FunkTrolley

2009-04-07T19:29:00.000-07:00

SOULTRAINFANS, REPRESENT.

definitely. For the folks who have been following me for the Soul Train stuff: I must tell you that while I was deleted a few months ago on youtube (STFANS and also NickFRESHBoogie), it is imperative to know that I set up shop -yet again- as "SOULTRAINFANS". This time, we are taking things quite easily. We are reposting a lot of the footage that was banished from the tube and s l o w l y adding new stuff. All in all, stay tuned to us. We promise to kill it once again!

here's a few of the reposts:
DANCER DUB SACK. April 1987

SURFACE "HAPPY" 1987

DUB SACK: The Deele 1984

and a brand new DANCER DUB SACK from March 1981:

enjoy it all, folks!

2009-04-05T10:03:00.000-07:00

HERE'S A MUSIC VIDEO THAT YOU JUST. MIGHT. LIKE.

Let's face it: there are a million videos that you'll see in your lifetime and only a handful will keep your attention. This clip that comes from Secretly Canadian's own, Bodies of Water. This song is almost a year old, but the vid is fairly recent.

and if you like the song enough (because it is catchy as hell), here!

Bodies of Water "Under The Pines" 2008

2009-04-02T14:28:00.000-07:00

tryna make a dolla outta 15 cents.

no, this isn't another "economy-sucks-because-of-what-these-stupid-ass-politicians-did" music blog post, folks. i have to lament a little, though. of course, I'm feeling better from the past week and that meant, once I was better-- that is, that I had to run a few errands. i got a speeding ticket back in december for driving nine over the speed limit. i then go to blockbuster (which i haven't been to in years) to rent the traffic school dvd. finished it in about a month. kept on putting the ticket off and soon enough I got a suspension notice. this brings me to today.

the cool thing about all of this, and why i'm writing today, is while i was in line at the traffic violations bureau, I seemed to remember I left my ipod on and visible in the car. When I ran out to turn it off, I noticed that the track it was on was "More Money" by Prince Charles and the City Beat Band. geez. I guess all of that was actually meant to happen.

(PSA: Never, EVER... put off things of this nature, folks... you'll always get dicked in the ass! and not in a good way, girls.. tee hee hee...)

The song talks of inflation on the essentials (food, gas, shelter) and how politicians only care about themselves. In the end, we're still screwed, folks.

All of this is placed on a soggy heavy synth bassline and a funky flute solo that'll even warm the coldest hobo's heart.

listen like your electricity is about to go out.

Prince Charles and The City Beat Band "More Money" (12-inch version) 1984

(P.S.--- Y E S. you can download these tracks... click the divshare logo to get that page to get the high quality mp3!)

2009-04-01T16:36:00.000-07:00

while I'm here, take a listen to these tracks specially picked amidst my dayquil stupor:

Black Moon "Who Got Da Props?!" 1992 *CLASSIC*

Nite Jewel "What Did He Say" 2009 *HOT*

Kasso "One More Round" 1981 *ITALO GOLD* (thanks kurabunoyama)
Bobby Nunn "Do You Look That Good In The Morning?" 1983 *NEGLECTED FUNK*

2009-04-01T15:50:00.000-07:00

so I have the flu. and I am watching some awesome movies and (of course) going through some of my favorite episodes of Soul Train. I landed on an episode from the 13th season (appx. 1983-1984) with Shannon, Bobby Womack, and Patti Labelle. Crazy episode it was as one can see Fred Berry (Rerun.. R.I.P.) in the audience locking away, and the dancers show out to the Romantics' "Talking In Your Sleep" (this was when Don Cornelius was 'experimenting' with the show's formula and playing more out-and-out pop music; the dancers made it work, though!!). another dance segment (namely, the scrambleboard) features the superb Larry Levan edit of Jeffrey Osborne's "Plane Love."

Produced initially by George Duke and written by Synth God Hawk Wolinski, this groover just might be Jeffrey's best uptempo track pre woo-woo-woo as he --unabashedly-- croons about meeting a future hookup on a plane.

here it is in it's 12-inch glory. you might agree.

Jeffrey Osborne "Plane Love" (12-inch Larry Levan Mix)

2008-11-15T13:29:00.000-08:00

ooh.

we take too long to post.

but the good thing is that i have been busy to get it together with this blog. though we are in the second year, this is still only the beginning.

here are some of my favorites choons at this moment:

Kiddo "She's Got The Body" (Action, 1984) (zshare)

On another note, I posted some ULTRA RARE HOTNESS of Kiddo on Soul Train in 1983 doing "Try My Lovin':"

Spandau Ballet "Only When You Leave" (Parade, 1985) (zshare)

Starpoint "It's All Yours" (It's All Yours, 1984) (zshare)

Passion Pit "Cuddle Fuddle" (Chunk Of Change, 2008) (zshare)

2008-03-11T13:33:00.000-07:00

It's been that long?

So. according to this blog, I went on vacation and never came back. HAHAH.
There have been some friends that have wondered where I went on the blog as it was "possibly great reading."
So, i decided to hookup this blog again to not only make it look nicer (I'd love to update it again, but a skilled graphic designer I'm not) but also continue to throw those songs out there as musical tastes continue to breeze out there.

besides, seeing Funktrolley on Hype Machine would be DOPESAUCE, no?

anyway. here are some that have been favorites as of late:

Was (Not Was) back in '83 was considered "generally unclassifiable."
Funny that almost all of the tracks on "Born To Laugh At Tornadoes" had this soul music undertone. Sweet Pea Atkinson, Mitch Ryder, and Ozzy Osbourne (!) are amongst the special guest vocals.

DL: Was (Not Was) "Betrayal (featuring Doug Fieger of The Knack)" (zshare)

Looking over a lot of blogs, I have found that MGMT is getting quite popular. I've found some of their tracks to be quite entertaining... some even have a Bowie-esque kind of sound to them while others are straight fonky and melancholy like the one I have uploaded for all of you!

DL: MGMT "Electric Feel" (zshare)

High Inergy could NOT get a hit on Motown to save their lives after 1978's "You Can't Turn Me Off." However, after their appearance on Motown 25 with DeBarge, they had one last attempt for greatness via "He's A Pretender." This fared as their swan song (and one of their biggest hits) as High Inergy broke up in '84. Lead singer Barbara Mitchell went solo for Capitol Records later that year.

DL: High Inergy "He's A Pretender" (zshare)

Other Jammin' stuts:

DL: Daft Punk "Human After All" (GUY-MAN AFTER ALL JUSTICE REMIX) (zshare)
(thanks to the wonderful folks at manalogue. for this one!!)

DL: Gwen Guthrie "Peek-A-Boo" (12'' Version) (zshare)
(rest in peace to one of the most neglected singer/songwriters of our time.)

DL: Minus The Bear "Throwin' Shapes" (zshare)
(the video premiered yesterday on eMpTytV... you can see it here.)

2007-07-05T19:20:00.000-07:00

FUNKTROLLEY ON VACATION || The FunkTastic Vinyl Voyage.

Yes, ladies and gentlemen... I finally went on vacation. to Jersey, New York, and Philly. I still have about seven days left, and already.... I have spent almost $200 dollars on records. scary, right?

More sounds coming when i come back.

Otherwise, i'm definitely having a great time, though. Eating a whole lot of food. unneccersarily. you'll see a lot of pictures of my dishes also when I return to the sunshine state.

wooohooo.

2007-06-29T19:31:00.000-07:00

I'm Back... OUT OF LSEVEN SQUARED...

meh. It's been quite awhile since I posted something on this blog only because "the real world" summoned to be busy. Apologies to folks who have been following FunkTrolley. I swear there will be hot stuff coming around soon.

Rick James was an awesome and quite extroverted (understatement!) figure all in his own during his life. But throughout his recording career, he was NOTHING without the synth squiggles and sax solos of the Stone City Band (not to mention, the vocal backing of the Mary Jane Girls). Sure he put them together, but the main thing was that with or without Rick, they could definitely hold their own. One plain example of this was their 1983 Out From The Shadow LP. The LP is filled with a hilarious amount of moogs, catchy lyrics, and funky rhythms. Sadly, thanks to Motown's scarce budget and Rick James' irratic behavior, this LP was close to ignored and the original members of the SCB disbanded by '86.

THE STONE CITY BAND

Lover and Only Man
Telephone
Love Hassles
( Out From The Shadows, 1983 )

2007-03-29T21:39:00.000-07:00

Yet another music blog, eh?! meh. not really.
So this is my first post here on funktrolley. After seeing many folks with great music blogs, I felt that I could do the same... channeling the energy I have outside of SOULTRAINFANS, my music, and everyday life.

The focus of this blog?
It's pretty much all about what I'm digging at this point, and hopefully, you'll like it, too. While it may be the sounds of funk, soul, and electro, it also may be the sounds of jazz, rock, anything else that tickles my fancy. If you're a real music lover (or musician), you cannot just box yourself in one genre. ever.

and you can quote me on that.

I will probably need some pointers, so all you blog folks out there who feel that you CAN help, please do.

I was trying to find a song to suit this special occasion and stumbled upon Multireedist Bennie Maupin's 1978 LP "Moonscapes." He had a sweet song on there entitled "Just Give It Time." How fitting.

Bennie Maupin
"Just Give It Time"
(Moonscapes, 1978)
and Just Give It Time, funktrolley will be on a roll! Cheers.