The Ultimates In Funk

[MidgetDwarf]

That's pretty good. But I never could get behind drum machines

Funk -- and African music in general -- is all about dance. Here's a funk lecture by a former Soul Train dancer. She says the main goal of Don Cornelius, the engineer of the Soul Train, was to preserve a friendly atmosphere by keeping jealousy under control. While some dancers got more camera time than others, the top dancers had to have the same amount, otherwise there would be trouble on the train. Each shoot lasted seven to eight hours. Once she got to be thirty she couldn't do it any more.

This serves as funk education.



They don't say this, but white people were not welcome. They had plenty of opportunity already. Soul Train did have an Asian dancer, Cheryl Song. This was controversial, creating some tension, but she had the moves and the look, Cornelius stood by her, and the others eventually got used to it. Rick James' Super Freak is about an Asian, uh, friend.

Funk eventually went out of style, subsumed by techno. Techno came from Germany's Kraftwerk and Japan's Yellow Magic Orchestra, the latter appearing on Soul Train. Too bad, if you ask me.

I would argue that funk didnt go out in style. But eventually became the background of the West Coast sound.

 

[Hornbein]

Funk did survive into the 21st century.

 

[Hornbein]

George Clinton's version of Walk The Dinosaur.

This was in the Super Mario Bros. movie of 1993.

It follows brothers Mario (Bob Hoskins) and Luigi Mario (John Leguizamo) in their quest to rescue Princess Daisy (Samantha Mathis) from a dystopic parallel universe ruled by the ruthless President Koopa (Dennis Hopper).

The new Super Mario Brothers film released in 2023 grossed 1.36 billion dollars(!).

Bowser frees himself and summons a "Bomber" Bill to destroy the Mushroom Kingdom, but Mario knocks it off course and directs it into the Warp Pipe, where it detonates, creating a vacuum that sucks Bowser's castle and its occupants into Brooklyn.

Uh...yeah.

 

[Hornbein]

Then there's this nice groove. The main attraction though might be the gargantuan Afro at 1:26.

I went to a concert like this, Parliament/Funkadelic in a Roxbury stadium 1973, so this is a very nostalgic thing for me.

 

[BWV]

 

[MidgetDwarf]

Surprised this wasnt posted yet.