#funkedelic

My last two reviews have been about a pair of Parliament albums, 1976’s The Clones Of Dr. Funkenstein, as well as 1977’s Funkentelechy Vs. The Placebo Syndrome, and I like both albums a lot. I mean, I don’t know if I love them, or anything like that, but they’re great albums that need to be talked about, although they’re about forty years old at this point, which actually blows my mind, honestly. Think about it – a lot of classic albums have been turning thirty, forty, or even fifty years old. Bruce Springsteen released a compilation record that spans his entire career just a couple months ago, and it’s strange to think that albums like Born To Run, Born In The USA, or even Darkness On The Edge Of Town (one of his best albums, by the way, but criminally underrated) are between thirty and forty years old now. Most kinds can barely remember stuff that came out in the early 00s, let alone thirty years ago. Bands like The Beatles, Rolling Stones, and all that stuff are dinosaurs to most kids nowadays. My point is, though, it’s crazy that these albums are getting older and older, but it’s a great thing, because they’re absolutely timeless. Parliament in particular is a very interesting band that I really like talking about, because they’re a funk band that’s definitely managed to withstand the test of time. Funk music is not exactly a cash cow anymore, and it really hasn’t been that way since the late 70s, if I’m being honest. The genre got replaced by disco, hard-rock, hip-hop, metal, and all that fun stuff that popped up in the 80s, but funk music is still alive and well, you just have to look to find it.

Hell, Bruno Mars just dropped a new record that’s actually funky as hell. I picked it up on a whim just earlier today, and my first impressions on that album is that it’s great. It’s a very funky, energetic, and awesome album, ultimately showing that funk music is still alive and well. It’s definitely viable, but not in the same vein as stuff like The Chainsmokers (whom I can’t stand at all), Halsey, Charlie Puth, and stuff like that. It’s somewhat of a shame that most bands of yesteryear have been kind of thrown to the side, but that happens, because that’s what music does. People want what’s new, but it pays to go back in time. Parliament is an interesting band, but not only because their brand of music isn’t heard anymore at all, and if it is, it’s very rare, nor is it mainstream, but they’re also a funk band that was very interesting with their shtick. Their shtick was being more sci-fi influenced, and their whole image, as well as their lyrics, were really influenced by sci-fi at the time, but I’ve never been able to really get into them for that, and I talked about that a bit in those reviews. The two albums that I’ve had for awhile are pretty good, but there’s one other album from that I wanted to listen to, and that’s their most popular album – 1975’s Mothership Connection. This is the album that got them noticed, and after listening to it for awhile, well, it’s really nothing that different from the other albums I’ve heard.