Press Rewind: A Prince Lyrics Podcast

On Episode 50 of the Press Rewind – Prince Lyrics Podcast , I’m joined by Christy Norman from The Mountains & the Sea and Killer Fun podcasts to decipher our interpretations of Prince-isms such as “purple banana”, “de-elevator”, and “Dr. Everything’ll Be Alright” which can be found on “Let’s Go Crazy,” the opening track of the w...

On Episode 49 of the Press Rewind – Prince Lyrics Podcast , the musician Snax ( snaxonline.org ), and I talk about the dark and foreboding 1999 era B-side, “Irresistible Bitch.” Prince is being used, abused and treated like dirt….but he still comes back for more. A tale of masochistic obsession and terminology ownership happens to also be one of the coolest songs in Prince’...

On Episode 48 of the Press Rewind – Prince Lyrics Podcast , fellow blogger Zachary Hoskins ( PrinceSongs.org ) joins me to chat about the ridiculous, ballsy, yet still somehow enjoyable 1999 era B-side, “Horny Toad.” Prince delivers a winking nod to his nasty persona throughout the song’s lyrics and we cover it line by deviant line. The goal of each episode of Press Rewind is to:...

On Episode 47 of the Press Rewind – Prince Lyrics Podcast , Prince gets emotionally raw with us on his piano and a microphone break-up ballad, “How Come U Don’t Call Me Anymore.” The “1999” B-side gave us a glimpse of Prince we hadn’t seen much of before. It’s just one lousy dime…pick up the phone and call me sometime. The goal of each episode of Pre...

On Episode 46 of the Press Rewind – Prince Lyrics Podcast , things get steamy when I discuss the lyrics to the sensual, seductive, and playful “International Lover” off Prince’s 1999 album. It’s an iconic ballad that, along with “Do Me, Baby,” established the Prince brand of balladry to be used as a template for countless artists. Climb aboard the Seduction 747!...

On Episode 45 of the Press Rewind – Prince Lyrics Podcast , I welcome first time guest, Leslie Ballard, to the show to discuss “All The Critics Love U In New York” off Prince’s 1999 album. We touch on some of the early critical praise that Prince was receiving at this point in his career and how it might have fed into the cynicism evident throughout the song’s lyrics. We al...

On Episode 44 of the Press Rewind – Prince Lyrics Podcast , Karen Shedrick & I dive into “Lady Cab Driver,” the sex-as-therapy offering from Prince’s breakthrough album, 1999 . Everyone seems to focus on the middle section of this song, and we definitely do as well! There’s a LOT going on and we’re not just talking about Jill Jones vocal performance. The goal of e...

On Episode 43 of the Press Rewind – Prince Lyrics Podcast , author and blogger Laura Tiebert and I talk about the beautifully inspirational “Free” from Prince’s 1999 album. This track can be a deeply personal one depending on your perspective and background. Hopefully, we do the lyrics justice and provide an opportunity for the listener to apply their own definition of freedom as...

On Episode 42 of the Press Rewind – Prince Lyrics Podcast , Josh Norman from The Mountains & the Sea podcast joins me discuss the lyrics (and delivery!) of melancholy, sparse and emotionally fraught track, “Something In The Water (Does Not Compute)” from Prince’s 5th album,  1999 . The goal of each episode of Press Rewind is to: Take a track by track look at the lyrical content of Prince’s dis...

On Episode 41 of the Press Rewind – Prince Lyrics Podcast , I am joined by first-time podcast guest Farooq Ansari to discuss the cold, robotic funk of “Automatic” from Prince’s 5th album, 1999 . Is Prince descending into madness over his inability to shake off a bad relationship? What does the ending mean? Of course, we don’t really know, but we sure had fun offering up som...

On Episode 40 of the Press Rewind – Prince Lyrics Podcast , Christy Norman from The Mountains & the Sea and Killer Fun podcasts joins me discuss the straightforward (dance! music! sex! romance!) and arcane (Who is Jamie Starr? Why is there a woman crying for help?) in the epic party that is “D.M.S.R.” from Prince’s 5th album, 1999 . The goal of each episode of Press Rewind is...

On Episode 39 of the Press Rewind – Prince Lyrics Podcast , Erica Thompson ( APurpleDayInDecember.com ) joins me to break down the at times equally traditional, profane & religious (?!?!) “Let’s Pretend We’re Married” off Prince’s 1999 album. I also bring back Jerry Bonner to share a story about how he was blown away by the utterly shocking use of the “F&#82...

On Episode 38 of the Press Rewind – Prince Lyrics Podcast , Jerry Bonner (@JBonner71) and I take “Delirious” out for a little ride, up and down, in and out around it’s lake. Prince’s rockabilly style combined with the ear-worm synth hook of the year is on full display for this top 10 track off the 1999 album. The goal of each episode of Press Rewind is to: Take a track by t...

On Episode 37 of the Press Rewind – Prince Lyrics Podcast , fellow blogger Zachary Hoskins ( princesongs.org ) joins me to chat about one of the most significant songs of Prince’s career, the enduring and flat out phenomenal “Little Red Corvette” from the 1999  album. The goal of each episode of Press Rewind is to: Take a track by track look at the lyrical content of Prince’s dis...

On Episode 36 of the Press Rewind – Prince Lyrics Podcast , I work through the lyrics to Prince’s massive hit single, “1999” off his equally massive double album of the same name. Have we learned anything from a song about fear of annihilation in the nearly 40 years since it’s recording? Not really….we could still all die any day. The goal of each episode of Press Rew...

On Episode 35 of the Press Rewind – Prince Lyrics Podcast , I cover the very first non-album B-side in Prince’s career, “Gotta Stop (Messin’ About).” This was the B-side to the “Let’s Work” 12″ remix and was a non-album A-side in the UK! What’s the song all about though? The goal of each episode of Press Rewind is to: Take a track by track look...

On Episode 34 of the Press Rewind – Prince Lyrics Podcast , blogger Zachary Hoskins ( princesongs.org ) joins me to discuss the ridiculous and bawdy closing track, “Jack U Off” from Prince’s  Controversy album. The goal of each episode of Press Rewind is to: Take a track by track look at the lyrical content of Prince’s discography Discuss my own interpretation of each song’s lyrics along wit...

On Episode 33 of the Press Rewind – Prince Lyrics Podcast , Jerry Bonner and I tackle “Annie Christian,” one of the more lyrically interesting songs of Prince’s early catalog. What other track can lay claim to speaking about murder, mayhem, corruption and the anti-Christ? All with a call and response chorus to boot! Come join us on a trip back to the headline grabbing events of 1...

On Episode 32 of the Press Rewind – Prince Lyrics Podcast , I go it alone to talk about the catchy as hell dance track “Let’s Work” from his  Controversy album. This song is notable for being the first Prince 12″ to feature a significant remix plus a non-album B-side! The goal of each episode of Press Rewind is to: Take a track by track look at the lyrical content of Prince’s discograp...

On Episode 31 of the Press Rewind – Prince Lyrics Podcast , blogger Zachary Hoskins ( princesongs.org ) joins me to talk about the state of U.S. and Soviet Union relations in 1981, presidential assassination attempts, the Nicaraguan Sandinistas and Prince’s stab at political commentary on “Ronnie, Talk to Russia” from his  Controversy album. The goal of each episode of Press Rewind is to: Ta...

On Episode 30 of the Press Rewind – Prince Lyrics Podcast , author and blogger Laura Tiebert (lauratiebert.com) joins me to talk about the inspiration behind “Private Joy” as well as some of the quirkiness that can be found within the lyrics of this upbeat pop track from Prince’s Controversy album. The goal of each episode of Press Rewind is to: Take a track by track look at the lyrical cont...

On Episode 29 of the Press Rewind – Prince Lyrics Podcast , I go it alone to talk through the lyrical structure of “Do Me, Baby” from his album Controversy, as basically an 8 minute sexual act put to music while also dissecting Prince’s choice to play the passive role as the song’s subject. The goal of each episode of Press Rewind is to: Take a track by track look at the ly...

On Episode 28 of the Press Rewind – Prince Lyrics Podcast , Erica Thompson ( APurpleDayInDecember.com ) & I dig deep into hidden (and not so hidden) meanings and discuss Prince’s call to action for the  Controversy track, “Sexuality.” The goal of each episode of Press Rewind is to: Take a track by track look at the lyrical content of Prince’s discography Discuss my own interp...

On Episode 27 of the Press Rewind – Prince Lyrics Podcast , Karen Shedrick & I kick off the Controversy  album by discussing the myriad of themes Prince addresses in this classic title track. Themes not only meant for this one particular song, but themes that permeated the entire album. The goal of each episode of Press Rewind is to: Take a track by track look at the lyrical content of Prince’...

On Episode 26.5 of the Press Rewind – Prince Lyrics Podcast, I take a brief break from going track by track in order to address a couple of recent listener comments. One is a necessary and clarifying interpretation of some of “Soft & Wet’s” most indecipherable lyrics and the other is an important take on “Sister”, interpreting the lyrics to this track from the sta...