Archive for June 8th, 2007

As Brotherbrown and Bijan (the killer B’s?) have said, funk can take many forms and can appear within any genre. It was never my intention to question that, but for my own personal definition, I’m having a hard time deciding whether to include certain genres. Like jazz, well the line between jazz and funk is blurry at best. You take Chameleon. Which is it? Personally, I’d probably list that as more funk than jazz. Same thing with a lot of work by cats like Lonnie Liston Smith and Bobbi Humphrey, such as one of my favorite songs, Jasper Country Man (sampled by Ice-T for New Jack Hustler) and soforth. Naw, the question I’m asking is about genres that are further removed. Like Gospel. Check out this bassline from Lord You’ve Been Good To Me by the Jackson Southernaires. There is no other word to describe it but funky. But could this song go on a list of funk? I’m not sure. My initial reaction is no, but why not?

(As an aside, when I can think of a better way to do it, I think I’ma start providing links to some of these records. Part of the joy of having good music is sharing. So for the two or three of you who are out there, post up some goodies you’d like and I’ll be making a grab bag soon. If nothing else, I’ll put it on my server and let you download it from there.)

I’m jackin’ this directly from Bijan

Why is the “b” in the word “black” in reference to teachers, spelled in the lower case. The teachers in question are not shirts or golf balls. “Black” in this case, connotes ethnicity. As in “Italian”, “Hawaiian”, or “Japanese”. It should be spelled with a capital “B”. The word “Negro” was often capitalized, and even vague terms such as “European” are. Yet the practice below persist among editors, proofreaders, and those who publish English manuals of style such as the AP and Chicago variety…

What?