Erotic City

This song is a nasty banger in every conceivable way, and it's one of my all time favorite songs by Prince. The cut is Erotic City, a sexual concoction that was cooked up by his purple badness back when he was really feeling himself creatively and sexually. A song inspired by Parliament Funkadelic, Erotic City was the B side of the single Let's Go Crazy back in 1984, and it quickly overshadowed Crazy.

The groove is completely infectious, the bass line and melody play around with each other as the drums drive the tempo. Then Prince comes in with his verse, but it's not the verse that's eye and ear opening, it's that juicy chorus of If we cannot make babies / Maybe we can make some time / Fuck so pretty you and me / Erotic city come alive / We can fuck until the dawn / Making love til cherries gone / Erotic city can't you see / Fuck so pretty you and me. He set the world on fire with that. Just when people thought he had the world in the palm of his hand with Purple Rain the movie and soundtrack, they then realized there was no stopping him once they heard this track.

Everybody has their favorite Prince song, and I do mean EVERYBODY. My all time favorite is Adore from his Sign O' The Times album, but for pure funk and shock value, it's damn hard not to count Erotic City as a favorite as well. 

Hyperbolicsyllabicsesquedalymistic

The title of this seriously funky groovy song aside, this song was ahead of it's time. It was one of those "outer space" grooves by the maestro Isaac Hayes and it took the world by storm. It showed everyone that he was indeed a musical force to be reckoned with, and the more you listen to this almost ten minute track you see why. This track came off his game changing 1969 album Hot Buttered Soul and Hyperbolicsyllabicsesquedalymistic has been one of the most heavily sampled songs by hip hop producers all over the world.

The lyrics are almost of no consequence, but when Isaac sings I can't sleep at night/But that's alright/The MD tells me/My hearts on strike, you can't help but laugh. Don't even try to figure out the title or the chorus of the song and what it all means, I think that secret went to the grave with the Black Moses. What he mainly wanted to leave behind was that incendiary groove. The drums are ferocious and the piano does its best to keep up.

Happy Belated Birthday Mr. Hayes. I tried to get this blogged yesterday, 8/20 for your birthday, but you know how life can be. I want to thank you for your contributions that helped make life just a little better, a little more tolerable. For that, we will be eternally grateful. May you continue to rest in peace.  

Star People 97

I have been a rather large George Michael fan stretching back to his days in Wham! When I heard the song A Different Corner, I was hooked. It was a well written song, a little heavy on the schmaltz, but it fit that period of my life so perfectly that it almost became a theme song. I had no idea this white guy from England was also so funky though.

Later in his career he started to display his funky side and he emphasized the fun in funky. George Michael gets laughed off by a lot of people for this reason or that, but the man is an artist, pure and simple. He's written some amazing songs and one that still puts a smile on my face is Star People 97. It's a funky rip on celebrity and a funky romp musically. Off of his amazing 1996 release Older, Star People 97 caught me somewhat off guard. It's five minutes and thirty eight seconds of pure funky fun, and at the 3:40 mark he hits you with the classic Gap Band bass line from their hit Burn Rubber. Talk about classic.

I will always be a George Michael fan, mainly because he never failed to entertain me. He's an iconic entertainer, and when it comes right down to it, that's really all I care about.

Brazilian Love Affair

An icon of music recently passed away, and when I say "of music" it's because there wasn't anything George Duke couldn't do musically. He was adept in jazz, funk, pop, rock, alternative rock, and so many other genres that listing them here would take all day. That term "musical genius" has been passed around and given to those who don't deserve it. George Duke deserved that moniker in every way, shape, and form.

One of my favorite tunes by this genius is the harmoniously funky Brazilian Love Affair. Released in 1979 after traveling to Brazil to record it, it's one of his most amazing albums, and it displayed his versatility and craftsmanship in such amazing ways. I can listen to this cut and never grow tired of it. I love the funky bass line as it plays along with the rhythm guitar and rumbles along under the smooth vocals. Then comes the change up and it takes this song to another plane, lovely.

George Duke left us on August 5th, 2013 and he is going to be truely missed. Not just by the music community but by those that have come to be ardent lovers of his music. On behalf of music lovers everywhere I'd like to say thank you Mr. Duke for providing us with creativity so beautiful and inspiring. May you rest forevermore in eternal peace.

Cissy Strut

I felt it was time to introduce to my blog one the second most heavily sampled bands in all of hip hop. While the first may be argued it's Parliament Funkadelic or James Brown and his band, no real hip hop head can deny that The Meters also helped lay the groundwork and built the foundation of hip hop. They were also pivotal in shaping other artists sounds and supplying them with a super tight rhythm section. Based out of New Orleans, The Meters played with the likes of Lee Dorsey, and Dr. John.

One of their biggest hits was the song Cissy Strut, which is one of my all time favorite tunes, period. It's just so funky and it's a lot of fun as well. The Meters claim to fame, at least one of theirs anyway is the double snare drum hit which is all over this song. The guitar licks along with the precision of the drums and that lazy bass line make this song great. When they throw in the organ though, that's when Cissy Strut really begins to strut.

The Meters, comprised of the Neville brothers, yes THOSE Nevilles were such a creatively talented group of musicians that the world may never know another group like then again. The group Galactic has somewhat picked up the mantle and for that, they get my utmost respect, but there will never be another group like The Meters. And if you like this song, look up their other classics, Look-ka Py Py and Here Comes the Meter Man. The beat on Meter Man is just SICK! Enjoy!

Brick

I took a little break to deal with some real life matters, but I'm back and the first song I want to hit you with is a classic. I don't know if you remember the roller skating craze that gripped this country back in the mid eighties but this song was huge at the rinks I frequented. The song is Brick by the Dazz Band and at some point, this song when played made you drop whatever it was you were doing and run to the dance floor or get back on the rink.

It's really just a funky jam session that starts off with that crisp beat and keyboard part. Then the bass line joins in along with the really insignificant lyrics and the song is off and running. The beat is the driving force behind this song as other instruments are added and subtracted along the way. It's almost impossible for me to sit still when I hear this song and it always transports me back to a time when life was all about fun.

The Dazz Band had bigger hits than Brick (Let It Whip instantly comes to mind) but Brick is funky, it's fun, and it's such a groove driven tune (and I love a good groove driven tune) that I had to add it to my blog. Just the bass line alone makes it worthy of inclusion. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do and I hope it transports you back to a time when life was fun for you as well.  

Skin Tight

I have to tell you something, that's right it's share time so grab a seat. Whenever I get stressed out about something, or I need to calm down and let things ride or slide, I hum this songs bass line. Why, because it's so funky and funny at the same time (especially when you hum it). This song is the classic Skin Tight by the Ohio Players and since I just learned that the lead singer of the band, the incredible Leroy "Sugarfoot" Bonner has just passed away, I thought it only fitting to add this song to my blog.

Now right off the bat, that bass line is the first thing you hear so you immediately know something funky is about to go down. Add in the drums, the brass, and the wah wah guitar and the song begins to simmer before Sugarfoot utters a word. When he eventually does come in, the man makes you smile with You a bad bad Mrs. / In your skin tight britches / Running folks in ditches / Baby about to bust the stitches, yeah. After that the song is off and running.

I grew up with the Ohio Players, they were always jamming in my house (along with Lou Rawls) so I grew up a big fan of this band. I am saddened by the passing of Sugarfoot, but I am grateful to him and the rest of the band for leaving us with such classics like this funky jam. Thank you Sugarfoot, may you rest in funky peace. Enjoy!

Walk On By

I KNOW you remember this song, right? You have to, I mean this is a classic. The original Walk On By was recorded by Dionne Warwick, a nice song written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David about a chance meeting after a break up. I'm pretty certain though that Burt and Hal never anticipated their little song sounding so funky. That was until Isaac Hayes got a hold of it.

The intro is a hard beat and strings but that suddenly morphs into musical muscle. A beat and a severe bass line carries you into the first verse. Isaac smoothly croons the lyrics with angelic backing vocals and damn if he doesn't do this song justice. In my opinion, he does it better than Dionne. I know a lot of people will scream how that's sacrilegious but I could give less than a damn. Isaac made this song his own, and he made it funky.

Walk On By was recorded in 1969, it was the first song on Isaac's second studio album, the seminal Hot Buttered Soul, a bar raising album for the soul music genre. No one had ever heard the stuff Ike put down on that record before, and everyone has been copying him ever since. Enjoy!

Flashlight

It's about damn time this group makes an appearance on my blog. Honestly, for me to have the nerve to call this a music blog and to only just be adding this group now, it's just criminal. The group is the amazingly talented Parliament Funkadelic and the song I have chosen to represent them on my blog is the downright groovy and funkalicious Flashlight. This was the song that went on when the DJ was trying to get people on the dance floor in their bell bottoms and platforms, it ALWAYS worked.

The first concert I ever attended in my life was a Parliament-Funkadelic show at Madison Square Garden. I was either ten or eleven (I had pretty progressive parents) and needless to say, my mind was blown. It was the most amazing thing I had ever seen or heard live and I was instantly a life long fan. Now there are no real lyrics to the song but the groove just grabs you by your neck and makes your head bop.

Flashlight is one of my favorite songs by P-Funk (I've got a few actually) and I blast it every chance I get. It's how their music is supposed to be played because that's what will get the party started and that's what Parliament Funkadelic was all about. I hope I am not too late in adding them to my so-called music blog and to all you true music lovers, my bad.