This week’s list is from Parliament/Funkadelic. In my estimation, they’re the greatest band ever assembled. It’s hard to get a million niggaz together at the same time and have them all be so amazing without being distracting from each other.
And George Clinton is a genius. It may be difficult at times to tell just what he’s doing, but know he’s about the only constant between every P-Funk release. That’s good for a lot.
And before you say anything, no solo records are on here, nor is anything from the P-Funk All-Stars. So, don’t ask where “I’d Rather Be With You” and “Atomic Dog” are. If solos were on here, “I’d Rather Be With You” would be on top of the list.
25.Good Thoughts, Bad Thoughts (Funkadelic). Probably would be higher, but it sounds just like the top song on this list.
24.Wizard of Finance (Parliament). Sounds almost like a parody, but I’m a fan.
23.No Head, No Backstage Pass (Funkadelic). Just because it’s so preposturous.
22.Qualify and Satisfy (Funkadelic). Just a straight ahead blues record. One of those I think they did just so say, “yes, we can do whatever we want.”
21.Baby, I Owe You Something Good (Funkadelic). This would be higher, but love songs should sound, yanno, loving. Not a lick of love in buddy’s voice this go ’round. Great song, though.
20.You and Your Folks, Me and My Folks (Funkadelic). An interracial romance song. Really.
19.Freak of the Week (Funkadelic). The rhythm section. Goodness.
18.Sir Nose D’Voidoffunk (Pay Attention) (Parliament). The creation of one of the most interesting caricatures ever.
17.Handcuffs (Parliament). The groove on this one’s so dope.
16.Oh Lord, Why Lord (Parliament). The only gospel song ever made with the intent of sounding good on hallucinogenic drugs. I’m so serious.
15.Who Says a Funk Band Can’t Play Rock? (Funkadelic). Bootsy! You’ll hear me say that a lot.
14.Super Stupid (Funkadelic). If you claim to love rock music, you gotta know this song.
14.March to Witch’s Castle (Funkadelic). Spooky number about soldiers coming back from Vietnam. Glad I didn’t have to do that.
13.Give Up the Funk (Tear the Roof Off) (Parliament). Should be higher. Too lazy to rearrange the list. Just know that the drumming on this is as good as it gets.
12.Fantasy Is Reality (Parliament). This is just a personal choice. It’s so campy that it becomes cool. Well written, too. “My mind is mine and mine my mind will always stay/no way of life, no man made law’s gonna take it away.” Amen.
11.Chocolate City (Parliament). I’m just not sold on all their appointees to the cabinet. And I wish the President could pull a better looking First Lady than Aretha “Why Keep Callin’ Me Tacky” Franklin.
10.P Funk (Wants to Get Funked Up) (Parliament). Check how fat the bass line is. Everything–and I mean everything–would be better if Bootsy were on the bass.
89.Can You Get to That (Funkadelic). “When you base your life on credit/and you lovin’ days are done/checks you signed with a loving kiss later come back signed ‘insufficient funds’/can you get to that?” Yup.
8.(Not Just) Knee Deep (Funkadelic). The basis of De La’s “Me, Myself, and I,” widely believed to be the first song to sample a P-Funk record so prominently.
7.One Nation Under a Groove (Parliament). You know what? I don’t know if this song is that good. I do know that I’ve never turned the radio from it. However, it markes the moment where Parliament and Funkadelic became indistinguishable. That wasn’t a good thing.
6.All Your Goodies are Gone (Parliament). A strange adaptation of Dylan’s “Like a Rolling Stone.” Got that frightening sort of P-Funk lyricism, the kind that makes you wanna go bathe. “Silly of me/to think that I could possibly be/the exclusive one of your choice/in the world infested with boys.” Infested?
5.Mothership Connection (Parliament). How many songs are sampled from this song alone. If you hear any noise, it’s just me and the boys. Gettin’ down.
4.Red Hot Mama. More of a blues smoker, but bad all the same.
3.Cosmic Slop (Funkadelic). Probably one of the ten best rock songs of the ’70s. What made Funkadelic’s rock so good was what makes all rock good (when it is)–the rhythm section is daring enough to keep up with the lead guitar at all times. So even when there’s a solo, the rhythm section is charging hard, refusing to let anything get boring or lazy.
2.Flashlight (Parliament). Yep, you’ve heard this about fifty million times. Thank Bootsy for that, for young William showed both cheeks and then some on this on.
1.Maggot Brain (Funkadelic). Any discussion of great guitarists that doesn’t include Eddie Hazel is moot, and this song shows why. The story goes that George came in the studio and told Eddie to, “play like [his] mama just died.” And that’s just what he did with every string bend and step on the pedal. It’s over ten minutes of absolute genius.
8 Comments
by kobie colemon
finally, a top 25 list i can deal with. but you should know that my name IS funk, and cats this good who’ve been funkin for so long really deserve a top 50 list. but let’s look at whatcha got anyway. no disrespect, but ur list is full of loose booty, so let me tighten it up! first, i would prolly replace “no head…” with something like “music for my mother.” after all, who can resist a song with a reference to the small town of “keep runnin’, mississippi?” next i would replace “i owe u something good” with “i call my baby pussycat,” that’s the fast version from the osmium disc. indeed, what’s better than “fast pussy?” speaking of the osmium disc, you included “oh lord, why lord” for its psychedelic affects. but for pure psychedelica, why not include “i bet you?” or “alice in my fantasies?” or “you hit the nail on the head?” all three are better songs with better music with “i bet you” ranking high on the “listen while tweakin” list. next up, “march to the witches castle.” i dig this song, too, no doubt. an early favorite from back when i first began to uncover “deep” funkadelic. but as i moved on to uncover more rarities, i preferred something like “a joyful process,” similar spooky maxims but with music that is punctuated by that “way back yonder funk.” finally, there is ur admittedly personal choice of “fantasy is reality.” can’t fault ur reasons here. a campy song that grows on u bcuz its well written. so how about “i got a thang?” or “color me funky?” both of which could serve the same purpose.
well, anyway bro, my list ain’t meant to piss on yours – far from it. it just goes to show u the inherent difficulty in trying to come up with subjective lists like these. after all, “u don’t drink what i drink, and u don’t smoke what i smoke…”
let me be the first to say that your inclusion of “all ur goodies r gone” at #6 was an inspired choice indeed. a usually slept-upon classic, no doubt. good lookin on that one.
couple more observation (i told you, my name is the one, some people call me the funk): u noted that dela soul gave the world the first cross-over p-funk sample with not just knee deep. fair enuf. but let’s not forget the jungle bros who sampled the hell out of good ol music for about 2-3 songs on their first disc, straight out the jungle. i also noticed that the disco parliament hits were forsaken on ur list, an effort to prove that u, too, know that way back yonder funk? that’s cool. but songs like “up for the downstroke” deserve some luv nonetheless. as does anything sung by the late great glen goins off the “clones” disc. and no aquaboogie? well, that’s ok. but no motor booty affair off the same disc? can’t shut the disco out altogether can we?
alright i’m gone. now let me put my sunglasses on so i can see what they ain’t lookin at.
by LBJ
Thanks George Clinton for helping Kannapolis keep it real
Shouts out to the black #3 car.
by ladyb
you know, flashlight should be ##1!!!!! –B
by ronnie brown
what?!!
no “loose booty”?…no “get off your ass and jam”?…no “Rumpofsteelskin”???
“the desired effect is what you get, when you improve your interplanetary funkmanship”…
I’m much more partial to the Funkadelic stuff. I probably shoulda done a Top 50, but I just didn’t have time.
by jodelle
Have you heard of this band called Yamama’nym from dc?
by aliajsmith
Hey, I just thought of a couple things…(1)have you done a Marvin list yet? (2) Why are all the lists for male musicians/bands? I mean, I appreciate Jimi and Marley as much as the next girl, but damn…can we get a little gender equality up in this piece?
🙂
btw, Michigan beat IU yesterday 41-14. Yeah, buddy…
by Rasheed Dennis
I saw George Clinto @ The Vibe Awards this past weekend and he was funcked out and low-key as ever. Had to give him a pound for being the originator of not only funk..But the G-Funk West Coast style that paved the way for the dominance of West Coast Rap for such a logn period of time!
by Tricky Roma
“I’ll Stay”