i don't know why people have been hating on funk music recently.

you don't have to like everything i like. i can accept the fact that there are a few people out there who disagree with anniemosity.com at times. but i have a hard time understanding people who don't appreciate the musicianship behind funk music.

let me break it down for you. you've got your horn section, your rhythm section, sometimes a woodwind section, your choir of backup singers, and your crazy front man (who is generally involved in either the horn or rhythm section), usually strung out on drugs past the point of recognition.

the structure of a funk song is generally pretty simple, but the rhythms are quite complex. the bass is something that usually gets me going and having it featured prominently is never a bad thing. the majority of the greats in funk music are also known for being fucking crazy bastards... but i think you have to be pretty weird to have the funk gene in you. let's assess in this week's edition of the weekly 5.



bootsy collins - rubber duckie (ahh... the name is bootsy, baby!)
bootsy collins. one of the greatest funk bass players ever, a.k.a. "bootzilla, the world's only rhinestone rockstar monster of a doll." bizarre dude, but fucking great.



sly & the family stone - thank you (falettinme be mice elf agin) (greatest hits)
sly got really stressed out for a long period of time with the family stone. he was stressed out because the black panthers were pressuring him to make more music reflecting the black power movement, and to replace the two white band members with black musicians. sly gave himself an ulcer and decided to treat it with heavy doses of cocaine. (this is just the tip of the iceberg of their story. you really should read about them.) after nearly ten years together, the band dissolved, but it still sits atop the hierarchy as one of the most influential funk bands ever. fucking great.



maceo & the macks - cross the tracks ("cross the tracks" single, unavailable)
while james brown is officially credited for creating the funk genre, it would be pretty weak without maceo's contributions. "maceo, i want you to blow!" was (apparently) a catch-phrase of the time. hey, guess what? maceo's still the most sampled musician around simply because of the unique quality of his sound. bitchin'.



parliament - who says a funk band can't play rock? (ultimate funkadelic)
"i want the bomb. i want the p-funk. i want my funk uncut."
(i cannot possibly start to explain the p-funk.)



james brown - gonna have a funky good time (live) (when we were kings)
james brown's career is also far too long to encapsulate into an anniemosity blurb. but i can tell you that he holds the record for the artist who has charted the most number of singles on the billboard hot 100 without ever hitting number one on that chart... which is cool, but kind of lame.

and finally



red hot chili peppers - hollywood (africa) (freaky styley)
a lot of people forget that the red hot chili peppers began as a funk band. but in all seriousness, i'm posting this song only because it was originally done by the meters, one of the greatest funk bands ever. i unfortunately don't have a copy of theirs (simply titled "africa") but i reaaaallllyyy wanted to post the song, the chili peppers do a very good job covering it. i can't get over that horn at the end. (also, have i mentioned that anthony kiedis is my longest-running celebrity boyfriend-slash-baby daddy? truth.)


all i really want from my music is a groove so hard that it's difficult to put it into words.