Totally agree.The New Yorker is not known for sensational journalism. I also agree that this is a sad development for those of us who have followed him a long time.
The difference here Derek, in my opinion, is that in the past we haven't seen evidence of such distain. I understand "growing" and gaining new perspectives and new views but this holier than thou stance is more than a bit nauseating. And ironic, all things considered. ******************************************************** You're so vain; I bet you think this all is about you.... ________________________________ From: Amil Dave <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: npny@lists.panix.com Sent: Monday, November 17, 2008 2:08:55 PM Subject: Re: NPNY: New Yorker (11/24/08): Soup With Prince The printed quote about his opinion on gay marriage and abortion comes off as a bit homophobic, don't you think? If he made it, he probably didn't realize that it sounded that way. If it's a total misquote, then it really emphasizes how ridiculously naive his "no tape recorders" rule is (was?). However, I think as Christian as Prince is, and now with his JW beliefs, he must be against gay-marriage and abortion. It's logical. As a Prince fan, you don't want to believe it. But I think it's a safe bet that he did say something to that effect. The New Yorker is not the NY Post. There are posts debating this in reaction to the article on Dr Funkenberry's site and on the Org. If true, in my opinion, this would be another sad evolution in Prince history. Amil <Moderator: Prince's views on homosexually has been a rumbling in the Princeverse for many years now. This is nothing new just the first real public mention of it that I can recall. -Derek> On Mon, Nov 17, 2008 at 1:51 PM, Sumeet Music <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > > ---------- Forwarded message ---------- > From: ZA <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Date: Mon, Nov 17, 2008 at 11:14 AM > Subject: NPNY: New Yorker (11/24/08): Soup With Prince > To: npny@lists.panix.com > > > [This article just started making its rounds on the net... nothing really > surprising for those who have been following Prince's religious life over > the past decade or so. Still, don't recall reading such direct & candid > statements before re: politics/religion/Republicans/Democrats.--NPS] > > http://www.newyorker.com/talk/2008/11/24/081124ta_talk_hoffman > > Soup With Prince > by Claire Hoffman November 24, 2008 > New Yorker > > The thirty-thousand-square-foot Italianate villa, built this century by > Vanna White's ex-husband, looks like many of the other houses in Beverly > Park, a gated community in L.A., except for the bright-purple carpet that > spills down the front steps to announce its new tenant: Prince. One > afternoon just before the election, Prince invited a visitor over. Inside, > the place was done up in a generic Mediterranean style, although there were > personal flourishes here and thereÃÆââââ¬Å¡Ã¬Ã¢â⬠a Lucite grand piano with a > gold-colored > "Artist Formerly Known as Prince" symbol suspended over it, purple paisley > pillows on a couch. Candles scented the air, and New Age music played in the > living room, where a TV screen showed images of bearded men playing flutes. > Prince padded into the kitchen, a small fifty-year-old man in yoga pants and > a big sweater, wearing platform flip-flops over white socks, like a geisha. > > "Would you like something to eat?" he asked, sidling up to the counter. > Prince's voice was surprisingly deep, like that of a much larger man. He > picked up a copy of "21 Nights," a glossy volume of photographs that he had > just released. It is his first published book, a collection of highly > stylized photographs of him taken during a series of gigs in London last > year. "I'm really proud of this," he said. Short original poems and a CD > accompany the photographs. (Sample verse: "Who eye really am only time will > tell/ 2 the almighty life 4ce that grows stronger with every chorus/ Yes > give praise, lest ye b among . . . the guilty ones.") > > Limping slightly, Prince set off on a walk around his new bachelor pad. > Glass doors opened onto acres of back yard, and a hot tub bubbled in the > sunlight. "I have a lot of parties," he explained. In the living room, he'd > installed purple thrones on either side of a fireplace, and, nearby, along a > hallway, he had hung photographs of himself, in a Moroccan villa, in various > states of undress. At the end of the hall, a gauzy curtain fluttered in a > doorway. "My room," he said. "It's private." > > Prince has lived in Los Angeles since last spring, after spending years in > Minneapolis, holding court in a complex called Paisley Park, where he made > thousands of songs, far away from the big labels. Seven years ago, he became > a Jehovah's Witness. He said that he had moved to L.A. so that he could > understand the hearts and minds of the music moguls. "I wanted to be around > people, connected to people, for work," he said. "You know, it's all about > religion. That's what unites people here. They all have the same religion, > so I wanted to sit down with them, to understand the way they see things, > how they read Scripture." > > Prince had his change of faith, he said, after a two-year-long debate with a > musician friend, Larry Graham. "I don't see it really as a conversion," he > said. "More, you know, it's a realization. It's like Morpheus and Neo in > 'The Matrix.' " He attends meetings at a local Kingdom Hall, and, like his > fellow-witnesses, he leaves his gated community from time to time to knock > on doors and proselytize. "Sometimes people act surprised, but mostly > they're really cool about it," he said. > > Recently, Prince hosted an executive who works for Philip Anschutz, the > Christian businessman whose company owns the Staples Center. "We started > talking red and blue," Prince said. "People with moneyÃÆââââ¬Å¡Ã¬Ã¢â⬠money like > thatÃÆââââ¬Å¡Ã¬Ã¢â⬠are > not affected by the stock market, and they're not freaking out over > anything. They're just watching. So here's how it is: you've got the > Republicans, and basically they want to live according to this." He pointed > to a Bible. "But there's the problem of interpretation, and you've got some > churches, some people, basically doing things and saying it comes from here, > but it doesn't. And then on the opposite end of the spectrum you've got > blue, you've got the Democrats, and they're, like, 'You can do whatever you > want.' Gay marriage, whatever. But neither of them is right." > > When asked about his perspective on social > issuesÃÆââââ¬Å¡Ã¬Ã¢â⬠gay marriage, > abortionÃÆââââ¬Å¡Ã¬Ã¢â⬠Prince tapped his Bible and said, "God came to earth and saw > people > sticking it wherever and doing it with whatever, and he just cleared it all > out. He was, like, 'Enough.' " > > Later, in the dining room, eating a bowl of carrot soup, he talked about an > encounter that he described as a "teaching moment." "There was this woman. > She used to come to Paisley Park and just sit outside on the swings," he > said. "So I went out there one day and I was, like, 'Hey, all my friends in > there say you're a stalker. And that I should call the police. But I don't > want to do that, so why don't you tell me what you want to happen. Why are > you here? How do you want this to end?' And she didn't really have an answer > for that. In the end, all she wanted was to be seen, for me to look at her. > And she left and didn't come back." ÃÆââââ¬Å¾Ã¢Ãâæ > > <Moderator: Interesting story at the end... -Derek> ------------------------------------------------------------------------- NewPowerNewYork Mailing List website: Www.NPNY.Org ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Unsubscribe? Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED], in body place npny ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Questions/Help?: [EMAIL PROTECTED]