“This is not music. This is a trip.”
: Prince.
…
Reading the lyrics on the inner sleeve,
while I listened to the music.
Creating resonance.
Of feeling connected.
Completely absorbed by his vocal pirouetting with the words.
Poetic harmony with the music.
A lyrical dance.
Lovesexy was Prince’s 10th studio album.
Launched on the 10th May, 1988.
It was the first Prince album I bought.
And became totally absorbed by it.
It felt like you were listening to a party,
a party you wanted to be at.
And by reading the lyrics,
it felt like you almost were.
Oblivious at the time to the fact it was
initially intended as one long play,
so it would be listened to as a continual experience…;
“This is not music, this is a trip.”
Which explains that absorbed feeling,
as opposed to the usual stop/start between songs…
Like a play at the theatre,
a flow from song to song,
from scene to scene.
From one feeling into another.
…
“This feeling’s so good in every single way,
I want it morning, noon and night of every day.
And if by chance I can not have it – I can’t say
But with it I know heaven’s just a kiss away.”
: Prince
…
Knowing the words gives you
a greater connection to the song;
added resonance.
Knowing who played what instruments,
and who wrote the words,
adds dimension to the song.
It’s the layers of a story that create the depth.
And as you peel back the layers,
that depth creates the connection.
…
Thank you for reading.
Have a beautiful night.
Anthony Stoker