prince-day

It's Prince's birthday and officially 'Prince Day' in Minnesota; Tidal adds 15 Prince LPs ++ other news

prince-birthday

Today, June 7, would have been Prince‘s 58th birthday. In honor, Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton has declared 6/7 to be Prince Day in Minnesota. The official proclamation acknowledges Prince’s “artistry, music, and brand showcase his outstanding contributions to music and…Prince was the creator of ‘The Minneapolis Sound,’ a contribution not only to the global catalogue of music genres, but to Minnesota’s worldwide prominence and its economic growth.” The decree also encourages Minnesotans to “wear purple on Prince Day in honor of The Purple One’s enduring legacy.” You can read the whole thing below or download the official PDF.

In other news, also timed for Prince’s birthday, Tidal is now streaming 15 of Prince’s albums. (The Purple One famously didn’t like his music on streaming sites.) Don’t get too excited, none of his classic Warner Brothers albums — like Purple Rain, 1999, or Sign ‘O’ the Times — are there, but Tidal subscribers can now hear The Black Album, The Gold Experience, 1-800-NEW-FUNK, and more. The full list is below.

There have been a lot of Prince covers recently, including a few at last weekend’s Governors Ball where Beck covered “Rasberry Beret” and Haim covered “I Would Die 4 U.” You can watch videos of both below. Speaking of, El Perro Del Mar has just shared a lovely cover of “I Will Die 4 U” saying:

When realizing the news on Prince’s passing I just felt this overwhelming pang of silence in the world. I’d felt the same way when just a few months earlier hearing of the death of David Bowie. For the world to lose unique beautiful and bold like these talents is such a great historical loss. Musicmakers and artists like these help to change the minds of people and ultimately change the world. “I Would Die 4 U” has been one of my absolute darling songs for as long as I can remember. I was asked to make this cover in just one day, with the instruments I had at home at that moment (a tabla machine and an Alpha Juno 1) and though it felt too given a choice to cover I just felt like I had to do it as that was kind of the way I felt when realizing he was gone; the way I and so many with me feel about Prince’s work – that we’d do anything for his music.

You can stream that below.

On a more serious note, Billboard reports that a Minnesota judge has approved a more aggressive timeline for sorting out heirship of Prince’s estate, giving claimants till Friday, June 10 to submit sworm statements offering genetic proof to their kinship with Prince.

prince-day

Prince’s albums on Tidal:
The Black Album (1987)
The Gold Experience (1995)
Chaos & Disorder (1996)
Crystal Ball (1998)
1999: The New Master (1999)
Rave Un2 The Joy Fantastic (1999)
Rave In2 The Joy Fantastic (2001)
The Rainbow Children (2001)
One Nite Alone… Live! (2002)
One Nite Alone… The Aftershow: It Ain’t Over (2002)
Indigo Nights (2008)
The New Power Generation
Exodus (1995)
New Power Soul (1998)
Various
1-800-NEW-FUNK (1994)
Girl 6 – Official (1996)