In this post I will touch on albums Dirty Mind and Controversy. Not much of a review on the albums and the music itself, albeit, not a bad idea to continue as a series, but more about how they helped open my mind and roughly expose me to relationship needs and what many may consider now-a-days as "unwanted sexual urges" to a young buck at the tender age of 9.
I remember Lorena and her family had moved from their apartment. It literally happened overnight. The building was old, dilapidated and their entire kitchen ceiling had caved in. We lived in a two-story apt complex and luckily no one was at home in neither apts, hers and the one above, when it happened. All I remember was never seeing her (them) again after.
We did not move out of the building til maybe a month after. I clearly remember it was 1979 because we welcomed 1980 in our new apt, which ironically I find myself back in...but that is whole other story.
I immediately befriended some of my neighbors. Specially my boy Douglas, whom I still keep in contact with until this day. And of course some others around the hood. Now everyone during this time was either into The Commodores , Kool and The Gang or Van Halen or bands like Devo who had come out with their Freedom of Choice album and other rock bands from the 80's or 70's that were still around.
So here's is this new kid in a new hood and a new school (Laurel Elementary) who liked Prince. Now, some of the kids already thought listening to Kool and The Gang and bands of the sort, whom I may add I liked also, was kinda "GAY". So imagine what they said when I told them I was into Prince. They wouldn't really look at me the same even though I told them I also liked bands such as: Queen, Van Halen, Led Zeppelin, The Doors, Janis Joplin etc - stuff that I had grown up listening to also cuzz my moms would listen to it.
At this age you had to be cool. I even remember my good friend Sergio asking me while in our school lunch line what bands I liked. When I told him Prince he was like "Oh!" and staring at me asked "Who's that?"
Anyhow - fast forward. There was a small record shop a few blocks away from my house. I miss the days when record shops were like liquor stores, one on every corner. I walked into one one day and saw the Dirty Mind album and at first, when I saw the album cover, I was like ehhhh. I shrugged my shoulders and a few days later asked my mom if she would come with me to buy it for me. When she first saw the album she was like "ay mijo que es esto?" and I was like "Mom, just buy it."
I'd played the album whenever my dad was at work. When I first heard the album, I was not sure if liked it. It was not as catchy, and now in retrospect, as "discoy" as the other albums. It was totally different from what I've heard from Prince. Then as I listened to the song "When You Were Mine" and I was like - Lorena. Paying more attention to the lyrics:
"Oh girl, when you were mine
I used to let you wear all my clothes [which she would. she would play with my clothes when she would bathe me - and aumm long story here too]
You were so fine (So fine)
Maybe that's the reason that it hurt me so
I know (I know) that you're going with another guy
I don't care (don't care) cuz I love you, baby, that's no lie
I love you more than I did when you were mine"
I know one can argue that other bands during this time had similar lyrics and perhaps were a bit more overt on sexual content and relationships; but as I mentioned in my previous post, it was not until becoming in touch with my feelings towards Lorena that I began to listen to songs for their lyrics and content other than simply their sound and beat.
Well I was also going to talk about the album Controversy but I guess I would have to continue with it for my next post.
And I leave you with this video of Prince performing "When You Were Mine"
Cheers!
