It'll be a hit on radio and among casual listeners.

Bruno is a talented singer but his comparisions to Prince should end there.

The best thing about the song is that it may motivate Prince to top it.

Mark Ronson is a massively talented producer who also seems to favour real instuments. I'd love to hear of him working with Prince. Sadly this is as close as we'll get.

Shawy89 said:

Y'all act like Prince pioneered funk music, fuck that.

D.M.S.R., Controversy and all of Prince's funkiest was straight out influenced by Rick James, Funkadelic-Parliament, James Brown, Earth Wind & Fire..

I don't understand the hate over this song, it's funky, jamming, cool and all... If the problem is the funk clichés or the whole vibe that it has, it's so normal between musicians, they always take something they like and just re-make it on their way.

I'm not hating it at all--I was freaking out over how cool it was to hear it... and yeah, there's more than just Minneapolis' distillation--there was a moment when I was feeling more of a P-Funk vibe. Here's the thing--it's actually pretty much funk, and I'm all for that.

.

I'm not actually hating on Bruno Mars either... he's okay. I just like ragging on him for no real reason at all, really.

.

I'll be pretty happy to hear this get played over and over and over for a few months. No complaints should be expected from me if that happens.

Quite forgettable. Why is everyone raving about this?

While we here know better, this will be a smash hit everywhere...and fwiw, its derivitive yes, and retro yes, but thats exactly why ivlike bruno and for that matter, janelle monae. they were heavily influenced in a GOOD way. My hope is that they both evolve to become more unique in their sounds but I am excited that they are both so popular because there is real skill there, and I love this song because if flat out fun and danceable.

Let the kids have their mj 2.0 he's at least going in the right direction, and he'll figure out who he is at some point

I likes this a lot! Makes me wanna

I like it. It's a good fun song.

I love Bruno...the kid has pepper.

I like the track but hate Bruno's voice on it.

A Damn Shame!!!

dbpdexter said:

I can't even hate on this and I tried. This sounds hella funky but the funny thing is because It's Bruno Mars young people will eat this up because they buy music according to who ever the hot artist is at the moment not based on musical merit so if katy perry sang this song all of a sudden young people will act like they been listening to funk for years. If Prince put this out nobody would care.

NouveauDance said:

Once upon a time, people were influenced by things - and they took those influences and melded them in to something new, and everyone lived happily ever after..... until people just started copying the things they were influenced by verbatim. And everyone lived very sad ever after.

Sort of how I feel about it, too - at least on first listen. Even other singles like Locked Out of Heaven or Treasure, which wear their retro influences on their sleeve, at least meld those into rather likeable, catchy new songs. This seems more like a collection of well-observed 'elements' that doesn't really become more than the sum of its parts. It's a bit like when Prince tries to rehash his bits of his old sound around something that's a bit lacking in inspiration.

I still like Bruno, just this isn't grabbing me.

Bruno Mars looks like the son of Erik Estrada. That's all I know after listening to this jam.

Diluted funk, marginally interesting.

paisleypark4 said:

Its cute. Decent enough for me to bob the head to. No depth like Get Lucky or even Lavaux. Id say this is not Uptown at all, morr like Patiament late...leaving Casablanca..or 80s Cameo funk lol.

These are groups that people should be trying to sound like instead of the boring stuff I keep hearing these days. Since the 1990s, I've heard several singers say they were influenced by this and that particular older artist but you sure can't hear it in their music. This song actually sounds like something from that era which is what I love about it. For instance, folks like Maxwell, D'Angelo, or Eric Benet sayng they were influenced by Prince. Well, maybe a little in their falsetto, but in their music, the only thing that even resembles Prince may be possibly "Adore" and then they water it down even more. Then, I keep thinking to myself....hell, they say they're so inspired by Prince well hello????? Have they ever heard jams like "Let's Work", "Head", Lady Cab Driver", "1999". Hell, Prince wasn't one of these tired balladeer singers that sing only slow stuff which is why, for the life of me, I can't understand how if someone says they are so influenced by Prince, that hardcore ass shakin' funk doesn't show up in their own music and every single song they make is slow to midtempo. Finally, this is someone putting out an actual jam instead of some dull ass slow to midtempo song.

.

I don't hear just Prince in the song though. The only thing Prince-like that I hear in it is the synths. The very first thing I heard was the guitar which sounded like Roger and Zapp's "So Ruff, So Tuff". Then I heard the bass kick in that reminded me of Midnight Star's "Midas Touch". I heard a little Cameo and some other folks too. I kept thinking some weak Fisher Price shit hop sounding drum machines were going to kick in on the song (they usually always do on these new songs and ruin the song) but they didn't. The song just kept right on jamming just like the 1990s and the shit hop era never existed. See, that's what I want in a jam. Either something that erases the memory of the 1990s and it's influence altogether out of my mind, or something that sounds completely different for future with no shit hop sounds in it whatsoever. Well, it will take some sort of genius to come up with a completely new sound these days but at least this song didn't remind me of shit hop in any shape, form, or fashion. Honey, if he makes some more like this one, I'm gonna become his old groupie and camp outside the backstore door in my walker.

KCOOLMUZIQ said:

can write this in his sleep. Nice try though. Good to know still influences younger artist, after over 36 years in the business. But who does Bruno want to be MJ or ? It seems to change every week .

Please Bruno aint tryna be nobody but Bruno its not his fault people keep comparing him to MJ, Prince, JB, etc trying to make him something he's not. And since when is it a crime to be influenced by other artists? I dont care who y'all think this song is copying off of, this song is hella funky and good music is good music not matter who it's influenced by! Who cares if it is reminiscent of songs that were done before--since when cant artists make music that isnt inspired by other artists that have gone before? Uptown Funk is a song that does what it's supposed to do--which is make you feel good and want to get up and move! There is nothing else like it on the radio right now. Instead of nitpicking the song and criticizing Bruno for being "unoriginal" and "derivative" you all should be thanking him for making music that can inspire the younger generation to go check out the original funkmasters from back in the day, the source of Bruno's inpsirations. At least give him credit for acknowledging his influences. I swear some of you ppl here

Ok now that I got my rant out of the way I will answer the question as to what I think of "Uptown Funk"

That's me hitting my hallelujah each time I hear the song Bruno is so gonna slay this thing when he performs it live on SNL!

steakfinger said:

Bruno Mars looks like the son of Erik Estrada. That's all I know after listening to this jam.

NaughtyKitty said:

KCOOLMUZIQ said:

can write this in his sleep. Nice try though. Good to know still influences younger artist, after over 36 years in the business. But who does Bruno want to be MJ or ? It seems to change every week .

Please Bruno aint tryna be nobody but Bruno its not his fault people keep comparing him to MJ, Prince, JB, etc trying to make him something he's not. And since when is it a crime to be influenced by other artists? I dont care who y'all think this song is copying off of, this song is hella funky and good music is good music not matter who it's influenced by! Who cares if it is reminiscent of songs that were done before--since when cant artists make music that isnt inspired by other artists that have gone before? Uptown Funk is a song that does what it's supposed to do--which is make you feel good and want to get up and move! There is nothing else like it on the radio right now. Instead of nitpicking the song and criticizing Bruno for being "unoriginal" and "derivative" you all should be thanking him for making music that can inspire the younger generation to go check out the original funkmasters from back in the day, the source of Bruno's inpsirations. At least give him credit for acknowledging his influences. I swear some of you ppl here

Ok now that I got my rant out of the way I will answer the question as to what I think of "Uptown Funk"

That's me hitting my hallelujah each time I hear the song Bruno is so gonna slay this thing when he performs it live on SNL!

Bruno use to be a MJ impersonator, with the hair,white socks, glitter glove. The whole nine. Now he is doing the splits like . I will say he is entertaining to watch though. "Locked Out of Heaven" stayed in heavy rotation on Kcool-Fm..

Like that gif!

[Edited 11/11/14 9:53am]

KCOOLMUZIQ said:

NaughtyKitty said:

Please Bruno aint tryna be nobody but Bruno its not his fault people keep comparing him to MJ, Prince, JB, etc trying to make him something he's not. And since when is it a crime to be influenced by other artists? I dont care who y'all think this song is copying off of, this song is hella funky and good music is good music not matter who it's influenced by! Who cares if it is reminiscent of songs that were done before--since when cant artists make music that isnt inspired by other artists that have gone before? Uptown Funk is a song that does what it's supposed to do--which is make you feel good and want to get up and move! There is nothing else like it on the radio right now. Instead of nitpicking the song and criticizing Bruno for being "unoriginal" and "derivative" you all should be thanking him for making music that can inspire the younger generation to go check out the original funkmasters from back in the day, the source of Bruno's inpsirations. At least give him credit for acknowledging his influences. I swear some of you ppl here

Ok now that I got my rant out of the way I will answer the question as to what I think of "Uptown Funk"

That's me hitting my hallelujah each time I hear the song Bruno is so gonna slay this thing when he performs it live on SNL!

Bruno use to be a MJ impersonator, with the hair,white socks, glitter glove. The whole nine. Now he is doing the splits like . I will say he is entertaining to watch though. "Walked Out of Heaven" stayed in heavy rotation on Kcool-Fm..

Like that gif!

Walked Out of Heaven? Yes Locked Out of Heaven was a great song He impersonated MJ as a teen and Elvis as a kid, but give him time, he will come into his own

[Edited 11/11/14 9:37am]

Jimmy Jam has given his seal of approval!

Mark Ronson talks about Uptown Funk & Uptown Special on BBC Radio 2 with Jo Whiley (November 10 2014)

• "[Last night, before the release of Uptown Funk] I was having basically a heart attack because someone messed up the radio edit at the last minute. So I’m on the phone at 5am to my mastering partner in New York trying to fix it. But anyway, it’s a new day!"

• "We worked on this song for 7 months and Bruno Mars, who I worked on the song with, he’s a pretty much perfectionist. I thought I was…until I started working with him. We wanted to get this song to this place where we just thought it was great."

• "It’s a funk song in a way, so it’s not supposed to have a real chorus - like a traditional pop song. We had to get it to the point where we thought it was a real funk song."

• "[The perfectionism] was like a chain. I was driving the people underneath me mad. And [Bruno] was definitely driving me mad as well. It was like a driving-you-mad tree.]

• "Thankfully, the thing about performing [on SNL] as a side man to Bruno Mars, one of the world’s greatest living entertainers, is that I don’t have to do too much. It’s really exciting. I kind of know what the choreography and the stuff is going to be. I’m always asking Bruno like, "Can you just give me one move that I just stick to the whole time? I know you guys are going to look amazing. Just one move!" And he’s like, "Alright. You just do this."

http://rhapsodyincolour.tumblr.com/post/102356821933/mark-ronson-talks-about-uptown-funk-uptown

REAL Funk for Mcdonalds enthusiasts

I've gotta say, the song has grown on me quite a lot. I have never particularly been impressed by anything Bruno Mars has done before, but this is legitimately funky.

And the amount of music snobbery on this thread is shocking.

Wow...........this song is weak in just about every way imaginable and like Mark's work.

Another song off Mark's "Uptown Special" album leaked:



P.S.: He's going to perform Uptown Funk AND Feels Right off his album too, it's featuring Bruno and the rapper Mystikal, on SNL.

MattyJam said:

I've gotta say, the song has grown on me quite a lot. I have never particularly been impressed by anything Bruno Mars has done before, but this is legitimately funky.

And the amount of music snobbery on this thread is shocking.

Its amazing how a little funk jam has so many people on this board pressed I have to laugh at these "music critics" who are feeling themselves and their opinions a bit too much--because while they are too busy doing their best to bash a legitimately great song, the rest of the world is busy enjoying the song for what it is and giving Mark and Bruno their due props

NaughtyKitty said:

MattyJam said:

I've gotta say, the song has grown on me quite a lot. I have never particularly been impressed by anything Bruno Mars has done before, but this is legitimately funky.

And the amount of music snobbery on this thread is shocking.

Its amazing how a little funk jam has so many people on this board pressed I have to laugh at these "music critics" who are feeling themselves and their opinions a bit too much--because while they are too busy doing their best to bash a legitimately great song, the rest of the world is busy enjoying the song for what it is and giving Mark and Bruno their due props

You really can't take anything on the internet all that seriously.

purplethunder3121 said:

NaughtyKitty said:

Its amazing how a little funk jam has so many people on this board pressed I have to laugh at these "music critics" who are feeling themselves and their opinions a bit too much--because while they are too busy doing their best to bash a legitimately great song, the rest of the world is busy enjoying the song for what it is and giving Mark and Bruno their due props

You really can't take anything on the internet all that seriously.

Right! That's why some of these comments got me laughin

[Edited 11/11/14 13:34pm]

NaughtyKitty said:

Jimmy Jam has given his seal of approval!

Mark Ronson talks about Uptown Funk & Uptown Special on BBC Radio 2 with Jo Whiley (November 10 2014)

• "[Last night, before the release of Uptown Funk] I was having basically a heart attack because someone messed up the radio edit at the last minute. So I’m on the phone at 5am to my mastering partner in New York trying to fix it. But anyway, it’s a new day!"

• "We worked on this song for 7 months and Bruno Mars, who I worked on the song with, he’s a pretty much perfectionist. I thought I was…until I started working with him. We wanted to get this song to this place where we just thought it was great."

• "It’s a funk song in a way, so it’s not supposed to have a real chorus - like a traditional pop song. We had to get it to the point where we thought it was a real funk song."

• "[The perfectionism] was like a chain. I was driving the people underneath me mad. And [Bruno] was definitely driving me mad as well. It was like a driving-you-mad tree.]

• "Thankfully, the thing about performing [on SNL] as a side man to Bruno Mars, one of the world’s greatest living entertainers, is that I don’t have to do too much. It’s really exciting. I kind of know what the choreography and the stuff is going to be. I’m always asking Bruno like, "Can you just give me one move that I just stick to the whole time? I know you guys are going to look amazing. Just one move!" And he’s like, "Alright. You just do this."

http://rhapsodyincolour.tumblr.com/post/102356821933/mark-ronson-talks-about-uptown-funk-uptown

Maybe Bruno should have listen to 's brand new cut "Gold Standard"! From his number 1#album "Art Official Age". Now that is REAL FUNK!

Y'all still bitching about that song? Just go ahead and accept it. Bruno done outfunked and kicked Prince's ass big time this year.

vainandy said:

Y'all still bitching about that song? Just go ahead and accept it. Bruno done outfunked and kicked Prince's ass big time this year.

Ohh lawrd.