One-Night Stands: 'Million Miles (I Love You)'

When most people think of Apollonia 6,

Wait, let me start over. Most people don't think of Apollonia 6. But if they do, they most likely recall the song "Sex Shooter," the single featured in Purple Rain.

Recently, a propos of nothing, I remembered another song by the group that joins "Sex Shooter" on their sole album.

Despite my mania for Prince in the '80s, I did not make a habit of buying full albums from the staggering number of spin-off acts that he generated. In the case of Apollonia 6, which has a mere seven songs on it, I apparently wasn't missing much. But I do think "Million Miles (I Love You)" is worth hearing if you like '80s Prince music.

There are many things I love about this song, starting with its focus on the piano. (Someone commented to me recently that boys should be encouraged to learn piano if they want to get chicks, and I endorse this view.) The music for "Million Miles" is credited to Lisa Coleman (of Wendy & Lisa, looking and sounding startlingly matriarchal here), which makes sense, but the words are credited to Apollonia 6, which I find to be dubious, given Prince's penchant for posing dares and asking questions in his lyrics.

I also love that the lead vocals are not by Apollonia but by Brenda, the blonde chick. Brenda sounds sort of like a female version of Prince, who's really the only person who should be singing this song to begin with. The man himself is audible in the background during the jam that takes up practically the last half of the song, so you know he had to be running the show.

Apollonia 6 was just Vanity 6 with a new lead singer. Vanity 6 had even recorded "Sex Shooter" before Vanity ditched the group (which was, I learned from Wikipedia, originally named The Hookers). I find it entertaining that Apollonia and the other singer, Susan, are mixed so far down in "Million Miles" that they are nearly inaudible. Prince was never one to make singing ability a primary criterion for his protégés.

While the topic of this post may imply that I am looking to winnow my already cozy readership on this blog, I do appreciate those of you who continue to visit and wish you the best for '09.