Man, were there some great Prince-related articles over the past week. Here are some of my favorites.
Joe Posnanski used Prince’s death as an excuse to look back on his epic Super Bowl halftime show. Although the Colts won that night, my biggest memories of the evening are Prince’s performance and how cold it was that night when I took the trash out after the game.[1] What a crappy game.
Consequence of Sound looked back at, well, A Brief History of Prince Being Prince.
Jonah Keri wrote about the broader meaning of Prince, and entertainers like him, for our culture. He has some great videos embedded, including the legendary Rock ’n Roll Hall of Fame performance from 2004. I had never seen the performance of “Nothing Compares 2 U” with Mary J. Blige before.
Why icons like Prince dominate our attention and imagination
Two pieces from Questlove. First, his story from awhile back about roller skating with Prince.
Next, his proper eulogy for the man.
In This Life, You’re on Your Own
Another story about an evening with Prince.
A couple years back I posted the video from the night that “Purple Rain” was performed for the first time, and from which much of the album version was pulled, during that 36 hours or so it was online. Anil Dash breaks the song down to its component parts. Thanks to John N. for sending this my way.
This here is fine reporting. Go find someone that doesn’t, at first glance, seem to have a connection with Prince and learn that indeed there is one.
‘Defying description’: ZZ Top’s Billy Gibbons on Prince the ‘sensational’ guitarist
Finally, Rob Harvilla had fine advice for anyone who was a fan.
Mourn Prince However You Can, For As Long As You Want
- The windchill was something insane like –20. ↩