Rasberry Beret

There are so many things I love about this song.

I love the memories it conjures up of those wild nights in Sydney in the early 90's when my friends and I would start our evening with shots of vodka, go see our favorite cover band at an Irish bar, and then, round about the time that bars close here in the US, we'd wander into the seediest section of the city, King's Cross, to dance until dawn.

I love the lyric and the concept: "(She wore a rasberry beret) and if it was warm she wouldn't wear much more." The other day I was on my morning bike commute to work, and I was passing by this house that I just seem to be drawn to -- I haven't really figured out why -- but the energy is just really awesome and alive. Ok, and the guy who lives there is this 50 year old hottie with lots of cool bikes from cruisers to featherweight road bikes and a really sweet Audi station wagon. Whenever I pass, I always look around to see if he's outside and when he is, we say hello. Well, the other day when I glanced over, he wore some grey briefs, and, just like the hottie that Prince is singing about here, it was warm and he wasn't wearing much (anything) more. In my opinion, briefs aren't the hottest undies on dudes in general, but my guess is Prince didn't have a thing for berets before he spotted this chick -- and then it was the way she wore it that really did it for him.

This song is full of awesome lyrics which you can watch while you listen. Some of my faves are:

Now overcast days never turned me on
But something about her and clouds mixed
She wasn't too bright
But I could tell when she kissed me
She knew how to get her kicks

And this song just exemplifies all that I love about Prince: his happy, danceable beats, his sensual way of experiencing the world and how he shares that with us in his music, and the fabulously tuned instrument that is his voice...