10 Lessons I Learned from Prince

I got my first Prince album from my brother. I was too young to see Purple Rain in the theatre, he saw it with my mum, and he had the cassette. I listened to it so much, he finally let me keep it. I was in grade 6.

So I spent my formative years listening to Prince. I think he's one of the reasons I continued to find the chutzpah each day to keep dressing and acting how I wanted to, though it drew a lot of sh*t from my peers.

Therefore, in honor of our upcoming Fated Meeting, here are my Life Lessons from Prince.


#1 Sex, love, and spiritual matters should all be held in reverence ...usually within the same verse.

Lovesexy: Prince's most religious album... pre-JW that is ;-)

#2 Don't be afraid to express yourself, even if you'll stand out from the crowd. Even if people will make fun of you because you're a straight guy in chick's clothes.

For the best jokes on this, see the video at the end of the post.

#3 No matter how physically different you are... OWN IT.

"Y'all is taller 'n me, but how many a you can carry off a pimp cane?"

#4 Partying is funner when you include everyone. (His JW-ness these days is surely less inclusive, but growing up it was all about the gender bending and bicuriosity and "black white Puerto Rican everybody justa freakin'".)

 

#5 Follow your heart, including your artist's heart, even if people don't understand where you're going. I was 12 when Prince followed up Purple Rain with Around the World in a Day, and I think that's when I learned what integrity meant. (...Not the actual word. Aretha Franklin had a B-side called "Integrity" and I didn't know what the f--- the word meant.)


 

#6 Eccentrics are good for society. (John Stuart Mill thought so too.)

 

 

  

Not only are they occasionally geniuses, but sometimes while making fools out of themselves they raise important questions like...

? Do artists have to be available at all times for the public (such as for interviews)? Or is it enough that they, you know, produce art?

? How far do we let corporations go in the exchange of labor and pay? Prince got fed up with Warner owning his music and since the general public didn't understand the full extent of the f**ckwaddery of the music industry, and since he went about it in his usual oddball manner, peeples made fun of him. But there are other crapitudinous companies in retail and in service... and not always a Prince to use an unpronounceable name for them.

#7 When the old ways don't work anymore, you have to experiment with new ones. Even if you fail a few times.

#8 Even geniuses fail a few times.

 
 

#9 A good swear word is a balm to the soul. He'd be sad to know I learned this from him now that he's got religion. But no one delivered a motherf***er or a "Good God!" like he did. Sigh.

And finally...

#10 Don't let the boys hog all the fun toys. 

Wendy Melvoin

Sheila E.

Candy Dulfer

New bassist Ida Nielsen

Rhonda Smith

DJ Rashida

Now if you really want a treat, this is from the Chappelle Show, where Eddie Murphy's brother told these crazy stories from the 80s when he would hang out with Eddie in Hollywood. (This is where "I'm Rick James bitch!" comes from.) They're SO funny. In this one Prince challenges Eddie and Charlie and their gang to a game of basketball. Prince really did play basketball in high school, all 5'2'' of him. 

"I dare you to challenge Prince to a game of ball one on one! ...After it was all over he took us in the house and served us pancakes."

Life Lessons From Drugs: Addendum to Yesterday

It's 5 AM so I gotta keep this short. Evil Minion is trying to convince me to go to bed, cause that's when she gets her crunchies.

I'm one day behind in my blog reading again. But it's okay, I blame it on the Topamax. Which one wise Betty pointed out, sounds like Tampax. That can't be good.

One of my friends was concerned by my description of Topamax side effects. I understand some people don't like to take drugs that might f*** with their brains. I can't say it super bothers me. Because...

1. Well, I'm just not so attached to this life that I'm determined to keep it forever. "This causes cancer! This causes death!" Yes yes. I WILL die one day. But that's a post for another day.

2. I'm not anti-"natural remedies" but I'm not anti-science either.

3. The thing about my original malady, having headaches every single day, all day, is that that has side effects too. Chronic headaches also cause foggy thinking. And depression. And frustration and aggression. I can't wear glasses, hats, headphones, or anything else on my head. It gets to a point where I can't read, do work/homework, or concentrate. So... anytime I take a new drug I'm just weighing the side effects of the drug against the "side effects" of having headaches all the time.

4. I'm an intellectually curious person. This will sound insensitive but... I would probably like to experience what it's like to feel suicidal, if it were in a controlled setting. (Topamax has this effect on a small number of people, in a short period of time.) Because then I could understand how that feels. I've never felt suicidal, but I know many who have.

What I have experienced with Top, is what it's like to have uncontrollable crying, or to feel like your emotions are on edge. And to feel hopeless. To borrow a phrase someone else used, Hopelessness was never on the Mabel Menu until this past February. It wasn't pleasant, and I'm thankful I only felt it in a narrow way (towards my marriage), but it was a great learning experience. Or empathetic experience. I can't say I want to give that up, or that I regret it.

My parents will recall that when I had to have jaw surgery, at 16, I was excited because it would be good experience. Everything in those days was seen through the lens of: This is good experience for my writing!

And so... on we go with Topamax, 100 mg. Today I had a completely clear day, except for the last hour. Which always happens when I DON'T GO TO BED ON TIME. Well, I can try one of my new painkillers then. Goodnight!