, then came Lucy, third in line was me
All of us were ordinary compared to Cynthia Rose
She always stood at the back of the line, a smile beneath her nose”

Sign o’ the Times album cover.

What made the losses of both Prince and David Bowie so tragic — especially within months of each other — was the sheer scale of their geniuses. Prince’s legendary, bottomless vault of unreleased songs will fill up posthumous albums for years and years to come. And when they do, we’ll be wearing our Starfish & Coffee t-shirts, ready to drop the needle.