Who do you think will carry on the torch of funk?

Message Bookmarked

Bookmark Removed

From an AV Club interview with George Clinton a few months back:

AV Club: Who do you think will carry on the torch of funk?
George Clinton: There’re no young bands. Most of us have been around a while, but most of the hip-hop and rappers have bands now that are really pretty funky. Eminem, even though we’ve known him for years, when he was 14 or 15, Mystikal – he was getting ready to be the shit. Then you got some funky groups like Red Hot Chili Peppers. Though they’re like some R&B acts: When you get a few hits, you end up on the pop side of it. They could easily flip it. They have that kind of mentality. Then you’ve got a lot of metal-punk bands that’re really, really funky. Tool and groups like that. That’s some funky shit. They be playing with time and like jazz, but it’s straight off the punk-rock scene.
AVC: Eminem seems like an odd choice to carry the funk.
GC: He got rhythm and melody. He would actually hurt the stage. But his rhythm is so far ahead of most of them, he’s almost singing.
AVC: So what is the defining element of good funk?
GC: Anything that you want to do to save your life or being able to change it and not to be confined in nothing–not even about hit records. To me, it’s not even just the sound and feel of the music. That is the concept of funky, but a funky band, can be a band like Phish or The Grateful Dead. They’re skilled at jam. That’s really funky when you can get enough confidence in it and you can do a whole blues band and say, “What you key you playing,” and just start. And you have to be really funky to take a chance on that. And it still works. I mean, nobody pays attention other than just grooving to the music. Most people, they like you for your last hit record.
AVC: So today’s funky bands are the ones that spurn popularity and take chances?
GC: And still be the shit.

Poll Results

Option	Votes
Mystikal	7
The Grateful Dead	7
Tool	6
Phish	2
Red Hot Chili Peppers	1
Eminem	0

― ilxor has truly been got at and become an ILXor (ilxor), Monday, 21 June 2010 21:00 (fifteen years ago)

george clinton obviously thought it was 2002 when he gave this interview

― kaká flocká flame (J0rdan S.), Monday, 21 June 2010 21:14 (fifteen years ago)

Is the opposite of "OTM" also "OTM"?

― seandalai, Monday, 21 June 2010 21:15 (fifteen years ago)

I'm voting the dead in order to fuck up the poll results, that's pretty funky

― (e_3) (Edward III), Monday, 21 June 2010 21:16 (fifteen years ago)

I like Tool the best out of these. But they are not funky.

― rhythm fixated member (chap), Monday, 21 June 2010 21:18 (fifteen years ago)

new-ish mystikal joint here & not bad, though for me his potential to carry the funk torch took a -20 hit when he raped that hairstylist

― get your bucket of free wings (underrated aerosmith albums I have loved), Monday, 21 June 2010 21:21 (fifteen years ago)

Love the description of Tool as "straight off the punk-rock scene" - really???

― ilxor has truly been got at and become an ILXor (ilxor), Monday, 21 June 2010 21:22 (fifteen years ago)

his potential to carry the funk torch took a -20 hit when he raped that hairstylist

More like the fuck torch, amirite?

― ilxor has truly been got at and become an ILXor (ilxor), Monday, 21 June 2010 21:22 (fifteen years ago)

O_O

― ilxor has truly been got at and become an ILXor (ilxor), Monday, 21 June 2010 21:23 (fifteen years ago)

Anything that you want to do to save your life or being able to change it and not to be confined in nothing

― samosa gibreel, Monday, 21 June 2010 21:25 (fifteen years ago)

I think the obvious answer to this threads question is that DeWyze guy who won American Idol this year.

― Lady, Tuesday, 22 June 2010 00:13 (fifteen years ago)

That guy won...?

― ilxor has truly been got at and become an ILXor (ilxor), Tuesday, 22 June 2010 02:52 (fifteen years ago)

george ;_;

― fleshlight come and me wanna go bone (m bison), Tuesday, 22 June 2010 02:56 (fifteen years ago)

TS: George Clinton in 2010 vs. Lee DeWyze in 2010.

― ilxor has truly been got at and become an ILXor (ilxor), Tuesday, 22 June 2010 02:58 (fifteen years ago)

vs. suicide 2010

― fleshlight come and me wanna go bone (m bison), Tuesday, 22 June 2010 02:59 (fifteen years ago)

I saw Suicide play their s/t debut album in 2009 and they were great!

― ilxor has truly been got at and become an ILXor (ilxor), Tuesday, 22 June 2010 03:05 (fifteen years ago)

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

― System, Wednesday, 23 June 2010 23:01 (fifteen years ago)

Maybe someone should give him some dam-funk records :|

― X-101, Thursday, 24 June 2010 09:49 (fifteen years ago)

Voted The Grateful Dead. Just because. :)

― Tied Up In Geir (Geir Hongro), Thursday, 24 June 2010 09:51 (fifteen years ago)

Yeah, i think he needs to expand his funk listening if his choices in 2010 for carrying on the funk torch are Eminem, Tool and the RHCP.

― rentboy, Thursday, 24 June 2010 13:08 (fifteen years ago)

I saw Tool earlier this week (for the first time since 2002) -- decent show, but the last thing I'd call it is "funky"...

― ilxor has truly been got at and become an ILXor (ilxor), Thursday, 24 June 2010 13:28 (fifteen years ago)

LOL out-of-touch 70 year old man

― I am utterly and abjectly pissed off with this little lot (Tom D.), Thursday, 24 June 2010 13:30 (fifteen years ago)

I voted Tool because it was probably the best example of what he was trying to get at in his description of "Anything that you want to do to save your life or being able to change it and not to be confined in nothing–not even about hit records. To me, it’s not even just the sound and feel of the music. That is the concept of funky" - Would've voted for the Dead but since they came before P-Funk and Jerry died when George was still grooving - it didn't seem to make much sense to name them torchbearers of the future of funk - and I don't think George intended it that way - you gotta read between the examples he gives and get at the point he's trying to make - who cares if he's not naming any current funk artists? Who among you can say you know more about funk than George Clinton?

― BrianB, Thursday, 24 June 2010 16:37 (fifteen years ago)

if Tool wins this it will be another proud day for ILX

― AESTHOLE (jjjusten), Thursday, 24 June 2010 16:39 (fifteen years ago)

i couldn't vote for anyone else in good conscience.

― pause for the jet (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Thursday, 24 June 2010 16:39 (fifteen years ago)

voted for TV On The Radio

― ksh, Thursday, 24 June 2010 16:41 (fifteen years ago)

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

― System, Thursday, 24 June 2010 23:01 (fifteen years ago)

waht

― ilxor has truly been got at and become an ILXor (ilxor), Thursday, 24 June 2010 23:09 (fifteen years ago)

You must be logged in to post. Please either login here, or if you are not registered, you may register here.