“Writers are liars, my dear, surely you know that by now? And yet, things need not have happened to be true. Tales and dreams are the shadow-truths that will endure when mere facts are dust and ashes, and forgot.” - Neil Gaiman - Dream Country
Artist: Prince and the Revolution Title: Darling Nikki Lyrics:
I knew a girl named Nikki I guess you could say she was a sex fiend, I met her in a hotel lobby masturbating with a magazine, She said how'd you like to waste some time and I could not resist when I saw little Nikki grind.
Why?: You know the problem with having a song with your name in it? It usually ends up being the last thing you want to hear. Pity all the girls named Nikki or Roxanne. The 80s were hell for them. I have no real memory of this song from the 80s. Truth be told, it would be a punk cover by a band called Apocalypse Hoboken that introduced me to this song. What? You were expecting more? Sometimes one decides to keep their counsel. I could have said ‘a lady never reveals her secrets, but eff that. You all know by now I’m no lady🤣.
I never wanted to be your weekend lover I only wanted to be some kind of friend Baby, I could never steal you from another It's such a shame our friendship had to end
Why?: I think I need to point out why this soundtrack never quite made it into my list this past week. Upon reflection, it could have been a candidate, as some of the songs were actually written for the movie, but I didn't quite realise it last week. Leave it to my vinyl sensei, the lovely Threadpenny, to post something about Prince to get my mind reeling and rethinking the whole list. (By the way, I highly recommend you follow her. She's telling a story of music and of what New Zealand was like while she was growing up. Imagine my surprise to find out it's not all Crowded House, Hobbits and agent Smiths 😅 .) Another reason this soundtrack never made it on my list? I must quietly admit... it was one of many movies that I was told I needed to see, that I never did. You know, like 'Dirty Dancing'? Yup... Never seen it. My husband rectified the problem of me having never seen 'The Outsiders' within weeks of us officially dating. I think I permanently niched myself into Science Fiction, Fantasy and Japanese Anime very early in my life. If it were not for my older brother who was far more well rounded in his taste in all things, I would never have seen three 'American Ninja's, two 'Iron Eagle's and the first 'Slap Shot' movies.
So why bring up this beauty of a song? It actually got removed from my playlist after Prince passed away and just recently placed back in. I didn't admit it to myself at the time, but of course I had an inexplicable crush on him. He sang beautifully and had great fashion sense (for the 80s) and was a phenomenal musician. His passing just made me feel that much older. That golden time of my youth suddenly that much further away. This song captured all those feelings for me. I didn't need to listen to it when he passed. Below is a clip, which is apparently the first live performance of this song from 1983, which has recently surfaced. Have a listen. I've always been one for early performances and demos. I've made my argument for demos before; you're hearing the song nearly at conception. What about early live performances? Well, here's the song presented to an audience and potentially still shiny and new for the artist. Sometimes they're polished, sometimes they're raw and amazing. This performance falls into the latter category.
Finally, here is the his Super Bowl XLI performance from 2007. Amazing in it's own right, it started to rain at the end.
