Free Your Mind and Your Ass Will POLL: The P-Funk Nominations and Voting Thread

why frown? even the sun goes down

Reality can be stiff sometimes, but then again it can be flexible
Depending on the angle of the dangle, increased by the heat of the meat

I'm going to try and resist the temptation for vote for every track on Standing On The Verge Of Getting It On, but it's going to be difficult not to!

You have 100 spots, fit them all in, I know I will

Ranking the songs off the record is the hard part for me

Yeah, shouldn't be hard for me to do a 100 track ballot for this, so much stuff is springing to mind already without even trying to get a ballot together, but as you said, ranking them is going to be a difficult task.

I guess Shakey already mentioned this in passing, but this is great timing for the P-Funk poll as George Clinton just dropped his autobiography (written with Ben Greenman, who also did the terrific Questlove memoir). I have been waiting half my life for it. It's well worth the read.

Here's a link to that NYRB piece: http://www.nybooks.com/blogs/nyrblog/2014/oct/22/lessons-of-dr-funk/

Also, P-Funk is such an album band that it'd be a shame if we didn't poll the LPs. I'd be happy to run an albums poll once the tracks poll results roll out.

another slept-on classic:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gxf5edWBGLA

Is the Quazar record eligible for the poll? I mean, it has both Glenn Goins (of course) and Jerome Brailey on it, but I understand that Brailey isn't drumming on the whole record?

yeah I think that qualifies

will be interesting if any ballads make it anywhere in the results

I like what Bootsy did with ballads on his albums... if they count as ballads, they're slow anyway. Cursory runthrough of my favourites suggests Parliafunkadelicment predominating, some Bootsy and, even though I like a helluva a lot of stuff by the other acts, not much else... I mean, can I actually shoehorn something from Eddie Hazel's album into my list... bah! Too difficult!!!

another deep cut w an insane Bootsy bassline:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IdNGF_uMG2g

which he waits until 1:30 to drop

also expect lots of votes for this original non-album Eddie Hazel showcase:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m2q23sF79vo

I remember the thread for that, good times

yeah the initial circulation of that and the live TV clip were golden moments for the internet

saw P-Funk All-Stars do this live a grand total of once, was a great surprise:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=__m17e1Ng9I

THROW DOWN! BABY DO THE THROW DOWN!

TS: You Can't Miss What You Can't Measure vs. Do That Stuff
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6AvmgYHguWk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M-7y57s1DdQ

Haha, I never noticed those (obvious, I now realize) similarities!

Been listening to a lot of these records and holy shit, they really knew how to write a lot of different types of songs. I don't think P-Funk gets enough credit for how diverse the sounds on some of these records are.

Love this one
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iGJXKd_BMvY

last verse always gets a lol from me:

Well, suddenly as she laid there, mouth wide open, wig half off, snoring,
Breath smelling like a 1948 Buick
I was sick with the guilties, and she smiled in her sleep
As if to say, "All looks are not alike, all holes are not a crack."

there's always at least one cut per Funkadelic record that bears little to no relation to the other songs on the album, and I always loved this one:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y4xhujni4uM

I am soooo behind on my P-Funk; I have maybe 12-15 albums, and I feel like I've barely scratched the surface.

Not exactly their finest hour that one! (xp)

I realised I was seriously struggling when I drew up an initial list of 50-60 tracks and there was not a single one from "Motor Booty Affair". I'm frightened to listen to some of the spinoff albums in case that complicates things even further.

Need a Parliament song with bagpipes on it? Of course you do.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_CK8KPh167g

First time I noticed what the bass drum was doing in this, I said out loud to the stereo, "WHAT IS HAPPENING?!"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zSsy4GTDKaQ

Silent Boatman also not their finest hour haha

I'm not really into the Ruth Copeland stuff

Speaking of Osmium, is there a consensus pick between the "Red Hot Mama"s? I can see a case being made for either, but I prefer the SOTEOGIO version.

hey guys dig Eddie Hazel playing electric banjo for Bonnie Pointer (at around 2:00):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ye9zM5_Do9Q

xp

fwiw I would also like to point out that the Temptations and Chairmen of the Board stuff featuring Hazel/Nelson/Fulwood and other P-Funk dudes are eligible, some great tracks on those records

for example:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W_UxlayuJpk

and of course:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cVFUr66Xk1c

(this one is a cover of an obscure Sly Stone-penned Stone Flower records single)

This is gonna be the Jacksons poll all over for me. I voted for one Motown-era MJ track and the rest were disco and post.

Love this one:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XlXe2cqLekI

This is gonna be the Jacksons poll all over for me. I voted for one Motown-era MJ track and the rest were disco and post.

I expect there's going to be a sizable split in the balloting between those that favor the earlier/rougher/weirder pre-'76 stuff and those that prefer the more rubbery/dancier/disco-ier post-'76 material. Personally I like it all but it seems like plenty of other people have cutoff points

I'll be voting for a healthy mixture of both pre-'76 and post-'76 stuff. I prefer to look at the Parliament-Funkadelic that way instead of it being like "this is a Parliament record" or "this is a Funkadelic record".

the bands morphed a lot over time - for some reason I feel like the departure of Fuzzy, Calvin and Grady is maybe the most dramatic break, when those guys go the records do become a bit more alike. There is not that much difference between the various acts' late 70s/early 80s outputs, stylistically.

we need a George Clinton poll at some point, for I'm listening to "Double Oh Oh" for the 99935th time and dancing out of my constrictions.

just seeing this for the first time now lol Billy Barty:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f4_fYiKUqDU

Speaking of Osmium, is there a consensus pick between the "Red Hot Mama"s? I can see a case being made for either, but I prefer the SOTEOGIO version.

― Montgomery Burns' Jazz (Tarfumes The Escape Goat), Friday, October 31, 2014 6:20 PM (2 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

I prefer the Standing On The Verge Of Getting It On version too, although I love the intro on the other version.

yeah the earlier version is lacking a certain something

the bands morphed a lot over time - for some reason I feel like the departure of Fuzzy, Calvin and Grady is maybe the most dramatic break, when those guys go the records do become a bit more alike. There is not that much difference between the various acts' late 70s/early 80s outputs, stylistically.

― Οὖτις, Friday, October 31, 2014 8:59 PM (17 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Yeah, definitely agree. You've just reminded me of the existence of Connections & Disconnections, actually... don't think I'm going to be voting for anything from that record, somehow.

Haven't had a chance to start digging into my listening yet but just wanted to say thanks for the great responses upthread (and continuing) on listening! Really stoked for this.

Think I've got my Top 2 nailed down, just got, er, all the rest to work out.

Think I'll be able to manage a 30-track ballot - it's going to be heavy on singles and the earlier Funkadelic stuff.

I've drawn up a list, but fuck knows at this stage what I'm going to put at #1... or indeed which order I'm going to put the tracks in. That's the killer part.

One thing I will say for these chaps, they know how to pick a title track.

Definitely know my fave track...but the rest..in a ranked order...jeez..don't know if three weeks is long enough...

Is it too late for a side poll? "Best album title" might be a good one.

I think the turnout is embarrassing

the greatest band ever and only 19 ballots is a disgrace. fuck you ilm.
shakey you done good when you starting the roll out so we can see the excuses?

People seem to have been daunted by the size of the discography, like you have to have heard everything or something.

that's silly. You vote for what you have heard and liked. Nobody has heard every classic rock song ever but people still voted.

plus it's all on spotify if you want to hear it

Well I'm not on Spotify (though I have heard most of it anyway... and I voted... so I'll shut up).

I filled out an entire 100 vote ballot!

Hoping that others would too so we got a top 100 roll out