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Douglas Rasmussen

Douglas Rasmussen was born on the Canadian prairies, but his maternal grandfather originally was born in Prince's home state of Minnesota.

He has a Master of Arts degree in English Literature from the University of Saskatchewan where he majored in American Literature and Film Studies and wrote his thesis on the AMC TV series Breaking Bad. He has published articles on Canadian History and Virginia Woolf, and has chapters in upcoming collections of critical essays on various Film Studies topics to be published in 2020. Discussing film is his first love, but any time he has a chance to discuss Prince, David Bowie, or Tom Waits, he is more than happy to do so. You can follow him at @grumpybookgeek on Twitter.

The Black Album and Prince’s Spiritual Crisis

The Black Album and Prince’s Spiritual Crisis-Housequake
Prince's most notorious album The Black Album was announced, scheduled, and halted mere months after his double album set of Sign O’ The Times.

In 1987, not long after the release of his double album Sign O’ The Times, Prince was planning a Christmas surprise: An album with no title, a black cover, and simply attributed to ‘Somebody’ in the Warner Bros. release schedule. it was produced, pressed, and ready to ship, then he abruptly changed his mind. So what happened?

Race, Gender, and Identity in the Career of Prince

Race, Gender, and Identity in the Career of Prince-Housequake
In celebration of Black History Month, Douglas Rasmussen is discussing Prince’s career and his relationship with race, gender, and politics.

Early in his career, Prince felt he had to change his racial heritage, telling an interviewer that “My dad is Black and Italian. My mom is a mixture of a bunch of things," even though both his parents were African American. Prince’s obfuscation of his racial identity has been the subject of much criticism...

A Brief Cinematic History of Purple Rain

A Brief Cinematic History of Purple Rain-Housequake
With the release of Prince and The Revolution Live, this will be a good opportunity to discuss the genesis of the Purple Rain movie.

The story of how the Purple Rain movie came about is a fascinating look into the ambition and drive exhibited by Prince and would be integral to propelling him forward into pop superstardom.

My Life In The Purple Kingdom

My Life In The Purple Kingdom-Housequake
A look at the new memoir "My Life In The Purple Kingdom" by Mark Brown.

A look at the new memoir "My Life In The Purple Kingdom" by former bassist for Prince and Revolution Mark Brown (aka BrownMark), who worked with the band from 1981-1986.

This Thing Called Life

This Thing Called Life-Housequake
There is the question of how much Prince would've trusted a music journalist with any real secrets.

Douglas Rasmussen reviewed Neal Karlen’s book “This Thing Called Life: Prince’s Odyssey On and Off the Record”. In Prince circles, Rolling Stone writer Neal Karlen is a bit of a controversial figure. So it is with some trepidation that he has decided to review his new memoir on his friendship with the iconic singer Prince...

The Beautiful Ones

The Beautiful Ones-Housequake
Prince was reluctant to reveal much about himself. How much detail would Prince be willing to depart?

Would it be a memoir focusing on a specific time period? Would it be an autobiography encompassing all of Prince’s life? Douglas Rasmussen reviews the eagerly anticipated memoir by Prince.

Prince’s 1999 album and Generation X

Prince’s 1999 album and Generation X-Housequake
My Prince origin story happened with the '1999' album, which is getting its own deluxe edition treatment.

Writer Scott Woods notes in his blog “Every Prince fan is the World’s Biggest Prince Fan,” that for most Prince fans, “you likely have your own origin story.” My own Prince origin story happens to be with the album 1999, which is getting its own deluxe edition treatment this winter...

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