{"id":1352,"date":"2012-03-23T22:51:48","date_gmt":"2012-03-23T22:51:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/har0ld.com\/playground\/2012\/03\/funkputer-games\/"},"modified":"2012-03-23T23:07:46","modified_gmt":"2012-03-23T23:07:46","slug":"funkputer-games","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/har0ld.com\/playground\/2012\/03\/funkputer-games\/","title":{"rendered":"Funkputer Games"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Funkputer<\/a><\/p>\n

Seven artists over a few years, inspired by video games as a culture phenomenon. The overused and terrible term that is \u201cvideo games\u201d<\/em> doesn\u2019t carry a lot of sense today but during the 80s it meant the future. The dirty, rasterized<\/a> future with dark video arcade, cigarettes, beers and people shouting. It was street. No parents playing Wii Sports or Kinectimals.<\/p>\n

Black music has always been really good at capturing what\u2019s going on<\/em> and arcade cabinets hit the 80s hard. I counted a dozen R&B funk songs with \u201cvideo games aesthetics\u201d from 1980 to 1985.<\/p>\n

\"\"
\nSampled by Daft.<\/em><\/p>\n

That\u2019s a lot, there isn\u2019t a single music genre hitting on the computer entertainment like that.<\/p>\n

Beyond the obvious will to cash in on a new trend, the themes brought by the arcade culture -obsession, high score, science fiction, humor- seem to have sparkled a lot of ideas within the US black music community and I can understand why: obsession? love and drugs (it\u2019s the 80s, crack startin\u2019), high score? Black people struggling and aiming for better lives (also, NBA spreadin\u2019), science-fiction? Yeah, the 80s were like a bad science-fiction movie for all of them. Humor? That\u2019s how black people deal with things since forever.<\/p>\n

Black culture and video game culture were totally understanding each other. That\u2019s why there\u2019s about 2% of black people in the game industry today. \/trollface<\/p>\n

Wikipedia lists a few artists playing with the 80s game culture<\/a>. None of the ones below are included. The Deele was part of the mix but because of copyrights I can\u2019t put it on Soundcloud though it\u2019s fine with YouTube. This world, man.<\/p>\n

Enjoy.<\/p>\n

<\/embed><\/object><\/p>\n

The Deele – Video Villain, 1983<\/strong><\/p>\n

Street Beat album. The Deele is a funk band from Ohio which will give Kenneth Babyface Edmonds<\/a> something to do after playing with Bootsy Collins and before becoming a hugely successful producer<\/a> during the 90s. It\u2019s totally my jam. F.U.N.K.<\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t hold back, don\u2019t give me no slack, how are you gonna party with Donkey Kong on your back?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The Chilly Kids – At the Ice Arcade, 1983<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cHey everybody! You\u2019ve got it where? At the Ice Arcade!\u201d<\/em> Very early hip-hop band on Sugar Hill Records. They only released this single, which talks about not caring about anything but video games and rocking the Ice Arcade, scoring on all these cabinets. The music is probably composed by the Sugar Hill in-house band. Silly, very 80s.<\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t push us cuz we\u2019re close to the edge, we\u2019re trying not to loose our head!\u201d *at the Ice Arcade*<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The Gap Band – Video Junkie, 1985<\/strong><\/p>\n

From the Gap Band VI album. It starts like a Japanese classic music rip-off video game music straight from both the Genesis and the Super NES sound chips. Huge synth bass, atmospheric and anxious feeling (playing 80s games, you bet), hypnotic beat that\u2019s the Gap Band in action right here.<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery time I call her on the phone, that Space Invaders got my girl and gone.\u201d <\/em><\/p>\n

The end of the song is a nice jam. Bluesy guitar solo, distorted trumpet and sampling experiments, it feels like The Gap Band can just link the oldest form of US black music with the most recent in a song with cultural allusions to video games. In 1985. I love them.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

George Clinton – Computer Games, 1982<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cHello! I am the computer game Dracula! I\u2019d like to suck necks\u201d.<\/em> Pure and perfect P-funk jam with big slap bass, infectious fuzz guitar lick and blips and blobs. Also, Junie Morrison\u2019s and Bernie Worrell\u2019s keyboards controlled insanity.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Ozone – Video King, 1983<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cPeople wonder where I get my speed, I tell \u2019em I, get another breakfast on the Centipede.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

From the Glasses album. Ozone is an early 80s Motown funk band with a heavy jazz tone (Jazzfunk, that\u2019s it). This is their last album ever and they thought that would be cool to talk about being the Video King. Biggest name-dropping ever: Batman, Space Invaders, Centipede, Astro Blaster<\/a>, Tron, Donkey Kong, Missile Combat, Frogger, Defender, Asteroids, ???, Zaxxon, Battlezone. And always this mix of synthetic sounds and live instruments. Also, humor.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Dazz Band – Joystick, 1983<\/strong><\/p>\n

From the album Joystick<\/a>. You can\u2019t represent Funk without a band from Ohio and here\u2019s another one! Dazz Band and its heavy melodic bass lines. The lyrics mixing video game culture and sex are rather smart, considering what we sometimes hear these days:<\/p>\n

I can prove that love
\nIs just live a video game
\nJust take control of the stick
\nOf the stick, of the stick
\nI\u2019ll let you play your game
\nI know what you\u2019re looking for
\nAnd all I want to do is score, yeah
\nI just want you to be mine
\nJust take control I\u2019ll let you play me all the time
\nTake control of the stick
\nOf the stick, of the stick
\nOf the stick, of the joystick, baby <\/em><\/p>\n

<\/em><\/p>\n

<\/em>The creepy bridge with robotic voice makes me think about a final boss. Would the one you want to be with, be The Final Boss? I\u2019ll let you answer that.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Klymaxx – Video Kid, 1984<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cHello baby, can I play games with youuu?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

From the Meeting in the Ladies Room album. All girl band playing some hard and tight funk. I saw them live a few years ago, they are bad and have irresistible grooves. I love this innocent and easy one. What not to love about a girl singing straight \u201cI\u2019m in love with the video kid\u201d<\/em>. My nerdy heart from the glory days of the Arcade feels it.<\/p>\n