This is an important day in TV and music history: Prince allowed a performance of his to be posted online. WHAT. Next thing you know, he’s gonna retire the purple, buy a nice country home in the ‘burbs, and give out toothbrushes and apples to the good little boys and girls in the neighborhood. Haha, no. Actually, although the clips are available via streaming on NBC’s website, a Prince rarity, the first of the two songs he performed last night on Jimmy Fallon, “Screwdriver,” begins, “I’m your driver and you’re my screw.” Yup, that’s our Prince.
He performed with his backing group 3rd Eye Girl (“Jumper? More like Jump Her!” is one of Prince’s favorite jokes), announced he was going on tour in April, and after playing an everyone-got-pregnant solo, threw the guitar he borrowed from “Captain” Kirk Douglas in the air, and walked offstage. To quote Black Thought, “#rockgodstatus.”
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That chick guitarist f*ckin drives that screw guitar. I’m handsome.
Skrillex really wails on lead guitar. Who knew?
Hey Prince… Just put that anywhere, Buddy.
Thirty-year fan here, and those songs sucked. Typical Prince ‘baggery: make a highly-anticipated appearance on a nationally visible show, and drag out a couple of crappy new deep tracks instead of any of the 50 songs fans would love to hear.
Genius. Visionary. Gifted shredder. Asshole.
wait a minute, musicians are just supposed to play old fan favorites when they’re going on talk shows to promote new music?
One of each would be nice. Say, Bambi followed by, I dunno, Fury. This band could handle both.
I went to an arena concert of his a while back. He played just enough of the songs you wanted to hear to get the recognition applause, then switched to another. Tedious.
Are you calling Bambi a new song?
yeah, that’s a concert. he’s not going on Fallon to get all nostalgic. he’s there to promote something. THAT’S WHY MUSICIANS GO ON TELEVISION SHOWS
The music: B/B-
The mesh sunglasses: A+++++++++++++++
Only if those “B”s stand for “Bitching.”
A B/B- Prince song is still good enough to make some newer artists like Lana Del Ray fade into musical oblivion, never to be heard from again.
That’s a B/B- on the Prince grading curve.
I’m just saying Rasberry Beret came out in 1985, a year later BAM! Cliff Burton, dead. Prince just fucks and slays, fucks and slays.
UPDATED ANALYSIS
The guitar solo in Bambi > Prince’s mesh sunglasses > Bambi > Screwdriver > 90% of all other music > Skrillex hair
It looked less like a Skrillex and more like a burn victim.
I was all “The mini fro casts quite the shadow. HEY, WAIT A MINUTE!”
The best was that he just walked off stage and left before Fallon could come over and greet him.
Prince is the coolest.
“The best was that he just walked off stage and left before Fallon could come over and greet him.”
He probably had to go sit down. That Rascal he he rides can’t be purely out of vanity.
The backing band was phenomenal.
And what is with all the old dudes all up on that guitarist’s hair like this is a fashion website or something?
you don’t have to be old to notice and be bothered by that stupid haircut.
He should have just played the extended version of “I Could Never Take the Place of Your Man” then dunk a basketball while riding off on a zebra.
Wait… isn’t that what I just watched?
Game… Blouses.
Oh my god that drummer. I love the ridiculous grin she had for like, the entire first clip. It’s totally “HELLS YEAH I’M ROCKING OUT WITH PRINCE. WHAT.”
For fucks sake, bring back matt.
#strangepurplehobbitwithguitar
Any “thirty-year fan” knows that Bambi is one of Prince’s oldest, most face-melting songs of all time. Seriously. God.
Saw Prince at Coachella a few years back and it was pretty amazing. Shortly after the show and into the next morning youtube was crawling with clips from his set. By that afternoon everyone had been taken down and flagged by his people. 1000′s of videos gone in an instant. They work quick.
Was that the set where he played a cover of “Creep,” and Thom York got his lawyers into action to get that footage back onto Youtube?
yes it was…i watched it online from home, and Prince’s version of ‘Creep’ was amazing.