All of this got me thinking. Will Madonna
be called a genius when she leaves us? She is,
after all, the most successful female pop icon in
the business. Then again she has never been
treated fairly by the media, or praised for her
talent, so why should they have a change of
heart? I hope I am wrong but I doubt she will
be called a genius - not even though her
contribution to music, music videos, movies,
and concert tours (just to name a few) are
nothing short of iconic and legendary. For some
reason, with women, the press always focuses
on something other than their talent. One quote
about Madonna has been stuck in the back of
my head since the early 90’s: ”she is a
marketing machine with a computer in the
place of a brain.” That sort of sums it all up.
Some may be outraged that I even
mention Madonna in a Prince article. But
Michael Jackson, Prince, Madonna - they have
been the Holy Trinity of Pop, all of them born in
the same year and, as it turns out,
unfortunately only one of them still standing.
I have fond memories of Prince and his music.
Who can forget his music video (or the vocal)
for 'Kiss'? Just today I saw an African-American
woman grooving to it, yelling ”sayyyiiit Prince!”
It put a wide smile on my face. At the time the
song came out I wasn't sure what to think of
him. I couldn't figure him out. It would take a
good few years for me to truly appreciate him a several hundred demos in Prince time. At one
point in my life I was called ”Prince” by a
schoolmate because of my hair, it was slightly
similar to his 90's look. Thank God only very
little photo evidence exists. I remember all the
car rides with friends while listening to ’Sexy
M.F.’ and ’Gett Off.’ Every morning before
heading for classes, I’d catch ’Cream’ on MTV
and later when I came home, ’Diamonds and
Pearls.’
What always fascinated me about Prince was his
ability to be masculine and feminine at the
same time. He was able to pull off all of those
laces and ruffles and flamboyant costumes but
still maintaining all his masculine bravado. Even
when his bare butt cheeks were beautifully
circled by yellow lace. But he pulled it off and
managed to turn us on.
Painting (above) by Patrick De Vries.