The legendary Prince Rogers Nelson passed yesterday and I've been trying to get a grasp on what his passing means to me and why it hurts so personally. Prince was not a friend of mine. He was a celebrity. But, unlike our typical feeling of these unreachable celebrities, Prince was our home town celebrity. I have friends who worked for him at Paisley Park in high school. I know former NPG band members. He may not have been a personal friend, but he was a real person, unlike most celebrities. He was a guy who showed up to support local musicians and local record stores. He was a guy who invited his Minnesota family to his house so he could celebrate life through music with them at his numerous Paisley Park parties every summer. He was a normal guy, living in his purple velvet coats and riding his bicycle around town. He brought Minnesota Nice to the international music scene.
And, everyone who is Minnesota Nice knows and loves our own. We are family. When a community member is sick or passes, we are all there to help or to grieve.
Of course, Prince was a musical GENIUS. He lived and breathed music. He put out new albums almost every year, it seemed. And he was constantly writing songs, some of which he just GAVE AWAY to people that he liked to help jump start their careers. He pushed the boundaries of R&B and funk and his own style was constantly shifting in intricate ways. Of course, the international music community is grieving over his loss.
But there's something so personal about being a Minnesotan and losing Prince. Because of all of the people he touched, helped, supported, loved. Because of the quiet and unintentional wonderful influence he had on the whole community. I think I still don't quite understand my strong emotions and tears over a man I had never met personally, but I'm standing with my brothers and sisters in the Twin Cities today celebrating the life and mourning the early death of a wonderful man and a symbol of everything that I know and love.
A friend I knew in high school posted this on his Facebook yesterday, and I think it is a fantastic summary of emotion:
Minnesotans hold on to their own dearly. And when you leave, you hold on to the Minnesota part of you just as dearly. RiP. When I see the purple sunset of West Texas tonight I will think of you.
Here is perhaps the last photo taken of Prince, from last Saturday as he wore hissignature purple garb, and rode his bike, like an Average Joe, back to his home.
Image from CityPages: http://www.citypages.com/music/always-picture-prince-riding-his-bike-toward-paisley-park-photo-8224199
