Prince

Democrats blame Nader for our faux-Texan tyrant, but they may as well blame Prince. Without “Darling Nikki,” Tipper Gore would never have launched the Parents’ Music Resource Center indecency hearings, and then maybe Al Gore could have convinced 600 more Zappa fans in Florida to give his prim ass a chance. But that was back when Prince used our culture as his own personal glory hole. And damned if the world isn’t still recovering. It won’t take long to recover from Musicology, though. The album boasts killer bug funk and ballads, but then come the rock tracks. Prince’s idea of rock has sounded like 90210 going to commercial since 1995’s “Dolphin.” And that’s when you realize that the masterpiece Prince fans have hoped for since Emancipation just ain’t happening. Of course, Musicology isn’t without its pleasures. The album’s light touch recalls primo Stevie Wonder, and there are some nice horn charts and the occasional stab at political criticism (Prince is apparently all for letter-writing). But the truth is that this rabid sex dwarf was so good way back when that even a competent record like this is bound to disappoint. Prince used to change the world just by being. Now he’s just another guy bitching about the Patriot Act.