UnquietDreams
Summa Cum Louder
- Joined
- Dec 20, 2023
- Posts
- 24,505
I've told this story before. My favorite book is Emma Bull's War for the Oaks, one of the first, if not the first, urban fantasy, which has a rock and roll singer get drafted against her will into the war between the Seelie and Unseelie Courts in modern Minneapolis. The city is as much a character in the book as any person. And being the book goblin I am, I went on a vacation based around my favorite book. I wanted to see some of the places first hand, and one of the main locations is the legendary First Avenue, one of the greatest rock and roll venues in the US. I got there in the early evening on a Tuesday, I think (weekends were way too crowded). It was slow, and I got a table, a two-top in the Mainfloor with no problems, and settled in to see where the climactic battle in the book took place. I grabbed dinner and took notes, annotating a copy of the novel, and was having the geeky time of my life. There was a live band scheduled to play that night with a wacky name I don’t remember. I wasn’t there to pay attention to the band -- I was absorbed with Eddie and the Fey. Well, the band came out with these wild outfits and huge glasses and hats. A roadie comes out with someone wrapped in blankets with a huge knit hat covering most of his face, wheeled out on a hand truck. Interesting. They hand him a guitar, and the opening riff of "When Doves Cry" screams out. As the roadie walks off, he pulled off the hat and it was fucking Prince.
He was working on things for a new tour, and so he and a few of his band would show up at clubs and play under a pile of weird names. It was very minimalist (I had seen him with his full road show back in 85). Within ten minutes, the place was jammed, throat to elbow. It was one of the most amazing shows I have ever seen, and I had a table to do so.
Prince is only mentioned twice in the book, my favorite being:
“Maybe. All I know is, this kid’s cuter than Prince when he wants to be.”
“No one is cuter than Prince.”
…but I still end up humming this song when I read it. He performed it with just piano and minimal drums. I am in a mood, so I found the version from Muppets Tonight, which, for me at least, single-handedly justified that show's existence. It fits one of the Purple One's sweetest songs.
"Starfish and Coffee," Prince
He was working on things for a new tour, and so he and a few of his band would show up at clubs and play under a pile of weird names. It was very minimalist (I had seen him with his full road show back in 85). Within ten minutes, the place was jammed, throat to elbow. It was one of the most amazing shows I have ever seen, and I had a table to do so.
Prince is only mentioned twice in the book, my favorite being:
“Maybe. All I know is, this kid’s cuter than Prince when he wants to be.”
“No one is cuter than Prince.”
…but I still end up humming this song when I read it. He performed it with just piano and minimal drums. I am in a mood, so I found the version from Muppets Tonight, which, for me at least, single-handedly justified that show's existence. It fits one of the Purple One's sweetest songs.
"Starfish and Coffee," Prince
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