New Prince song rips EC more than a little

[endlessmind64]

Hey everyone. I'm a newbie here on this forum.
I'll tell everyone up front that I'm in my late 40ties, and have seen EC here in America on the Trust tour, Imperial Bedroom tour,
Punch the Clock Tour, Goodbye Cruel Would tour.

EC is the greatest songwriter of the twentieth century. Period.

With that said. If you listen to the new Prince song "Laydown". It sounds to me like he ripped melodic content from
Pump it up, and, Lipstick Vogue all in one song.

Or. Am I wrong.

[verbal gymnastics]

Welcome endlessmind64.

I hope you get opportunity to share some of your Elvis experiences on the board.

Why no tours since GCW?

[endlessmind64]

Thanks for the welcome.
No tours since GBCW because of marriage and kids. You know how that goes.
Now. Both my kids are heading off to University. So. now. I can reconnect with some things that
mean a lot to me.

All the EC concerts I have seen, have been here in SO Cal.

I have seen EC over the last few years on David Letterman. He is quite a bit different from the first time I had seen him
at the Greek Theater here in L.A.

He actually left the stage early at that Greek Theater concert. And. Did not return. He later said that
he didn't believe that people were there to see HIM for his music, but, only that, he, was the next big thing.

It appears to me that, he has really become comfortable with his musical genius, only in the last few years.

My name is James.

Thanks again for the welcome.

[SoulForHire]

You decide

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pe3KM7vfNh8

[verbal gymnastics]

Thanks for the welcome.
No tours since GBCW because of marriage and kids.

And it was fortunate that whilst your kids were young there weren't (m)any tours to see.

Although I've got a 3 year old and a 10 month old, Mrs VG knows how important EC concerts are and allows me to go to as many as possible.

I went to a few last year in the UK but missed out on the Sugarcanes as Mrs VG was heavily pregnant and none of the shows were close enough for me to drive back from if anything happened. Except the London show supporting Paul McCartney. And I wasn't interested in that one anyway.

I'm going to Amsterdam in November and hope there is also a UK tour around that time.

[Otis Westinghouse]

Welcome. Hope you get to see him soon. He's in a pretty golden phase at present. Would love to see him deliver a blistering set soon.

VG, how come you passed up an opportunity to hear Elvis and the 'Canes being drowned out by the groans and cries of outrage as England crumbled to Germany? It was absurd. Glad I saw them, anyway. First EC gig since 2005, and only with 'Canes, who were lovely. Macca was great fun though.

I've been making the most of having a 15- and 18-year old in the house and nipping off to London and other places with my wife to see all my favourite acts. Getting them to stay in at the weekend ain't so easy, but midweek on a school night is, especially with a bit of pizza delivery I used to travel to gigs alone, but going with her now, and to the cinema, is like reconnecting with our twenty-something selves. Lovely, although getting home at 1.45 with work the next day can be a bit trying!

[Ymaginatif]

As a big fan of both artists, I would say: absolutely not.
Both songs have semi-shouted, semi-sung verses, but the list of songs that do that is endless! And they both are expressions, in very different ways, of the way these two artists write their songs.

Really, I can't get over the idea that you think they are alike ...

[Otis Westinghouse]

Oh yeah, that was the point of this thread... I'm with you, symbol, I hear very little resemblance indeed. Just sounds like Prince to me! Prince is playing the Hop Farm Festival in Kent (England) this summer. Line-up was already awesome hat with Moz, Ig and Lou, and then they anounced the Purple Yoda was playing Sunday. Wowzer. Sadly I ain't going, which is bad news. I got the freebie CD they gave away a with the, yuk, Sunday Mail a couple of years back, Planet Earth was it? It was so bad it barely made it to the end of one play. Devoid of anything memorable you'd want to hear again. A sad state of affairs given the genius of the man across almost all his 80s output. Laydown is maybe slightly better than that, but he just sounds like he's on autopilot. He used to write songs, y'know? Feel free to lay into me with defence!

He looks amazing. Is that make up / Polyfilla, surgery, or is he blessed with eternal youth?

Saw him in the Atletico Madrid stadium 20 years back. It was just after Nothing Compares 2 U had been a big hit and when he played it at the grand piano, OMG!

[endlessmind64]

I'm also a fan of Prince. I have been to his club in Minneapolis several times.
However. I stand by what I said. The vocal phrasing on that record rips Pump it up, and LV
In my opinion.

[docinwestchester]

Similar opening riff, but really just a small portion of the song. Not an issue for me.

What's impressive to me is that he chose the George Lopez show to promote the album/tour. That's a very enlightened decision and he makes a point of it during the interview. The performances are stellar.

[Emotional Toothpaste]

I don't see any similarities in that song to any of Elvis'. None.

And what a mess of a song. Blech!

[cwr]

I wish there was more of a similarity, so that EC could use it as leverage to get Prince to finally allow him to release his original version of "The Bridge I Burned" where he sings part of "Pop Life" in the middle of it. (Prince refused permission twice, I believe-- for the original Extreme Honey release and later for the ATUB Rhino Bonus Disc...)

Does all this stem from EC calling Prince "an impostor" on The Tonight Show back in the mid-80s? Or are these two things the full extent of their "feud"?

[endlessmind64]

I respect everyones opinion on this forum.
But. I still hear a strong verse metric resemblance between the Prince Laydown song and parts of
PIU and LV.

[Ymaginatif]

There's now way we can change endlessmind's mind

'Pump It Up' is a straight copy of Dylan's 'Subterranean Home-sick Blues' --- do we have to lead the Prince song back to that?

I seriously doubt it Prince listens to Elvis Costello music. But you never know ...
Elvis covering Prince is cringe-worthy --- I have heard his monster-versions of pop-life. There's a certain type of tight music that Elvis Costello just can't do (with a ll respect). Vice versa, I don't think Prince would do a very good ELvis Costello cover. Both artists are best in their own fields, which are miles apart.

So, IF there is ANY similarity (which I'm wholeheartedly convinced there isn't ), I would certainly not call it a 'rip-off', but more an 'accidental overlap' (which I don't think it is - this is getting complicated )

That Prince video is A-Ma-Zing!!

[endlessmind64]

Ymaginatif,

Its not supposed to sound exactly the same. I said the vocal styling, and, the Verse metrics in the first part of that Prince song,
have a strong the resemblance to PIU.


The last part of the Prince song, have the same characteristics, vocally, as LV.

[Ymaginatif]

Waw- I just heard this: if there's one song that Prince's 'Laydown' is similar to, it's Santogold's 'Creator'

<iframe width="420" height="345" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/DJkWoAhSiZ4" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

A most excellent song, I hasten to add!