Funk Rock

mr dave · 08-03-2010, 09:34 AM

sorry i keep crapping in your thread but again, i have a really hard time calling Jane's Addiction funk rock (especially not Jane Says). i think they got lumped into the style because they didn't fit anywhere else and 'alternative' rock hadn't become an MTV word of the day.

Been Caught Stealing is on the funky side but it's almost like anything from the 90s where the guitar isn't strummed in straight time is being considered 'funk rock' and i think it's rather ridiculous. yes there were plenty of bands with some funk elements to them and JA was one, but that's it, they had some elements of it - about as much as Led Zeppelin (The Crunge is funky - should LZ be listed as funk rock next?)

Necromancer · 08-03-2010, 06:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mr dave

sorry i keep crapping in your thread but again, i have a really hard time calling Jane's Addiction funk rock (especially not Jane Says). i think they got lumped into the style because they didn't fit anywhere else and 'alternative' rock hadn't become an MTV word of the day.

Been Caught Stealing is on the funky side but it's almost like anything from the 90s where the guitar isn't strummed in straight time is being considered 'funk rock' and i think it's rather ridiculous. yes there were plenty of bands with some funk elements to them and JA was one, but that's it, they had some elements of it - about as much as Led Zeppelin (The Crunge is funky - should LZ be listed as funk rock next?)

Yes I agree with you on the Funk side, but Funk Rock has the individual 'Rock' element also, funk is not in any way (in my opinion) a dominant genre over rock to any major degree concerning funk rock.
Thats what always impressed me the most about the Isley Brothers and Funkadelic/Parliament, the 'rock guitar' with these two bands are as equal to the funk aspect musically.
These guitar players were not only rivals to Jimi Hendrix, but also directly influenced by him.
Janes Addiction is only considered as an influence to funk rock, not in any way trying to imply they are 'Funk Rock'.

mr dave · 08-04-2010, 09:00 AM

i see where you're coming from now, but i think funk rock was already well established by the time Jane's got big enough to be noticed outside of LA.

Necromancer · 08-04-2010, 10:05 AM

To be honest Dave, the opinion that JA influenced todays funk rock comes from wikipedia, I believe.
So you know how that is..like you've stated before Dave "wkipedia is not always completely accurate", which is an opinion that I tend to agree with.
You know, somehow I think that 'Funk Rock' or some form of style closely related to the funk genre anyway, is far from hitting its 'peak' yet, funk has really only been accepted by the masses (musically) in the last 20 years or so, for example, five or ten years ago, If I suggested that certain songs within different genres outside the funk genre, like say 'country' for instance,
"had a nice funk groove to it", the suggestion would be laughed at or completely ignored, as having no viability.
I kind of see the RHCPs as the 'first' real 'Funk Rock' band, and everything before that was still within process musically (influence).

mr dave · 08-04-2010, 02:47 PM

yeah i see where you're coming from. the thing is there always seem to be a little funk out there it just never makes it to the top of the pile before breaking apart. regardless of the generation. it always gets a little too bland as it gets closer to mainstream acceptance. the masses can only handle the funk in small doses hehehe

Violent & Funky · 08-04-2010, 11:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mr dave

yeah i see where you're coming from. the thing is there always seem to be a little funk out there it just never makes it to the top of the pile before breaking apart. regardless of the generation. it always gets a little too bland as it gets closer to mainstream acceptance. the masses can only handle the funk in small doses hehehe

Haha so true...

Necromancer · 08-05-2010, 08:56 AM

I agree that funk can get very repetitious, as so do alot of other genre's & sub-genre's. Bass guitar was rarely ever as prominent in popular music as it is today, especially since the 90s, which can be a positive in one aspect, or negative in another.
I will admit, I do get a little excited when I hear a lead guitarist play something that is more on the 'artistic' side, with todays music.

mr dave · 08-05-2010, 09:53 AM

agreed. it's freaking awesome when a little bit of the good sh!t squeezes through into the mainstream. the only problem is there are always some vultures and mimics ready to milk it. i think the last time funky 'rock' music came close to mainstream prevalence was with the Dave Matthew's Band and they totally encapsulate my earlier theory about funk getting blander as it gets more popular.

there's no denying the rhythm section of the DMB can be incredibly funky, but it lacks the dirtiness of real uncut funk. it's something Flea tried expressing to no end in his interviews in the 80s - playing funk was about being dirty, it was about releasing it all with little or no regard on how it came across because you knew deep down inside that the funk was pure.

but as it gets closer to mainstream acceptance, more fingers touch the pie, too many spoons stir the soup, and your left with a mess of the kind of bland watered down funk that goes nowhere besides away.

**Janszoon** · 08-05-2010, 10:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mr dave

agreed. it's freaking awesome when a little bit of the good sh!t squeezes through into the mainstream. the only problem is there are always some vultures and mimics ready to milk it. i think the last time funky 'rock' music came close to mainstream prevalence was with the Dave Matthew's Band and they totally encapsulate my earlier theory about funk getting blander as it gets more popular.

there's no denying the rhythm section of the DMB can be incredibly funky, but it lacks the dirtiness of real uncut funk. it's something Flea tried expressing to no end in his interviews in the 80s - playing funk was about being dirty, it was about releasing it all with little or no regard on how it came across because you knew deep down inside that the funk was pure.

but as it gets closer to mainstream acceptance, more fingers touch the pie, too many spoons stir the soup, and your left with a mess of the kind of bland watered down funk that goes nowhere besides away.

Who would you recommend as far as good, uncut, dirty funk goes? I've heard a decent amount of the well-known 70s funk bands but they never struck me as dirty sounding so I'm guessing they're not who you're talking about.

mr dave · 08-05-2010, 10:19 AM

actually i'd call a lot of the 70s stuff dirty. i'm talking more like overall tone and feel, not necessarily raunchiness. we both know 'feel' is a hard thing to peg down, but it's like the difference between using a horn section or a synth, or to compose every roll and change rather than loosely jam out around basic ideas.

or just think back to any other time you find yourself wanting to use the terms 'juicy fart bass' and odds are you're hearing something i'd be calling the good dirty stuff hahahaha.

08-04-2010, 10:05 AM	#44 (permalink)
Necromancer Divination Join Date: Oct 2007 Posts: 2,655	To be honest Dave, the opinion that JA influenced todays funk rock comes from wikipedia, I believe. So you know how that is..like you've stated before Dave "wkipedia is not always completely accurate", which is an opinion that I tend to agree with. You know, somehow I think that 'Funk Rock' or some form of style closely related to the funk genre anyway, is far from hitting its 'peak' yet, funk has really only been accepted by the masses (musically) in the last 20 years or so, for example, five or ten years ago, If I suggested that certain songs within different genres outside the funk genre, like say 'country' for instance, "had a nice funk groove to it", the suggestion would be laughed at or completely ignored, as having no viability. I kind of see the RHCPs as the 'first' real 'Funk Rock' band, and everything before that was still within process musically (influence).

08-05-2010, 08:56 AM	#47 (permalink)
Necromancer Divination Join Date: Oct 2007 Posts: 2,655	I agree that funk can get very repetitious, as so do alot of other genre's & sub-genre's. Bass guitar was rarely ever as prominent in popular music as it is today, especially since the 90s, which can be a positive in one aspect, or negative in another. I will admit, I do get a little excited when I hear a lead guitarist play something that is more on the 'artistic' side, with todays music.