Super Funktackular Friday Funtime

It takes a Nation of, well, four to hold us back...

We're going to do today's post a little bit different in that I'm going to do sort of an "honorary reference" to some stories/situations/rants/ ramblings/etc. If we don't like it, it'll be a one time thing. Also, I'm going to post some more of our favorite (that's favourite for the T.Dot!) links and other miscellaneous doo-dads cause hell, it's Friday and we all need something funky to do.

So anyhow, it's Friday and I have finance class this evening. Not looking forward to it very much. I, along with most of the folks in my cohort are beyond ready for this thing to be over and done with so we can have that piece of paper and move on. So in honor of this school thing being about 9/10ths of the way done, and the fact that nobody really wants to be there anymore, The Funk presents:

Uphill Peace of Mind - Kid Dynomite

In many ways, the American experiment (Democracy, Life-Liberty-Pursuit of Happiness) is the reason for a little thing my pops calls "Them Blues".

"But Brother B, the pursuit of happiness is supposed to be a joyous thing, how's that the blues?"

I hear you, but dig this. In that pursuit of happiness that we have all be granted, it ain't going to be easy. It's not supposed to be easy. It's going to rain when you planned that spring picnic 4 months in advance and all the women are wearing white...There will be times when you have to decide between paying your light bill and feeding your kids. And out of that environment came the blues. The sweat, the toil, the pain, the sadness, the hope of slaves, of indentured servants, of blue collar betties. The genius of them blues is that anyone can relate to its stories of infidelity, unemployment, and heartache (among others). Well maybe not the silver spoon kids I saw on HBO the other day. Then again, I'm sure when their trust funds get Lil' John low, they might.

Them Blues are famous for live jam sessions (Jazz is as well) and I'm sure that if the Almighty himself wanted to create a blues jam session of epicness it would have sounded something like the next selection.

Slow Blues - Jimi Hendrix w/ B.B. King (Generation Club Live 1968) Long

I've never been a real super big fan of the NFL ( aka the No Fun League, Niffle) due to the over hyped attempt to get me to buy the "niagra" while teams take a time out to decide if the collective bargaining agreement is with it or not. Long way of saying that it's too commercial. Plus I'm a Seminole born and bred so I really only follow the ex-FSU players in the league. But hey, football is football and I'll watch some Arena League if it's between that and Emril, Live!

Now this is a funny/funky jam from the powder blue electric days of the San Diego Chargers.

San Diego Super Chargers - Chargers Band

But the best all time NFL related comedy/funk jam has to be:

The Superbowl Shuffle - Da Bears

Nuff Respect Due!

So enough of the posting thoughts and diddily doo-doo brown, here are some funky tracks for your Funky Ass Friday:

*Submitted by the infamous DJ Mentos. Big Up!

Dizzy Gillespie - Trumpet Blues
* Run Shaker Life - The Voices Of East Harlem
Pornosonic - Get Peach Fuzz
* Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Heart Club Band Reprise - The Beatles
The Pop - Gary Davis (iTunes mp4 format)
* I Don't Know (Satisfaction) - Sly & The Family Stone
Big Mac - Curtis Mayfield
A Day In The Life - Chocolate Snow (iTunes mp4 format)
Time of the Season - The Zombies

And the mother of all funk jammy jams:

(Not Just) Knee Deep - Funkadelic (iTunes mp4 format)

And there you have it. Download 'em all, pop them into iTunes or your favorite (favourite) media player and let all your co-workers know that you are the funkiest person in your office/class/house/bus stop/grocery store/etc. I hope all yawl have a wonderful and funktafied weekend. And if you are stuck inside with a cold or just chillin', check out these links:

The Low End Theory
HomeStar Runner
Raissa's Head
Martin Fanpage
ColorWare


Still promising to tell The Funk, the Whole Funk, and nothing but The Funk,
Brother B aka The Caucasian Don Cornelius

What You Got On My 40 Homie?

Still Number One With A...

*Posted Wednesday Night for Thursday, er, day cause I'm offsite tomorrow

Phantasm Theme - Phantasm
Bullitt Theme - Lalo Schifrin
Run Linda Run - Deep Throat II

Alrighty then, today we have a few choice collections from 3 of my favorite movies. Now I'm normally not a horror movie kinda dude (can you say Candyman?), but after a long ass time, I finally sat down to watch Phantasm. I had been subjected to it back in the early 90's at my neighbor's house, but at that time, I think I kept my head under the pillow on the floor. The definiton of "a scurrred sucka duck". Since I'm no Ebert & Roeper clone, here is a rundown

The main title theme is worth talking about however. I checked out the-breaks.com to see if anyone had sampled the beginning keyboard riff madness, but apparently not. Someone could have but I don't know. Anyhow, the song itself is a kinda strange tribute to the musical styles of the day and to Casio for that matter (Swizz Beats!). Synth sounds, a haunting chant-esque thing in the background, you can tell it's from the late 70s/early 80s, but you can also envision running (swiftly walking if you are poolside; safety folks) away from some god awful person/contraption/flying killer death sphere. I think it's pretty funky for a horror movie.

Next in the chamber (ya get it? terrible humor) is the main title theme for that classic Steve McQueen action hit, Bullitt. A friend of mine is absolutely stalker (LOL) obsessed with Steve McQueen so I figured I'd put this on the list (Hi LeighAnn ). I've always liked this film for the simplicity of the story and characters, but more for the car scenes. What guy wouldn't have wanted to be Steve McQueen in that Mustang tooling around the city looking for crooks? The theme is funky too, with it's Pink Panther Jazz/Crime fighter horn/Be-Bop drum thing going on. I'm sure Lalo Schifrin used every conceivable instrument he could find on this one. The cool thing is the way it actually follows the movie, sounds and all. You hear the breaking of the glass, some rat-a-tat-tats, a few tire squeals, some more claps, then that dialogue, "This is Pete, we lost 'em". Pretty smooth.

Finally, we have a cut from one of the classic adult films of the 70's, Deep Throat 2. While not as hardcore or controversial as the 1st Deep Throat, the second one still was pretty racy for its time. I won't go into a review (The Funk is for the Chil'rens) of the flick itself, they have google for that. But the song I scooped from the soundtrack, "Run Linda Run" is one of the funkiest tracks I've heard in a while, from both porn & non-porn movies. I could get into a diatribe about how today's adult films have no soul (or funk) but really, who would care? This track sounds like it could have been on the greatest hits from any number of 70's soul/jazz/funk bands. Maze (minus Frankie Beverley) for example. A driving rhythm, some piano, a wah-wah guitar, a violin, and even some congos help make this a truly funky track. I just can't imagine trying to get busy to it.

*Side Note: That congo break sounds like it could be included in the Maze/Sly Stone discussion I had with Zak the other day. Peep the tracks:

Maze feat. Frankie Beverly - Joy & Pain
Sly & The Family Stone - In Time

Listen to those and then listen to the Run Linda track...tell me what you think.

So that's it for Thursday's rendition of "Shit You Didn't Know Was Funky", and I hope you all are enjoying the choice cut selections.

Love, Peace, & Nappiness
-Relative Before C

See, What Had Happened Was...

Oh Daddy - Fleetwood Mac
All Right Now - Free
Duel Of The Jester & The Tyrant - Return To Forever
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Funk From Far Far Far Away...

Today's selections for "Shit You Didn't Know Was Funky" are eclectic if not pure spaced out chill music. Translation, that's good for you "buhloone mind staters" and the pursuit of that proverbial "next plane". Also good for folks who have a need for some Jazz-Rock-Funk in their daily edu-macation. Sound it rounds out the diet.

First up we have "Oh Daddy" by Fleetwood Mac. Now I hear some of the grumbles from the Hip Hop fans reading this but gimme a sec. If you listen to the whole song (impatient beatmakers!) you'll find a nice little breakdown in the middle that'll fa'sho get your fingers dancing all over that MPC, SP12, or FruityLoops. Trust me. I've been wanting to sample this thing for ages.

Second, we dive into more conventional classic rock with Free's rendition of All Right Now. Yeah, I hear you. What's with the rock music? Well if you kindly refer to the url, it says "allthangs FUNKY" not "allthangsHIPHOP". Truth be told, this record has that blues/rock thing down pat which I like and dude is killing the vocals. As an added bonus, it's sort of storytelling jammy. I mean I'm sure all us fellers have had that woman in our lives that gave us some serious fits...what?...Oh, that's just me? Dag gum. Anyhow, peep the cut for your own mental health.

Finally, we travel to that funktafied place in time when Kings ruled and homeboys would put on some "real" armor to handle they business. None of that shooting people then jetting stuff, you had to stand up and be a man. I wonder if there was some kind of etiquette or a Miles Lane type dude to get the battles started? Anyhow, this track is hella long (11 Minutes) but it's pretty dope. Sort of like a cosmic funk journey that is the cousin on your mom's side of Parliment/Funkadelic. Also has some of that Roy Ayers feel to it. Some of you (Zak, Jer, Bob) prolly know of this album but some may not. Here is a little bio on Return To Forever. Oh and the song is called "Duel Of The Jester & The Tyrant" which is pure GZA/Genius.

RANT WARNING!

Speaking of all of the hullabaloo (sp?) over The Game vs. 50 vs. everybody deal, isn't now about the right time for folks like De La Soul, Dilated Peoples, J-Live, Hieroglyphics, KRS, Common, BlackStar, Little Brother, MF Doom, etc (i.e. True Skool Hip Hoppas) to get the shine and push that they deserve? I've been saying for years that hip hop, like all music in the past 50 years is cyclical. I guess Grand Puba was right, what goes around comes back around again. A few years ago I was riding in a car with Wise D and Mooch from DepthCharge Records and Wise voiced his theory on how Hip Hop was in its "Hair Band" stage much like the mid to late 80's in rock music. Then all of a sudden (sort of) Grunge took control and brought some freshness back into the artform. True, Grunge was just good rock music given a new "label" buy record companies, but it was refreshing for the times. I think we are in that same kind of blackhole that rock was in and my question is if not now, then when? How long are we as educated consumers, going to put up with the defamation of the kulture that we embrace? Boycotts may or may not work. Web petitions really don't do nothing. Talking to the record companies face to face is hopeless. My solution? Keep your hard earned cash out of the pockets of these non-talented fakes and pump up the True Skool artists. It's the same argument that has been made a thousand times, but it has to start with somebody, somewhere.

As my man Big Rube once said, "Right on to the real and death to the fakers". My thoughts exactly.

Brother B.

* Side Note deux: Some of the tracks you will find on The Funk are in iTunes Mp4 format so if it doesn't play right, get right, and get iTunes.

You Suckaaaaaasssssss!

El Hombre Blanco Más Hediondo

A Fistful Of Dollars - Ennio Morricone
A Few Dollars More - Ennio Morricone

Today we bring you a few choice cuts from that spaghetti western soundtrack master, Ennio Morricone off of two of the more recognized Clint Eastwood flicks.

Both of these movies were part of a informal trilogy of western movies starring Eastwood (The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly, A Fistful of Dollars, A Few Dollars More) that pretty much launched the careers of both Eastwood and the director into mega-international stardom. Much like myself after that 3rd trip to the Philippines...Manila what!?

I've been a fan of these type of movies for as long as I can remember for two reasons (out of many). The first being the overall theme of "good vs bad" which in these movies is in its most simplistic form. I mean if dude stole your horse, he got...well...got. Simple and plain. The second reason I enjoy these kind of flicks was the way they were shot. The deserted plains, the angles that the cameras took, the close-ups, all were done with a specific story telling style which I find very easy to watch.

As a side note, these movies have some serious dialogue samples for all you inspiring rapper/producer types. Here are some Real Media examples:

(Sorry, Had to take them down)

http://www.clinteastwood.net/welcome.html

The quality ain't pristine but you get the point. As my man Rockness would say, "Dopeness personified cuz".

So in lieu of a great personal story to tie all of this mumbo jumbo together, check out the linkage below and have yourself a wunderbar kinda day. Hip Hop Forever!

http://ericsarchives.blogspot.com/
http://www.havas42.com/
http://www.javonwalker84.com
http://www.esm.psu.edu/Faculty/Gray/movies.html (Some cool Quicktime Movies)

Take It Lyte-

Brother B.

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UPDATE! Check this out...50 vs Game? Say word?

Hot off the wire, an fresher than Maestro Wes.

Do yourself and your meager hip hop education a favor and head on over to my man and fellow Little Brother fan Joey's domain for your career implant chip, like STAT.

http://www.straightbangin.blogspot.com/

Funkin' For Like, Ever
-Brother B.

Theme Week, Part Duex!

Barney Miller - Theme Song
Night Court - Theme Song
3-2-1 Contact - Theme Song

Well it's another week here at The Funk and this week we've decided on the following theme:

"Shit You Didn't Know Was Funky"

With that as our backdrop, we are going to hip you all to the sounds, sights, and smells of things that you may or may not have known to be funktafied material. Big shouts to my man, my mellow, DJ Mentos for this week's theme.

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First up is the theme from that Mid seventies to Early eighties cop show, Barney Miller. If you don't remember the show, or are too young to have seen it, check out the synopsis here. From the reruns that I saw later in life, it was a pretty funny show for the time. But the opening theme was the catcher for me. Being the funky child that I was (still am really), I could always count on getting my p-funk on while watching this show.

Next we have the opening theme from Night Court. I'm sure most if not all of you know this show and it's funky ass opening, but I had to post it anyhow. A little know fact about this show is that back in HS, it would come on UPN 20 at like 11:00 and I'd stay up and watch it most nights while I was supposed to be doing homework or studying for the SATs. I guess that's one of the many reasons that it has taken me almost 9 years to complete my BBA. Priorities MAAAAAAN!

Finally, one of the all time classics. Anyone remember 3-2-1 contact? If not, check this. One of my all time favorite shows. That and Electric Company and the second "Original" Mickey Mouse Club who changed their steez to be more "hood" and shit. Even Disney can't escape the wrath!

All in all, these are 3 of the many late 70's through mid 90's TV hits that had some funk inspired soundtracks to them that you may have not thought about in a while. Speaking of which, hit this site up to get Martin on DVD. That shit is a shame.

Hoping that I still have my snow shovel,
Brother B fka Rob Hood.