"Tick, Tick, Bang" - Song of the Month

 Each month I will share some brief, personal thoughts on one of my favorite Prince songs. 

"Like this chain around my hip, I want a 24-karat relationship." Me too, Prince. Me too. Hearing that line reminds me of when my sister and I re-watched Graffiti Bridge in 2004. We laughed and reminisced about the movie, which was a major part of our childhood. I remember my sister emphasizing this particular line when we were watching the "Tick, Tick, Bang" performance--one of the best in the film. I think I started loving this song after discovering she loved it; I guess I still want to be like my big sis. We were cracking up watching Prince do his best choreography as members of The Time--his rivals--looked bored. For years I assumed that, because my sister loved this movie, she was a Prince fan; earlier this year, she admitted she respected him but wasn't into a lot of his music. Anyhow, we'll always have "Tick, Tick, Bang." I chuckle thinking about how much I gravitate toward the filthiest song on an album that is largely spiritual and an important part of Prince's religious journey. It's another song he wrote at the beginning of his career (1981) and then brilliantly updated; he transformed it from a punk tune to a '90s, hip-hop-inspired ditty. I love the guitar, and I think the way he arranges the sound effects and vocals is supremely creative. Thanks to PrinceVault, I learned Prince sampled drums from Jimi Hendrix's "Little Miss Lover," which reminds me that I really need to write (or commission) a Hendrix-related post on my blog. I'm also disappointed I didn't know this when I did my samples quiz last year. 

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