Prince died today. The news started to trickle in on twitter this morning. Was it true? Hold my breath until it’s “confirmed.” Yes, it’s true. The tears want to fall but I’m at work and my day must continue. So write a few words, send it to the universe, and plug on with the day.
Except I can’t. I create a Prince station on one of my radio streaming apps. It begins with “1999” then “Little Red Corvette” follows. Skip the Michael Jackson song then it’s “Purple Rain.” Skip a couple of more songs but stop on Sheila E’s “The Glamorous Life” because HELLO, it’s Sheila E.
Ahhh, now it’s “Diamonds and Pearls.”
I think I know what song is my definitive favorite Prince song but then I remember another then another and soon I realize I don’t have ONE favorite Prince song. I have many different favorites of varying degree.
“I Would Die 4 U”
His music covers such of spectrum of time and genres that to pinpoint one definitive moment would deprive the soul. Not all of it was always to my taste. Sometimes I just couldn’t handle it or appreciate it. But it doesn’t matter. There are plenty of songs and there are plenty of fans for all of his catalogue of music to be appreciated.
“When Doves Cry”
Yet almost every song randomly playing fills me with different memories or emotions. Or maybe just nothing, maybe just utter appreciation for the sound and arrangement. And it’s enough. It would be tempting to fall into the mourning, to wallow in the sorrow. But listening to the music, I feel something more, something better than the sorrow and loss. I feel eternity in the music. Every beat, every note, every pitch equals forever.
Prince is part of my life’s soundtrack. Not “was” but “is.”
Journey well into the next, Prince.