From the Wog Archive
Mix/Wog-a-Thon
Funk in My Trunk
(72 minutes, Light)
Pace Breakdown
Slow Walk |
3:19 |
Distance: 3.0 to 4.5 miles |
It’s unfortunate that some of the best music to come out of the 70s and early 80s got lumped in with Disco. While some Disco made great dance music, some of it was also pure, forgettable schlock. Funk certainly doesn’t have the pretensions of progressive rock or even New Wave, but it far surpasses Disco as music to groove on. The songs in this Wog-a-Thon are still in my rotation, especially when I need a jolt of energy to get my ass moving. That they do so without surpassing 131 BPM is testimony to their infectious beats; the Isley Brothers in particular are still being sampled and emulating by Rap and R&B stars today. And I challenge anyone to come up with a better party song than Live It Up or Got to Give It Up.
Part A: 39 minutes, Moderate (BPM 116, Jog Beats 10%, PV Low)
Title |
Artist |
BPM |
Time |
PC |
Comment |
Genre |
Album/Source |
Give Up the Funk (Tear the Roof off the Sucker) |
Parliament |
106 |
5:47 |
5 |
Tongue-twister is a gas |
Funk |
Mothership Connection |
Play That Funky Music, White Boy |
Wild Cherry |
110 |
3:12 |
5 |
Pokes fun at the Scene |
Disco |
Wild Cherry |
Live It Up |
The Isley Brothers |
129 |
6:12 |
5 |
IMHO, the greatest party song ever recorded |
Funk |
Live it Up |
We Are Family |
Sister Sledge |
118 |
6:06 |
5 |
Oakland A’s party song |
Funk Pop |
We Are Family |
What Is Hip? |
Tower of Power |
102 |
5:04 |
5 |
Best blues brass in the East Bay |
Funk |
Tower of Power |
Stomp |
Brothers Johnson |
120 |
6:20 |
5 |
Irresistible groove |
Disco Pop |
20th Century Masters: The Millenial Collection: Best of Brothers Johnson |
Superfreak |
Rick James |
131 |
3:21 |
4 |
Naughty but fun |
Funk |
Street Songs |
Car Wash |
Rose Royce |
115 |
3:17 |
5 |
Movie made them famous |
Funk |
Disco Gold |
Part B: 32 minutes, Light (BPM 113, Jog Beats 0, PV Low)
Title |
Artist |
BPM |
Time |
PC |
Comment |
Genre |
Album/Source |
Fire |
Ohio Players |
106 |
3:31 |
5 |
Echoed by Trammps’ Disco Inferno |
Funk |
Fire |
Once You Get Started |
Rufus, featuring Chaka Khan |
120 |
4:30 |
5 |
Helped propel Chaka Khan to stardom |
Funk |
Rufusized |
Fight the Power (Pts. 1 & 2) |
The Isley Brothers |
127 |
5:20 |
5 |
Public Enemy did Rap version in Spike Lee’s movie Do the Right Thing |
Funk |
Greatest Hits, Vol. 1 |
Every 1’s a Winner |
Hot Chocolate |
108 |
4:02 |
5 |
Heats my mug up every time |
Funk |
Every 1’s a Winner |
Freddie’s Dead |
Curtis Mayfield |
91 |
3:19 |
5 |
Theme from the movie a classic take on street life |
Funk |
Superfly |
Cut The Cake |
Average White Band |
109 |
4:07 |
5 |
Funky jazz from Scotland (!) |
Funk |
Cut the Cake |
Got To Give It Up |
Marvin Gaye |
124 |
4:08 |
5 |
Marvin at his slinktastic best |
Funk |
Anthology |
Dazz (Disco Jazz) |
Brick |
109 |
3:24 |
5 |
Maybe “dazz” didn’t catch on as a word, but so what? |
Funk |
Good High |
BPM=Beats Per Minute; PC=Pace Consistency; SKBL=Skiplekable; NADL=Not currently available for download from Amazon or iTunes