Supposedly, LSD was consumed before this video was shot in Central Park and Times Square.
This was one of the few singles to be released by Funkadelic. Though it stalled at 103 on the charts when it was first released, it’s still went on to become a live-performance favorite and one of the group’s most enduring songs. Cosmic Slop was written by George Clinton and Bernie Worrell and it’s actually meant to be the prayer of a mother who will do anything to take care of her children.
Enjoy!
Well, we can add Funkadelic to the list of groups that made groundbreaking music videos in 1970s. We’ve had numerous ones from ABBA doing all sorts of stuff. We had AC/DC taking what would otherwise be a simple stage performance and making it feeling intimate. We had Hall & Oates making the anti-video. We had Alice Cooper foreshadowing all kinds of things that would become staples of music videos, but most notably, the quick editing. Now we have Funkadelic, before becoming part of Parliament-Funkadelic, also doing location shooting and integrating the filmmaking into the song the way Elected by Alice Cooper did. Whereas that one called for a lot of quick cuts, this song lends itself to more laid back long takes. Also like Elected, they aren’t performing the song. You do see a couple of them with instruments, but it doesn’t seem into tie to the song you are hearing. The instruments are just there. The focus is on the trippy visuals. I can’t help but look at it and think: “Funkadelic Takes NYC”. I have to imagine this was fun to film.
Sit back and enjoy!
“OW!”
Anyone who grew up during the 80’s knows this song. The moment they first heard the song it burrowed it’s way deep inside. Then the music video arrived and we saw the awesomeness of Cameo’s Larry Blackmon. His unique vocal stylings matched only by his personal look. The over-the-top hi-top fade hairstyle right up to the bright red codpiece became as much a part of the group’s identity as their funkadelic sound.
1986’s “Word Up!” became the group’s biggest hit and whether one was a fan of R&B and funk didn’t matter. This was a cool jam for all listeners and some heavy rotation of the video on MTV (yes, Virginia, MTV actually showed music videos back in the day) made sure everyone knew what’s the word.
Cameo definitely helped define what was good about the 80’s.
Through the Shattered Lens 