It's not breakdancing. Not really, although it's associated with breakdancing nowadays; breakin' was originally seen as being very east coast, while these dances originated on the west coast. What was this dancing?Well, many of the most famous 70s-80s street moves are actually called
funk styles, which were performed, at first, to funk and disco, and later to early electronic and industrial dance music. And the big daddy of them all was a dance called the Electric Boogaloo, and demonstrated by the
Electric Boogaloos.
Here they are in their zoot-suited glory, showing off their signature moves.
[more inside]
posted by Bunny Ultramod
on Dec 4, 2011 -
5 comments
The Black Album is a Prince record that was originally planned for release in December 1987, as the follow-up to Sign o' the Times
. ... The 1987 promo-only release had no printed title, artist name, production credits or photography printed; a simple black sleeve accompanied the disc. ... The album was canceled mere days before its scheduled release, after hundreds of thousands of copies were pressed. A few escaped destruction, and rank among the most coveted Prince collectibles. In addition, the Black Album became the most bootlegged record of all time. [more inside]
posted by Trurl
on Jun 2, 2011 -
70 comments
Benjamin Darvill, a.k.a.
Son of Dave, is a one-man band of sorts, combining harmonica, vocals, beat-boxing, a rattle and foot-stomping to create his own infectious form of blues. Darvill, a Canadian formerly with Crash Test Dummies, has released four albums to date as Son of Dave, his latest and best being 'Shake A Bone', recorded and mixed by Steve Albini in Chicago, the title track used briefly in an episode of Breaking Bad.
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posted by bwg
on Apr 14, 2011 -
3 comments
If you like meaty filthy 60s-70s rock by sometimes severely ripped blokes &b.b.b.babes — like I know I do — then bite on these two crispy mix streams and the extensive opinionated textual japery and idolatry from Brit musician, musicologist,
Julian Cope that accompanies them. This man writes
books on music. Why is he giving it away?
[more inside]
posted by Twang
on Jan 6, 2011 -
21 comments
Iftin , a Somali form of
funk, was popular from the early 1970s until the time of the civil war there in 1991. It's just one of many examples of little-known (outside of Africa) African popular music found preserved at
Likembe. Found while falling down the world music blog rabbit hole
here, after stumbling on a rock
here.
[more inside]
posted by Burhanistan
on Jan 2, 2011 -
8 comments
Betty Mabry better known as Betty Davis was
the muse of her husband Miles, who she introduced to
the influences of Jimmy Hendrix, Sly Stone, James Brown and Carlos Santana among others.
However she should more righteously be better known as the Queen of Funk with some of the hardest, driving, rawest sound ever then heard in 1973. (The Music is after the fold)
[more inside]
posted by adamvasco
on Sep 5, 2010 -
32 comments
Janelle Monae has been busy since the release of
The Chase EP, the first of four "suites" that make up her genre-bending epic set in the distant future. She's been
"discovered" by Diddy, continued to find
inspiration in
unexpected places, founded an
artists' collective in her adopted hometown of Atlanta, and found time to
speak to Vogue about her singular sense of style. Somewhere in there, she's also recorded the next two parts of the Metropolis Suite, titled
The Archandroid (which is out today), put out a
teaser for the album, and also the video for the first single, Tightrope. [more inside]
posted by heeeraldo
on May 18, 2010 -
24 comments
Dennis Coffey was one of the most prolific Detroit session and solo guitarists. His revamped site features a couple phenomenal podcasts of his music and interviews.
posted by klangklangston
on Mar 25, 2010 -
8 comments
YouTube user BeyondBodyAndSoul Collectors of rare funk & soul records on the internet are a dime a dozen, few have come close to the generosity and beat-digging wizardry of YouTube user & Philly resident BeyondBodyAndSoul. Enjoy!
1,
2,
3,
4,
5,
6
posted by inquilab
on Sep 5, 2009 -
16 comments
Soul Train (
wiki) has a youtube channel. Lots of great performances here, but in particular I recommend
The O'Jays,
Sly and The Family Stone,
Stevie Wonder,
The Stairsteps, and the
Jackson 5. What really makes it worth watching though are the clips of the Soul Train Line dancing to hits of the day, artists like
The O'Jay,
Curtis Mayfield,
War, and
The JB's.
posted by phrontist
on Aug 31, 2009 -
25 comments
Soul! New York City PBS affiliate WNET have digitized 9 episodes of
Soul!, a early 1970's live music program, providing a groovy video interface with chapters to break down each hour long episode.
[more inside]
posted by myopicman
on Apr 23, 2009 -
20 comments
Kutiman, the masterful Israeli funk musician and producer, outdoes himself by creating
Thru-You: Multiple YouTube clips (mostly instructional and performance videos) edited into slick mega-mashups. They're not just patchwork assemblages, they're sample-based original creations that coud hold their own on anyone's album... Plus they're 100% audiovisual! It's a work of next-level genius.
(
sorry for the hyperbole, but my mind has just been blown)
More Kutiman
here. Music video
here. And for you Pitchfork aficionados,
here.
posted by Silky Slim
on Mar 4, 2009 -
171 comments
29 year old
Hiromi Uehara first mesmerized the jazz community with her 2003 Telarc debut, Another Mind. 4 albums later she continues to astonish and inspire. On February 3rd, she released the album
Duet, a collaboration with Chick Corea, having first played with Corea at age 17. A graduate of the
Berklee School of Music, Hiromi
tours relentlessly with her crack band. I defy your jaw not to drop at their performances
here,
here, and
here.
[more inside]
posted by Roach
on Feb 24, 2009 -
85 comments
Ain't It Funky is a BBC-produced documentary from 2005 with lots of great performance footage and interviews, as well as period footage from the civil rights era for some historical perspective. James Brown, Sly and the Family Stone, Stevie Wonder, George Clinton and many of their key sidemen are featured. Highly recommended.
part 1,
2,
3,
4,
5,
6,
7 and
8. These same YT clips can also be found all together, embedded at
Funk Deli.
NOTE: Unfortunately, the audio and video are slightly out of sync on part 1. Parts 2 through 8 lock up just fine, though.
posted by flapjax at midnite
on Nov 10, 2008 -
18 comments
