It’s been a while sine I last penned a column for TMV. I hope to blend politics with a few other items of interest a few times a week. Last year, a catchy song hit the airwaves from Marc Ronson and Bruno Mars entitled Uptown Funk. It’s fun, contagious and very danceable with a nice hook to it. For music folks, who love to dance, the hook is the part of the song that makes you want to get up and boogie down.
My two year old daughter loves the song and everything Taylor Swift does as well. I hear the peculiar sounds of money flowing out of wallet already for T-Swift concert tickets (that’s a column for another day). What I found interesting is the familiar sound of the synthesizer keyboard and the bass line – it reminded me of a group from the 1980s called Morris Day and The Time.
The Time is a band from Minneapolis who came out of that music scene with a guy named Prince (I guess he is calling himself that again). The Time had all of the danceable hooks but did it with a cool swagger and attitude. Besides Morris day (singer) alumni includes Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis who produced a bunch of hits for other artists including Janet Jackson.
Every time I listen to Uptown Funk, I am reminded of a song from The Time called Jungle Love. This song was featured in the film Purple Rain starring Prince.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MddDgx9ynzA
While I am not suggesting Ronson and Mars copied Jungle Love, they most definitely got their inspiration from it. If you are under 30, and have never listened to The Time, take a few minutes – click on the link – and hear what danceable funk is all about.
Faculty, Department of Political Science, Towson University. Graduate from Liberty University Seminary.