Prince’s Filthy 15

“Sexuality is all you'll ever need, sexuality, let your body be free…” Prince, 1981.The 80s had gusto - driven by a potent mix of excess, innovation & rebellion; it was a time when boundaries were tested, aesthetics got louder and technology began to reshape culture, fostered by a surge in bolder free-expression and sense of individualism. In an era when the Reagan administration promoted a conservative, family-values agenda, this reshaping of culture had the pious Moral Majority expressing their outrage over this & that.At the vanguard of free expression, emerging from Minneapolis through a fog of dry ice, neon and laser-beams, came a 20-something rockstar-wannabe. His name was Prince, and 2 LPs into a burgeoning career, he was astute enough to know that talent wasn’t enough to make it to the top; U had 2 get noticed.To this end, 1980 saw Prince hitting his stride in Cuban heels, daring to be different, having the audacity to be himself, his shtick for the new decade, hyper-sexualized and teasingly provocative. It would prove to be a heady mix of raciness, sound and punk-infused swagger underpinned by a dedication to his craft and outpouring of creativity. Long before Malcolm Gladwell popularized the idea of the 10,000-hour rule: through the long cold winters of his youth, Prince had drilled himself to mastery, ready to revolutionize things on his own terms.The early 80s saw him fusing uninhibited energetic showmanship, wilful subversion, and sonic innovation. Lyrically, in an era where matters of a carnal nature were still shrouded in taboo, he ardently conveyed the joys of sex via his X-rated songs. His celebration of sexuality (‘… is all you'll ever need.’) promoted a message of acceptance & self-expression that resonated, growing his audience, his songs a form of empowerment and therapy for many, as he encouraged people to explore and accept their own desires. Elsewhere, it caused moral outrage...Sharing a similar ideology to the Moral Majority, in 1985, Tipper Gore formed a pressure group called the ‘Parents Music Resource Center’ (PMRC) to take a stand against the explicit content of what the members termed ‘porn rock.’ These unlikely activists ended up being dubbed the ‘Washington Wives’ in reference to the political and business connections of their spouses. In September 1985 they published the infamous Filthy Fifteen, a list of songs they deemed offensive. With passions running hot, it led to media debates over American values & a notable First Amendment showdown for the ages in front of a Senate hearing no less.The criteria for making their (play)list was vague, referencing sex, masturbation, violence and profanity. In reality, the selection barely scratched the surface of the songs that could have been included. The spur for all this parental angst and hoo-ha, and the song that topped the Filthy Fifteen was Prince’s ‘Darling Nikki.'Already anointed ‘His Royal Badness’ by the media, as the most high-profile artist on the list, he became the central ‘villain’ in the PMRC’s early onset culture war.Ironically, ‘Darling Nikki’ prompted the PMRC’s formation and topped their objectionable songs list, despite being relatively tame by Prince’s standards. Meanwhile, his truly X-rated tracks somehow escaped their attention. Heck, before & after its publication, he could have effortlessly filled the entire Filthy Fifteen on his own.Prince’s Filthy 15 is thus less a rebuttal to the PMRC than a reminder of why he was the original Rude Boy. In curating the tracks, it looks to do justice to his real heavy hitters, those truly worthy of a sticker warning:PARENTAL ADVISORY EXPLICIT CONTENTThe selection criteria for Prince’s Filthy 15, clear: how much would the song have had the PMRC fizzing & frothing like a Mentos dropped into a Coke bottle, in an eruption of moral panic...C A N u R E L A T E ? Read more