The funk accent/1
It's really been too long. And I don't say that as greeting, I say that as self-flagellation - it's really been too long.
Well, I'm making my return for any and all selves interesting in contorting - with a new series! Yes, the last series was left off, but just like all zombified swamp-dwellers it's coming back, more dissolved than ever.
For now tho, I'm opening my heart to funk in unlikely places. It's a little-known fact that a lot of bands are actually funk bands. I bet that you, for instance, didn't know that. Well, it's true. And we'll start with a wonderful little example from an oft-overlooked "funky" era, the early 1980s.
Normally, a record called Discipline wouldn't be a harbinger of funk to come. Of course, normally a record called Larks Tongues in Aspic wouldn't be a harbinger of good music to come. So, with King Crimson, we have to take things in stride and open our minds as best we can. We also must consider that, at the time of this incarnation of KC, the band had been on haitus for the better part of a decade, and had just added erstwhile head talker Adrian Belew. I shouldn't have to tell you about his role, but if I do, you'll love (one of) my next posts.
When I first began listening to a lot of records from the early 80s era, one of the first things I had to get over was the "clean chorus" effect that guitarists seemed to love. I think it might've had something to do with cocaine. Or art school. Or the pernicious influence of Billy Ocean. Even on the best clean chorus-ed songs, the effect teeters very close to dismantling whatever good songwriting has worked so hard to assemble, like Neu!'s "Cassetto" without the helpful backstory.
King Crimson - Elephant Talk
Here, Frippertronics work their magic on a cleanly chorused guitar by coming very close to wiping it out. Damn. But the very slight off-kilteredness of the guitars is one of the very few instances where the extreme chorusing is actually put to somewhat effective use (not effective enough to warrant turning the "depth" knob past 4, but you know).
King Crimson's The ConstrucKtion of Light is one of the only records I've ever smashed to pieces on the floorboard of my car, so be careful when navigating the rough seas. I wouldn't want anyone to get hurt.
Start here. You can overcome yr fear of the early-70s double LP later.
Well, I'm making my return for any and all selves interesting in contorting - with a new series! Yes, the last series was left off, but just like all zombified swamp-dwellers it's coming back, more dissolved than ever.
For now tho, I'm opening my heart to funk in unlikely places. It's a little-known fact that a lot of bands are actually funk bands. I bet that you, for instance, didn't know that. Well, it's true. And we'll start with a wonderful little example from an oft-overlooked "funky" era, the early 1980s.
Normally, a record called Discipline wouldn't be a harbinger of funk to come. Of course, normally a record called Larks Tongues in Aspic wouldn't be a harbinger of good music to come. So, with King Crimson, we have to take things in stride and open our minds as best we can. We also must consider that, at the time of this incarnation of KC, the band had been on haitus for the better part of a decade, and had just added erstwhile head talker Adrian Belew. I shouldn't have to tell you about his role, but if I do, you'll love (one of) my next posts.
When I first began listening to a lot of records from the early 80s era, one of the first things I had to get over was the "clean chorus" effect that guitarists seemed to love. I think it might've had something to do with cocaine. Or art school. Or the pernicious influence of Billy Ocean. Even on the best clean chorus-ed songs, the effect teeters very close to dismantling whatever good songwriting has worked so hard to assemble, like Neu!'s "Cassetto" without the helpful backstory.
King Crimson - Elephant Talk
Here, Frippertronics work their magic on a cleanly chorused guitar by coming very close to wiping it out. Damn. But the very slight off-kilteredness of the guitars is one of the very few instances where the extreme chorusing is actually put to somewhat effective use (not effective enough to warrant turning the "depth" knob past 4, but you know).
King Crimson's The ConstrucKtion of Light is one of the only records I've ever smashed to pieces on the floorboard of my car, so be careful when navigating the rough seas. I wouldn't want anyone to get hurt.
Start here. You can overcome yr fear of the early-70s double LP later.
posted by P at 2:54 AM
1 Comments:
looks like choubi choubi wont be the only thing im stuffing in my own stocking. hooray for zombies and funk on christmas! santa's wack.
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