Pure Musical Satisfaction

So.

When Brian first asked me to write for this magnificent b-log, honestly I was pretty intimidated. The blogosphere, I've been told, is the best place to find groundbreaking new artists, rare and heartbreakingly good songs by your favorite artists, and obscure where-the-heck-did-these-guys-come-from's. I was intimidated because honestly, what could I tell you that you didn't already know?

Since then I had to do some dying and I disappeared and grew up and changed and oh man it's been a tough first year of college. Brian probably took me for dead.

But man, music's what's got me through. Music and I are in love again. Let me explain.

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Coming into this year, my take on music veered far towards the corporate success end of the spectrum. I'd always seen myself one day becoming a pop star, and I thought music was only really good if it could sell. On a scale of 1 to Sell Out, I would've been a 12.

But then I started to see the light again. At first I found a false savior in Destroyer's Rubies (my only post!) and the Toronto rock scene. Which is cool, and I still love indie rock (especially Jens Lekman and the new Belle & Sebastian), but I don't pray to the altar of the rock Gods anymore. My true musical salvation came in a genre entirely new to me, a strange world of spaceships and dance floors. To extend the religious metaphor, I became a Scientologist.

Funk.

Funk has got to be one of the most stereotyped genres of anything that ever was. Two words: Undercover Brother. It's been so parodied that you'd be forgiven for never realizing that there is some quality, quality funk music out there.

And that's how I've come into the funk: I've dived in head first into an entire genre, knowing nothing but listening to everything, finding what I like. So for the experienced, this little (recurring!) feature will be nothing new, maybe even a bit embarrassing. All I know is I love this stuff, and I want to spread the love, and hopefully get educated a bit myself.

Funk is pure musical satisfaction. At it's best, it's catchy and fun but complex and damn that's deep!; the musicianship is tight and flawless and flashy too but all in service of the song and the groove; it's hilarious it's intense it's heavy it's soft it's clever it's it's it's it's it's ----- everything I was looking for.

Just sink your teeth into these tracks and next time we'll get right into it.

Parliament - Agony of DeFeet [mp3] [buy]

Brothers Johnson - Thunder Thumbs and Lightnin' Licks [mp3] [buy]

Zapp & Roger - It Doesn't Really Matter [mp3] [buy]