Prince embraces critics because he believes their harsh words mean they care about him.
Prince went through a long period when he wouldn’t give interviews and shied away from public life, largely due to his concern that people lied about him. He’s a little more relaxed about being in the spotlight these days, revealing mean remarks about his work never affect him.
“Oh, I love critics,” he told Britain’s The Guardian newspaper. “Because they love me. It’s not a joke. They care. See, everybody knows when somebody’s lazy, and now, with the internet, it’s impossible for a writer to be lazy because everybody will pick up on it. In the past, they said some stuff that was out of line, so I just didn’t have anything to do with them. Now it gets embarrassing to say something untrue, because you put it online and everyone knows about it, so it’s better to tell the truth.”
The 57-year-old star has a checkered relationship with the digital world, having famously declared that the internet was “completely over” in 2010. He stands by that remark, although he admits many don’t really understand his comment.
“What I meant was that the internet was over for anyone who wants to get paid, and I was right about that,” he insisted. “Tell me a musician who’s got rich off digital sales. Apple’s doing pretty good though, right?”
Prince is less interested in talking about the intricacies of the music business than he is on his own tracks. The Purple Rain star still has a great love for working on new songs, and he’s happiest when he is on his own coming up with ideas at the piano.
“(I like to get) in the zone… like an out-of-body experience,” he explained. “That’s what you want. Transcendence. When that happens – oh, boy.”
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