The Paradox of Time and Memory

I am older than John Lennon or Kobe Bryant will ever be. Lennon was 40 when he was shot to death in front of his apartment building in 1980; Bryant was 41 when he died in a helicopter crash earlier this year. They are gone too soon, but also forever young.

You don't feel the passage of time until it slaps you in the face. Watching the first two episodes of ESPN's "The Last Dance," I realized that most college students today were not even born when the events depicted in the film took place. That time when the Chicago Bulls won six NBA titles during an eight year span felt so exciting, so vibrant, so electric--but it is history to today's young adults, much like the Beatles or the Boston Celtics' 1960s dynasty are history to me and to members of my generation.

Someone who watched John Lennon and the other Beatles during the 1960s did not think of Lennon at that time as a tragic figure whose life would be cut short--but members of my generation had barely learned who he was before he died, and thus the international outpouring of grief that followed his death is inextricably connected to my thoughts and memories about his life. As a child, I was struck by the cruelty of Lennon being killed in the prime of his life shortly after he had released an upbeat song titled "(Just Like) Starting Over." I knew that Lennon had been in the Beatles, and I had some idea of who the Beatles were, but I didn't feel the Beatles the way that I would later feel Prince. Put another way, I did not have the illusion of knowing the Beatles the way that I had the illusion of knowing Prince; after all, Prince--through his songs--accompanied me in real time through a wide variety of life experiences spanning over 30 years.

I lived through the Kobe Bryant era, even participated in it as a writer/interviewer, so when I think of Bryant I think of the best player of the post-Michael Jordan era--the player who came closest to matching up with Jordan (you can disagree with that assessment, but that does not change the way that I personally experienced that era). Interviewing him in Cleveland, or in Indianapolis, or during NBA All-Star Weekend, I could never have imagined that he would be frozen in time as forever young--but children now, and children yet to be born, will perceive Bryant not as a living person, but as a historical figure who died young, like Dr. King and John Lennon. Dying young is an inescapable part of their legacy.

You can learn history, but no matter how much you know, no matter how empathetic you are, no matter how sensitive you are, it is difficult to feel history the way that you feel the life you live, the events that impact you in real time. Every time I hear Dr. Martin Luther King's famous "I've Been to the Mountaintop" speech I cry, but those are tears spilled because I already know how the story turns out; if I had heard that speech when he gave it, I would have felt inspired instead of tearful--and if I had been alive when he was assassinated, the immediate, visceral feeling of loss would be different than the feeling one gets from learning about Dr. King's life, and finding out for the first time how he died.

Dr. King had a vision that he might not be destined to have a long life, and he shared that vision with his followers in "I've Been to the Mountaintop." Lennon had no visions of personal martyrdom; in fact, he sought to avoid that fate, once telling an interviewer, "It's hard to be Gandhi or Martin Luther King or to follow them. I don't admire politicians particularly, I think they're showbiz people, but people who put their thing on the line, like Gandhi, and threw the British out by not shooting anybody...those are the political people I admire. But I don't want to be shot for it like Gandhi, and I don't want to be shot for it like Martin Luther King. I don't want to be a martyr. I don't believe in martyrs, but I admire their stance." Those words sounded one way to a listener in real time, but they sound different when you read them after Lennon was shot--just 12 years after Dr. King was assassinated.

Lennon also said, "If I'd conveniently died in the mid-70s after the Rock 'n' Roll album or Walls and Bridges, they'd all be writing this worshipful stuff about what a great guy and wasn't he funny with a Tampax on his head [during Lennon's infamous "Lost Weekend" period]. You know, all that stuff, it's all right when you're dead. They'd all be saying, what a great guy, and wonderful, wonderful. But I didn't die, so that infuriated everybody, that I would live and do what I want to do. Which is look after me and the family--that was the central concern--to be a family and not lose that was more important than the creation and records and rock 'n' roll and being in Billboard."

Lennon was dead two months after he uttered those words, leaving behind his widow Yoko Ono, their five year old son Sean, and his 17 year old son Julian (from a previous marriage).

Lennon appreciated the past, and his past, but he did not find it productive to wallow in nostalgia:

The adults that were the 20-year-olds in the 60s have all turned into what we were supposed to saving ourselves from: asking for the 60s to come back with the Beatles and the Kennedys--they probably even want a war so's we can have an anti-war movement...We don't need the 60s and we don't need the Beatles we don't need the Kennedys. Let's leave them where they are, in a nice memory...I don't hate the 60s--I have great memories. When the 60s music comes on the radio I enjoy it. Same thing when the 50s music comes on--it takes me back to being 15, [the] 60s takes me back to being 20, the 70s take me back to being 30, and the 80s are going to take me back to being 40. But nostalgia is fine on Sunday, not every day of the week.

Michael Jordan does not seem like a nostalgic person--he has too much confidence in what he can do right now to spend much time dwelling on what he did in the past--but it is interesting that "The Last Dance" footage languished in the proverbial vault for two decades before Jordan gave his approval for the film to be made and to be publicly distributed. Jordan embraces living in the moment, but at some level he is also thinking about how he will be remembered--and possibly controlling that, to the extent that he can control it. Of course, Jordan has every right to shape how his story is told, and I agree with Sam Smith that it is great to hear from Jordan talking about the past after so many authors--including Smith--provided their takes on Jordan's career.

I often think about the "Wiseguy" episode "How Will They Remember Me?"--and it is hard to believe that the episode first aired over 30 years ago! Vinny Terranova found his father's old journal, and reading his father's thoughts long after his father had passed away brought to the surface a full range of emotions for Vinny about his childhood, his relationship with his father, and his current occupation as a government agent tasked with infiltrating the mafia. Vinny's father desperately wanted to leave something behind for Vinny to remember him by, he wanted Vinny to be proud of him, and he wanted to control how he would be remembered--but we cannot control how we will be remembered, or if we will be remembered at all. If Dr. Martin Luther King, John Lennon, Prince, or Kobe Bryant had died at a much younger age--before they became famous--none of them would be remembered at all (from a historical standpoint), but if they had lived to be 80 or 90 then each would almost certainly be remembered differently, because they would have become elder statesmen in their fields instead of icons who are forever young. Would the passing of time change them, or change us?

That is the paradox of time and memory.

"The Little Zen Companion"

The Little Zen Companion is a 1994 anthology compiled by David Schiller containing over 300 quotations. In the Introduction, Schiller explains, "This book doesn't presume to define Zen, but instead to offer a taste of Zen's way of looking at the world: where the best moment is now, where things are what they seem to be, where we see with the refreshing directness of a child and not through eyes grown stale from routine." The quotations are not all by Zen masters and many do not even explicitly pertain to Zen, but they all provoke thought about what it means to be human, and how to strive toward living in the now as opposed to dwelling on what was or what might never be.

Here are a few quotations that resonated deeply with me; in some instances, I have added my own brief comments (in italics, after the pertinent quotation):

• "In the beginner's mind there are many possibilities, but in the expert's mind there are few." Shunryu Suzuki. Studies have shown that the best chess players look at fewer moves than weaker players, but the best players look at those moves more deeply and more accurately. The expert chess player understands that there are only a few optimal ways--and, sometimes, only one optimal way--to play a given position. 
• "Before a person studies Zen, mountains are mountains, and waters are waters; after a first glimpse into the truth of Zen, mountains are no longer mountains and waters are not waters; after enlightenment, mountains are once again mountains and waters once again waters." Zen saying.
• "Ring the bells that can still ring. Forget your perfect offering. There is a crack in everything. That's how the light gets in." Leonard Cohen.
• "The raindrops patter on the basho leaf, but these are not tears of grief; this is only the anguish of him who is listening to them." Zen saying.
• "If you seek, how is that different from pursuing sound and form? If you don't seek, how are you different from earth, wood, or stone? You must seek without seeking." Wu-men.
• "Where do we come from? What are we? Where are we going?" Gauguin, inscription on one of his paintings. This quotation reminds me of Prince's song "The Ladder," which has the following lyrics: 
  "Everybody's looking for the answers
  How the story started and how it will end
  What's the use in half a story, half a dream
  You have to climb all of the steps in between (yeah, we ride)
  Everybody's looking for the ladder
  Everybody wants salvation of the soul
  The steps you take are no easy road
  But the reward is great
  For those who want to go (I do)" 
  
• "In walking, just walk. In sitting, just sit. Above all, don't wobble. " Yun-men.
• "If you wish to drown, do not torture yourself with shallow water." Bulgarian saying. After breaking Joe Theismann's leg during a tackle on Monday Night Football, Lawrence Taylor visited Theismann in the hospital. "Did you know you broke my leg in two places?" Theismann asked. "I never do anything halfway," Taylor replied. For better or worse, halfway is nowhere; commit 100% to an action, or don't take action at all. This also brings to mind Sheriff Buck's conversation on "American Gothic" with the bungling criminal he dismissed as "Half-Ted"; Buck declared that if "Half-Ted" were a real criminal he would have killed all witnesses and escaped and if he were not a criminal at all then he would have never ended up in that particular predicament, so he was not really Ted but just "Half-Ted."
• "One cannot step twice into the same river." Herakleitos.
• "To set up what you like against what you dislike--this is the disease of the mind." Seng-T'San.
• "How shall I grasp it? Do not grasp it. That which remains when there is no more grasping is the Self." Panchadasi.
• "In dwelling, live close to the ground. In thinking, keep to the simple. In conflict, be fair and generous. In governing, don't try to control. In work, do what you enjoy. In family life, be completely present." Tao Te Ching.
• "When hungry, eat your rice; when tired, close your eyes. Fools may laugh at me, but wise men will know what I mean." Lin-Chi.
• "Sit, rest, work. Alone with yourself, never weary. On the edge of the forest, live joyfully, without desire." The Buddha.
• "This is what you shall do: Love the earth and sun and the animals, despise riches, give alms to everyone that asks, stand up for the stupid and crazy, devote your income and labor to others, hate tyrants, argue not concerning God..." Walt Whitman.
• "Barn's burnt down--now I can see the Moon." Masahide. The ability to see hope in crisis and the faith/optimism to look to the future with confidence represent a very rare and special form of grace.
• "We walk, and our religion is shown (even to the dullest and most insensitive person) in how we walk. Or to put it more accurately, living in this world means choosing, choosing to walk, and the way we choose to walk is infallibly and perfectly expressed in the walk itself. Nothing can disguise it. The walk of an ordinary man and of an enlightened man are as different as that of a snake and a giraffe." R. H. Blyth.
• "Things derive their being and nature by mutual dependence and are nothing in themselves." Nagarjuna, second century Buddhist philosopher.
• "An elementary particle is not an independently existing, unanalyzable entity. It is, in essence, a set of relationships that reach outward to other things." H.P. Stapp, twentieth century physicist. 
• "The most terrifying thing is to accept oneself completely." Carl Jung.
• "If you gaze for long into the abyss, the abyss also gazes into you." Nietzsche.
• "He who knows others is wise. He who knows himself is enlightened." Tao Te Ching.
• "1. Out of clutter, find simplicity. 2. From discord, find harmony. 3. In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity." Albert Einstein, three rules of work. 
• "If you study Japanese art, you see a man who is undoubtedly wise, philosophic, and intelligent, who spends his time how? In studying the distance between the earth and the moon? No. In studying the policy of Bismarck? No. He studies a single blade of grass. But this blade of grass leads him to draw every plant and then the seasons, the wide aspects of the countryside, then animals, then the human figure. So he passes his life, and life is too short to do the whole." Vincent Van Gogh. Van Gogh is speaking the truth that an artist's greatness is not only in his hands but also in his eyes, and his mind's eye--in his ability to truly see, and to intensely focus with a calm gaze.

Prince's Versatility and Influence

Prince's untimely death is still difficult to accept for those who appreciate his rare genius and who mourn for the loss of the great music he never had the opportunity to create because his life was cut short. Prince's combination of productivity, creativity, ingenuity and high-level multi-instrument proficiency may never be seen again.

Rob Sheffield recently wrote an insightful tribute to Prince and the enduring influence of his 1999 album. Sheffield notes that many artists from diverse genres influenced Prince but he took music to another level:

But as any of these artists probably would have conceded, Prince topped them all, creating his own kind of nonstop erotic cabaret. Instead of just overdubbing instruments to replicate a live band, he built the tracks around a colossal synth pulse, which made 1999 one of the decade's most influential productions. "Little Red Corvette" became such a massive pop hit, it's easy to overlook how radical it sounded at the time. All through the song, you can hear the machines puff and hiss, as if Prince's engines are overheating, with his studio as a Frankenstein lab full of sparks flying everywhere. It's sleek on the surface, but the rhythm track keeps sputtering and threatening to blow up. It's the sonic equivalent of George Lucas' breakthrough in the original Star Wars movie--he figured out that the way to make droids look real was to make them dusty and dented, as if they'd gotten banged around on the job.

Joe Levy's May 4, 2016 remembrance of Prince takes an even broader view: "As with so many visionary artists, there was a period in Prince's career--almost all of the 1980s--when he seemed able to look around corners, when his music seemed to live in the future, and then assemble that future around us."

Levy observes that the divorce of Prince's parents when Prince was around eight years old had a lasting influence on the budding music superstar: "...his domestic exiles created longing and anger that played out in his career: He would build a community in his music and his band, but then cut off band members whenever he felt it necessary; he would most often record albums by himself. He was the only one he could count on. 'What if everybody around me split?' he said to Rolling Stone in 1990. 'Then I'd be left with only me, and I'd have to fend for me. That's why I have to protect me.'"

Prince's ability to play multiple instruments was largely the result of intensive self-education. After Warner Brothers signed him to his first recording deal in 1977 when Prince was 19 years old, the label intended for Earth, Wind and Fire's Maurice White to produce Prince's first album but Prince immediately shut down that plan: "Nobody is producing my album," Prince declared, and then he proceeded to prove that he was more than capable of handling those duties. Levy reports that Lenny Waronker, Warners' A&R chief at the time, was suitably impressed. Waronker recalled, "He put down a guitar track and got it right. Then he put down the drums--wow. You could just tell--the guitar was locked in, the timing was good, you could tell it was easy for him."

Prince then embarked on a staggering outburst of musical creativity, as recounted by Levy:

Prince began work on his fifth album, 1999, in early 1982. He was 23 years old and entering a golden period: For the next three years, it seemed like every waking moment yielded a song, and every song was a hit. He now had three groups: his own band, the Revolution; the Time; and a trio of women in lingerie he called Vanity 6. Before long, he would also be creating music for percussionist Sheila E. He was ceaseless, sometimes working for three days straight without sleep. "Do I have to eat?" he mused in Rolling Stone in 1985. "I wish I didn't have to eat."

By the end of 1985, he had made 15 albums in seven years--seven under his own name; three by the Time; two from Sheila E., and one each from Vanity 6, Apollonia 6 and the Family. Those albums generated 13 Top 20 hits on the Billboard Hot 100. The Minneapolis sound--that synth-driven blend of funk, pop and rock which Prince pioneered--was everywhere, especially after Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, whom Prince had fired from the Time, began producing a string of hits for artists like the S.O.S. Band, Klymaxx and Janet Jackson. Then there were the Prince songs that became huge hits for Chaka Khan ("I Feel for You," 1984), Sheena Easton ("Sugar Walls," 1984), and the Bangles ("Manic Monday," 1986).
Prince had gone after all this, but on his own terms. No one would have predicted that he'd break through with singles about the End Times or a sexually voracious woman, or that he could increase the power of his burgeoning fame by refusing to do interviews. Yet that's exactly what happened with 1999.

Prince's career peaked in 1984, when he became the only artist other than the Beatles to simultaneously have the number one album, number one single and number one movie in the United States. That feat is obviously a tall order to match commercially or artistically but Prince remained relevant as a song writer, musician and live performer until the day he died, inspiring a wide array of artists to push the boundaries of their creativity.

Sometimes it Snows in April

Our Mozart is gone.

I recall what Dick Schaap--who also died too young--wrote about Lenny Bruce's death: "Dead. At forty. That's obscene."

That is exactly how I feel about the news that Prince is dead at the age of 57.

Prince was a daring, fearless performer who also had a shy, reclusive side. When he was on stage, he could hold a crowd of thousands in the palm of his hand--but in one on one interviews, he spoke in muted tones and often refused to have his voice recorded.

When I think of Prince, I think of his all-encompassing talent, how he wrote, produced, arranged, performed and seemingly filled every role when he put out an album. He reached his commercial pinnacle in 1984 as he became the first artist to simultaneously have the top film, top album and top single in the U.S. That was the year that "Purple Rain" reigned over pop culture and left an enduring impact.

Prince's next movie project, "Under the Cherry Moon," is not viewed with nearly as much esteem but the soundtrack is tremendous, while the movie contains some underrated humor (I still love the "Wrecka Stow" scene) and pathos. The lead character Christopher Tracy was looking for love in all the wrong places but when he found true love he risked--and lost--his life to keep it. Tracy declared, "If two people really loved each other, they couldn't be separated no matter what happened." Don't we all yearn to find and keep that kind of love/loyalty?

Prince was a studio perfectionist who slept very little and once said that he played all of the instruments on his songs because he was the only person up at 5 a.m. when inspiration struck. He was also a legendary live performer. I only saw him in concert once, on March 29, 2004, when he started his Musicology Tour in L.A. and simultaneously broadcast the show to dozens of theater screens around the country. I drove from Dayton, Ohio to Columbus, Ohio to see Prince in action. The admission price of $15 included a free copy of the new Musicology CD. The concert was great.

A month later, in connection with the Musicology Tour, Prince appeared on an MTV special called "The Art of Musicology." I loved when he performed an acoustic version of "Cream," encouraging the audience to sing along and then gently chiding the fans for not singing with enough enthusiasm. Music was a communal experience for Prince; he was a singular genius whose talent lifted him to levels few others could reach, yet what he seemed to love most was to perform anywhere at any time to share the joy of music with his fans. Prince segued from "Cream" to "I Could Never Take the Place of Your Man" and when he finished that song he asked, "Remember that from high school?" Then he said, "Check it out. This is what I remember from high school" and he launched straight into Chaka Khan's "Sweet Thing." Prince invited audience participation from the "ladies" and eventually tilted his microphone to the audience, letting the fans sing while he played his guitar.

I won't even try to pick a favorite Prince song. I am not sure he ever made a song I didn't like. Of course, some songs were better than others but every Prince song had something to it if you listened with an open mind. "If you set your mind free, baby, maybe you'd understand," as Prince put it in "Starfish and Coffee," a song that is deceptively simple, yet beautiful and profound.

One of the classic stories about Prince--it may not be true but the point is that it is plausibly true--is that he once said that he could write a song around any word or phrase. Then someone said "La, La, La, He, He, He" and Prince made a song out of that gibberish.

Prince could do anything with music and words. "Around the World in a Day" was his tour de force tribute to the Beatles. Then he shifted gears and released the 1989 "Batman" soundtrack album. The producers sent him some soundbites from the movie and Prince incorporated them into his songs in a way that captured the dual natures of both Batman and the Joker.

Prince could capture love, passion and yearning like no other, as demonstrated by "Adore" and "Insatiable" and the "Scandalous" maxi-single.

If I had to choose just one Prince track maybe I would go with the Purple Medley maxi-single because it contains a little bit of everything. I about wore that maxi-single out in the 1990s and early 2000s.

During his self-imposed exile from Warner Brothers, Prince returned to the top of the charts in the 1990s with "The Most Beautiful Girl in the World." Prince fought hard for creators' rights; that was what the whole "Artist Formerly Known as Prince" symbolism was all about. Prince did not care if you thought he was a fool when he scrawled "Slave" on his face. Prince believed that artists should have some control over the marketing of their work and he fought tirelessly against piracy. In "Flow," Basketball and Prince I wrote about Prince's struggle for artistic freedom:

He went from being a wunderkind at Warner Brothers who wrote, produced, delivered vocals and performed on an astounding variety of musical instruments to being a completely independent artist who dictates his own terms to record labels and distributors. Along the way, he received scorn for scrawling the word "slave" on his face and changing his name to an unpronounceable symbol but there was a method to his seeming madness: Warner Brothers wanted to control when and how he would distribute his music, while the incredibly prolific Prince simply wanted to release everything to the public as soon as he created it, whether or not this supposedly oversaturated the market. Since Warner Brothers owned his name (in a performing sense), Prince felt like a "slave" because he could not put his music out as Prince--so he circumvented the system with his "name change" until his Warner Brothers contract expired, whereupon he reclaimed his name and took total control over his music. Now he releases his music whenever and however he wants to, including his Planet Earth CD that he arranged to be given away with a newspaper in Great Britain in order to promote a series of concerts; in one fell swoop, Prince made a small fortune (he was paid in advance by the newspaper), sold out most of his appearances instantly and irritated Sony BMG, the corporate giant that was supposed to distribute the CD to retailers: for a nonconformist genius, it is hard to imagine a better day than that!

Prince loved the NBA and one of the things I appreciated most about Prince is that he felt, as I do, that Mano a Mano Competition is Pure. True greatness is not determined by popularity but by your ability to hold your own head to head against your competition; objectively rank Prince's talents and accomplishments and he will stand the test of time against anyone: Sinead O'Connor's "Nothing Compares to U" is great but then listen to Prince perform the song (which he wrote) with Rosie Gaines and you understand that it is truly his song.

Great Lyrics

Music--delivered via radio, CD, TV, iPod or other systems--provides the soundtrack to our lives and music lyrics deliver the narrative. Lyrics can be brilliant, witty, humorous, insightful, outrageous or all of the above. Here are some lyrics that will inspire, amuse and/or offend you:

"Might not know it now
But, baby, I'm a star."-- Prince, "Baby I'm a Star"

"When my situation ain't improvin', I'm tryin' to murder everything movin'."--Jay-Z, "Hard Knock Life"

"Fool can't play the wise but the wise can act a fool
I stay cool and mild mannered and just put in my work
Don't push, you don't know what's up under my shirt
Don't you take me for soft, I got a heart that pump
Like a 12 gauge shotty when it starts to dump
You'se a mystery, cause you don't know who you runnin' towards
And got history, that shit is told by who won wars."--Dilated Peoples, "Kindness for Weakness"

"I got so much trouble on my mind
Refuse to lose."--Public Enemy, "Welcome to the Terrordome"

"Never question what I am
God knows
Cause it's comin' from the heart."--Public Enemy, "Welcome to the Terrordome"

"When it's sink or swim
You gotta think to win."--Ice Cube, "You Can Do It"

"I'm makin' moves, not fakin' moves."--L.L. Cool J, "Farmers Boulevard (Our Anthem)"

"Don't try to act crazy 'cause the shit don't faze me
If you ran like a punk it wouldn't amaze me."--Ice T, "Colors"

"Circumstances might not allow me to bust
Because they know I got more game than Toys 'R Us."--Tone Loc, "Cutting Rhythms"

"Every time u get some
People wanna take it back
They rather see u on the run
Than see u get it like that
Every time they stop u
Change up like a sock
Every time they try 2 clock u
Tick more than they tock."--Prince, "Push"

"Brother can you paradigm?
Pump, pump, fake, feint, fade, forward, jump, slam dunk...in your face
The tip-off, the tap-in, rushin', jumping, backboard crushing, dunking...in your face
Brother can you paradigm?
Shape-shifting
Shifting the shapes of things to come
Plays and instant replays are plays to come
Came and went, time well spent
Brother can you Paradigm?"--George Clinton/Prince, "Paradigm"

"Do fries go with that shake?"--George Clinton, "Do Fries Go With That Shake?"

"Sex is not all I think about
It's just all I think about...U."--Prince, "Shhh"

"Every time I comb my hair
Thoughts of U get in my eyes
U're a sinner, I don't care
I just want your creamy thighs."--Prince, "Erotic City"

"What if I called U silly names
Just like the ones that U call me?
What if I filled your eyes with tears
So many that U cannot see?"--Prince, "Billy Jack Bitch"

"You gotta love me or leave me alone."--Brand Nubian, "Love Me or Leave Me Alone"

"He came from somewhere back in her long ago
The sentimental fool don't see
Tryin' hard to recreate
What had yet to be created

Once in her life
She musters a smile
For his nostalgic tale
Never coming near what he wanted to say
Only to realize
It never really was."--Doobie Brothers, "What a Fool Believes"

"I keep your picture
Upon the wall
It hides a nasty stain that's lying there
So don't you ask me
To give it back
I know you know it doesn't mean that much to me
I'm not in love, no no, it's because..."--10CC, "I'm Not in Love"

"You could have been with me
Instead of alone and lonely."--Sheena Easton, "You Could Have Been With Me"

"Hey Nineteen
That's 'Retha Franklin
She don't remember
The Queen of Soul
Hard times have befallen
The Soul Survivors
She thinks I'm crazy
But I'm just growing old."--Steely Dan, "Hey Nineteen"

"I've seen your picture
Your name in lights above it
This is your big debut
It's like a dream come true
And when you smile for the camera
I know they're gonna love it."--Steely Dan, "Peg"

"I don't need you to worry for me cause I'm all right
I don't want you to tell me it's time to come home
I don't care what you say anymore this is my life
Go ahead with your own life leave me alone."--Billy Joel, "My Life"

"They say there's a heaven for those who will wait
Some say it's better but I say it ain't
I'd rather laugh with the sinners than cry with the saints
The sinners are much more fun...
You know that only the good die young."--Billy Joel, "Only the Good Die Young"

"All you got is this moment."--INXS, "Need You Tonight"

"Well I'm sick of it
It's a load of shit
We could stop the world
And let off all the fools
And let them go live
With their guns in the sky."--INXS, "Guns in the Sky"

"Knowledge, wisdom and understanding brings long life and health
Think anything else and ya playin' yaself."--Jeru the Damaja, "Ya Playin' Yaself"

"I'm a true master you can check my credentials
Cause I choose to use my infinite potential...
I'm the mack so I don't need to tote a Mac
My attack is purely mental and its nature's not hate
It's meant to wake ya up out of your brainwashed state."--Jeru tha Damaja, "Come Clean"

"You wouldn't let me say the words I longed to say
You didn't want to see life through my eyes
[Express yourself, don't repress yourself]
You tried to shove me back inside your narrow room
And silence me with bitterness and lies
[Express yourself, don't repress yourself]."--Madonna, "Human Nature"

"Don't care what people say
Just follow your own way
Don't give up and use the chance
To return to innocence
That's not the beginning of the end
That's the return to yourself
The return to innocence."--Enigma, "Return to Innocence"

"I ask you lord why you enlightened me
Without the enlightenment of all my folks
He said 'cause I set myself on a quest for truth
And he was there to quench my thirst
But I am still thirsty..."--Arrested Development, "Tennessee"

"Count the Days" is a powerful song with a deceptively simple melody that almost sounds like a lullabye--and that melody is completely incongruous with the song's harsh but understandably strident lyrics directed toward oppressors of all kinds:

"Count the Days"

I have been "counting the days" my entire life but I doubt that I will live long enough to see things turn out the way that they are supposed to be.

Whatever Happened to Sheena Easton?

Sheena Easton is one of the most versatile recording artists of the past three decades; her sultry, soulful and passionate voice enabled her to become the only person who scored a top three hit on every major Billboard chart: Adult Contemporary, Dance, Pop, Country, and R&B. "9 to 5 (Morning Train)" reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and the Adult Contemporary chart in 1980, "We've Got Tonight" (a duet with Kenny Rogers) reached number one on the Country chart in 1983 and "Sugar Walls" reached number one on the Dance chart and number three on the R&B chart in 1985.

Easton's debut single was 1980's "Modern Girl":


Easton's single "9 to 5"--which was retitled "9 to 5 (Morning Train)" in the United States to avoid any confusion with Dolly Parton's 1980 number one hit--reached number three on the UK Billboard chart and that success elevated "Modern Girl" to top 10 status in the UK after the earlier single was re-released. Easton became the first woman to simultaneously have two top 10 UK singles. "9 to 5 (Morning Train)" also became Easton's first and only Billboard Hot 100 number one hit:


Her rendition of the theme song for the 1981 James Bond movie "For Your Eyes Only" was nominated for an Academy Award and a Golden Globe in 1982; it peaked at number four on the Hot 100 chart and number six on the Adult Contemporary chart and it is on the short list of best Bond theme songs ever:



"You Could Have Been With Me," released shortly after "For Your Eyes Only," peaked at number 15 on the Hot 100 chart and number six on the Adult Contemporary chart. Any spurned lover who feels like his or her former partner has made a mistake can identify with the piercing lyrics delivered by Easton on this track:



Easton teamed up with Kenny Rogers on a number one Country hit in 1983, "We've Got Tonight":



She soon followed that success with "Telefone (Long Distance Love Affair)," which reached number nine on the Dance chart in 1983:


Sheena Easton Telefone by Celtiemama

"Strut," which peaked at number seven on the 1984 Billboard Hot 100 and number six on the U.S. Dance chart, signaled a shift for Easton toward songs featuring lyrics that were more sexually suggestive:


Prince--using the pen name Alexander Nevermind--penned "Sugar Walls" for Easton and that single became her first and only number one Dance hit; it also was listed by the Parents Music Resource Center (PMRC) as one of the "Filthy Fifteen" songs. In 1987, Easton teamed up with Prince on the duet "U Got the Look," which reached number two on the Billboard Hot 100 and thus became the highest charting single from Prince's "Sign O' the Times" album. Easton was not listed on the credits when the single was released but she appeared very prominently in the song's video:


Between 1980 and 1988, Easton had eight top 10 singles on the Hot 100 chart but after "The Lover in Me" peaked at number two in 1988 only two of her next 22 singles were listed in the Hot 100: "Arms of Orion" (a duet with Prince that is featured on the 1989 Batman soundtrack) peaked at number 36 and 1991's "What Comes Naturally" peaked at number 19.

Since 1990, Easton has periodically released new music plus some compilation albums; Easton's 1993 album "No Strings" includes her cover version of "The One I Love Belongs to Somebody Else":



Recently, she has focused on theater work, voice-acting and performing in various venues in Las Vegas, her current residence; in 2004 she was inducted into the Casino Legends Hall of Fame.

Here is Easton performing "For Your Eyes Only" at a 2012 concert in Chicago:

Whatever Happened to Tevin Campbell?

Tevin Campbell's debut single, "Tomorrow (A Better You, A Better Me)," topped the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip Hop chart in June 1990 and was featured on Quincy Jones' Grammy Award-winning album "Back on the Block." Campbell was just 13 years old but he did not have to wait long for his next hit: "Round and Round," written and produced by Prince, reached number two on the Billboard R&B chart and number 13 on the Billboard Hot 100. "Round and Round" was the first single from Campbell's 1991 debut album "T.E.V.I.N." and it was also featured on the soundtrack for Graffiti Bridge, the sequel to Purple Rain. The lyrics are playful, yet confident--quintessential Prince:

I say, nothing comes from dreamers but dreams
I say, sitting idle in our boat while everyone else is down the stream
Nothing comes from talkers but sound
We can talk all we want 2, but the world still goes around and round
Round and round
We go round and round and round
And what we're looking 4 still isn't found

Can u tell me when we gonna get 2 it
I'm tired of fooling around I said I wanna do it (go 4 it, get 2 it)
I learned my lesson young, I said if u want to have fun (go 4 it)
And when u win say, "I go 4 it" (go 4 it, get 2 it).

Campbell hit just the right notes with his delivery and showed off some smooth dance moves as well:

"T.E.V.I.N." contained two number one R&B singles: "Alone With You" and "Tell Me What You Want Me to Do":

Campbell's second album, "I'm Ready," came out in 1993 and achieved double platinum status, peaking at number five on the R&B chart. It included the title track "I'm Ready" (which peaked at number two on the R&B chart), "Always in My Heart" (which peaked at number three on the R&B chart), "Don't Say Goodbye Girl" and "Can We Talk" (which topped the R&B chart and is still Campbell's biggest hit):


Campbell released his third album, "Back to the World," in 1996. It did not crack the top 10 on the R&B chart and only yielded one top 20 R&B single--the title track, which peaked at number 16 and is Campbell's last top 20 appearance on the R&B chart.


Campbell's self-titled fourth album came out in 1999; he has not produced any albums since that time and he has largely been out of the public eye except for a few guest appearances on TV shows and some theater performances (first on Broadway and then in Australia) as Seawood J. Stubbs in the musical "Hairspray."

Starfish and Coffee

"If you set your mind free, baby, maybe you'd understand."--Prince, "Starfish and Coffee"

I always liked Prince's "Starfish and Coffee" but only recently did I learn the full meaning behind this catchy and deceptively simple song. The song's Cynthia Rose character is based on a childhood friend of Susannah Melvoin's; Melvoin was not only a member of Prince's band Revolution but at one time she was engaged to Prince and she also reportedly inspired him to write the song "Nothing Compares to U" (which became a number one hit for Sinead O'Connor but never sounded better than when it was performed by Prince and Rosie Gaines). Prince and Melvoin co-wrote the "Starfish and Coffee" lyrics describing a girl who "always stood at the back of the line/A smile beneath her nose." Cynthia Rose had a favorite number (20), she wore different-colored socks and if you asked her what she had for breakfast she would reply, "Starfish and coffee/Maple syrup and jam/Butterscotch clouds, a tangerine/And a side order of ham." Most people know at least one person like Cynthia Rose, someone who proudly and unashamedly marches to the beat of a different drummer. The song lyrics encourage Cynthia Rose to be herself and not try to conform: "Go on, Cynthia, keep singin.’"

Prince videos can be difficult to find on the internet due to copyright restrictions but here is Prince performing a version of "Starfish and Coffee" on the Muppet Show in 1997:

Prince's First Appearance on American Bandstand

The two hour Dick Clark tribute show that aired on New Year's Eve counted down the top 30 moments/clips from his career, an eclectic selection of highlights that showcased Clark's versatility, ad-libbing skills and peerless ability to connect with artists (and fans) from several different generations. Choosing such a list is inherently subjective because Clark's multi-decade career cannot be summarized in just two hours--or, to be more precise, his career could be summarized in several different ways if only two hours are available to do so.

One clip that did not make the cut is Prince's American Bandstand debut, a performance that became as infamous for Prince's brief answers when being interviewed by Clark as it did for Prince's precocity; Prince's debut album, "For You," contained this soon to be famous declaration on the cover: "Produced, Arranged, Composed & Performed by Prince." Clark explained that Prince turned down several record deals until he obtained the right to make that declaration not just a dream or a boast but a reality. Although Prince was in fact 21--not 19, as he told Clark--when he appeared on American Bandstand, he was just a teenager when he put together "For You."

Here is the complete version of Prince's January 26, 1980 American Bandstand appearance:

 

 
Creative and financial control over all aspects of his work has always been critically important to Prince, which has led to some wonderful results and some bizarre moments; the highlight of Prince's career happened just four years after his appearance on American Bandstand when Prince became the first person to simultaneously have the number one movie, album and song in the United States (the Beatles previously pulled this off as a group): "Purple Rain" was both the number one movie and number one album and--even though the title track stalled at the number two spot--two "Purple Rain" singles reached the top of the Billboard charts ("When Doves Cry" and "Let's Go Crazy"). Prince's determination to control every aspect of his career later resulted in him changing his name to an unpronounceable symbol because he wanted to release his music on his own time frame but as Prince he was still under contract to Warner Brothers, a company that felt that he was diluting the market with too much product. Prince told the New York Times' Jon Pareles, "The music, for me, doesn't come on a schedule. I don't know when it's going to come, and when it does, I want it out. Music was created to uplift the soul and to help people make the best of a bad situation. When you sit down to write something, there should be no guidelines. The main idea is not supposed to be, 'How many different ways can we sell it?' That's so far away from the true spirit of what music is. Music starts free, with just a spark of inspiration. When limits are set by another party that walks into the ball game afterward, that's fighting inspiration." Prince has never been afraid to confound record company executives, so-called experts, the carping critics and even his adoring fans while he remains true to his vision of how his art should be created, performed and distributed.

Theater director Peter Sellars--who staged a critically acclaimed series of Mozart's operas--compared Prince's creativity to Mozart's and many other highly respected musical artists speak of Prince in the most reverent tones. Prince explained to Pareles that new songs are constantly flowing fully formed through his mind: "You hear it done. You see the dancing; you hear the singing. When you hear it, you either argue with that voice or you don't. That's when you seek God. Sometimes ideas are coming so fast that I have to stop doing one song to get another. But I don't forget the first one. If it works, it will always be there. It's like the truth: it will find you and lift you up. And if it ain't right, it will dissolve like sand on the beach.''

It would have been fitting for Prince to be included alongside Michael Jackson, Madonna, Elvis Presley and the other 20th century musical icons featured in the New Year's Eve tribute to Dick Clark.

Perspective

I celebrated my birthday last month by treating myself to a trip to the Second Annual Michigan Chess Festival, held at the MET hotel in Troy, Michigan. I lost rating points and did not win any prize money but I will always have fond memories of my first visit to Michigan because it represented one more milestone in my evolution from a mindset based on willpower to a mindset based on what Garret Kramer calls Stillpower. Kramer emphasizes the importance of distinguishing between "life" and "life situations." Kramer explains, "Your life is a constant. While most of us think that external circumstances actually happen to us, in truth they don't. They're just happening. All life situations are just happening. Granted, we play a role in the outcome of whatever it is we face, but regardless of our role or whether we're happy or disappointed, the nature of all circumstances or results in life is unbiased. This basic understanding is essential to your quest for success." I went to Michigan with the mindset that my life is good regardless of how I perform in the tournament and that I would savor every moment of my trip regardless of what happened on or off the chess board.

Until very recently it would have been difficult for me to enjoy myself at a tournament if I did not play well--and I set a very high bar to define playing well, which can turn life into a joyless all or nothing proposition. This time I did not allow my performance to affect my mood during the weekend; although I did not play as well as I wanted to play, I learned from my two losses versus Grandmaster Ben Finegold and National Master Seth Homa, I enjoyed GM Finegold's Saturday lecture about GM Hikaru Nakamura and I had an interesting conversation about chess, poker, backgammon and other subjects with Senior Master Fred Lindsay, a bookseller who I have known since my chess career began in the 1980s (I also bought some cool items from Lindsay, including an English translation of GM Miguel Najdorf's Zurich 1953 book).

Both before and after the tournament I spent some quality time with my friend Erika Klotz, a Troy native who showed me around town. My pre-tournament mindset often involves isolating myself so that I can visualize playing well without being bothered by any distractions but in Michigan I took a different approach; I enjoyed a nice Friday dinner with Erika at Noodles & Company--I'd never been there before; the chicken soup is very good--and after the short drive back to the MET we found a quiet corner in an unoccupied ballroom so that I could teach Erika some chess basics. I have been teaching chess since 1999 but I rarely teach complete beginners so I do not have much experience showing someone how the pieces move; it is fascinating to see the game through "beginner's eyes" and this is also a good way to look at life: to perceive each moment as something new, exciting and wonderful.

Erika learned very quickly and thus was able to follow algebraic chess notation well enough to play through one of the most famous miniatures in chess history, Paul Morphy's 1858 "Opera Game" versus Count Isouard and the Duke of Brunswick:

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 Bg4 4.dxe5 Bxf3 5.Qxf3 dxe5 6.Bc4 Nf6 7.Qb3 Qe7 8.Nc3 c6 9.Bg5 b5 10.Nxb5 cxb5 11.Bxb5+ Nbd7 12.0–0–0 Rd8 13.Rxd7 Rxd7 14.Rd1 Qe6 15.Bxd7+ Nxd7 16.Qb8+ Nxb8 17.Rd8# 1–0

The final position is a picturesque model of artistic harmony combined with brutal efficiency; Morphy sacrificed virtually his entire army in order to deliver checkmate:

Siegbert Tarrasch once said, "Chess, like love, like music, has the power to make men happy." One of the great joys of life is to savor the creations of a genius' mind and you don't have to be a genius to appreciate Mozart's music or Morphy's moves because the touchstone of genius is simplicity: think Richard Feynman and his demonstration about the O rings after the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster. Morphy's Opera Game has that touchstone of genius, so it is a pleasure to share a glimpse of that kind of genius with someone who previously did not know anything about it.

Perhaps inspired by the experience of sharing Morphy with Erika, I secured victory in my fifth round game with a nice tactical shot: in the position shown below I played ...Bh3+! If White takes the B then Black forces mate with ...Nf4+ followed by ...Qh5+ and Qf5++; White instead lost the Exchange after Kg1 and he resigned seven moves later.

Instead of lamenting the blunders that transformed my fourth round game from a win to a draw to a loss, I focused on being grateful for the opportunity to play in this fun tournament and I enjoyed finishing the event on a positive note with a crisp win.

Before I drove home on Monday, Erika showed me around Troy. We first visited the Somerset Collection in order to see the Sorvikivi Floating Stone Fountains (one of them is pictured below, courtesy of a public domain photo on Wikipedia:



The next stop on the tour of "The City of Tomorrow, Today" was the Troy Community Center, home of the Ayrton's Head sculpture that used to be located in front of Kmart's world headquarters: