Like so many others, I became obsessed with the Purple Rain soundtrack in 1984, the year of its release. I proudly hung the poster of the album cover on my wall and spun the record over and over and over again, memorizing every beat, every lyric. I was 12 years old at the time, and music tends to shape us so profoundly at that age. Today, I hear When Doves Cry and I’m instantly a preteen, standing in front of my bedroom mirror singing into a hairbrush. I Would Die 4 U comes on and once again I’m preoccupied with mimicking the hand motions that accompany the chorus (point to self, point to head, hold up four fingers …).

I was 12 years old, and as with so many things when you’re too young to do them, I was frustrated and furious that I couldn’t get in to see the…