the new prince album 3121

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not heard it or downloaded it although i am looking everywhere for it but i do have the title track and its prob the funkiest thing (and i mean funky as in 1987/1986-style funky, not that corny, light in the ass, pastiche type of funky hes been doing for far too long) hes done in ages. am quite amazed really. this album might be the best one hes had in a while. i just need to hear the thing.

― okok, Tuesday, 7 March 2006 13:32 (nineteen years ago)

well it will be released on march 21 so i guess you could buy it then.

― Sterling Clover (s_clover), Tuesday, 7 March 2006 14:59 (nineteen years ago)

not looking hard enough

― sovietpanda (sovietpanda), Tuesday, 7 March 2006 15:37 (nineteen years ago)

skip the p2ps...it's all over usenet

― feverdream, Tuesday, 7 March 2006 15:58 (nineteen years ago)

what's the title about (yes, i'm aware it could be said to have something to do with the date)?

― Raymond Cummings (Raymond Cummings), Tuesday, 7 March 2006 16:02 (nineteen years ago)

xpost alternately you could just WAIT and then buy the fucking album.

― Sterling Clover (s_clover), Tuesday, 7 March 2006 16:07 (nineteen years ago)

1984, 2001, 2112, 2525, 3121 whoah

― -rainbow bum- (-rainbow bum-), Tuesday, 7 March 2006 16:08 (nineteen years ago)

I can wait. I'm not not looking forward to it, though.

― Jordan (Jordan), Tuesday, 7 March 2006 16:09 (nineteen years ago)

two weeks pass...

strangely, my favorite song by far is the d'angelo-esque slow jam

the funk workouts and vamp-athons not really doin it for me

― Tracer Hand (tracerhand), Tuesday, 21 March 2006 18:48 (nineteen years ago)

Ferociously strong first half.

Dangerously Witness-y second half redeemed by a few clever slow jams and "Fury."

"The Word" is unlistenable.

― Dave Depper (Dave Depper), Tuesday, 21 March 2006 18:50 (nineteen years ago)

i think "satisfied" is the name of the one i like

― Tracer Hand (tracerhand), Tuesday, 21 March 2006 18:52 (nineteen years ago)

May have to go buy today.

― Forksclovetofu (Forksclovetofu), Tuesday, 21 March 2006 19:34 (nineteen years ago)

I've only listened in the car for a little bit. "Love" is a nice surprise, and "Lolita" is pretty decent. It's fun to hear Prince play live drums on some of the other stuff but "Fury" would have been better off with programming or Michael Bland. Haven't gotten to the slow jamz yet.

His (sequenced) drums are off the hook, btw! He's learned some new tricks, or else his shit just sounds good with modern sounds.

― Jordan (Jordan), Tuesday, 21 March 2006 19:35 (nineteen years ago)

this has leaked into record stores?

― p.j. (Henry), Tuesday, 21 March 2006 19:36 (nineteen years ago)

Yes.

The first track is funny.

― Jordan (Jordan), Tuesday, 21 March 2006 19:38 (nineteen years ago)

The first track is funny.

funny = AWESOME

― Dave Depper (Dave Depper), Tuesday, 21 March 2006 19:39 (nineteen years ago)

isn't the title a reference to the address of the house where he recorded it or something like that? the lyrics of the title track seem to bear that out. anyway, just picked it up today, haven't listened yet.

― Alex in Baltimore (Alex in Baltimore), Tuesday, 21 March 2006 19:45 (nineteen years ago)

Kickstarting your '06 'comeback' album with a Berlin wall reference = funny.

I don't know about the beat either, but I'm glad Michael Bland and Sonny T. get to start the album!

― Jordan (Jordan), Tuesday, 21 March 2006 19:46 (nineteen years ago)

his last one was the comeback album, dummy

prince now=the world's greatest autopilot

― bugged out, Tuesday, 21 March 2006 19:52 (nineteen years ago)

I didn't buy that one.

― Jordan (Jordan), Tuesday, 21 March 2006 19:55 (nineteen years ago)

I take lunch early, I buy this now

― milton parker (Jon L), Tuesday, 21 March 2006 20:06 (nineteen years ago)

lyrically, this album is pretty horrendous, the anodyne R&B mixed with him revisiting his own 80s funk style is dissapointing, the dated new jack swing production is nice but dated, i like the soft n wet retread of lolita, im glad prince isnt rapping or trying to sound 'down' or 'cool' but this album just doesnt leave much impression. i dont really wanna hear it again, if im honest. theres nothing especially compelling about it, prince can do better than this.

― ppp, Tuesday, 21 March 2006 20:15 (nineteen years ago)

sort of off topic, but Prince is being sued by Carlos Boozer for 3121-ing out a house he is renting to Purple Prince for 70,000 bucks a month.

The Smoking Gun

― Simonds J Johnson, Tuesday, 21 March 2006 20:59 (nineteen years ago)

C/D: Prince busting out not just Camille but the Cher vocodor voice.

― Josh in Chicago (Josh in Chicago), Tuesday, 21 March 2006 21:24 (nineteen years ago)

C/D: Prince busting out not just Camille but the Cher vocodor voice.

The former... undeniably C
The latter... surprisingly addictively C

― Dave Depper (Dave Depper), Tuesday, 21 March 2006 21:26 (nineteen years ago)

On 2nd listen, not as good as I thought but still better than "Musicology".

― Jay Vee's Return (Manon_69), Tuesday, 21 March 2006 22:19 (nineteen years ago)

i've listened to about 3/4, turned it off because it was boring me. it's basically what i expected, so-so grinds and forgettable bedroom ballads. production is a little sharper than he's been in a while, but that just means it only sounds 6 years out of date instead of 12. (except "black sweat," which only trails lil jon by about 3 years.)

― gypsy mothra (gypsy mothra), Tuesday, 21 March 2006 22:26 (nineteen years ago)

black sweat is pure black album. Which came out when lil john was still in diapers.

― bugged out, Tuesday, 21 March 2006 22:45 (nineteen years ago)

come on, to act like black sweat isnt influenced by new hip hop and RnB is ridiculous. yeah its prince doing prince but its still a result of him listening to the neptunes and lil jon or whoever.

― ppp, Tuesday, 21 March 2006 22:48 (nineteen years ago)

what trax on the black album does black sweat sound like???

― j blount (papa la bas), Tuesday, 21 March 2006 22:50 (nineteen years ago)

none of them

― ppp, Tuesday, 21 March 2006 22:50 (nineteen years ago)

have you ever listened to lil jon and the neptunes? it doesn't sound anything like either of them. apart from, you know, it's got like electronic noises and squealing vocals, which i guess means it sounds like them if you have no idea what you're talking about. and even if it was influenced by them, so what? they, or the neptunes at least, copped off him, he can take whatever he wants from them.

dissing prince is about as interesting as dissing the rolling stones at this point, but go ahead, it's a so-so album, just don't be so fucking clueless about it

― bugged out, Tuesday, 21 March 2006 22:55 (nineteen years ago)

it's not a direct rip of any of the tracks on the black album, it just has a similar sound and vibe to stuff like bob george and rock hard in a funky place

― bugged out, Tuesday, 21 March 2006 22:58 (nineteen years ago)

of course it does. and the neptunes and lil jon copped a lot from him too. but if you don't hear their influence echoing back to him here, then you're a lot less savvy than he is. (why do you think he made it the 1st single? because it sounds like other things on the radio.)

― gypsy mothra (gypsy mothra), Tuesday, 21 March 2006 23:02 (nineteen years ago)

actually, what black sweat is, is basically prince doing his version of a JB song, disguising it in the style of his 80s funk tracks, only nowhere hear as good. and yeah, the synth programming is similar to the neps and lil jon. its pretty obvious. yeah he can take what he wants from them cos of what they took from him but it doesnt change much. hes taking from what THEY did with his music. sort of like say, muddy waters taking from what led zep did with his songs. prince fans are weird when they act like prince never refers to modern artists.

3121 is an okay album, prince can do better, but i dont expect much else form him anymore, its pointless waiting for him to deliver another SOTT at this stage. and thats fine.

― ppp, Tuesday, 21 March 2006 23:03 (nineteen years ago)

it's also the only really good song on the album.

your point is quite possibly correct in general, but it really doesn't sound anything like lil jon. i assume you're just using his name because he is a recent black hitmaker. and it sounds like the neptunes only tangentially, really.

lil jon's synth programming is totally rave--big slabs/stabs of sound. the synths on black sweat are more like guitar riffs--james brown is a far more apt reference. prince has done techno tracks before. perhaps if this was one of them, the comparison would make sense.

― bugged out, Tuesday, 21 March 2006 23:08 (nineteen years ago)

i was thinking specifically of "goodies," the minimalist rising-falling synth line. which is maybe the most prince-ish of lil jon's productions.

― gypsy mothra (gypsy mothra), Tuesday, 21 March 2006 23:10 (nineteen years ago)

fair point

― bugged out, Tuesday, 21 March 2006 23:12 (nineteen years ago)

okay forget lil jon, but lets just say from the hivemind of current R&B/hip hop synth-using producers, the sounds and rhythm of black sweat is undoubtedly inspired by the current sound of 'urban' radio

― ppp, Tuesday, 21 March 2006 23:13 (nineteen years ago)

yes. and as such it's ok.

but it's no "goodies."

― gypsy mothra (gypsy mothra), Tuesday, 21 March 2006 23:14 (nineteen years ago)

The beat (tempo and rhythm) and the synth sounds, and the whole huge drums + minimal synths thing sounds a whole lot like a modern hip-hop production. It's what got me excited for this album.

xpost

― Jordan (Jordan), Tuesday, 21 March 2006 23:15 (nineteen years ago)

even though its a soft n wet rip off, my fave track has to be lolita. that synth riff is SO so so catchy!

― ppp, Tuesday, 21 March 2006 23:21 (nineteen years ago)

Satisfied is a jam too, retro or not. Damn.

― Jordan (Jordan), Tuesday, 21 March 2006 23:48 (nineteen years ago)

i heard this is his best album since ashes to ashes

― M@tt He1geson (Matt Helgeson), Tuesday, 21 March 2006 23:58 (nineteen years ago)

they sure are promoting the shit out of this album.

― Shakey Mo Collier (Shakey Mo Collier), Wednesday, 22 March 2006 00:00 (nineteen years ago)

If you took the vocals out of the first song and told me it was Primus, I'd believe you.

Hey, Incense and Candles is kinda hot though.

― Jordan (Jordan), Wednesday, 22 March 2006 00:33 (nineteen years ago)

"Lolita" is by far the most fun track on this. I wish it would've all carried on in that vein. But, alas, "autopilot" is right. And the "So ProTools You Can Taste It" sheen of the production is kind of sad. Compare the way "Fury" sounded on SNL to the tepidness of the album version. Oh well.

― Jay Vee's Return (Manon_69), Wednesday, 22 March 2006 03:23 (nineteen years ago)

this can't be the guy who did "alphabet sweat".
is this "the artist formerly known as prince who was brilliant but changed it to an unpronouncable symbol but still sounded funky but now he's prince again but making bland music ?".

― retrogurl, Wednesday, 22 March 2006 04:00 (nineteen years ago)

is this what it sounds like when doves crap ?

― retrogurl, Wednesday, 22 March 2006 04:00 (nineteen years ago)

"alphabet sweat"

― Dan (Awsome) Perry (Dan Perry), Wednesday, 22 March 2006 20:42 (nineteen years ago)

Prince manages to put at least one cheesy song on every album he releases, but "Te Amo Corazon" is Velveeta.

― ffirehorse, Friday, 24 March 2006 22:12 (nineteen years ago)

what trax on the black album does black sweat sound like???

"Bob George" sped up!

― Matos-Webster Dictionary (M Matos), Friday, 24 March 2006 22:15 (nineteen years ago)

I was not to impressed by the supposed "return to form" on "Musicology", but this is more like it. Definitely his best album since "Diamonds And Pearls", possibly even since "Lovesexy".

― Geir Hongro (GeirHong), Friday, 24 March 2006 23:14 (nineteen years ago)

According to Billboard:

Prince achieves his first career No. 1 debut on The Billboard 200 this week with his new NPG Music/Universal album, "3121." The set sold 183,000 copies in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan, to open at No. 1 on the big list, as well as on Billboard's Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums tally.

Prince last topped the R&B/Hip-Hop chart with 1991's "Diamonds & Pearls." On The Billboard 200, he now has four No. 1s, including 1989's "Batman," 1985's "Around the World in a Day" and 1984's "Purple Rain."

― Alfred, Lord Sotosyn (Alfred Soto), Wednesday, 29 March 2006 16:36 (nineteen years ago)

Prince achieves his first career No. 1 debut on The Billboard 200 this week with his new NPG Music/Universal album, "3121."

Seriously?

I don't know what's harder to believe, that he didn't have a #1 debut before or that 3121 sold that much.

― Jordan (Jordan), Wednesday, 29 March 2006 16:43 (nineteen years ago)

Probably because nobody under 25 buys records anymore.

― Steve Shasta (Steve Shasta), Wednesday, 29 March 2006 23:13 (nineteen years ago)

I don't know what's harder to believe, that he didn't have a #1 debut before or that 3121 sold that much.

Before the early '90s, #1 debuts on the US album charts were extremely rare, weren't they?

― Lotta Continua (Damian), Wednesday, 29 March 2006 23:28 (nineteen years ago)

Before the advent of Soundscan, the only #1 debuts were: Elton John's Captain Fantastic... and Rock of the Westies, Stevie Wonder's Songs in the Key of Life, and Springsteen's live set.

― Alfred, Lord Sotosyn (Alfred Soto), Wednesday, 29 March 2006 23:37 (nineteen years ago)

well, as someone already said, "current sound of urban radio" has ripped him off a lot so it's a bit unfair to blame him for sounding like... him !
(for instance the first bars of "housequake" ARE hollaback girl... almost 20 years before !).

― AleXTC (AleXTC), Thursday, 30 March 2006 14:44 (nineteen years ago)

By "the first bars" did you mean "the entire drumbeat"?

― Dan (Let's Not Beat Around The Bush) Perry (Dan Perry), Thursday, 30 March 2006 14:47 (nineteen years ago)

one month passes...

Finally bought this... Whereas I thought Musicology was Prince's best album since The Gold Experience, 3121 is Prince's best album since The Black Album. There are two genius halves to the album.. the nu-Black Album half, and the Steely Prince side... I found it more immediately gratifying than Musicology, which was certainly a grower, but this one is just "WTF!" right off the bat, and smacks you with a weirdass lookin' mace spiked with funk.

― DOQQUN (donut), Friday, 5 May 2006 23:16 (nineteen years ago)

Granted, some of these songs remind me directly of older songs.. "Lolita" reminds me a lot of "Raspberry Beret".

― DOQQUN (donut), Friday, 5 May 2006 23:17 (nineteen years ago)

When was the last time you listened to Raspberry Beret?

― Jay Vee's Return (Manon_69), Saturday, 6 May 2006 01:27 (nineteen years ago)

five years pass...

This is awesome!!!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K05K17JzAoE

― Kevin John Bozelka, Saturday, 7 May 2011 03:07 (fourteen years ago)

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