Music Banter - View Single Post

Electrophonic Tonic · 04-30-2017, 12:06 AM

Bootsy Collins
Tha Funk Capital of the World

I think we all know the story of the Funk. But it bears repeating...

The Funk is a living creature. It's 'bout the size of a medicine ball, but covered in teats. It came from another planet, and landed on Bootsy Collins's house. Back then, Bootsy Collins was just a simple farmer. But he took one look at all of those mauve titties and he lost his mind. He began to milk the Funk. Made himself a Funk shake. Began to feel fizzy inside. He found he could see 'round corners. Suddenly, he passed out. But when he came to, baby, he was slapping a bass guitar fast and loose like some kind of delirious, funky priest.

Two months later, he was world-famous with his band, Parliament, and everybody wanted a piece of the Funk: Rick Wakeman, even the Bee Gees. Then one day, Parliament was traveling on the Mothership, fooling around with the Funk, when George Clinton kicked the Funk clean overboard.

That was July the Second, 1979, the Day the Funk died... Or did it?

Now that we've established that, I'm actually gonna start with my negatives...

* The three spoken word tracks (Al Sharpton, Cornell West and Samuel L. Jackson) probably could have been condensed into one 10-minute long lecture/sermon of funk, allowing for an evolution of the groove and still providing a backdrop for those spoken word pieces. Or, maybe break them up and not have all three right next to each other on the album.

* Is this album too long? Probably. Is 17 tracks too many? Probably. Is it hypocritical because my suggested album is an hour and 15 minutes long with 17 tracks...? IDK my bff Jill.

* While I mostly liked the softer tracks, the louder/harder track were the ones I liked much more. So having the album end with a string of those quieter tracks was a negative for me.

* The last track are probably the glaring lowlight of this album. I feel like it could very easily have been cut from this album. And I'm on the fence about Kool Whip.

Now, let's get into the positives:

* More than most genres, the Funk needs time to marinate in it's own groove in order to be worth listening to. I still think the album is too long, but each and every song on this album goes on long enough to lay down a funky groove and let it hang around like it should.

* When I first heard this, the album felt entirely clunky and clustered. But, after my third listen, you really start to pick up on the details and intricacies of each instrument and even some of the vocal parts. Little details like the backing vocalists singing lines from What's Going On when Samuel L. Jackson is talking about Marvin Gaye adds so much to the textures of the album.

* Another similarity between this album and the one I selected is the abundance of guests and features. Just about every feature on here works or, more often than not, excels with Bootsy and his band. And not only the artists, but the genres that are blended into this particular Funk shake feel organic and almost seamless with Bootsy's funk

* "The so-called civilized or deoderized world" is the single best lyric I've heard in the album club.

* Even the sampling works. It's not that anything that's added here shouldn't work together, but it's astonishing to hear the vast majority of the collabs, samples and genre blends be executed near flawlessly. For example, the individual parts of Minds Under Construction make little sense. But they come together to make one of the best tracks on the album.

* I ****ing hate nostalgia. Nostalgia is probably my single greatest pop culture nemesis in films, television and to a lesser extent, music. If I had to say why, I think it's because nostalgia rarely if ever feels genuine. Between the commercialization of nostalgia (Hey 90's kids, remember Power Rangers??!! It's now a ****ty movie!!) and individuals treating nostalgia as shares in a stock market of cool points, I just find it toxic on so many levels. But, every reference to James Brown, George Clinton, the One, etc... feels entirely genuine by Bootsy and the crew. This album is a celebration of those guys and the music they made. And not only is it a celebration, they do so much to honor pay tribute to those that came before them. You can feel the gratitude and reverence for them whenever they're mentioned.

This album was great. Not amazing, but absofunkinglutely great. I was flirting with a 9, but between my negatives and not having a desire to keep listening to this (for now), I'm gonna settle on a Pitchforkian 8.7/10 I'm not sure if it's the best album I've heard in the club, but it's the one that I've enjoyed the most.

04-30-2017, 12:06 AM	#780 (permalink)
Electrophonic Tonic Your Ad Here Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: The Twilight Zone Posts: 876	Bootsy Collins Tha Funk Capital of the World I think we all know the story of the Funk. But it bears repeating... The Funk is a living creature. It's 'bout the size of a medicine ball, but covered in teats. It came from another planet, and landed on Bootsy Collins's house. Back then, Bootsy Collins was just a simple farmer. But he took one look at all of those mauve titties and he lost his mind. He began to milk the Funk. Made himself a Funk shake. Began to feel fizzy inside. He found he could see 'round corners. Suddenly, he passed out. But when he came to, baby, he was slapping a bass guitar fast and loose like some kind of delirious, funky priest. Two months later, he was world-famous with his band, Parliament, and everybody wanted a piece of the Funk: Rick Wakeman, even the Bee Gees. Then one day, Parliament was traveling on the Mothership, fooling around with the Funk, when George Clinton kicked the Funk clean overboard. That was July the Second, 1979, the Day the Funk died... Or did it? Now that we've established that, I'm actually gonna start with my negatives... * The three spoken word tracks (Al Sharpton, Cornell West and Samuel L. Jackson) probably could have been condensed into one 10-minute long lecture/sermon of funk, allowing for an evolution of the groove and still providing a backdrop for those spoken word pieces. Or, maybe break them up and not have all three right next to each other on the album. * Is this album too long? Probably. Is 17 tracks too many? Probably. Is it hypocritical because my suggested album is an hour and 15 minutes long with 17 tracks...? IDK my bff Jill. * While I mostly liked the softer tracks, the louder/harder track were the ones I liked much more. So having the album end with a string of those quieter tracks was a negative for me. * The last track are probably the glaring lowlight of this album. I feel like it could very easily have been cut from this album. And I'm on the fence about Kool Whip. Now, let's get into the positives: * More than most genres, the Funk needs time to marinate in it's own groove in order to be worth listening to. I still think the album is too long, but each and every song on this album goes on long enough to lay down a funky groove and let it hang around like it should. * When I first heard this, the album felt entirely clunky and clustered. But, after my third listen, you really start to pick up on the details and intricacies of each instrument and even some of the vocal parts. Little details like the backing vocalists singing lines from What's Going On when Samuel L. Jackson is talking about Marvin Gaye adds so much to the textures of the album. * Another similarity between this album and the one I selected is the abundance of guests and features. Just about every feature on here works or, more often than not, excels with Bootsy and his band. And not only the artists, but the genres that are blended into this particular Funk shake feel organic and almost seamless with Bootsy's funk * "The so-called civilized or deoderized world" is the single best lyric I've heard in the album club. * Even the sampling works. It's not that anything that's added here shouldn't work together, but it's astonishing to hear the vast majority of the collabs, samples and genre blends be executed near flawlessly. For example, the individual parts of Minds Under Construction make little sense. But they come together to make one of the best tracks on the album. * I **ing hate nostalgia. Nostalgia is probably my single greatest pop culture nemesis in films, television and to a lesser extent, music. If I had to say why, I think it's because nostalgia rarely if ever feels genuine. Between the commercialization of nostalgia (Hey 90's kids, remember Power Rangers??!! It's now a ty movie!!) and individuals treating nostalgia as shares in a stock market of cool points, I just find it toxic on so many levels. But, every reference to James Brown, George Clinton, the One, etc... feels entirely genuine by Bootsy and the crew. This album is a celebration of those guys and the music they made. And not only is it a celebration, they do so much to honor pay tribute to those that came before them. You can feel the gratitude and reverence for them whenever they're mentioned. This album was great. Not amazing, but absofunkinglutely great. I was flirting with a 9, but between my negatives and not having a desire to keep listening to this (for now), I'm gonna settle on a Pitchforkian 8.7/10** I'm not sure if it's the best album I've heard in the club, but it's the one that I've enjoyed the most. __________________ I was told I wouldn't need a signature... Last edited by Electrophonic Tonic; 04-30-2017 at 12:16 AM.