Alphabet St.
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| “Alphabet St.” | |||||
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U.S. 7" single
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| Single by Prince from the album Lovesexy |
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| B-side | "Alphabet St. (This Is Not Music, This Is a Trip)" | ||||
| Released | 23 April 1988 | ||||
| Format | 7" single 12" single CD single |
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| Recorded | Paisley Park Studios; December 1987–January 1988 | ||||
| Genre | Pop, funk | ||||
| Length | 7" edit: 2:25 Album/12": 5:39 |
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| Label | Paisley Park Records | ||||
| Writer(s) | Prince | ||||
| Producer | Prince | ||||
| Prince singles chronology | |||||
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"Alphabet St." was the first single from the 1988 Prince album, Lovesexy, and the album's only top-10 single. The song begins with a high-pitched shout of "No!" from Prince, and then immediately an infectious drum machine pattern begins. The verses are standard blues, sped up, with catchy guitar and a single yet effective chorus "Yeah yeah yeah." The song is boosted by the brass duo of Eric Leeds and Atlanta Bliss, and includes a rap by Cat Glover (the first rap in a Prince song). The song is full of samples, and generally repeats themes throughout Lovesexy. The video takes the "alphabet" theme as an opportunity to present several "hidden" messages in a mix of letters, such as "H is 4 punks" and more notably "Don't buy the Black Album, I'm sorry." The single was a top-10 in both the UK and U.S.
The B-side is a remix of "Alphabet St." called "Alphabet St. ("This is not music, this is a trip")". The title and other phrases are repeated at the beginning of the song, but essentially, it's an instrumental with a few minor changes.
"Alphabet St." has the distinction of being the first Prince single to be issued as a CD-single, though not in the U.S.
[edit] Cultural References
Part of the rap section was used in the Ween song "L.M.L.Y.P."
Nine Inch Nails sampled "Alphabet St." for the song "Ringfinger" from the album Pretty Hate Machine
90's hip-hop group Arrested Development sampled a line from "Alphabet St." for their breakout song "Tennessee."
The Scottish Noise Pop band, The Jesus and Mary Chain covered this song which appears on their 1994 EP, "Come On".
[edit] External links
- "Alphabet St." lyrics
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