Skip to content
1981
  1. Home
  2. A-Z Publications
  3. Interactions: Studies in Communication & Culture
  4. Volume 12, Issue 2
  5. Article
Dream Factories: Prince, Sign o’ the Times, Box Sets and Cultural Artefacts
  • ISSN: 1757-2681
  • E-ISSN: 1757-269X

Abstract

Prince was constantly shifting and evolving. Always the driving agent of perpetual change, he rechristened himself, sonically and stylistically, with every album. At the beginning of his career, ‘Produced, Arranged, Composed and Performed by Prince’ was fundamental to the story of Prince as boy wonder and musical genius. However, by his third album , Prince began to deliberately craft an expansive tale of alter egos and fictitious characters, beginning with Jamie Starr. Eventually, he would create an arsenal of artists, commencing with The Time and Vanity 6, soon thereafter. However, this prevailing narrative of autonomy, change and world-building shifted with the releases of Prince’s and deluxe editions in 2017, 2019 and 2020, respectively. This article will deconstruct how Prince’s agency as a self-sufficient creator and mastermind behind his own musical realm is being stripped and his narrative arc reshaped.

© 2022 (2021) Intellect Ltd
Loading

Article metrics loading...

/content/journals/10.1386/iscc_00043_1
2022-09-01
2025-01-24
Loading full text...

Full text loading...

References

  1. Apollonia 6 ( 1984), Apollonia 6, vinyl album, USA:: Warner Bros. Records;.
     [Google Scholar]
  2. Bream, Jon. ( 1981a;), ‘ “Time” helps set hometown sound. ’, Minneapolis Star, 11 August, p. 1B.
     [Google Scholar]
  3. Bream, Jon. ( 1981b;), ‘ Prince singing for Time is dreamy. ’, Minneapolis Star, 6 October, p. 1C.
     [Google Scholar]
  4. Christman, Ed. ( 2014;), ‘ Prince gains his catalog in landmark deal with Warner Bros.: New album coming. ’, Billboard, 18 April, https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/prince-deal-with-warner-bros-new-album-coming-6062423/. Accessed 8 October 2021.
     [Google Scholar]
  5. George, Nelson. ( 2021;), ‘ My strange relationship with Prince. ’, Substack, 14 April, https://nelsongeorge.substack.com/p/my-strange-relationship-with-prince. Accessed 8 October 2021.
     [Google Scholar]
  6. Grown Folks Music ( 2017;), ‘ Prince 1987 Flood. ’, Soundcloud, USA, 29 January, https://soundcloud.com/grownfolksmusic/gfms-inside-the-album-podcast-prince-1987-flood. Accessed 8 October 2021.
     [Google Scholar]
  7. Hermes, Will. ( 2017;), ‘ Review: Prince’s Purple Rain deluxe reissues reveal top-shelf tracks from icon’s hot streak. ’, Rolling Stone, 27 June, https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-album-reviews/review-princes-purple-rain-deluxe-reissues-reveal-top-shelf-tracks-from-icons-hot-streak-204669. Accessed 8 October 2021.
     [Google Scholar]
  8. Hiatt, Brian. ( 2020;), ‘ Inside the making of the super-deluxe reissue of Prince’s Sign O’ the Times. ’, Rolling Stone, 25 September, https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/prince-sign-o-the-times-super-deluxe-interview-1066678/. Accessed 8 October 2021.
     [Google Scholar]
  9. Jill Jones ( 1987), Jill Jones, vinyl album, USA:: Paisley Park Records;.
     [Google Scholar]
  10. Madhouse ( 1987a), 8, vinyl album, USA:: Paisley Park Records;.
     [Google Scholar]
  11. Madhouse ( 1987b), 16, vinyl album, USA:: Paisley Park Records;.
     [Google Scholar]
  12. Mazarati ( 1986), Mazarati, vinyl album, USA:: Paisley Park Records;.
     [Google Scholar]
  13. Prince ( 1978), For You, vinyl album, USA:: Warner Bros. Records;.
     [Google Scholar]
  14. Prince ( 1979), Prince, vinyl album, USA:: Warner Bros. Records;.
     [Google Scholar]
  15. Prince ( 1980), Dirty Mind, vinyl album, USA:: Warner Bros. Records;.
     [Google Scholar]
  16. Prince ( 1981), Controversy, vinyl album, USA:: Warner Bros. Records;.
     [Google Scholar]
  17. Prince ( 1982), 1999, vinyl album, USA:: Warner Bros. Records;.
     [Google Scholar]
  18. Prince ( 1984), Purple Rain, vinyl album, USA:: Warner Bros. Records;.
     [Google Scholar]
  19. Prince ( 1985), Around the World in a Day, vinyl album, USA:: Paisley Park Records;.
     [Google Scholar]
  20. Prince ( 1986), Parade, vinyl album, USA:: Paisley Park Records;.
     [Google Scholar]
  21. Prince ( 2017;), ‘ Blackstar. ’, Purple Rain Deluxe Expanded Edition, booklet notes, vinyl album:, USA:: Warner Bros. Records;.
     [Google Scholar]
  22. Prince ( 2019a;), ‘ Welcome to Prince World. ’, Originals, booklet notes, vinyl album, USA:: Warner Bros. Records;.
     [Google Scholar]
  23. Prince ( 2019b;), ‘ My Mind Says Prepare to Fight. ’, 1999 Super Deluxe Edition, booklet notes, vinyl album, USA:: Warner Records;.
     [Google Scholar]
  24. Prince ( 2020;), ‘ Who in This House Know about the Quake?. ’, Sign o’ the Times Super Deluxe Edition, booklet notes, vinyl album, USA:: Warner Records;.
     [Google Scholar]
  25. Prince ( 2021), Welcome 2 America, vinyl album, USA:: Legacy Recordings;.
     [Google Scholar]
  26. PrinceVault ( 2012;), ‘ File: Foryou USpromoadvert.png – Prince Vault. ’, PrinceVault, 16 August, http://princevault.com/index.php?title=File:Foryou_USpromoadvert.png. Accessed 8 October 2021.
     [Google Scholar]
  27. PrinceVault ( 2021), http://princevault.com. Accessed 8 October 2021.
  28. Questlove Supreme ( 2021;), ‘ QLS Classic: Jesse Johnson Part 1. ’, iHeartRadio, USA, 24 May, https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/qls-classic-jesse-johnson-part-1/id1485250501. Accessed 8 October 2021.
     [Google Scholar]
  29. Sharf, Samantha. ( 2021;), ‘ This is the best place to live in the U.S. right now. ’, Money, 14 September, https://money.com/chanhassen-minnesota-best-places-to-live-2021/. Accessed 8 October 2021.
     [Google Scholar]
  30. Sheila, E.. ( 1984), The Glamorous Life, vinyl album, USA:: Warner Bros. Records;.
     [Google Scholar]
  31. Sheila, E.. ( 1985), Romance 1600, vinyl album, USA:: Paisley Park Records;.
     [Google Scholar]
  32. Sheila, E.. ( 1987), Sheila E., vinyl album, USA:: Paisley Park Records;.
     [Google Scholar]
  33. Sinclair, Paul. ( 2019;), ‘ Interview: Prince’s vault archivist, Michael Howe, talks to SDE. ’, SuperDeluxeEdition, 27 June, https://superdeluxeedition.com/interview/princes-archivist-michael-howe-talks-to-sde/. Accessed 8 October 2021.
     [Google Scholar]
  34. Sinclair, Paul. ( 2020;), ‘ Prince archivist Michael Howe talks SDE through Sign O’ the Times bonus cuts. ’, SuperDeluxeEdition, 26 June, https://superdeluxeedition.com/interview/prince-archivist-michael-howe-talks-sde-through-sign-o-the-times-bonus-cuts/. Accessed 8 October 2021.
     [Google Scholar]
  35. The Family ( 1985), The Family, vinyl album, USA:: Paisley Park Records;.
     [Google Scholar]
  36. The Time ( 1981), The Time, vinyl album, USA:: Warner Bros. Records;.
     [Google Scholar]
  37. The Time ( 1982), What Time Is It?, vinyl album, USA:: Warner Bros. Records;.
     [Google Scholar]
  38. The Time ( 1984), Ice Cream Castle, vinyl album, USA:: Warner Bros. Records;.
     [Google Scholar]
  39. Vanity 6 ( 1982), Vanity 6, vinyl album, USA:: Warner Bros. Records;.
     [Google Scholar]
  40. Duff, De Angela L.. ( 2022 [2021];), ‘ Prince as producer and creator of worlds: Absent narratives in Prince’s Purple Rain, 1999 and Sign o’ the Times deluxe box sets. ’, Interactions: Studies in Communication & Culture, 12:2&3, pp. 145–58, https://doi.org/10.1386/iscc_00043_1
     [Google Scholar]
/content/journals/10.1386/iscc_00043_1
Loading
  • Article Type: Article
Keyword(s): Jamie Starr; Madhouse; Originals; Sheila E.; The Time; Vanity 6; Welcome 2 America

Most Cited Most Cited RSS feed

This is a required field
Please enter a valid email address
Approval was a success
Invalid data
An error occurred
Approval was partially successful, following selected items could not be processed due to error
Please enter a valid_number test