Ben GreenmanBesprekingen

This definitely has the flavor of McSweeney's. Sometimes it's like really good McSweeney's and sometimes less good McSweeney's. I liked the first half better than the second half, but that might be due to circumstances extraneous to the book itself (like today while finishing it I slammed my thumb in a drawer and then I got a stomach ache).

What a fun book. The author takes a collection of Chekhov stories and replaces all the characters with modern celebrities. The results are sometimes funny, but overall make the story just a little more relatable.

I listened to the audio and overall a fun listen.

The opener and title story is not this book's best. "What We Believe But Cannot Praise" towards the end, finally redeems it, but barely. Somehow the rhythm and flavor of this book makes me envy the illiterate a little.

Best short story collection I've read in years.

Pretty good! One of the better Prince books I've read, in terms of combining the author's personal/emotional/historical narrative with interesting/new information. I have to say, it feels like the publishing of this was a little rushed. There are parts that were obviously crafted years ago which hold up really well, and then parts that seemed to be tacked on in order to flesh out the book for quick publication post-death. I'm always looking for works on Prince that could hold up next to Hilton Als' "I Am Your Conscious, I Am Love"...and this isn't quite there. Really like that he actually takes on the task of seriously engaging with stuff like Prince's gender, race, sexuality, name-change, views towards creative women, etc. but I feel like he only scratched the surface on each, before abruptly moving on. Oh well, guess I still need to finish writing my Prince essay then.

Parts of this are alright, but the majority of the stories are b-team.

This was an okay read. Recommended for super fans and anyone with a passion for music. For the casual Prince fan who is interested in learning more about his life and career, I would suggest going with a traditional biography.½

I received a free advanced reading copy of this book through the Library Thing Early Reviewers program (although I ended up listening to an audiobook from the library)

Greenman's book is the story of Prince's career largely told through Prince's music with a focus on his role as a cultural icon and sometimes generous/sometimes rocky relationships with other musicians. Prince's biography is in there too, but it's more of the details fall into place around the examination of his music. Greenman is a devoted fan of Prince so his own experience as a Prince fan emerges several times in the book, but unlike Rob Sheffield who makes the fan's experience a window into a greater understanding of an artists, Greenman's personal reflections seem more an intrusion. Nevertheless, it's overall a great attempt at understanding the life work of someone as mercurial and hard to define as Prince.

I was disappointed in this book which reads more like a fanzine than a serious career study (obviously the author was not trying to write a biography which is fine with me). I felt Ben Greenman put himself into the story far too often and being the super-fan he is he's not impartial, admiring nearly all of Prince's work as well as seemingly condoning some of his less pleasant personality quirks like his excessively controlling attitude to some of his other super fans who have used created tribute sites and the like on the net. Prince's contemporaries like Michael Jackson are somewhat written off as lesser talents but Greenman doesn't acknowledge Jackson was able to stay a front-row pop star longer than Prince despite being considerably less prolific (nor does Greeman much dwell on the fact that somewhere in the late 90's Prince moved from being a widely popular mainstream star to more of a cult favorite.) I eagerly await a book on Prince that fully acknowledges his flaws as well as his genius, his lows as well as his highs. I suspect the real man is far more interesting than this disciple like spin.

This is an odd book for me - I don't normally read biographies, nor follow musician lives.... but its PRINCE, and PRINCE is amazing. Yes, every time I write PRINCE, its going to be in all caps.

This a great biography - instead of the more normal chronological order, this book uses Prince's own music styles as background to his life. Its not exactly in chronological order, the chapters are set to themes, for example Religion, or his name - but it is written more deeply than that, with references going back and forth, expanding on an idea or theme.

I am not the biggest PRINCE fan. I know his hits, but the b-sides and lesser known music, I am completely clueless on. The combining of PRINCE's music with his biography, while amazing, at the same time left me a bit clueless, especially when a song I didn't know was discussed. But that's okay - Ben Greenman wrote an amazing biography of PRINCE that actually captures PRINCE's genius and eccentricity. The book is also quite balanced, not skimping on PRINCE's faults, but rather explaining why they were there. Also, this is great tribute - the Author is a huge fan, and manages to get in a few bits about just how important PRINCE is to him. These moments add immensely to the book, turning it from a well written biography to something more poignant.

Dig if you Will, The Picture: Funk, Sex, God and Genius in the Music of Prince by Ben Greenman is a 2017 Henry Holt & Company publication.

‘Science-fiction authors have played around with the idea of extreme longevity and what effect it might have on the human psyche, speculating that if humans lived to be a thousand years old, they’d be so preoccupied with protecting that lifespan, that they would never even cross the street. Prince took the opposite tack, and then some.”

Before you begin reading this book, be sure to take note of these words in the title: ‘The Music of Prince’.

This is NOT a biography, but more of a fan driven homage to Prince and his music with many interesting and thought -provoking insights. However, it rarely delves too deeply into the personal life of Prince.

Having said that, it would be impossible to ignore some personal aspects, and to leave them out entirely would have been a big mistake, but, when the time came to address those issues, the author gave the least amount of information possible, and did not linger on them for long. In fact, it was almost as if it made him squirm and he wanted to gloss it over and move on as quickly as possible.

So, if you are looking for a definitive biography that digs deeply into the life of this iconic musician, as well as his musical talents, this is not the book you are looking for.

However, if you are a rabid fan- loved Prince’s music, style, fashion, and mystique and would like to take a closer look at his musical influence and public life, this book will give you plenty to reminisce about.

For me, this book was a like skipping down memory lane. I was reminded of so many Prince moments I’d forgotten all about overtime, and discovered others I was totally unaware of.

To be honest, I liked Prince, enjoyed his music and aura, but at best, I was only a casual fan. Still who could forget the VMA when he wore those yellow ‘assless’ pants?

Have you ever watched that awkward interview he did with Dick Clark on American Bandstand? I had not. In fact, I never even knew Prince had made an appearance on the show. You have to look that up on YouTube.

From a nostalgic standpoint, these reminders of Prince’s early career moments are fun pop culture snapshots that show how his styles and music changed and developed over the course of time.

But, this is not just a book packed with trivial ‘fan book’ facts. The author goes into deeper discussions about the themes represented in the music, as well as career highs and lows, who he was influenced by, his need for control and his battles for individuality, while maintaining a mass appeal to such an incredibly broad audience.

“One bear said,
‘Did you hear about Rustam?’
He has become famous
And travels from city to city
In a golden cage;

He preforms to hundreds of people
Who laugh and applaud
His carnival
Stunts.”

The other bear thought for
A few seconds
Then started
Weeping”

Hafiz

This book explores song meanings, sexuality, spirituality, and race, but also highlights life on the road, performances, and Prince’s fight with recording studios and for the rights to his songs, the snafu over copyrights in the age of the internet and the integrity of his art, the importance of his privacy and how he did things, for better or worse, in the way he thought was best, and would grant him the creative license he needed.

Knowing what we know now, this book could have had a sad, melancholy tone, but it doesn’t. It steers far from the very dark and still secretive life of Prince and stays focused, as much as possible, on his music and career.

The only downside, is that in this author’s eyes, Prince could do no wrong, and so everything he did or said was given a positive spin with some excuses stretching the limits just a wee bit, and it appears that the author is still trying to wrap his head around the darker areas of his idol’s life, still clinging to that persona he has etched in his memory.

However, to this day, my favorite memory of Prince- is the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame ceremony when he joined Tom Petty on a star- studded stage and literally blew everyone away with his guitar solo in “My Guitar Gently Weeps" I am amazed. The guy was absolutely incredible.

https://youtu.be/efhlDbZ4SmY

Even though I’m not necessarily the targeted audience for this type of book, I did find enjoy the exploration of the music and the unique perspectives given of Prince’s professional journey.

I would recommend this book to anyone who is a big fan, for the pop culture enthusiast, or for those who might wish to take an in depth look at Prince’s art and music without it being bogged down by too much personal drama.½

I was very impressed by Greenman's writing and his passion for Prince and his music. As someone who is not necessarily a fan but can appreciate the work, it was enjoyable to read about it from the point of view of someone who truly love Prince. I would recommend this book to someone interested in the details of a really impactful life. I have learned a lot!

Greenman is a free-lance journalist, a critic, a man who has helped others write their story (Questlove, George Clinton, and Brian Wilson), and has written both fiction and non-fiction works. He is also the biggest Prince fan ever and owns nearly every Prince song there is to be had. I mention this in order to show that he is qualified to examine Prince's music and making determinations about it.

Prince was an extraordinary artist who was quite prolific, destroyed the notions of race and gender, and "redefined the role of sex in pop music". Prince was like a machine who never stopped making music often staying up all night then waking up early the next morning. He was obsessed with it. He had side projects where he mentored others and produced their records, writing the songs on the albums.

Most of these groups or solo acts were made up of women. He also offered help to those who were already established, such as Stevie Nicks (who actually asked him), Paula Abdul, Bonnie Rait, and more. His female groups really begin with Vanity 6. They had very minor success even though Vanity wasn't the greatest singer. Vanity would be replaced with the woman who played the female lead in Purple Rain, Apollonia, and the band would be renamed Apollonia 6. While she had a better singing voice, the songs were too good and lacked the "punkish insistence" of Vanity 6. Some of the songs that were meant for Apollonia 6 ended up going to others, such as the Bangles ("Manic Monday"), Shelia E. ("Glamours Life") and Prince himself ("17 Days"). Shelia E. and Sheena Easton, both protegees of Prince, benefitted greatly from working with him. But that was not always the case with the protegees who worked with him. Ingrid Chavez was no winner and neither was Carmen Electra, Tamar Davis or Bria Valente and let's please forget Kim Basinger. Jill Jones was another exception of a protegee that worked out. He worked with her on and off throughout the 1980s and finally released her album in 1987 which "offers a nearly perfectly disillusion of the Minneapolis aesthetic synth-heavy funk loaded with double entendre, heartfelt ballads, and layered vocal arrangements." He was a Svengali, however, his connection with his own female identity meant he was just as caught in the web as they were.

On all of Prince's albums, he always gave thanks to God. He had a faith in God that came out in his music. On the song "Let's Go Crazy" it starts off with a church organ and a sermonesque talking bit about the afterworld. He recorded a song called "God" that was subtitled "Love Theme From Purple Rain" that was put on a B side. In America and Britain it was instrumental, but elsewhere there were words that described the end times and how you should dance in response to it. The song "Temptation" describes how Prince let his carnal desires keep him from the divine. "Sometimes It Snows In April" shows Christopher Tracy as a Christ figure waiting for resurrection. "The Cross" couldn't have been more plainly faith-based.

The book also covers sex in his music, race and politics in his music, why he changed his name and the chaos that ensued, his frustration with his fans and the internet, what he was like on stage, and how he was able to produce so much for so long. This book was an odd if somewhat interesting read. The author reminds you of the English major who sees symbolism everywhere when sometimes a lyric is just a lyric so to speak. He does love the music but is not too blind to admit when a song sucks. I also have to say his knowledge of the music is unparalleled. One thing I really enjoyed was the list of albums and songs at the end with his pick of one song from the album and a brief description of why it was so good. Overall this wasn't such a bad book. It was highly informative and gave this Prince fan some songs to hunt down.

While I don't claim to be a Prince fan, I did love his music. I have read no other books about Prince, so nothing to compare it to. Having said that, I do think this was full of information about Prince, his life, his friends and family and most of all his music. I appreciated the tidbits about what shaped him into the man he was. And, although he was surrounded by people, it still strikes me that he was a very lonely man. A difficult childhood, teaching himself all these instruments -- just inspiring and amazing.

The fact that he taught himself so much about the music business, and was very much in control of his music and image, especially towards the end, goes to the very core of the brilliance of Prince. He was the real deal. He knew his stuff and he gave to the world.

It makes me wonder what he would have given us had he lived to be an old man.

I received this book via LibraryThing.com Early Reviewers. This book did not meet my literary expectations. I wasn't a big fan of Prince and the artist formerly known as and I didn't understand the direction his music was leading me too. However, I like the cover art of the book and the forward by Questlove. I still viewed Prince as a musical genius in his own right. But, this biographical book by bestselling author, Ben Greenman is immensely focused on Greenman's knowledge of the instruments, lyrics, and Prince's sexuality. The book reads scientifically with Greenman dissecting Prince's video's movies, songs and relationships (musically and personally).

I was looking for more biography of Prince, Time, Vanity 6, Apollonia and others than the cost of his instruments and whether Prince was a Svengali or Pygmalion tradition or he was more hermaphrodite or androgynous. A great deal of the material went over my head. I still give Greenman credit for his analytical insite into Prince and his influence on music, fashion and culture. There are biographical elements about Prince mixed in with the encyclopedic-like details. He touches on Princes associations with Larry Graham (Musical Group Graham Central Station), Miles Davis (Jazz trumpeter), Travis Smiley (Talk Show host and Author), Marva Collins (Educator and founder of Westside Preparatory School in Chicago) and Misty Copeland (Ballet Dancer for American Ballet Theatre).

I look forward to reading the book by his ex-wife, Mayte Garcia; "The Most Beautiful: My Life with Prince".½

A timely book about Prince doing a deep analysis of the massive archive of his songs. If you are looking for a lot of information on his personal life there is not too much there. But, if you want to learn about his music it is all there. There are pieces of information that I learned like his connection to the Jehovah Witnesses and his relationships and inspirations from other musicians over the years.Nice book if you are interested in the music of this shy genius.

If you're interested in learning more about Prince, this is a great place to start. This book covers his early beginnings and examines the influences on the different stages of his career, including the influence of Prince on his home town of Minneapolis (and vice versa). Greenman takes an honest look at Prince's artistry and openly discusses the highs as well as the lows across the decades. The book brings out the things that helped fans idolize and connect to the artist, as he struggled with the side effects of success.

Received this book via Library Thing Early Reviewers. I always liked Prince' s music and thought he seemed unique and interesting. I had hoped to learn more about his life from this book. But instead the primary focus was on individual songs, specific lyrics, who played on which albums, who sang, who wrote, and musical techniques. Extremely detailed on the songs. I wanted more on the man behind the music.½

Ben Greenman’s Dig if You Will the Picture: Funk, Sex, God, & Genius in the Music of Prince critically examines Prince Roger Nelson’s music, including music he released under his own name or symbol, music he produced for other groups, and unreleased or limited-release songs. The result is a book that will appeal primarily to fans of the Artist as well as critical theorists. Using a variety of analytical frameworks, including the work of Michel Foucault, Plato, the character Pygmalion, and Svengali from George du Maurier’s 1895 novel, Trilby, Greenman presents what will likely stand as the definitive examination of Prince’s music for years to come. His gender analysis is the most interesting aspect of this examination for non-musicologists and the strongest part of his writing. Those looking to read a more standard biography or retrospective of the Artist following his death in 2016 will find some of what they seek here, but Greenman writes for an academic audience and the most ardent Prince fanatics.½

A really interesting, well-written view into the life of Prince. I certainly gained a further appreciation for his music after reading this book. Very highly recommended.½

This is a hagiograpic work by a music critic, that tells its tale via the _hundreds_ of songs and dozens of albums Prince left us. I am only a casual fan, so much was lost on me. A more straight forward biography would have been more helpful, but would have likely required access the author did not enjoy.

Ben Greenman's well-researched, informative book on the life and music of Prince is worth picking up for both casual fan of the musician as well as devotees. Greenman, a long-time fan, tracks Prince's entire life and also does some deep-dives on the music itself. Fantastic book that I finished on the one-year anniversary of Prince's death.½

A reminiscence on the musician Prince by a lifelong fan who also happens to be a professional writer. It is very well written. This is not a biography in the usual sense with the facts and dates of the subject's life. Although it follows Prince's career in roughly chronological order, each chapter tends to focus on different aspects of his music and his life, e.g. his interaction with the music industry, his fans (and fame), recurring themes (sex, God), his musical side projects, the internet.

Almost every page references a song or an album. So, it's worthwhile to have access to Prince's music to listen along as you read.

I think the casual fans will come to know Prince much better after reading this book. The author knows the subject well, and can be very passionate about it:
“When Prince made art about sex, he explored the signs and signifiers of sex. When he made art about the self, he explored the signs and signifiers of self. The same was true of God, of race, of language, of freedom. He crammed substance into every nook and cranny, both musically and lyrically.”

In the back, is an appendix listing all of Prince's albums with their songs, and an extended comment on one song per album.

I am certain that diehard fans will like this book. But also it's an opportunity for readers like me, who mainly have been greatest-hits fans, to gain to deeper appreciation of his music.

This book has great insight into the mystery of Prince, the man, and also the complexities of his music and the instruments that made him extraordinary. This is a fine introduction to his catalogue and the specifics of his sound, especially to those unfamiliar with most of his music, myself included. The work adds to the idea of Prince as a singular, once-in-a-lifetime talent. The author does a great service here to the musician, making a page turning, entertaining book and definitely worth a read.

Loved the opening rifts of the audio book. But would have been much better with the music throughout.