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What happened to funk?

#261
Oh, how I hate agreeing with Bluewine, the mean old goat....but he is right on everything here.

As regards Sly and the Family stone...how could anyone not think that was funk? they had me at "clavinet".

As regards all the other examples the youngsters are putting up here: if it has the word "metalcore" in it, it cannot be funk.

I mean, you guys are really confusing genres, you know?

That's like saying that just because someone uses distortion on a guitar, that makes it metal, so, if someone uses slap bass on ANY song, it then becomes "funk"?

That's just crazy. Funk is very, very simple to define. You know it when you hear it.
 
#262
bluewine said:
So much time has passed and you younger guys missed so mjuch in the 70's.

I would bet half of you don't even recognize this as an example of funk;

The king of funk
Click to expand...

Are you kidding? Of course I recognize that as an example of funk. Heck, it's pretty much the definition of funk.
While I didn't live in the 70's (born in '87) and could see all the great bands live, I sure know about the records. I probably know (or at least can recognize) like 5-10000 funk & soul tracks from around the 70's. Sly & The Family Stone is definitely on my funk list (as well as psychedelic soul), and I even wrote about them as my exam in a subject when studying sound engineering. Got the top grade as well since the teacher actually learned a lot from it (which was a criteria to get a good grade). Many young people may not know that much about Sly though, but I sure do. I guess I'm the Norwegian who's into funk and that kind of music the most, maybe except for a woman who actually has a PhD in funk...
 
#263
lucas vigor said:
Oh, how I hate agreeing with Bluewine, the mean old goat....but he is right on everything here.

As regards Sly and the Family stone...how could anyone not think that was funk? they had me at "clavinet".


That's just crazy. Funk is very, very simple to define. You know it when you hear it.
Click to expand...

They had me as soon as
Bill Lordan's tempo kicked in on that hi hat.

I might collaborate with some of the older cats and put together a class, Funk 101

I feel somewhat sorry for the younger guys, hell some of them weren't even born when sly was doing his thing.

It really bugs me how this genre has apparently been torn apart and misunderstood.

I was suspicion that there was some sort of disconnect regarding funk and a lot of young guys. This thread confirms my suspicion.
 
#264
Dellers said:
Are you kidding? Of course I recognize that as an example of funk. Heck, it's pretty much the definition of funk.
While I didn't live in the 70's (born in '87) and could see all the great bands live, I sure know about the records. I probably know (or at least can recognize) like 5-10000 funk & soul tracks from around the 70's. Sly & The Family Stone is definitely on my funk list (as well as psychedelic soul), and I even wrote about them as my exam in a subject when studying sound engineering. Got the top grade as well since the teacher actually learned a lot from it (which was a criteria to get a good grade). Many young people may not know that much about Sly though, but I sure do. I guess I'm the Norwegian who's into funk and that kind of music the most, maybe except for a woman who actually has a PhD in funk...
Click to expand...

Awesome, that clip in a way summarizes what sly was doing with his brand of funk.
 
#266
bluewine said:
They had me as soon as
Bill Lordan's tempo kicked in on that hi hat.

I might collaborate with some of the older cats and put together a class, Funk 101

I feel somewhat sorry for the younger guys, hell some of them weren't even born when sly was doing his thing.

It really bugs me how this genre has apparently been torn apart and misunderstood.

I was suspicion that there was some sort of disconnect regarding funk and a lot of young guys. This thread confirms my suspicion.
Click to expand...

it's simple. They think that because someone employs slap bass technique, that makes it funk.

Oh, and the video clip with the mummies? Not funk. Sounded like a bar band to me. A good one, but just a bar band.
 
#267
lucas vigor said:
Oh, how I hate agreeing with Bluewine, the mean old goat....but he is right on everything here.

As regards Sly and the Family stone...how could anyone not think that was funk? they had me at "clavinet".

As regards all the other examples the youngsters are putting up here: if it has the word "metalcore" in it, it cannot be funk.

I mean, you guys are really confusing genres, you know?

That's like saying that just because someone uses distortion on a guitar, that makes it metal, so, if someone uses slap bass on ANY song, it then becomes "funk"?

That's just crazy. Funk is very, very simple to define. You know it when you hear it.
Click to expand...

If it were simple then you wouldn't have people arguing over what it is or isn't, lol. You know what's easy to define? Metalcore.
 
#268
bluewine said:
This post really answers the question.

"It isn't for me, really means he didn't get it"

When a bass player can't recognize and dig bill lordan on drums and rusty Allen on bass, it means funk is dead.

Clef, no offence, but if that wasn't for you, then funk isn't for you.

Blue
Click to expand...

Rusty Allen sometimes gets overlooked when we talk about the greats of funk. Both him and Lordan also played on some of my favorite Robin Trower records from the 70's.
 
#273
lucas vigor said:
it's simple. They think that because someone employs slap bass technique, that makes it funk.

Oh, and the video clip with the mummies? Not funk. Sounded like a bar band to me. A good one, but just a bar band.
Click to expand...

Can the mummies play, yes.

Are they funk, no.

Are they a corn ball show band, yes.

For the younger TBers, don't confuse what their doing with funk. If anything their mocking funk and black folks.

Stay away from stuff like that.

Blue
 
#274
bluewine is KILLIN' it in this thread!!! Your "Defender Of The Funk" card is up to date and your Platinum membership is in good standing!

I generally subscribe to the "to each his own" school of thought (see my sig), but when it comes to funk, I KNOW what is and what isn't. As I said before, some of the examples of newer music that I've heard in this thread are pretty cool, and they may be "funky," but they ain't The Funk. The best recent funk that I've heard is so derivative that I might as well just keep listening to '70s funk. James Brown and Sly Stone took their influences and made their own groove, which begat P-Funk, Cameo and many others too numerous to mention, which begat Prince, Zapp feat. Roger, the Gap Band, etc. The '70s unleashed a tidal wave of great funk. The 2000s? The 2010s? Well, judging from the examples in this thread, it's not even close, and those examples are coming from folks who have the time, patience and know-how to search for it.

Is music overall as good as it's always been? Probably. Is funk as good, or as deep? No way.
 

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