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Is funk, funk?

DJCireDJCire 729 Posts
edited October 2005 in Strut Central
Ok, being a West Coast head, I grew up on a lot of "funk" meaning George Clinton, Zapp, Lakeside and the rest of the Thump Records catalogue but as I got older and started diggin I also got into funk - like the funk we be talkin 'bout on here (Early Bar-Kays, early Parliament, and I'm sure you could name a ton more...)? So are they both funk - is funk just funk? I know the difference when I listen to it I guess I'm just trying to put it into words?

  Comments

  • Strider79itStrider79it 1,176 Posts
    Ok, being a West Coast head, I grew up on a lot of "funk" meaning George Clinton, Zapp, Lakeside and the rest of the Thump Records catalogue but as I got older and started diggin I also got into funk - like the funk we be talkin 'bout on here (Early Bar-Kays, early Parliament, and I'm sure you could name a ton more...)? So are they both funk - is funk just funk? I know the difference when I listen to it I guess I'm just trying to put it into words?


    only one thing is sure : Funk died with the 70's
  • HarveyCanalHarveyCanal "a distraction from my main thesis." 13,234 Posts


    only one thing is sure : Funk died with the 70's

    Soemone needs to introduce himself to D-Madness:

  • flatblackplasticflatblackplastic 1,209 Posts


    only one thing is sure : Funk died with the 70's

    Soemone needs to introduce himself to D-Madness:

    d-madness is THE TRUTH!!
  • bluewaterbluewater 145 Posts


    only one thing is sure : Funk died with the 70's

    Soemone needs to introduce himself to D-Madness:


    and the lefties soul connection, and sharon jones, and the bamboos, etc etc etc...
  • DrWuDrWu 4,021 Posts


    only one thing is sure : Funk died with the 70's

    Soemone needs to introduce himself to D-Madness:


    Funk usually refers to music with a certain kind of syncopated beat. Most people site JB in the mid sixties as pioneering the sound. I would say that funk lived as a popular format until the advent of rap.
  • JustaloniousJustalonious 54 Posts
    Funk is not dead!

    Poets of rhythm
    Sharon Jones
    Lee Fields
    Sugarman three
    mighty Imperials
    El Michaels Affair






    check here Daptone - pure soul excitement

    or here for the new type shit Jazzman



    Don't let them tell you that funk died in the 70's. It is just not true. I personally dig those new albums waaaay more than some of the one track albums from the 70's with those one or two sick joints on them.
  • DJPrestigeDJPrestige 1,710 Posts
    funk is definitely not dead IMHO.

    "i live for the funk, i die for the funk".........

    long live the fucking funk strutters.
  • upskibooupskiboo 2,396 Posts
    Ok, being a West Coast head, I grew up on a lot of "funk" meaning George Clinton, Zapp, Lakeside and the rest of the Thump Records catalogue but as I got older and started diggin I also got into funk - like the funk we be talkin 'bout on here (Early Bar-Kays, early Parliament, and I'm sure you could name a ton more...)? So are they both funk - is funk just funk? I know the difference when I listen to it I guess I'm just trying to put it into words?


    listen to the interludes on Sweet As Funk Can Be with the Dells (cadet 72)
  • DustbusterDustbuster 278 Posts
    I think funk is just funk. I don't think it's limited to any one type of music or groups. And it's not even limited to good musicians or songs either. How many times have I heard a wack song, but had this one REALLY FUNKY part (usually involving the bass.)
  • DJCireDJCire 729 Posts
    Well just thinking about it some more, its just funk from a different period of time... And yes I agree - funk is funk...
  • HarveyCanalHarveyCanal "a distraction from my main thesis." 13,234 Posts
    Before Professor Longhair and James Brown, there was a previous definition of funk as an offshoot of hard bop/soul jazz.

    Pick up a copy of Milt Jackson's "Opus de Funk" and it will really make you wonder.


  • DrWuDrWu 4,021 Posts
    I had never heard of a sub genre of jazz that was called funk until after JB made it popular. Bobby Timmons and those cats were referred to as soul jazz if I remember correctly.
  • Strider79itStrider79it 1,176 Posts

    when I said funk is dead, I meant funk as intended when it was (during the first half 70's) REALLY popular for the masses, influencing fashion, lifestyle etc............

    nowaday funk is just for a small "club" of people...

    the "funk of today" is Hip Hop
    just my 2 cents
  • NiteKrawler45NiteKrawler45 1,062 Posts
    Ok, being a West Coast head, I grew up on a lot of "funk" meaning George Clinton, Zapp, Lakeside and the rest of the Thump Records catalogue but as I got older and started diggin I also got into funk - like the funk we be talkin 'bout on here (Early Bar-Kays, early Parliament, and I'm sure you could name a ton more...)? So are they both funk - is funk just funk? I know the difference when I listen to it I guess I'm just trying to put it into words?

    The ones you named definitely fit into the funk puzzle somewhere. Funky appeal can be found all over, but true funk is something you know when you hear it and often combines many styles of music into one. Sometimes people seem like they're just discussing that local-low-budget-styled funk but there is more to it. They have (usually) already collected/listened to/read about easily accessible & quality funk. Since many of the local funk recordings are more obscure and can capture the edge and funky reality in such a raw manner, they are coveted and often discussed more than funk works that have been played many times and discussed over dinner.

    Anyways, I'm rambling on. Funk is just something you know when you hear it.

  • bull_oxbull_ox 5,056 Posts
    the "funk of today" is Hip Hop

    for once Strider nailed it...
  • Strider79itStrider79it 1,176 Posts
    the "funk of today" is Hip Hop

    as always[/b] Strider nailed it...

  • parsecparsec 5,087 Posts
    Before Professor Longhair and James Brown, there was a previous definition of funk as an offshoot of hard bop/soul jazz.

    Pick up a copy of Milt Jackson's "Opus de Funk" and it will really make you wonder.





    this came out in 1958
  • DrWuDrWu 4,021 Posts
    Before Professor Longhair and James Brown, there was a previous definition of funk as an offshoot of hard bop/soul jazz.

    Pick up a copy of Milt Jackson's "Opus de Funk" and it will really make you wonder.





    this came out in 1958

    Not to be a nudge or something but the funk/funky in jazz or black culture pre-1966 is a totally different beast than Idris Muhammad/Charles Earlan/Ammons type steez. Funk/funky in the black community before that refered to things gritty and/or soulful. Post 1966 Funk, music-wise, gets pretty specific though not entirely so.

    Dr African-American Studies major
  • DJPrestigeDJPrestige 1,710 Posts
    when i asked a middle aged female african american co-worker about her definition of funk one time, she replied: "that wall grindin' funk, like in a basement party? that's the stuff you grind to with the lights out."

    you go ahead ms. dolores.
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