The loss of Prince in April 2015 hit millions of fans in the heart, mind, and soul. I’m still reeling from it.
The private star kept much of his work protected from copying or “unauthorised distribution” (ie. his videos on YouTube) but his death opened those floodgates. It also allowed for further critical analysis of his work. After all, morality is often a time of human reflection. Tim Carmody wrote a superb article on Prince’s “If I Was Your Girlfriend” from a grammatical and contextual perspective. He touches on the song’s ambiguity from different angles, its timing and adds quotes from the wonderful Anil Dash.
But the last paragraph – and particularly the last sentence – steals the show:
For me, losing Lou Reed was like losing a great teacher; losing Bowie was losing a hero; losing Phife was losing a best friend. But losing Prince, for many of us, was like losing the love of your life.
Damn right. You can read the full article on kottke.org and watch Prince’s 1987 performance of the song below.
