funk
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Album of the Week: Harriet Brown’s Contact
Hailing from the Bay Area and now based in Los Angeles, Harriet Brown is the self-proclaimed champion of “romantic funk,” a realm where Prince is king and Sade is queen. His debut Contact, just released by Innovative Leisure, is “a concept album about communication…
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Song of the Day: “Here In Spirit”
In a review of Jim James’s newest album Eternally Even, Pitchfork writer Ryan Leas declares that the artist “goes all-in on a frayed, psychedelic-soul aesthetic” that is only hinted at in previous recordings by James’s mainstay band, My Morning Jacket. Though…
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Song of the Day: “Have Some Love”
The diversely talented Donald Glover has gained a following in almost every artistic arena, from stand-up comedy, to sitcoms, to film and music. First making a name for himself as a writer for the smart and funny NBC program 30 Rock, Glover…
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The Copyright Saga Continues
A new copyright lawsuit has been initiated against Bruno Mars and Mark Ronson for their single “Uptown Funk.” Collage, a funk band out of Minneapolis, alleges that the hit rips the instrumentals of their 1983 song “Young Girls”: Upon information and belief,…
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Song of the Day: “I Want You”
Allegedly covered and sampled by musicians as diverse as Madonna and Diana Ross to Mary J. Blige and Robert Palmer, the innovative single “I Want You,” off Marvin Gaye’s 1976 album of the same name, branches out from the Motown sound that typified…
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Song of the Day: “The Heat Is On (Part 1 & 2)”
Everyone knows funk music reached its heyday in the 1970s, but even legends like James Brown and George Clinton were hard pressed to compete with funk powerhouse The Isley Brothers in 1975. The title track “The Heat Is On (Part 1…
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Song of the Day: “One Mo’ Gin”
In the pocket. It’s the only way to describe the slithery pulse of the bass and rhythm section in D’Angelo’s slow ballad “One Mo’ Gin,” off his explosive soul album from 2000, Voodoo. D’Angelo—otherwise known as the mild-mannered Michael Eugene…
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Song of the Day: “Luv N’ Haight”
Sly and the Family Stone’s anarchic album There’s a Riot Goin’ On, released in 1971 following several tumultuous years in America, has been called “blunt and unflinching” and “very much informed by drugs” and “paranoia.” While the funk group’s creative dynamo,…
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Song of the Day: “Party Down”
Soul guitarist Willie Hale is perhaps most widely-known for his head-bopping contribution to Betty Wright’s hit song, “Clean Up Woman,” and maybe just as widely recognized for his nickname, Little Beaver. He apparently received the nickname in honor of his…
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Mythic Betty Davis Sessions Released
For years, people have been referring to lost sessions featuring Betty Davis and her former husband Miles Davis playing with bending genres, with Betty Davis introducing the jazz giant to Jimi Hendrix and the sounds of psychedelic rock. Recorded from 1968-1969 at Columbia’s…
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Five Stages of Prince Fandom
You don’t need to know him personally, you say. You get the best of Prince through his music. Maybe that’s the truth, and maybe it isn’t.
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D’Angelo Gets Funky at the Sydney Opera House
We’ve spoken before of D’Angelo’s ever-evolving live shows, and his recent performance at the Sydney Opera House was no different: this time definitely leaning toward the funk in his rendition of Roberta Flack’s “Feel Like Making Love.” Watch a clip of…