Four quick things about the passing of Prince.

1. I hate myself. Wait … I LOATHE myself because I never saw him live. This is particularly egregious because I’m just smart enough to realize how damned great he would have to have been onstage – and everyone I know that did see him only confirms that. As always, I figured there was plenty of time – though I missed a great opportunity when Prince came to the Mohegan Sun Arena for three shows in December, 2013, when I happened to be waiting for Santa Claus with my family back in Texas.

Thanks a lot, Mom!

In that context, my friend and colleague Kristina Dorsey saw and reviewed the first of Prince’s Sun shows – and, yes, from now on, she’ll never tire of reminding me what a tremendous performance it was.

2. To be perfectly honest, my favorite Prince music came early on, and his Controversy and Dirty Mind albums are highlights to me. Starting with “Purple Rain,” the material started going in a direction I didn’t particularly care for. But I figured that was my fault, not his, and never doubted his ongoing genius.

3. What a monstrous guitar player he was! This resonates more than ever because we live in a time when most bands don’t seem equipped with old school ax wizards anymore. I hope some kid listens, now, and decides he or she wants to play like that.

4. Finally, I really wish Prince hadn’t written a song called “When Doves Cry” because, with his death, it’s not going to be possible to quantify how many newspapers and magazines and anchor persons and entertainment talking heads and blogs and Tweets and Facebook posts will include that phrase.

Au revoir, Your Majesty … Tonight, in your honor, I’m gonna party – not like it’s 1999 but, instead, as though there were doves weeping all around me. Or something like that.