best Prince song from "The B-Sides"

erotic city, obv.!

"17 Days."

Erotic City duh

we can "funk" until the dawn lolz wins

never really understood how "Erotic City" is such an obvious pick, there are at least half a dozen other awesome songs on here (my favorites: "Another Lonely Christmas," "She's Always In My Hair," "Feel U Up," "17 Days," "Shockadelica," and "How Come U Don't Call Me Anymore?").

cuz it was a hit that got played on the radio and in my high school cafeteria (eg. probably the first and only time I heard the word "fuck" aired over the school PA system)

because it gets the party started?

shamefully 'Erotic City' is the only one i've heard. i must've heard '200 Balloons' at least once because 'Batdance' co-ruled my Summer '89 along with Bobby Brown's 'On Our Own' but don't recall.

Best songs on here are "Hello" (the opener, catchy as sin, but totally ignored!), "Erotic City," "Irresistible Bitch," "Feel U Up," and the awesomely over-the-top "Scarlett Pussy" -- but they're all lorded over by "Shockadelica," which is not only the best Camille song but may well be my favorite Prince song period.

"Horny Toad", hands down, because it's still my favorite Prince song ever.

"Shockadelica"'s my second choice.

Yeah, why do I know "Erotic City" so well? I can't remember where I've heard it.

like I said, radio airplay. That single was more like a double A-side.

She's Always In My Hair

i don't know if it got airplay as such but it's definitely a bigger hit than anything else on the disc, i've heard it at a million parties etc.

xpost

I remember hearing it on the radio, wikipedia sez "Even though the song was a B-side to a #1 hit, it received significant radio play itself and is almost as well-known as the songs on Purple Rain." It was also a big club hit.

I love "Irresistible Bitch," "La, La, La, He, He, Hee," and "17 Days," but I voted for "Erotic City"

Erotic City was on the radio alot. I remember.

erotic city, obv.!

-- Jordan, Monday, January 14, 2008 10:34 AM (6 hours ago) Bookmark Link

Erotic City duh

-- Shakey Mo Collier, Monday, January 14, 2008 10:40 AM (6 hours ago) Bookmark Link

I got my first serious kiss to Erotic City.
Almost everything on B sides is gold (I'd still argue it's the best single disc Prince album, period), but EC holds special place in my heart 4evah.

When I was 15 or 16 going to teen night at the local dance club (during the summer, when the college students were away) "Erotic City" was the floor-filler.

this is me doing an impromptu version of erotic city:

http://www.archive.org/download/Jabudah2005-03-01.flac/Jabudah2005-03-01d1t07_vbr.mp3

never really understood how "Erotic City" is such an obvious pick, there are at least half a dozen other awesome songs on here (my favorites: "Another Lonely Christmas," "She's Always In My Hair," "Feel U Up," "17 Days," "Shockadelica," and "How Come U Don't Call Me Anymore?").

They are indeed awesome, but that doesn't make "Erotic City" any less obvious as a pick for me.

I never got on the bus to Erotic City, so it has to be "How Come U Don't Call Me Anymore".

"Erotic City" come alive. If the version of "4 the Tears In Your Eyes" collected here were identical to the We Are the World version, instead of the draggy rehearsal one, I might've voted for that.

Is there a reason "Hot Thing" wasn't included on this comp??

"Hot Thing" wasn't a b-side in America; it was the last SOTT single.

I love the extended remix on Ultimate Prince, though.

I never got on the bus to Erotic City

you don't need no bus, just get on your "White Horse"...I was always uncomfortable with the "if we cannot make babies" line...was this song about failure to procreate?..."17 Days" gets my vote...

(I recall Mojo playing a 20-minute version of "Erotic City" way back when...was this ever released?)

Erotic City, but there's gold in them hill fer sure

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

voted for:
"Gotta Stop (Messin' About)" – 2:55 (B-side of "Let's Work" 12 inch single)

runners up:
"Horny Toad" – 2:12 (B-side of "Delirious")
"Erotic City ("make love not war Erotic City come alive")" – 3:55 (B side of "Let's Go Crazy&qu
"How Come U Don't Call Me Anymore?" – 3:51 (B-side of "1999")

(I recall Mojo playing a 20-minute version of "Erotic City" way back when

He used to play "Gotta Stop Messin' About" too -- I think before Controversy came out. So it was real exciting to hear a new Prince song when I was still wearing out my copy of Dirty Mind.

I was always uncomfortable with the "if we cannot make babies" line...was this song about failure to procreate?

I always interpreted it as "even if we're not having a traditional get-married-have-3.4-kids-etc relationship, at least we can still fuck around, right?".

"Hot Thing" wasn't a b-side in America; it was the last SOTT single.

IIRC it was popular enough to chart independently of its A-side, thanks to airplay and club play and dance radio play, but it was never released as a proper single.

"Hot Thing" went to #63 in the U.S.

(And "Another Lonely Christmas" went to #5, apparently, according the Whitburn book I'm looking at now; can that be right?)

#5 in the US? I have a hard time believing that too...

While tempted in voting for "I Love U in Me" - for these lyrics: "When she makin' love, it's like surgery/And she say - "Ooh, I love U in me"

Ended up voting for "Horny Toad" - best b-side that isn't ruined by the knowledge their is a better 12" version. I 'm sorry, just in love with Prince's rockabilly phase.

when Erotic City was only a year or two old a DJ in Portland where I used to dance would sometimes play it toward the middle of the night (=2 a.m. or so) during his set. I avoid waxing nostalgic about this kinda stuff but there was a time or two when that song made me feel like I was right up against some unutterable transcendent ecstatic somewhat frightening truth or something. Lots of songs can do stuff like that on the dance floor, given the right combination of youth & hormones & dope & what-have-you, but Erotic City always felt like it was completely in a class by itself: it felt like it was intentionally fucking with your head.

that is my Erotic City story.

Mine: in college we threw a really great party in our room and somehow all the cool people were there. This song came on and everybody just yelped with happiness, I ended up dancing with this really hot girl I'd always wanted to dance with, it was perfect. Later, these asshole dudes broke our $1500 plate glass window and lied about it so we had to pay for it ourselves, and 3/5 of us were poor as hell. Still, though, that girl was hot.

That is my Erotic City story.

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

http://i.timeinc.net/time/photoessays/salvadorquake/landslide.jpg

I hate when I do that.

http://i.timeinc.net/time/photoessays/salvadorquake/landslide.jpg

i cant believe im the only one that voted for that

"Scarlett Pussy" – 4:18 (B-side of "I Wish U Heaven") 0

;_;

(And "Another Lonely Christmas" went to #5, apparently, according the Whitburn book I'm looking at now; can that be right?)

-- xhuxk, Sunday, January 20, 2008 8:40 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark Link

yeah, that makes no sense. even its a-side, "I Would Die 4 U," only got up to #8.

Chuck may be consulting the R&B book; it may have charted as a double a-side on the black chart.

if i had to vote again i might vote for "i love u in me", which is kinda weird because it doesn't have many of the things i usually listen to prince for. but it is a sex jam and A+ make-out tune.

'17 Days' my favorite Prince song.

I wish this was a box set instead of a disc

Would buy.

I was always bummed the CD wasn't available separately. I ended up getting Hits 1 for Christmas one year in the mid '90s, and bought Hits 2 a few months afterwards without realizing the B-Sides disc was only available within the 3-CD set.

this whole thing is great but 17 days is really incredible.

let the rain fall down

"Another Lonely Christmas" is just devastating. one of the first songs i listened to after he died. the released version is actually edited down, i have the full unreleased version that's a minute longer, w/ the bridge/solo part is longer.

This poll should have been run as "Best Song besides 'Erotic City.'" I'm surprised at how beloved that song is for a B-side, even among some very casual Prince fans that I've encountered.

got lots of airplay at the time

Dat bassline.

xpost

Like in '84?

Yeah, 84/85

From the evidence on YouTube this weekend, he opened at least one show of the Lovesexy tour with it.

i have the full unreleased version that's a minute longer, w/ the bridge/solo part is longer.

Heard this yesterday and yea it's amazing.

The version of 'Another Lonely Christmas' that I have is 6:50; from the 'I Would Die 4 U' 12" single: https://www.discogs.com/Prince-And-The-Revolution-I-Would-Die-4-U-Extended-Version/release/410761

"God" is so badass.

17 days

Erotic city was big enough for him to open the lovesexy shows with it.