Below is a two-disc funk collection. Funk was of course a mere, but complete party music, originating in James Brown's band and aesthetic: structures rather than songs, incredibly repetitive dance music: music to snort coke by. After James Brown, there is not a single defensible or even non-silly lyric in the history of funk. This is intentional: profundity or even message would have disrupted the purity of the form: it is pointedly trivial. (EU: "Irene's got a big old butt! God bless you and goodnight." P-Funk: "We shall overcome. Wheredjoo get that rump from?" Cameo: "Bushwhack me with your love." Well that last one's pretty good. ) If you think hedonism doesn't hurt, sample some of the later careers, like Rick James's, perhaps. The most famous practitioners, of course, were Parliament-Funkadelic, with a million variations and spin-offs. The stage show was one of the signal seventies experiences, but my enthusiasm on record is limited: unbelievable self-indulgence: ten-minute utterly static discursive parades of incomprehensible gobbledygook, vocalists on helium, aliens and dogs. By the time "Dr. Funkenstein" finally fades, you're liable to be glad it did. Still I give you a couple of chestnuts, notably "Flashlight" and "Bop Gun." And I want to remind you: the bigger the headache the bigger the pill, baby.
The best for my money was the more focused, poppy stuff: here, the Gap Band, Cameo, Zapp etc. My favorite band of them all is probably Kool and the Gang, circa 1973-1983 (the funk era, more or less, though by the late seventies various functions had been assumed by disco and hip hop). For one thing, the tightest band I ever saw on stage. Even the later poppy stuff is excellent, but, you know it's hard to beat "Jungle Boogie" or "Funky Stuff." I also give you three examples of the DC spinoff style GoGo (Trouble Funk, EU, and Chuck Brown), which added layers of propulsive rhythmic complexity, featuring multiple drummers etc. (I'd do "drop the Bomb" for Trouble Funk; not available in itunes.) Also one hip hop tune: "California Love": Dre and Tupac with funk icon Roger (see Zapp) on talk box. (Roger Troutman was murdered by his brother in a fratricide...of funk!) It's hardly a new point that the rhythms of funk powered hip hop, especially Cali-style. "Super Freak" and "Brick House" should probably be on the list, but Christ. Actually, re-listening, if I had to pick three it might be "Rollercoaster of Love," "Holy Ghost," and "Funky Stuff." Continued random observations: An interesting comparison is roots reggae, with which funk coincides temporally and racially. Both are extremely heavy on the bass, which might be conceived to be the lead instrument. This possibility is partly opened up by recording and playback technologies. Also, funk and reggae are both based on the idea of extreme repetition: pulse or heartbeat. Essentially all reggae is a single rhythm, while funk has two or three (pretty basic 4/4 though). But where roots reggae is a religious and political form, funk is definitely not, unless the butt is a deity. The civil-rights style revolution that had happened in the US in the sixties continued in the seventies in Jamaica, but not really here. Funk is also a relic of the era when race and gender existed. Women were definitely the objects, not the artists, of funk music (ah, for the good old days). Reggae and funk are the two basic origins of hip hop, reggae providing the performance style (turntables and toasters/rappers) and funk the basic rhythms. The acts were often committees rather than bands, and performers and their entourages would often wander round onstage, contributing a snatch of vocals or a rhythm instrument or a general party-on-the-stage atmosphere. This comported well with the post-song: the performances were shambolic but also with a certain precision.(1) Ohio Players, "Rollercoaster of Love"
(2) James Brown, "Papa's Got a Brand New Bag"
(3) Cameo, "Word Up"
(4) P-Funk, "Bop Gun"
(5) Lakeside, "Fantastic Journey"
(6) Gap Band, "You Dropped a Bomb on Me"
(7) Kool and the Gang, "Get Down on It"
(8) P-funk, "Flashlight"
(9) Chuck Brown and the Soul Searchers, "We Need Some Money"
(10) Bar-Kays, "Holy Ghost"
(11) Cameo "Attack Me With Your Love"
(12) James Brown, "Cold Sweat"
(13) George Clinton, "Atomic Dog"
(14) P-funk, "One Nation Under a Groove"
(15) Kool and the Gang, "Jungle Boogie"
(16) Trouble Funk, "Hey Fellas"
(17) Dazz Band, "Let it Whip"
(18) Zapp, "Dance Floor"
(19) Gap Band, "Early in the Morning"
(20) Ohio Players, "Fire"
(21) Dr. Dre, Tupac Shakur, and Roger, "California Love"
(22) EU (Experience Unlimited), "Da Butt"
(23) Kool and the Gang, "Funky Stuff"
(24) Ohio Players, "Double Dutch Bus"
(25) Gap Band, "Oops Upside Your Head"
(26) Mtume, "Juicy"
(27) Bar-Kays, "Shake Your Rump to the Funk"
(28) B.T. Express, "Do it ('Til You're Satisfoied)"