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[Bring4th_Austin]

Prince is one of my all-time favorite musical artists.

I think that for most people to handle such an insane amount of fame, their personalities have to be reinforced and rigid in some areas. Prince was able to communicate clearly from an open heart through his music. I think it's unmistakable to most people. However, you can certainly find many "horror stories" about his behavior as a famous star. Can anyone remain grounded when they are thrust so high by society?

And also, he did not share his music very openly. Not that you have to give away everything you do for free to be positively oriented, but he was one of the most controlling artists that I've seen in regards to how his music is shared. So far as I could tell, no where in his philosophy of sharing music was it to make it more available for more people to hear. Even after making his fortune many times over, he still maintained a tight grip over how his music was shared, instead of opening it up to the world. And this is his personal philosophy, not a result of a controlling music industry. This perception is a result of both my personal experience attempting to consume his music as well as stories I have read about his attempts to clamp down on music sharing.

But he also did things like make a secret donation to keep the Western Branch Louisville Library (which has historical significance for African-American civil rights) open after the city was planning to close it. He wanted the donation to remain anonymous, which it did until his death. This sort of donation is prime PR for a person who was worried about their status as a celebrity. He did it because he felt it was the right thing to do, not because of how it would help his image.

So I'm really on the same page as APeacefulWarrior, I don't think it's even possible to begin to judge what his orientation was. We only know him through what he presented to society. Though what glimpses we can see of him through his art and how he presented himself, I'm inclined to think he was a very special individual. If anything, to me, he was a revolutionary artist, one of the most creative and talented of recent generations, and his music had a positive impact on many, many lives. That is a testament to itself, no need to bring in polarity.

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I'm not a big fan of applying negative concepts, or even concepts of "lower triad blockages," to artists based on the art they create. Take Madonna for example - to say she is a "self proclaimed Material Girl" is taking that song at face-value without diving beneath the surface. Is she singing from a personal perspective? Is she making a commentary on a type of person? Is she making a testament to a period in her life? Is she being ironic? Is she just exclaiming to the world what she is?

We are all a work-in-progress. I do believe that balancing is the work of a lifetime. And for distortions to be balanced, they must be perceived clearly. What better way to do that then to either artistically express it (consciously or unconsciously) or appreciate an artistic representation (consciously or unconsciously)? Music which seems to emphasize a lower triad blockage could just as easily be coming from someone who is attempting to work through them as it is someone who currently identifies with them. And even if a person is currently identifying with them, bringing them into perception through art is a great way to get a grasp on them and process them as catalyst, either positively or negatively. A person who listens to and appreciates such songs may be on a path of evolution, but have hang-ups or distortions in those areas that are stimulated and excited by the energies. The art is a service to them to help them become more aware of these distortions, even if it takes their entire lifetime. It's probably good to point out that Prince had some music which I feel relied on some lower triad sexual distortions.

And I do not attribute the mass-produced pop music industry to a controlling elite. The songs may be formulaic and may play upon distortions or themes which tend to addict, but fans of this music are not victims. The only way for the music industry to take advantage of such distortions is for the distortions to already be present. What is popular in culture is a direct representation of where that culture is at that moment, and each culture is also a work-in-progress, just as individuals are. I do believe that the ultimate responsibility for how the music affects culture lies on those who direct their consciousness towards that music, not the ones who create it.