(Funkadelic - where, where, where are you, now we need you?)

Probably one of the most underrated bands in the history of Funk, or any genre of music for that matter. Funkadelic (and the sister group Parliament) were the brain children of George Clinton, whose outrageous ideas in stage presentation were second only to his incredible ideas about the music. I had the pleasure of working with George many years ago and the man was just as great as his music (which is always a relief). Truly innovative and straddling a lot of different forms at once, but doing them successfully. Their appeal, at least to me in the 70's, was they reminded me of what a lot of the progressive bands in Europe were doing at the time. And that they added Funk to the equation made it even more appealing.

They were also great at icon bashing and "screwing with perceptions", as is evidenced by this track, the immortal 1974 Jimmy's Got A Little Bit Of Bitch In Him. A band as equally at home with crafting great songs as they were taking the piss out of convention. It is probably much of the reason their music has remained timeless. Thank God.

If by some strange chance you aren't familiar with them. I urge you to go over and check their stuff out.

But don't take my word for it.

btw: check out George's site - there's a tribute to founding member Garry Shider who passed away just recently.

(Andy and Paul of OMD - All things New Wave and Synth)

By 1986, when The Pacific Age was released, OMD had gone through a subtle but distinctive change. When their first hit Electricity came out, it was in the solid footsteps of bands like Kraftwerk, whom they were most closely associated with. Later, around the time of their second single, Enola Gay they had already undergone a change of direction, heading into New Romantic territory, while still keeping swatches of Synthpop in their makeup. Their third hit single, Joan of Arc (Maid of Orleans) came in full-on the coat tails of the New Romantic period. So when (Forever) Live and Die was issued it was still synthpop-based but with more in the spirit of New Wave and it was this point where OMD (after more or less dropping the full title of Orchestral Maneuvers In the Dark) hit their stride to become one of the more enduring bands of the 80's.

Still around and still touring, they were another band I had the pleasure to work with on a few videos and, as was the case with Wang Chung, good sports about the whole thing and were even spotted carrying light stands, helping out the Grip Department between setups.

Can't complain about that - one little bit.

(Wang Chung - synonymous with the 80s no matter how you look at it)

Heading into familiar territory this week - taking a break from the new and unfamiliar and giving MySpace a rest. This week it's a return to the 1970's and 80's. Some of it has been over-exposed and some of it hasn't. Most all of it gets classified as "guilty pleasure" - there, I've said it. I'll be putting up favorites.

Tonight it's Wang Chung's Dance Hall Days. I am partial to this band because I did two videos with them and they were great to work with. In a business where musicians can be downright ungrateful that you're making them look good, Wang Chung were always good sports about the whole thing and completely professional even at five in the morning. And if you've ever worked on Music Videos you know they can be grueling affairs, lasting 18-26 hours at a stretch and listening to the same track as much as a hundred times in the course of the shoot and usually at the threshold of pain every time.

But Dance Hall Days brings up good memories and I wanted to start the week off on a good note. You may have different frames of reference in mind - nobody has the same set of memories about anything. But at least this one is catchy and has a beat to it.

Get ready.