thebes Posted May 19, 2011 Share Posted May 19, 2011 Great news for all you funksters out there, the funkiest spaceship in the entire galaxy is going to the same place as the lesser effort made by the Wright Brothers: The Mothership — the iconic stage prop made famous by legendary funkcollective Parliament-Funkadelic— has been acquired by the Smithsonian’s NationalMuseum of African American History and Culture where it will help anchor apermanent music exhibition when the museum opens its doors in 2015. “I’m about tocry!” Parliament-Funkadelic frontman George Clinton said over the phone fromhis home in Tallahassee on Wednesday. “They’re taking the Mothership! They’reshipping it out! . . . But I’m glad it’s going to have a nice home there.” It isn’t the original Mothership. This 1,200-pound aluminum spacecraft wasbuilt in the mid-’90s — an indistinguishable replica, Clinton says, of thesmoke-spewing stage prop he first introduced to slack-jawed funk fans in 1976. But by 1982, Parliament-Funkadelic’s towering debts forced the group’sWashington-based management company to trash the Mothership in a PrinceGeorge’s County scrap yard. And what happened next has becomethe stuff of myth. Was it stolen? Did it burn in a fire? Is it stillfloating around somewhere in the cosmos? AnApril 2010 Washington Post story about the Mothership’s disappearance sentthe Smithsonian searching for it. Kevin Strait, project historian for themuseum, didn’t get very far. “All signs pointed to the fact that we weren’tgoing to find the original,” Strait said. “So that’s when we essentially putour attentions toward the new one.” Strait contacted Clinton’s management, and the bandleader eventually decidedto donate the piece. The ship has been picked up from Clinton’s Tallahasseerecording studio and is scheduled to arrive at a Smithsonian storage facilityin suburban Maryland at noon on Thursday. It’ll be somewhat of a homecoming. The group first formed as the Parliamentsin Plainfield, New Jersey in the late 1950’s, but after morphing into atwo-group collective — Parliamentand Funkadelic— it would go on to enjoy one of its most loyal followings in Washington.Parliament’s 1975 album “ChocolateCity” gave the nation’s capital an unofficial nickname that still stickstoday. When the band lowered the Mothership from the rafters of the Capital Centrein Landover in 1977, the response was rapturous. Not only was it instantlystunning — it felt like a cosmic metaphor for the sense of possibility thatfollowed the civil rights movement. That symbolism isn’t lost on the Smithsonian. “With large iconic objects like this, we can tap into . . . themes ofmovement and liberation that are a constant in African-American culture,” saysDwandalyn R. Reece, curator of music and performing arts for the museum. “TheMothership as this mode of transport really fits into this musical trope inAfrican American culture about travel and transit.” It will be exhibited alongside other artifacts from American music history —Louis Armstrong’s trumpet, James Brown’s stage costumes, Lena Horne’s eveninggowns. But it will be the only spaceship. “It definitely fits in,” said Reece. “Funk is not just a good groove, it wasits own kind of social protest movement.” And while the original Mothership’s whereabouts remain a mystery, Clintonthinks this one will serve the Smithsonian just fine. The second ship “went out on the road for a long time,” he says. “Nobodyknew the difference!” Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seti Posted May 19, 2011 Share Posted May 19, 2011 Starchild will be pleased! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Groomlakearea51 Posted May 20, 2011 Share Posted May 20, 2011 I shall play "Superfreak" on "loop" for the next several hours in honor of this stunning iconic tribute to the American cultural experience. [Y] [H] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldtimer Posted May 20, 2011 Share Posted May 20, 2011 But...but...but...Superfreak is a Rick James tune! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldtimer Posted May 20, 2011 Share Posted May 20, 2011 How about this gem? We Want The Funk---(George Clinton) Tear the roof off, we're gonna tear the roof off the mother, sucker Tear the roof off the sucker (x4) You've got a real type of thing going down, gettin' down There's a whole lot of rhythm going round (x2) Ow, we want the funk Give up the funk Ow, we need the funk We gotta have that funk (x2) La la la la la Doo doo doo doo doo doo doo, owww! (x2) You've got a real type of thing going down, gettin' down There's a whole lot of rhythm going round (x2) Ow, we want the funk Give up the funk Ow, we need the funk We gotta have that funk (x2) La la la la la Doo doo doo doo doo doo doo, owww! (x2) We're gonna turn this mother out (x2) You've got a real type of thing going down, gettin' down There's a whole lot of rhythm going round (x4) Ow, we want the funk Give up the funk Ow, we need the funk (let us in we'll tear this mother out {after 3rd & 4th}) We gotta have that funk (x7) Ow, we want the funk (we're gonna turn this mother out) Give up the funk Ow, we need the funk (we're gonna turn this mother out) We gotta have that funk (x2) Ow, we want the funk Give up the funk Ow, we need the funk (let us in we'll tear this mother out {after 2nd & 3rd}) We gotta have that funk (x2) We want the funk Give up the funk We need the funk We gotta have that funk (x3) La la la la la Doo doo doo doo doo doo doo, owww! (x2) You've got a real type of thing going down, gettin' down (x2) There's a whole lot of rhythm going down You've got a real type of thing going down, gettin' down There's a whole lot of rhythm going down Ow, we want the funk Give up the funk Ow, we need the funk (let us in we'll tear this mother out {after 2nd & 3rd}) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thebes Posted May 20, 2011 Author Share Posted May 20, 2011 "Pin The Tail On The Funky (Gloryhallastoopid)" Oh! Being aware of the non-ending condition of our radically non-logical necessary And yet free and responsible nature It is not only our compulsion But it is our duty to our booty To funk you! Cheaper than discount family therapy We bring you funk on a couch >From the doctor Gloryhallastoopid Pin the tail on the funky I can assure this is the beginning of a meaningful relationship Gloryhallastoopid Pin the tail on the funky That fuss was us! Gloryhallastoopid Pin the tail on the funky Multiple reality producing rhythms brings you gloryhallastoopid Gloryhallastoopid Pin the tail on the funky A tale where the nose win in the end That fuss was us In the tail end, if you know what I mean Oh! That fuss was us He's got a bug, she's got a bug Debugging, baby That fuss was us They bug you, they bug your friends Until they bug you out That fuss was us Yeah, call us the pest control (Gloryhallastoopid Pin the tail on the funky) Yeah, Starchild here (Gloryhallastoopid Pin the tail on the funky) Bringing it to you all the way live >From deep in the black hole I'm here with my man, Wellington Wigout Who says, "If you move, you're dancing If you're dancing, you're wiggin' And if you're wiggin', then he's wiggin' out Gloryhallastoopid Pin the tail on the funky And when it comes to making love He says he's the disco version He is the long-playing lover, heh-heh Wellington Wigout {assorted backwards-recorded nonsense} Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gilbert Posted May 20, 2011 Share Posted May 20, 2011 Wow, Theebee takes me back to 70's ville maaaan! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seti Posted May 20, 2011 Share Posted May 20, 2011 If you want to see the Mothership fastforward 4:30. George's entrance after the landing which is one of the best in live music history. It is a shame that rap and hip hop eclipsed funk because funk is much better and much more interesting. Long live FUNK! I was born too early. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldtimer Posted May 20, 2011 Share Posted May 20, 2011 Give up the funk! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thebes Posted May 20, 2011 Author Share Posted May 20, 2011 Give up the funk! Funk now, funk forever! May the funk find you willing. Are we not one nation..... Here's my chance to dance my way out of my constrictions Givin' you more of what you're funkin' for (Feet don't fail me now) (Feet don't fail me now) Do you promise to funk, the whole funk, nothin' but the funk One nation under a groove Gettin' down just for the funk of it One nation and we're on the move Nothin' can stop us now Nothin' can stop us now One nation under a groove Gettin' down just for the funk of it One nation and we're on the move Nothin' can stop us now Nothin' can stop us now One nation under a groove Gettin' down just for the funk of it One nation and we're on the move Nothin' can stop us now Do you promise to funk? Do you promise to funk? Hah Do you promise to funk, the whole funk? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thebes Posted May 20, 2011 Author Share Posted May 20, 2011 He's got the funk!!!!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Groomlakearea51 Posted May 21, 2011 Share Posted May 21, 2011 Diggin out muh shades, platforms and lookin for my fro' gel and pick. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gilbert Posted May 21, 2011 Share Posted May 21, 2011 Diggin out muh shades, platforms and lookin for my fro' gel and pick. That Fro must be fine as frog hair. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichardP Posted May 21, 2011 Share Posted May 21, 2011 Apparently there is no door in the Smithsonian large enough to move it in, so they're going to have to tear the roof off the sucka. [] Haw, haw haw! Truthfully, in the last two months I have purchased Parliament's greatest hits, Funkadelic's greatest hits, and James Brown's greatest hits. From the looks of this thread, there seems to be a funk zeitgeist. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldtimer Posted May 22, 2011 Share Posted May 22, 2011 The funk has never left the building! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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