Notes from Paisley Park

#blog52 #week44

“There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day.” Luke‬ ‭16:19‬ 

Guess where we went today?! 

First of all, when they say “no photos or videos inside Paisley Park” they are not playing. The security staff at the entrance watched us power down our phones and then placed each phone in a padded sleeve and locked it shut. This is my only photo from this morning:

It was my idea to make this our Minnesota outing today. Allen and especially our hosts Hannah and Cameron were sweet to indulge me. 

Over lunch afterwards, I asked them what they found most interesting about the tour. 

Allen geeked out about the guitars: the walls of Fender Stratocasters, the double stack bass amp, the guitar from Purple Rain with the leopard skin strap. 

It wasn’t just the guitars themselves that were impressive. It was the way they reflected Prince’s choices: his immaculate taste, attention to detail, and commitment to quality.

Hannah was struck by a couple of quotes that revealed Prince’s confident approach to life and art. The first was from a short video clip played during the tour, and I can’t find the verbatim quote, but the gist of it was that nothing intimidated him. Rather than being intimidated by anything, he was inspired. 

And this, from an interview as he embarked on what would be his last series of concerts, the acoustic “Piano & A Microphone” tour: “Why do this now? For several reasons. For starters it is a challenge…. You have to try new things. With the piano it is more naked, more pure. You can see exactly what you get.”

My own love for Prince is rooted in the way he ignored boundaries and celebrated his uniqueness in both his musical and sartorial choices. His androgynous sensuality, his spectacular shoes, his outrageous and prolific creativity — there was nobody who looked or sounded like Prince.

Like David Bowie just before him, Prince blew open the doors to the possibility that the kids who were different, who dressed weird and did crazy things for attention, could be cool. Even boys who danced like girls, and girls who talked about sex, even in rural, small town America in the 80’s.

Also, I will never not stop whatever I’m doing to sing and sway and potentially tear up a little bit whenever I hear Purple Rain. I don’t even know why.

“So, Cam,” I asked my step-son-in-law, “What stood out to you?” 

“He was really short. And he had a nice car. (Referring to a white 2006 Bentley.)

Yes, both of those things are also true. A genius, an artist, a complicated flesh-and-blood guy who lived and died in suburban Minneapolis — Prince was multi-faceted. We could all look at him, listen to his music, and come away moved and changed in different ways — or not. 

We bring our own history and experiences to our experience of art. Today, I’m just feeling grateful to Prince for adding bright colors and funky beats to my world.

My Paisley Park souvenirs

Tags: paisley park, Prince, Purple rain