Nelson George: Finding the Funk Pt. 1

Posted on May 2, 2013 by Andy Markowitz

Funkadelic’s classic 1970 track “Free Your Mind and You... Follow” has come to serve as a dualistic clarion call for funk itself, but encomiums to the form tend to focus on the booty side: the essentialist rhythmic force funk drew from jazz and soul and bequeathed to hip hop as a wealth of sampledelic riffs. The music documentary Finding the Funk returns to the first part of the equation, exploring the mind of funk as it developed from New Orleans second line and “funky jazz” progenitors like pianist Horace Silver through James Brown’s formative funkin’ on the one and the disparate but danceable explorations of Sly Stone, George Clinton’s Parliament-Funkadelic, Earth, Wind & Fire, and Prince.

No guide is better equipped to navigate this journey than writer and filmmaker Nelson George, a preeminent chronicler of black music and popular culture. A former Billboard editor and Village Voice columnist, George’s books include the Motown history Where Did Our Love Go?, Hip Hop America, Post-Soul Nation, the memoir City Kid, and 1988′s The Death of Rhythm & Blues, which provocatively examined the assimilation and dilution of black music under the guise of integration and “crossover.” Since the mid-’80s, when he helped bankroll fellow Brooklynite Spike Lee’s debut She’s Gotta Have It, George has been active as a movie and TV producer, director, and writer, with dozens of

http://www.musicfilmweb.com/2013/05/finding-the-funk-nelson-george-vh1-music-documentary/

sounds interesting. any information on screening dates/locales?

Gotta check it out.

Vimeo TRAILER

Funk lovers, rejoice!

Director and historian Nelson George has teamed up with Ahmir 'Questlove' Thompson, frontman of The Roots, to tell the tale of funk music. "Finding the Funk" is a fantastic music documentary packed with interviews, concert footage and all the gaudy images that make up this pungent brand of R&B and soul. The film pays tribute to the hippy slap bass of Sly and the Family Stone, the raw funk sampling of hip-hop and the neo-rock/funk fusion that Prince made popular.

"Finding The Funk" begins, aptly, with a 1980s vintage James Brown interview. The Godfather of Soul’s self-proclaimed ownership over the genre is not without justification, seeing how he made himself the poster boy for the entire musical movement. Right off the bat, James preaches the gospel of 'The One': the ever important element within the rhythm that takes soul and throws it into the funk realm. Questlove is the audience’s personal funk guide from that point forward, and he lovingly explains the importance of jazz, country and blues in the eventual creation of funk music as we know it today.

Interviews begin rolling out with some of the biggest names in the business. Bootsy Collins of the James Brown Band and Parliament Funkedelic features prominently in the doc, offering notes from his devotion to the craft and looking larger than life in his signature top hat and jewel-encrusted sunglasses. Other heartfelt funk testimonials are offered by George Clinton of P-Funk, Mike D of The Beastie Boys, Sheila E from the Prince camp, neo funk prodigy D’Angelo and a startlingly candid conversation with Sly Stone. It should be noted that Stone rarely does interviews, living out of the public eye and at times found living in poverty. The film is also laced with onscreen written interludes called ‘Funk Chunks,’ giving further information about the talent onscreen.

Once the roots of funk are explained, the Sly Stone story becomes an important one. Band member Larry Graham introduced the signature slaps and pops on electric bass that became synonymous within the genre. Jimi Hendrix, Miles Davis, Chic, The Ohio Players, Zapp, Parliament, War, Cameo, Prince, Digital Underground and Public Enemy are all topics of discussion in "Finding the Funk," and their donations to the craft are thoroughly explored.

Questlove certainly is a proud and competent narrator throughout the film, even celebrating funk's viral journey into the music of Brazil and Africa and noting its healthy influence on countless jam bands, from Phish to The Disco Biscuits. His one lament is that that funk is both everywhere and nowhere. The beats, the horns and time signatures of funk are so prevalent in modern popular music that they almost go unnoticed as pop's steadfast backbone.

This is why "Finding the Funk" works so well. The grooves needed praise and context, and Nelson George has accomplished that mission. If there is one complaint about this doc, it is one shared with dozens of other historical music documentaries: Not enough music! There is so much time spent analyzing and reminiscing that the film may leave you craving for more tunes.
I have repeated numerous quotes from Bootsy Collins and George Clinton since viewing this doc. Their sense of humor and love for the music is so infectious; it's easy to get on board the funk train.

http://news.moviefone.ca/...42066.html

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Music for adventurous listeners

tA

Tribal Records

[Edited 5/3/13 11:50am]

See, guys, there's more to life than just Prince.

I recently watched Nelson's George's documentary titled 'Brooklyn Boheme'. Can't wait to see this next one of his. Finally, someone realizing that funk and soul is missing from music today. and recognizing the sounds of musicians/artists of the past that knew how to bring it. I'm still wondering "'Where is the funk in music today?"

I can't stand that electronica pop and rhythmless pop crap, and manufactured soul from a cereal box, they call music on the radio today, sounding like jumbled noise.

There are some very good independent musicians/artists that the music industry ignores, and that's too bad. There is nothing revolutionizing about music today, like the various sounds they had in the 60s/70s/80s, and even part of the 90s. Music from those eras were almost like a movement of some sort, I kind of feel like funk/soul/r&b is disrespected, (as well as many of the musicians who play that form of music) by the music industry and among some music listeners, while pop and rock music--and musicians who play that form of music, seem to always be placed on a 'plateau' or given some elite status of some sort, but somehow that doesn't seem to surprise me. Nothing's changed that much in the music industry in that respect, just a different time period.

[Edited 5/3/13 11:54am]

MUST...WATCH...THIS!!!!!

[img:$uid]http://www.bigdancelist.com/jb/jb-ani1.gif[/img:$uid]

Musicslave said:

Thanks. I just found a location in my community to where it will be showing, but they have no showtimes listed yet. I know sometimes documentaries can be purchased on cable, if they hooked up with cable, for people to pay and watch. I'm going to check to see if that will happen.

2elijah said:

Musicslave said:

Thanks. I just found a location in my community to where it will be showing, but they have no showtimes listed yet. I know sometimes documentaries can be purchased on cable, if they hooked up with cable, for people to pay and watch. I'm going to check to see if that will happen.

You're welcome. That's sounds like a good idea!

theAudience said:

Vimeo TRAILER

Funk lovers, rejoice!

Director and historian Nelson George has teamed up with Ahmir 'Questlove' Thompson, frontman of The Roots, to tell the tale of funk music. "Finding the Funk" is a fantastic music documentary packed with interviews, concert footage and all the gaudy images that make up this pungent brand of R&B and soul. The film pays tribute to the hippy slap bass of Sly and the Family Stone, the raw funk sampling of hip-hop and the neo-rock/funk fusion that Prince made popular.

"Finding The Funk" begins, aptly, with a 1980s vintage James Brown interview. The Godfather of Soul’s self-proclaimed ownership over the genre is not without justification, seeing how he made himself the poster boy for the entire musical movement. Right off the bat, James preaches the gospel of 'The One': the ever important element within the rhythm that takes soul and throws it into the funk realm. Questlove is the audience’s personal funk guide from that point forward, and he lovingly explains the importance of jazz, country and blues in the eventual creation of funk music as we know it today.

Interviews begin rolling out with some of the biggest names in the business. Bootsy Collins of the James Brown Band and Parliament Funkedelic features prominently in the doc, offering notes from his devotion to the craft and looking larger than life in his signature top hat and jewel-encrusted sunglasses. Other heartfelt funk testimonials are offered by George Clinton of P-Funk, Mike D of The Beastie Boys, Sheila E from the Prince camp, neo funk prodigy D’Angelo and a startlingly candid conversation with Sly Stone. It should be noted that Stone rarely does interviews, living out of the public eye and at times found living in poverty. The film is also laced with onscreen written interludes called ‘Funk Chunks,’ giving further information about the talent onscreen.

Once the roots of funk are explained, the Sly Stone story becomes an important one. Band member Larry Graham introduced the signature slaps and pops on electric bass that became synonymous within the genre. Jimi Hendrix, Miles Davis, Chic, The Ohio Players, Zapp, Parliament, War, Cameo, Prince, Digital Underground and Public Enemy are all topics of discussion in "Finding the Funk," and their donations to the craft are thoroughly explored.

Questlove certainly is a proud and competent narrator throughout the film, even celebrating funk's viral journey into the music of Brazil and Africa and noting its healthy influence on countless jam bands, from Phish to The Disco Biscuits. His one lament is that that funk is both everywhere and nowhere. The beats, the horns and time signatures of funk are so prevalent in modern popular music that they almost go unnoticed as pop's steadfast backbone.

This is why "Finding the Funk" works so well. The grooves needed praise and context, and Nelson George has accomplished that mission. If there is one complaint about this doc, it is one shared with dozens of other historical music documentaries: Not enough music! There is so much time spent analyzing and reminiscing that the film may leave you craving for more tunes.
I have repeated numerous quotes from Bootsy Collins and George Clinton since viewing this doc. Their sense of humor and love for the music is so infectious; it's easy to get on board the funk train.

http://news.moviefone.ca/...42066.html

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=


Music for adventurous listeners

tA

Tribal Records

[Edited 5/3/13 11:50am]

(Bolded part) Just those names alone, brings back some good music memories!

I need to see this

I can't wait to see this but, I sure am getting tired of seeing Questlove playing the role of the

"All Knowing Saviour of Black Music history".. Enough already!

[Edited 5/4/13 13:11pm]

EMPEROR101 said:

I can't wait to see this but, I sure am getting tired of seeing Questlove playing the role of the

"All Knowing Saviour of Black Music history".. Enough already!

[Edited 5/4/13 13:11pm]

AMEN!! If Questlove spent more time getting the Roots to record more and producing a song that could further the group beyond backrap aficionados, The Roots wouldn't be the house band for Fallon. They would be household names. There's no point in even being a fan of The Roots because he operates more as a music critic and blogger more than anything else. I appreciate his fandom, but come the fuck on! Questlove is going to become the musician version of Ke$ha and break into artists houses.