The Next Steps

While Prince reminded his doubters that he could top the charts at will, the rest of Batman reinvents his signature sound in unique and creative ways.

Album opener “The Future” drifts into the shadows of Gotham’s Crime Alley. “Systematic overthrow of the underclass / Hollywood conjures images of the past,” Prince sings atop skittish drum loops and eerie waves of keyboard (“New world needs spirituality that will last / I’ve seen the future, and it will be”). Similar to his 1982 epic, 1999, “The Future” challenges listeners to examine their lives and offers hope in its prophetic chorus (“I’ve seen the future, and it will be / I’ve seen the future, and it works / If there’s life after, we will see / So I can’t go like a jerk”).

“Electric Chair” snatches you into The Joker’s demented mind, or parts somewhere south of it (“Your face looked so good / I wanted to touch your mouth / My brain is jackin’ all over the place”). So, for those fans who miss the Dear Penthouse filth of Controversy, this sizzling rocker is obsessed with the nasty and doesn’t care who knows it.

“Vicki Waiting” floats into the psychedelic bliss of Around the World in a Day while expressing Bruce Wayne’s inner conflict between who he is and what he wants to be (“Talk of children still frightens me / Is my character enough 2 be / One that deserves a copy made / This I, one day, hope 2 see”). Those words always cut deep. The reason? Because Prince—who tragically died alone and childless—wanted the same things as everyone else.

During the film’s parade scene, The Joker pulls a bait-and-switch by throwing wads of money to crowds lining the streets before gassing them. Similarly, “Trust” draws you in with The Black Album’s lustful funk (“Hot—I get so excited just thinkin’ about all we could do”) before baptizing you in Lovesexy’s pure gospel (“Who do U trust if U can’t trust God?”).