May 14, 2002

5:21 PM

Put a glide in your stride and dip in yo' hip and step on board the Mothership*. Finally, a comprehensive site for one of the most influential musical agglomerations of the last 30 years. All hip-hop, and most modern R&B and Rock would be unimaginable without these guys. More Cyberbetabuckdown here if that wasn't enough, plus a great essay by Scot Hacker here. Like the man says "Uncle Jam Wants You!"

*Flash site. Let the intro finish, then comes the good stuff.
posted by jonmc (20 comments total)

Hallelujah, jonmc! I've been preaching the gospel of P-Funk for decades (most recently, last week!)...probably one of the only white 12 year-old kids in 1978 to have the classic Parliament album "Motor Booty Affair." Aaah..."Rump Of Steelskin" and "Aquaboogie" were my favorites. I didn't know then what "psychoalphadiscobetabioaquadooloop" meant, and I still don't, but it sure sounded good then & now!

And let's not forget Funkadelic's "One Nation Under A Groove," truly an anthem to shake to.

God, why isn't there more true funk out there nowadays...? Although I think I caught Bootsy on a recent commercial for sneakers (or the NBA?), so there's hope for a resurgence.

Which reminds me -- wasn't Bootsy's appearance on Deelite's "Groove Is In The Heart" way fantastic? Groovealicious!

Thanks, jonmc!
posted by davidmsc at 7:22 PM on May 14, 2002

Greetings, fellow funkateer.

Shit!! Goddam!! Get off your ass and Jam!!
posted by jonmc at 7:33 PM on May 14, 2002

Make my Funk the P-Funk! I wants to get funked up!

Thank you for kicking my night into the groove. We love ya CC. We loves you too, jonmc.

Speaking of Bootsy, have you guys followed him into his collaborations with Bill Laswell and Praxis and all that stuff on Axiom? There was also a very brief, one album thing called the Limbomaniacs, which he was involved with.

I love this stuff.
posted by mikhail at 8:26 PM on May 14, 2002

This is not a new site. Not by a longshot.
posted by birddog at 8:38 PM on May 14, 2002

Hey man. Get the funk outta ma' face. ;)
posted by KevinSkomsvold at 8:41 PM on May 14, 2002

Praxis is great.
Transmutation. I whip that one out when I want to freak out the hipper-than thou. Never fails.

Oppose all law and authority in the name of chaos!

Baby.
posted by dong_resin at 8:45 PM on May 14, 2002

"Free your mind and your ass will follow..."

Back in the day, if you heard MaggotBrain and you were still on the road, it was TIME to get your a** back home. An institution, if you will. Might still be, for all I know..

P-funk concerts were the closest to a egalitarian demographic I've ever come to.

Out of curiosity, what's the breakdown on "membership" length of the current PFunkmembers?
posted by xena at 8:48 PM on May 14, 2002

Transmutation is one of my all-time fav albums. I actually got to see Praxis live at the Knitting Factory. Next to Mr. Bungle it was one of the strangest shows ever. In a good way, that is.

"P-funk concerts were the closest to a egalitarian demographic I've ever come to."

Always thought of Fishbone concerts in that light as well.

There was a time that the music didn't seem to cause lines to be drawn. Strangest bill I ever saw was Alice in Chains, 3rd Base, LL Cool J (LL was sporting a band at the time), and Fishbone. Most amazing performances ('cept for LL) and an amazing crowd. Everybody was into everything.
posted by mikhail at 9:31 PM on May 14, 2002

Tangential to mice elf, how long has this Sly site been behind drapes, and when's it going to be a star?

And thanks, jonmc.
posted by liam at 10:05 PM on May 14, 2002

liam- I miss sly, too, man. One of his arrests was here in Bridgeport. It's truly painful to watch one of the greatest talents in rock history waste away like that. I keep hoping somehow a David Crosby style miracle ill occur and we'll have him back again. I would just love to see a healthy clear headed Sly sing "Everyday People" again---

We Got Live Together.....
posted by jonmc at 10:11 PM on May 14, 2002

davidmsc: wasn't Bootsy's appearance on Deelite's "Groove Is In The Heart" way fantastic?

Bootsy may be fantastic, but I'll always remember Groove is in the Heart for Fred Wesley and Maceo Parker.
posted by Monk at 10:58 PM on May 14, 2002

Check out the undisputed heavy weight master record of all that is, was, and will be The Funk written by Rickey Vincent, aka the Uhuru Maggot. You can also check out an interview he did where he lays it out and breaks it down.

It is great to see Bootsy bring da Funk Bomb in that ABA commercial. You just don't see enough afros these days.
posted by euphorb at 11:51 PM on May 14, 2002

Pre-Funkadelic Parliaments is good, too. Don't turn down such classics as "(I Wanna) Testify" and "Heart Trouble" - some rarer soul tracks. Though it's been said that "Testify" is the hint of things to come...
posted by modularette at 6:59 AM on May 15, 2002

two of my all-time favorite onion articles:

clinton threatens to drop 'da bomb' on iraq

national funk congress deadocked on get up/get down issue
posted by mlang at 7:26 AM on May 15, 2002

what is a booty, and how do I know if I'm sha-kin' it? ; )
posted by stifford at 7:40 AM on May 15, 2002

Look, gang -- it's The Onion and The Mothership!
posted by metrocake at 8:45 AM on May 15, 2002

This is station MeFi-Funk coming at you live from #006699 (Blueberry?) City... Do not attempt to adjust your browser...

If you haven't seen it yet, The Nike ad featuring Bootsy
posted by andrewraff at 8:45 AM on May 15, 2002

Q. General Zod, I humbly beseech thee to increase your support for the P-Funk Mothership so that we may increase the funkiness of your glorious rule. Also, could you please release the Parliment Funkadelic from the labor camps? They aren't a real political party. -- John M

A. General Zod is well aware of the Parliament Funkadelic incident and released them Monday afternoon. George Clinton is ordered to give 90% of all funk to General Zod, distributing the rest to all mortals.

From General Zod.net and from wittyname's post in a similar thread.
posted by plemeljr at 11:00 AM on May 15, 2002

I remember seeing Night Music back when I was in high school. It was before I'd heard Mothership Connection, so I knew nothing of the joy that is the funk. David Sanborn and his band did their little intro, and then, out of the back of the band, came their special guest, Bootsy Collins.

Sweet baby Jesus, but I had never seen anything like that in my life. All those sequins, the cape, the star shades, and the wickedest bass I'd ever seen. He marched up to the mic, looked at the crowd, yelled out, "Hallelujah!" and rolled right into "Stretchin' Out."

My life has never been the same since.
posted by RakDaddy at 12:05 PM on May 15, 2002

Thanks metrocake -- I was trying to remember where I'd seen that "article" -- when I first saw it several years ago, I nearly brought on a hernia from laughing so damn hard.

Man, it's *good* to see this support for P-Funk!
posted by davidmsc at 5:22 PM on May 15, 2002