Crystal Ball Club

Prince Side Projects

Despite being in one of his all-time prolific periods in the early 90s, Prince still had creative juice to spare: writing, recording, and often producing tracks and albums for collaborators old and new. Join Mike and Nathan as we examine the best -- and the rest -- of this incredible explosion of creativity.

Prince vs Warner: The Name Change Saga

While we mostly stay focused on the music at Crystal Ball Club, Prince's epic fight with Warner Brothers and his concurrent name change loom so large it would be almost impossible to understand some of his artistic choices in the rest of the decade. Join Mike and Nathan as we explore this turbulent time in Prince's life and art.

[Love Symbol] (1992)

Forget reading the morning papers, Mike and Nathan break down Prince's most ambitious recording project yet, 1992's simultaneously amazing and frustrating [LOVE SYMBOL].

3 Chains o' Gold

Fans earnestly debate how Prince's early 90s work stacks up against his 80s golden period, but there's little disagreement that his cinematic output was a straight arrow down -- from the exhilarating heights of Purple Rain, to the lovable oddity of Under the Cherry Moon, the clunky Graffiti Bridge, and finally here: the largely embarrassing 3 Chains o' Gold. 3 Chains might be tough to defend as a movie, but it helps us understand where our hero is at -- artistically, professionally, personally -- as he moves into his 36th year...

Diamonds and Pearls - The music videos

By 1991 the music video as a commercial and artistic medium was in full flourish. Could Prince -- master of the recording studio and stage, and sometime movie star -- compete with music video powerhouses Michael Jackson and Madonna? Or were his DIAMONDS AND PEARLS era videos early signs of his anti-commercial instincts? Join Mike and Nathan for a conversation about every single official (and unofficial) D&P music video, including confirmation of their thesis that Diamonds & Pearls is Prince's Gulf War album. NOTE: all videos discussed should be easy to find on YouTube -- viewing these ahead of time is recommended.