Dance / Music / Sex / Romance

As promised/threatened, we're back to a monthly schedule on the D / M / S / R podcast! For this month's episode, it was my pleasure to speak to music writer Jack Riedy (Pitchfork, GQ, VIBE) about his new book Electric Word Life: Writing on Prince 2016-2021. It was a really fun conversation, running through each of the pieces collected in his book and covering everything from Prince's influence on Chicago house to the degree to which the Batman album goes (spoiler: it's hard). Check it out, and if you're so inclined, get yourself a copy of Jack's book! It's a great read and highly recommended. By the way, I caught this too late to mention it "on air," but thanks so much to cittalente for their review on Apple Podcasts! If you're interested in reviewing D / M / S / R on your podcast service of choice, please do, and I will read it on the next episode--which, if all goes to plan, should be dropping next month. 00:00:00 "The Future” (from Batman, 1989) 00:14:59 "We All Wanna Be Prince" by Felix da Housecat (2009 single) 00:17:09 Michaelangelo Matos: "We All Wanna Be Prince: Exploring The Purple One's Impact on Dance Music" 00:18:22 "Music is the Key (House Key)" by J.M. Silk (1985 single) 00:19:29 Cat Glover recycles the "Music is the Key" rap on "Cindy C” (from The Black Album, 1987) 00:21:29 "Gett Off (Houstyle Remix)" by Steve "Silk" Hurley (1991 single) 00:23:56 Chuck Zwicky's Keynote at the Batdance30ATL Symposium https://youtu.be/XPQQKHwGch0 00:25:31 "All the Critics Love U in New York” (from 1999, 1982) 00:29:23 Ethan Hawke explains the "Black Album" in Boyhood (Richard Linklater, 2014) https://youtu.be/zMYBOpmWHEc 00:31:32 Zach's Take on Purple Rain as a Double Album 00:36:09 "Nothing Compares 2 U” (from Originals, 2019) 00:38:01 Chris Stapleton's 2016 cover of "Nothing Compares 2 U" https://youtu.be/B56NQ2TC5xo 00:39:01 Girl Talk samples Sinead O'Connor's "Nothing Compares 2 U" on "Play Your Part (Pt. 1)" (from Feed the Animals, 2008) 00:39:34 The tweet Jack references in his book https://twitter.com/jackriedy/status/1424084517543944196?s=20 00:41:33 "Four" by Madhouse (from 8, 1987) 00:45:26 "Batdance” (from Batman) 00:50:41 Simon Pegg and Nick Frost use Batman as a projectile in Shaun of the Dead (Edgar Wright, 2004) https://youtu.be/uLquz4Iz-30 00:52:17 "Batdance" in Tom Breihan's The Number Ones 00:54:43 "Dance with the Devil" (1989 recording) 00:57:48 The mysterious bubbling noise in "Lady Cab Driver” (from 1999) 01:00:39 "F.U.N.K.” (2007 single) 01:10:24 "Sometimes It Snows in April” by D'Angelo featuring Princess (Live on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, 2016) 01:17:24 Scott Woods' Prince and Little Weird Black Boy Gods 01:18:35 Mary Gring (who illustrated Jack's book) 01:19:10 Cereal Box Studio (who designed it) 01:20:30 "Welcome 2 America” (from Welcome 2 America, 2021) 01:20:40 Daniel Bromfield's Pitchfork review of Welcome 2 America 01:21:53 Zach also wasn't a huge fan of "Hot Summer" 01:26:12 Buy Jack's Book 01:26:52 "The Dance Electric” (from Purple Rain: Deluxe Expanded Edition, 2017)

This month, it was my pleasure to speak to music writer Jack Riedy (Pitchfork, GQ, VIBE) about his new book Electric Word Life: Writing on Prince 2016-2021. It was a really fun conversation, running through each of the pieces collected in his book and covering everything from Prince's influence on Chicago house to the degree to which the Batman album goes (spoiler: it's hard). The full episode will be out in a week--unless, of course, you're a patron, in which case you'll be able to hear it later today. In the meantime, you can check out this trailer--and consider buying Jack's book, which is available now! Also, my apologies to De Angela Duff, who totally became a patron between posts last month and was lost in the shuffle! De Angela, I appreciate you; this is your belated shout-out.

Darling Nisi and Harold Pride return for another in-depth retrospective on the 1981 debut album by the Time.

This month marks the 40th anniversary of the self-titled debut album by the Time; so, I decided to commemorate the occasion by bringing back Darling Nisi and Harold Pride for one of our trademark track-by-track deep dives. The episode will be available on your podcast service of choice next week; in the meantime, here's a short preview. And, if you're a patron, you'll be able to listen early starting tomorrow! Speaking of patrons, I wanted to take this opportunity to welcome Kaitlyn, Beau Witcher, and B. Perrier into the fold. Thanks, as always, for your support--it means a lot!

Darling Nisi and Harold Pride return for a third episode in our series of in-depth retrospectives on Prince's albums, this one for the 40th anniversary of 1980's Dirty Mind.

Well, folks, after a six-month delay (and what felt like six years of editing), the next episode of the D / M / S / R podcast is finally finished. It will be available to the public in a week; in the meantime, here's a short preview. And if you're a patron, you'll be able to listen starting later today! To subscribe to the podcast, use the links above or just search "dance music sex romance" on your provider of choice... we are almost definitely already on there, and if we aren't, just let me know and I will do my best to remedy that!

October 19, 2018 marks the 39th anniversary of Prince's self-titled second album--not the most glamorous occasion, perhaps, but reason enough to reassemble the review panel from our For You podcast for a reappraisal. Once again, Zach is joined by Harold and KaNisa for a track-by-track discussion of this underappreciated album, its resonances throughout Prince's career, and why it still matters. 00:00:00   Ray "Eye Patch" Sawyer and Dennis Locorriere of Dr. Hook Introduce Prince--and Prince Performs "I Wanna Be Your Lover”--on The Midnight Special, 1980 00:01:08   KaNisa's Muse 2 the Pharaoh Podcast 00:01:30   Harold's First Appearance on d / m / s / r 00:01:39   Harold's Presentation from the Lovesexy 30 Symposium at NYU https://vimeo.com/282043757 00:02:49   Our First Review Podcast of For You 00:08:33   For You's Album Cover vs. Prince's Photo by Joe Giannetti, © Warner Bros. Photo by Jurgen Reisch, © Warner Bros. 00:14:15   The Infamous Dick Clark Interview from American Bandstand, 1980 https://youtu.be/vvpjhVzv7EM 00:20:25   d / m / s / r Post on the Capri Theatre Show 00:23:34   Definitely Nude: The Back Cover of Prince Photo by Chris Callis, © Warner Bros. 00:23:51 "Sexy Dancer” (Live at Carolina Coliseum, 1980) 00:26:22   Prince Live 1979-1980: The First Tour 00:28:03   "I Wanna Be Your Lover" (from Prince, 1979) 00:34:38   The "I Wanna Be Your Lover" Music Video https://youtu.be/Rp8WL621uGM 00:41:10   "Disco Away” by the Rebels (1979 recording) 00:43:15   "I Wanna Be Your Lover" (Live in Dortmund, 1988) 00:46:25   "I Wanna Be Your Lover" in "Purple Medley," 1995 00:47:47   The Alternate "Band Version" of the "I Wanna Be Your Lover" Video, with... Remastered Audio https://youtu.be/MitvKAuDUwU 00:49:07   The More Convincing Band Videos for "Dirty Mind," "Controversy," and "1999” https://youtu.be/c3GPPnVz1fw https://youtu.be/4gazNwzC4H0 https://youtu.be/rblt2EtFfC4 00:54:20   "Why You Wanna Treat Me So Bad?” (from Prince) 01:00:30   Dez, André, and Prince, 1980 Photo by Richard E. Aaron 01:01:12   "Why You Wanna Treat Me So Bad?" (Live in Lakeland, Florida, 1980) 01:15:04   "Why You Wanna Treat Me So Bad?" (Live in Vancouver, 2013) 01:17:13   "Sexy Dancer” (from Prince) 01:24:52   "Livin' on the Nile (Extended Club Re-mix)" by Egyptian Lover (1987 single) 01:30:15   "Sexy Dancer (Long Version)" (1980 single) 01:33:34   "When We're Dancing Close and Slow” (from Prince) 01:43:55   d / m / s / r Podcast with Erica Thompson 01:45:22   "When We're Dancing Close and Slow" (Live in Seattle, 2013) 01:52:33   "When We're Dancing Close and Slow" with Andy Allo (Live at North Sea Jazz, 2011) 01:55:17   "With You” (from Prince) 02:00:41   The Instrumental "With You" Interlude (Live at Denver Auditorium Arena, 1983) 02:03:33   "With You" (Live at Xenophobia Celebration, 2002) 02:08:13   "Bambi” (from Prince) 02:17:16   The Unaired "Bambi" Performance on The Ellen Degeneres Show, 2004 https://youtu.be/powjAdIpdxQ 02:19:39   "Still Waiting” (from Prince) 02:24:13   "Still Waiting" (Live at First Avenue, 1982) 02:30:05   "I Feel for You” (from Prince) 02:37:25   "I Feel for You" by Chaka Khan (from I Feel for You, 1984) 02:38:28   "It's Gonna Be Lonely” (from Prince) 02:44:55   Zach's Original Ranking of the Songs from Prince 03:04:25   "Bambi (Rap)" by T.C. Ellis (from True Confessions, 1991)

I gave myself a little hiatus from the dance / music / sex / romance podcast after Celebration 2018, but now we're back in business with guest Takuya Futaesaku, author of the book Words of Prince. Takki and I talk about his book and his experiences as a Prince fan in Japan; it was a pleasure to speak with him, so hopefully it will be a pleasure to listen, too! Special thanks this episode go to Crystal for helping me track down the Japanese shows you'll hear during the podcast. 00:00:00   "Around the World in a Day” (Live at Osaka-jō Hall, 1986) 00:02:39   "When Doves Cry” (Live at Osaka-jō Hall) 00:04:46   "Condition of the Heart” (Live at Osaka-jō Hall) 00:07:10   "Christopher Tracy's Parade” (Live at Osaka-jō Hall) 00:08:58   "Sometimes It Snows in April”  (Live at Yokohama Stadium, 1986) 00:13:24   "Bambi” (Live at the Tokyo Dome, 1990) 00:16:08   "Batdance” (Live at the Tokyo Dome, 1990) 00:18:38   "Vicki Waiting” (Live at Yokohama Stadium, 1996) 00:25:27   "Let's Go Crazy” (Live at the Tokyo Dome, 1989) 00:29:30    d / m / s / r Podcast with Duane Tudahl 00:33:55   "The Everlasting Now" (Live at the Nippon Budokan, 2002) 00:41:53    John Blackwell's Drum Solo from "The Question of U” (Live at the Budokan) 00:47:09   "Xenophobia" (Live at the Budokan) 01:00:35   "Dance On” (Live at the Tokyo Dome, 1989) 01:01:14   Buy Words of Prince on Amazon

As listeners are no doubt aware, next week will be a big one for Prince fans in Minneapolis: Monday through Wednesday is Prince from Minneapolis, the second-ever (and first in the States) academic symposium devoted to papers about Prince; then, from Thursday to Sunday, Paisley Park will open its doors for its second annual posthumous Celebration event. I will be there for both, so I thought now was the perfect opportunity to talk to Stuart Willoughby, whose book Minneapolis Reign: A Guide to Prince's Hometown documented his own trip to last year's Celebration 2017. Stuart and I had a really fun conversation, which will hopefully give everyone else out there planning their own pilgrimages some pointers about where to go and what to do in Prince's hometown. As always, remember to subscribe to the d / m / s / r podcast on your service of choice (iTunes, Stitcher, or Google Play), and to leave us a review if the spirit moves you. I look forward to meeting some of you in Minneapolis next week! 00:00:00   "Calhoun Square” (1993 Recording, available on Crystal Ball) 00:04:12   "1999” (from 1999, 1982) 00:08:28   "Cream” (from Diamonds and Pearls, 1991) 00:13:07   "Nothing Compares 2 U” (1991 Recording, available on Prince 4Ever) 00:30:23   "Paisley Park” (from Around the World in a Day, 1985) 00:34:48   Rudolph's Bar-B-Que 00:44:23   "All the Critics Love U in London” (Live at indigO2, London, 2007) 00:45:09   My Name is Prince Exhibition (Now in Amsterdam) 00:50:28   David Bowie Is Exhibition 00:52:03   Buy Stuart's Book on Amazon 00:54:11   "Rock 'N' Roll is Alive! (And It Lives in Minneapolis)" (1995 B-Side) 00:56:41   Snax on d / m / s / r 00:56:50   Contribute to Snax's Pledge Music Drive!

dance / music / sex / romance is fast approaching its third year, so to celebrate, we're going...backwards? That's right, to mark the 40th anniversary of Prince's debut album, I thought now was the perfect time to go ahead with an idea I've been toying with for a while: our own sub-series of review podcasts looking at each of Prince's albums in isolation. I'm doing this for a few reasons. First, it's a way to bring those of you who have been listening to the podcasts but not reading the blog into the loop on my chronological Prince project--and also a way for me to work through some of these albums before I can get to it with my glacially paced writing schedule. Second, I've known from the beginning of this project that if I really wanted to do Prince's catalogue justice, I would need to incorporate more voices and perspectives than just my own. We all have our biases and blind spots, and as a Prince fan I am acutely aware that one person's sentimental favorite can be another's unlistenable mess (and vice versa). That's why I asked my friends Harold and KaNisa, both of whose encyclopaedic knowledge of Prince's career dwarfs my own, to join me. I think you'll find that our tastes and opinions both intersect and diverge in a lot of interesting ways, which allowed us--and hopefully, will allow you--to take a different perspective on some of these songs and the context in which they were created. I hope you enjoy this new approach to an album that remains underappreciated in Prince's catalogue. If you do, I hope you'll subscribe to the podcast on your streaming app of choice (iTunes, Stitcher, or Google Play), and if you're so inclined, leave a review! No matter what, thanks for listening, and see you again soon. 00:00:00   "For You” (1976 Recording) 00:01:01   Harold's Previous Appearance on d / m / s / r 00:01:10   The Prince Podcast 00:01:24   KaNisa's Tumblr 00:04:50   Duane Tudahl on d / m / s / r 00:06:54   "Soft and Wet” (from For You, 1978) 00:09:10   Here's Where to Read the Blog Entries on For You 00:09:19   The New Prince Issue of Wax Poetics 00:11:08   "I'm Under Your Spell" by Mind & Matter, written by and featuring the Artist Later Known as Jimmy Jam (1977 Recording, available on Purple Snow: Forecasting the Minneapolis Sound) 00:14:35   "Everybody Dance" by Chic (from Chic, 1977) 00:14:46   "Shame" by Evelyn "Champagne" King (from Smooth Talk, 1977) 00:15:15   "Mary Jane" by Rick James and the Stone City Band (from Come Get It!, 1978) 00:18:35   "The Closer I Get to You" by Roberta Flack and Donny Hathaway (from Blue Lights in the Basement, 1977) 00:19:04   "Too Much, Too Little, Too Late" by Johnny Mathis and Deniece Williams (from You Light Up My Life, 1978) 00:21:06   "You and I" by Rick James and the Stone City Band (from Come Get It!) 00:22:54   Now This is More Like It © Warner Bros. 00:23:10 Getting There © Warner Bros. 00:24:37 Prince Meets His Public, 1978 Photo stolen from Noisey 00:29:58 "Well, I'm going to pick up a flute pretty soon." 00:32:12   "Just as Long as We're Together” (1977 Recording) 00:41:28   "Funkytown” by Lipps, Inc. (from Mouth to Mouth, 1979) 00:48:47   "For You" (from For You) 00:56:10   "For You" (1976 Recording) 01:01:08   "In Love” (from For You) 01:12:40   "Soft and Wet" (from For You) 01:16:08   "Soft and Wet" (1976 Recording) 01:19:22   The Futurama Fry Squint 01:20:58   The Bonobo Statue that Scarred Zach for Life https://www.instagram.com/p/BFaMU6xSsMn/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link 01:30:00 "Crazy You” (from For You) 01:32:40   Zach's Original Post on "Crazy You" 01:38:55   "Just as Long as We're Together" (from For You) 01:47:27   "Jelly Jam” (1977 Recording) 01:52:25   "Baby” (from For You) 01:56:49   "School of Life" by Tommy Tate (1972 Single) 02:01:29   "Eye Hate U” (from The Gold Experience, 1995)