Prince – #26-50

Yep, gotta do more Prince songs. Some people have hit me with some really interesting suggestions. Surprisingly, I still feel pretty good about my list days later. More to come, but first…
Recently, George was a big winner at the Black Weblog Awards. Many of you know George as the proprietor of AllAboutGeorge and Negrophile. If you don’t, you probably should (especially for the latter, which is an invaluable resource. George’s boss must hate him because you can’t do something that extensive without doing so on company time).
Either way, let us all applaud George. Not just because George won these awards, but because George is one helluva great guy. Wanna know how this site got started? izrael had gotten his blog, and I asked him how to go about doing so myself. He told me to send an e-mail to George. I did my typical, “Hello, I’m Bomani Jones, and I’m a writer based in Durham, North Carolina” schpiel. Surprisingly, George knew who I was–he once copy edited at Salon, where I was once a frequent contributor. He said he dug my stuff and he’d get back to me.
When I got back, I had a site, an e-mail account…everything. I asked him what he needed me to do, and he said to have fun. That was it. Just an all-around great guy, so great that he still has all my passwords and I haven’t blinked. That’s big when you consider we’ve never been in the same room together.
So congratulations to George, and here’s hoping for many more.
(For those that know me from Atlanta, not that George.)
Anyway, songs.

Click here to see the top 25. This next portion of the list is where I’ll really make some mistakes.
50.Darling Nikki. To this day, I’m not sure if I still love this because it’s just so nasty. When I was little, I couldn’t believe you were allowed to sing something like this. It’s really well-written, though.
49.The One. NewPowerSoul is a dreadful album, but this is a great record. “If you’re looking for someone that’ll turn your bad day into one long night/look no further/I am the one.” That’s a bold statement to make as an elfin character.
48.Diamonds and Pearls. Here’s the thing–this is a very good song. It just sounded like a bunch of other people could have done it. Hearing that was the first sign that his time on top was just about over.
47.Girl. Can’t remember what this is the B-side to. What do I remember? One of my favorite Prince lines. “If I were anything else, I’d be the water in your bath.” Wow.
46.Let’s Pretend We’re Ready. Another favorite line. “I’m not saying this to be nasty, but I’d sincerely like to fuck the taste out of your mouth. Can you relate?” In case you’re curious, it’s highly unlikely you could get away with that line.
45.It. First disc on Sign O the Times. Kinda gets forgotten because it’s sandwiched between “Ballad of Dorothy Parker” and “Starfish and Coffee,” but it’s dope as all get out how he manages to never quite say what “it” is.
44.Gotta Broken Heart Again. Or, as I like to call it, “Still Waiting (remix).” They sound really similar, but they’re both smoking. “Still Waiting,” he’s trying to come up. This one, he realizes that doin’ bad by your damn self is usually the best move. Yes, I know I’m jaded, thank you.
43.Strange Relationship. Although I must admit this one’s a bit disturbing.
42.I Wish U Heaven. Only complaint–I still think this would have worked better on Parade. I could be wrong, but it just seems like it should be playing during a really bad black-and-white movie. Still a great track.
41.International Lover. Check the comments on the last one, but it’ll be funny even if you don’t find it sexy. ‘Twas a helluva concept, if nothing else.
40.Money Don’t Matter Tonight. And it sho’ didn’t matter yesterday. I agree with that first part. The second…sounds like somebody that likes candlelight, if you get my drift.
39.The Morning Papers. Another one I shouldn’t like as much as I do.
38.Still Waiting. See #44.
37.Condition of the Heart. “Acting on a whim is only good for a condition of the heart.” Yes, I’m very jaded.
36.Tambourine. You just gotta bump it. Just gotta.
35.Do Me, Baby. I’m not sure which of my siblings said this, but this is a great song for that “I’m not sure what’s gonna happen” evening. It’s also got some dope bass play.
34.Reflection. Last track on Musicology. It’s always funny to me to think about when Prince would compare his Afro to anyone else’s. He’s been hooked on lye for a while now.
33.1999. This is a great record. One of the more famous from the catalog. A classic. And it’s only at #33. That should tell you a lot about the rest of this list.
32.Forever in Your Life. Whoever left the comment that this is a prayer…I wish I could have thought of something that dead-on when I wrote on this record a few years ago.
31.Head. In the liner notes for “The Hits,” Alan Leeds says that Lisa Coleman’s indoctrination into Prince’s band was her ability to sing the female parts of the song in front of large groups of people. Why? Because any woman that could pull that off wasn’t scared of anything.
30.Sexy MF. Yes, this sounds just like a James Brown joint. No, nobody on this bad boy can rap. So what? This bangs.
29.Savior. Check the album list for why I love this one so much. Best part–because it’s fairly obscure, you could pass these lyrics off as your own, so long as you’re never dumb enough to listen to the lyrics around your “savior.”
28.Anna Stesia. The more I think about it, I put lovesexy so low on the album list just because it’s annoying (the CD isn’t partitioned into tracks).
27.Sign O The Times. “Hurricane Annie ripped the ceiling off a church and killed everyone in sight/turn on the tellie and every other story is tellin’ you somebody died…” No, that song was written in ’87, not last week.
26.Purple Rain. I’m never sure where to put this, partially because it’s almost impossible to separate this cut from the movie. Here’s where it wins points–the way that it shows that great guitar playing is about finding an emotional resonance, not necessarily ridiculous fingering. That solo doesn’t require a virtuoso play it, but I dare you to try to pull it off.
And now, I’m off this kick. Might do this in the not-too-distant future with Stevie. Maybe the Beatles. Actually, no…next will be OutKast. Probably gonna do this once every couple of weeks or so.