Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Prince's Art Official Age

Two new Prince records reviewed

The dichotomy of Prince’s sensual, yet electronically futuristic solo album Art Official Age reflects the artist’s inner search for happiness as he tries to adapt to a changing world.

The opener, “Art Official Cage,” is a stunning pop composition, with its abstract mix of Indian influences, rock, space-rock, and dance beats as Prince re-introduces himself. Continuing into the simple, seductive “Clouds,” he directly calls out social media, cloud computing, and the fast-paced “artificial” world humans have constructed.

AOA is marked by three “affirmations,” messages to provide a sort of spa for the frazzled 21st-century brain — a way for the world to reprogram and stay grounded in a digital age. Prince’s advice: stop, revisit the power of love and soul music.

Sponsored
Sponsored

Prince has always enjoyed a solid cred for putting women first — each a queen on golden throne. But when Prince talks sex, he gets to work.

The easy roll of Prince’s rapping on the raunchy “U Know,” and its segue into the even hotter sizzle of “Breakfast Can Wait,” is a tall, smooth drink —until he cracks his exterior and sings like he's inhaled a tank full of helium.

AOA also comes with some serious guitar funk. His public-service message in “FunkNRoll,” that everyone put their smartphones down and dance, reflects the current, precarious atmosphere of the music industry. Screaming, "I don’t really care what y’all been doin’," Prince has the proper attitude for a man who’s still on top and has the sound to back it up.

On deep cut “Way Back Home,” Prince follows his own advice to slow the roll. Set to a haunting piano melody and a thrumming beat, he shares his vulnerabilities and sensitivities, and his hope as an artist searching for peace and the perfect riff.

Read Emily Reily's review of companion disc Plectrumelectrum.

  • Album: Art Official Age
  • Artist: Prince
  • Label: Warner Brothers
  • Songs: (1) Art Official Cage (2) Clouds (3) Breakdown (4) The Gold Standard (5) U Know (6) Breakfast Can Wait (7) This Could Be Us (8) What It Feels Like (9) Affirmation I and II (10) Way Back Home (11) FunkNRoll (12) Time (13) Affirmation III
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Goldfish events are about musical escapism

Live/electronic duo journeyed from South Africa to Ibiza to San Diego
Next Article

Rise Southern Biscuits & Righteous Chicken, y'all

Fried chicken, biscuits, and things made from biscuit dough

The dichotomy of Prince’s sensual, yet electronically futuristic solo album Art Official Age reflects the artist’s inner search for happiness as he tries to adapt to a changing world.

The opener, “Art Official Cage,” is a stunning pop composition, with its abstract mix of Indian influences, rock, space-rock, and dance beats as Prince re-introduces himself. Continuing into the simple, seductive “Clouds,” he directly calls out social media, cloud computing, and the fast-paced “artificial” world humans have constructed.

AOA is marked by three “affirmations,” messages to provide a sort of spa for the frazzled 21st-century brain — a way for the world to reprogram and stay grounded in a digital age. Prince’s advice: stop, revisit the power of love and soul music.

Sponsored
Sponsored

Prince has always enjoyed a solid cred for putting women first — each a queen on golden throne. But when Prince talks sex, he gets to work.

The easy roll of Prince’s rapping on the raunchy “U Know,” and its segue into the even hotter sizzle of “Breakfast Can Wait,” is a tall, smooth drink —until he cracks his exterior and sings like he's inhaled a tank full of helium.

AOA also comes with some serious guitar funk. His public-service message in “FunkNRoll,” that everyone put their smartphones down and dance, reflects the current, precarious atmosphere of the music industry. Screaming, "I don’t really care what y’all been doin’," Prince has the proper attitude for a man who’s still on top and has the sound to back it up.

On deep cut “Way Back Home,” Prince follows his own advice to slow the roll. Set to a haunting piano melody and a thrumming beat, he shares his vulnerabilities and sensitivities, and his hope as an artist searching for peace and the perfect riff.

Read Emily Reily's review of companion disc Plectrumelectrum.

  • Album: Art Official Age
  • Artist: Prince
  • Label: Warner Brothers
  • Songs: (1) Art Official Cage (2) Clouds (3) Breakdown (4) The Gold Standard (5) U Know (6) Breakfast Can Wait (7) This Could Be Us (8) What It Feels Like (9) Affirmation I and II (10) Way Back Home (11) FunkNRoll (12) Time (13) Affirmation III
Comments
Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Why you climb El Cajon Mountain at night

The man with no rope fell 500 feet
Next Article

Goldfish events are about musical escapism

Live/electronic duo journeyed from South Africa to Ibiza to San Diego
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.