Tag Archives: Friday Night Funk

Friday Night Funk – Top 10 Music (Mojo & Funk): Special Mention (Funk) (5) Devo – Whip It

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Devo in their signature Red Energy Dome hats

 

 

(5) FUNK: DEVO – WHIP IT (1980)

B-Side: Beautiful World (1981)

 

“When a problem comes along

You must whip it!

Before the cream sits out too long

You must whip it!

When something’s going wrong

You must whip it!”

 

I say whip it!

Devo is an American new wave music band, best known for their red Energy Dome hats and this 1980 single from their album Freedom of Choice, their signature song and only mainstream hit. As such, they are labelled a one-hit wonder – for shame! – but their achievements and catalogue extend well beyond that, albeit more as cult following. For that matter, band front-man Mark Mothersbaugh has had a prolific career as a composer, notably in film – including the Academy Award-winning “Everything is Awesome” from The Lego Movie.

Devo wasn’t just a band – it was a philosophy! Devo stood for de-evolution – “the band’s part-satirical, part-serious take” on the world, with “their music and stage shows mingling kitsch science fiction themes, deadpan surrealist humor and mordantly satirical social commentary”.

But I said “Whip It” – and whip it good! The intention of the absurdist lyrics isn’t quite as kinky as they sound or listeners have assumed. Among other things, they are a play on “can-do” positive thinking self-help (notably Norman Vincent Peale’s The Power of Positive Thinking). Of course, that didn’t stop Devo playing up the song’s perceived kink in the accompanying (and pioneering) music video, with Mothersbaugh whipping the clothes off a woman on a dude ranch.

“If there was a Hall of Fame for early ’80s New Wave music, Devo’s ‘Whip It’ would be a shoo-in for induction. Undoubtedly the band’s most recognizable song, ‘Whip It’ elevated Devo from an underground art-rock outfit to a (briefly) mainstream pop act, albeit one that still retained its pointed and satirical view of society. And, of course, who can forget the song’s surrealist and now-iconic video that was a staple of MTV during the then-fledgling channel’s early years? The fact that The Simpsons even paid homage to both the song and the video in an episode demonstrates how much ‘Whip It’ has transcended pop culture.”

Whip it good!

As for my B-side, I have a soft spot for their 1981 single “Beautiful World”

And for those hardcore cult Devo fans, here’s some other Devo songs other than their signature hit – and the balance of this hardcore Devo fan’s Top 10 Devo songs:

 

(3) Freedom of Choice (1980) (from their album of the same name, also featuring Whip It and Girl U Want)

(4) Girl U Want (1980)

(5) Working in the Coal Mine (1981)

(6) Peek A Boo (1982)

(7) Big Mess (1982)

(8) Here to Go (1984)

(9) (I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction” (1977)

(10) Are You Experienced (1984)

 

Whip it good!

 

RATING: 4 STARS****

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Friday Night Funk – Top 10 Music (Mojo & Funk): Special Mention (Funk): (3) Groove Armada – I See You Baby

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Groove Armada’s logo

 

(3) FUNK: GROOVE ARMADA –
I SEE YOU BABY (1999)
B-side: Paper Romance (2010)

 

“This is the house that funk built – Groove Armada style!”

Nuff said.

Or perhaps not – Groove Armada (English electronic music duo Andy Cato and Tom Findlay) is another big beat funk entry from the 1990’s.

This entry, I See You Baby, is arguably their signature single and certainly one of the defining songs of 1999-2000. Although the original single was funky in itself, I prefer the even funkier remix by Fatboy Slim. (Interestingly, the duo DJ’d Fatboy Slim’s – or rather, Norman Cook’s – wedding). Watch out for that video – it gets a little raunchy

“You got to get on the dance floor…Oh this party got it going on!”

Don’t look for much in the way of lyrical depth (or lyrics) there – it’s all about the funk.

For my B-side – their 2010 single Paper Romance from their album Black Light (also remixed with other songs in their White Light album that year)

As for the balance of my Top 10 Groove Armada songs:
(3) Song 4 Mutya (2007)
(4) If Everybody Looked the Same (1999)
(5) Madder (2003)
(6) Superstyling (2001)
(7) My Friend (2001)
(8) Think Twice (2002)
(9) Purple Haze (2002)
(10) But I Feel Good (2003)

 

RATING: 4 STARS****
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Friday Night Funk – Top 10 Music (Mojo & Funk): Special Mention (Funk) (1) Fatboy Slim – Rockafeller Skank

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Screenshot from the music video for Rockafeller Skank

 

 

 

(1) FUNK: FATBOY SLIM (NORMAN COOK) –
ROCKAFELLER SKANK (1998)
B-SIDE: Weapon of Choice (2001)
ALBUMS: Pizzamania 1995 / You’ve Come a Long Way, Baby 1998 / Halfway Between the Gutter and the Stars 2001

 

Right about now – the funk soul brother! Check it out now – the funk soul brother!

And we’re in the electronic dance funk end of the funk scale, so don’t look for lyrical depth – or any lyrics beyond the above.

A prolific producer or mixer of dance music, Norman Cook has an appealing array of musical funk sub-genres attributed to him by Wikipedia – electronica, acid house, trip hop, nu-funk and the nomenclature with which I identify him, big beat.

Of course, not many people identify him as Norman Cook – he is best known by the moniker he adopted in 1996, Fatboy Slim, and under which he released the album which represented perhaps the height of his acclaim, You’ve Come a Long Way Baby. And that album featured this entry, Rockafeller Skank.

I am also partial to the following Fatboy Slim album Halfway Between the Gutter and the Stars, particularly my B-side selection Weapon of Choice and its video, because who doesn’t love Christopher Walken dancing?

And as for the rest of my Top 10 Fatboy Slim songs (including his previous incarnation as Pizzaman):
(3) Happiness (Pizzamania 1995)
(4) Sex on the Streets (Pizzamania 1995)
(5) Going Out of My Head (Better Living Through Chemistry 1997)
(6) Right Here Right Now (You’ve Come a Long Way Baby 1999)
(7) Praise You (You’ve Come a Long Way Baby 1999)
(8) Sunset / Bird of Prey (Halfway Between the Gutter and the Stars 2000) – I mean, come on, it samples Jim Morrison!
(9) Demons (Halfway Between the Gutter and the Stars 2000)
(10) That Old Pair of Jeans (The Greatest Hits – Why Try Harder? 2006)

 

RATING: 4 STARS****
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Friday Night Funk – Top 10 Music (Mojo & Funk): (8) Funk: Hilltop Hoods – Nosebleed Section (2003)

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Hilltop Hoods logo

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(8) FUNK: HILLTOP HOODS – NOSEBLEED SECTION (2003)

B-SIDE: Cosby Sweater (2014)

 

“Ladies come chill, come rock with me hunny

I got like half a mill in monopoly money

There’s no stopping me honey, so you can take my hand

We can lay on the beach and count grains of sand

Or take a plane to Japan, and drink sake with mafia

Fly to Libya for some Bacardi with Qaddafi a

Dinner date, followed by a funk show

We’ll rip off our tops and jump around in the front row” 

 

Another song from my life soundtrack – which is the running theme of my sixth to ninth places.

For this funk entry, we’re in the genre of hip hop. Australian hip hop, that is. After all, what would any music list be without some Australian hip hop. (What? It has its own Wikipedia entry!).

This was the Hoods’ breakthrough song, The Nosebleed Section, from their third album in 2003 (albeit effectively their first commercially available album), with its chorus and backing beat sampled from The People in the Front Row sung by Melanie Safka. The unsophisticated video reflects their underground origins and corresponding limited budget – albeit showcasing impressive riding skill (by former BMX flatland rider Simon O’Brien).

There’s just something that resonates about life turning out like nothing you had planned – with nothing but dreams or “writing rhymes on the bus” – and inverting that into the “upbeat themes of parties, concerts, good times and living the high life”, even if only for the night.

The Hilltop Hoods have continued to produce and perform songs through the next decade, including surprisingly soulful songs (and videos) at times, such as their singles Higher and Won’t Let You Down.

As for my B-side, I have to go with the unfortunately named Cosby Sweater (a title the band itself regretted after the fact) because it’s so damn catchy.

 

 

RATING: 

B-TIER (HIGH-TIER)

Friday Night Funk – Top 10 Music (Mojo & Funk): New Entry (10) Funk: Sombr – 12 to 12

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It doesn’t get much funkier than parking on the dance floor! Also a good way to get the attention of that girl you like. Shot from the official music video directed by Gus Black and released 24 July 2025

 

 

(10) FUNK: SOMBR – 12 TO 12

 

“In a room full of people, I look for you”

 

Well, looks like I’ve found my standout song for 2025 and hence my new wildcard tenth place entry, according to my usual rule reserving that place for my favorite entry from the present or previous year.

Sombr is the stage name of Shane Michael Boose – essentially a play on his initials and the word somber – “an American singer, songwriter, and record producer”.

Although he released his debut single in 2021 and first EP in 2023, it was two singles (“Back to Friends” and “Undressed”) in 2025 that went viral on social media and became his breakout hits. That was followed by his debut studio album (I Barely Know Her – a title that encapsulates his recurring themes of “heartbreak, unrequited love, and emotional introspection” throughout his songs, including this one). That album included those two previous singles, as well as two follow up singles, including this entry.

“The song mixes ’80s-style synth-pop and new wave with hints of ’70s funk and blues, highlighted by Sombr’s vocals that shift between falsetto and rough growls…The track was described as walking the line between “repurposed funk with fuzzy blues licks” and hints of “bongo hits”. Sombr’s “shifting” vocals, alternating between a “lustful falsetto” and a “hungry, distorted growl” throughout the track were said to “ooze suave and mischievousness”. Sombr sings to a love interest, uncertain whether his feelings are being reciprocated.”

I don’t quite know the meaning of repurposed funk with fuzzy blues licks but it had me at funk, as the song did, with what seems to me more than hints of ’70s funk. That is reinforced by the video, which features a mirror-balled disco dance floor – where a sunglass-wearing Sombr has incongruously parked his car but damn it looks good. Social media personality and singer Addison Rae features as his love interest of the song – one that looks pretty requited in the video but the scenes of Sombr floating unconscious in a pool (with a great shot past him to the two police officers looking at him in the pool) suggests otherwise, and in my mind that the whole video might be his dream life flashing before his eyes so to speak.

 

RATING:

X-TIER (WILD TIER)

Friday Night Funk – Top 10 Music (Mojo & Funk): (6) Funk: The Prodigy – Smack My B*tch Up

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(6) FUNK: THE PRODIGY – SMACK MY B*TCH UP (1997)

B-side: Firestarter (1996)

 

“Oh my god – that’s the funky sh*t!”

We flashback to my hardcore stark raving techno dance bunny days with The Prodigy and their ant logo, although my taste has mellowed somewhat since then.

The Prodigy are an enduring electronic music band, although their high point was as one of the most important bands of the “big beat” subgenre of the 1990’s – not coincidentally, one might recognize the others from other funk entries in my top ten.

The musical prodigy behind The Prodigy is Liam Howlett, with the actual prodigy behind the name being his Moog Prodigy synthesizer. The Prodigy’s early material was largely straightforward rave with humorous samples thrown in, as shown by their debut album Experience. They ramped this up for their second album, Music for the Jilted Generation, “cultivating an angry, heavy sound drawing from techno, breakbeat and industrial rock”. Although I like the sound of both albums, this entry can only go to this single from their landmark album, The Fat of the Land in 1997, in which Howlett openly aimed at an alternative rock audience, “making the beats heavier”.

Of course, it does have that somewhat unfortunate title and lyric (sampled from “Give The Drummer Some” by the Ultramagnetic MCs), although I’ve always assumed it to be metaphorical – for “doing anything intensely” as the band itself claimed, or the sort of drunken or drug-fueled excess in the controversially explicit video.

I particularly enjoy the female vocals, performed by Shahin Badar, with vocals and harmonies in turn based on “Nana (The Dreaming)” by Sheila Chandra (initially as a direct sample but later with the vocal re-sung after sample clearance issues). Some of you may also recognize it from the Charlie’s Angels film soundtrack, where it was used to great effect in the action or fight sequences.

 

“I’m the trouble starter, punkin’ instigator

I’m the fear addicted, a danger illustrated

I’m a firestarter, twisted firestarter

You’re a firestarter, twisted firestarter!”

 

And as for my B-Side, it’s finely balanced between the two other leading singles from that album (such that it may vary by day and my mood), but I’ll go with their first single from the album and their first big hit – Firestarter.

“It showcased Keith Flint, with punk rock-style vocals, as the group’s frontman and is an important crossover song, meshing electronic beats with industrial metal and punk rock”.

 

RIP Keith Flint 4 March 2019

 

And here’s my Top 10 Prodigy songs for hardcore fans:

 

(3) Breathe (Fat of the Land 1996)

(4) No Good (Start the Dance (Music for the Jilted Generation 1994)

(5) Voodoo People (Music for the Jilted Generation 1994)

(6) Music Reach (1,2,3,4) (Experience 1992)

(7) Wind It Up (Experience 1992)

(8) Your Love (Experience 1992)

(9) Their Law (Music for the Jilted Generation 1994)

(“What we’re dealing with here is a total lack of respect for the law”)

(10) Poison (Music for the Jilted Generation 1995)

(“I got the poison / I got the remedy”)

 

RATING: 4 STARS****

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Friday Night Funk – Top 10 Music (Mojo & Funk): (8) The Chemical Brothers – The Test

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Excerpt from the music video – The Chemical Brothers have some of my favorite music videos, always featuring a cameo appearance by the duo

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(8) FUNK: THE CHEMICAL BROTHERS – THE TEST (2002)

B-Side: The Golden Path (2003)

 

“Am I coming through?

Am I coming through?

Is it sweet and pure and true?”

And we’re in the big beat genre, with the Chemical Brothers as pioneers in bringing it to the forefront of popular culture.

“Devil came by this morning

Said he had

Something to show me

I was looking like I’ve never seen a face before

Here we go now, let’s slide into the open door”

The Chemical Brothers are electronic music duo Tom Rowlands and Ed Simons, originating as DJ duo the Dust Brothers – hence the title of their debut album Exit Planet Dust with their name change to the Chemical Brothers. That album still features one of my favorite Chemical Brothers tracks, Alive Alone (featuring Beth Orton as vocalist).

“I’m seeing waves breaking forms on my horizons

Yeah I’m shining

I’m seeing waves breaking forms on my horizons

Lord, I’m shining”

It was with their second album, Dig Your Own Hole, that they rose to prominence – with tracks such as Setting Sun and Block Rocking Beats.

“You know I almost lost my mind

I can’t explain

Where I’ve been

You know I almost lost my mind

I couldn’t explain

The things I’ve seen

But now I think I see the light

Now I think I see the light”

However, my favorite Chemical Brothers song and the one with most resonance for me is a track from their fourth album Come With Us – The Test, with lyrics by Richard Ashcroft, better known as singer for the Verve (and the song Bittersweet Symphony), and its (literally) trippy video.

I also enjoy the videos of their singles. Interestingly, like Hitchcock, the duo have a signature cameo appearance in all their videos – although those appearances have become increasingly elusive or tricky to spot.

“You know I almost lost my mind

Now I’m home, and I’m free

Did I pass the acid test?

Did I pass the acid test?”

Close runner-up is The Golden Path, an original single for their 2003 singles collection. It’s a piece of neo-psychedelia featuring vocals by the Flaming Lips’ Wayne Coyne and lyrics suggestive of posthumous fantasy as well as a video that is my favorite Chemical Brothers video and a contender for my favorite music video of all time (now there’s an idea for a top ten list) – essentially a video for how I dream my days away at work. And yes – in our hearts, we all know the photocopier is a powerful demon force…

As for the balance of my Top 10 Chemical Brothers songs:

(3) Alive Alone (Exit Planet Dust 1995. Hell, the whole damn Exit Planet Dust album while we’re at it for hardcore rave dance-bunnies – “The brothers gonna work it out!”)

(4) Setting Sun (1996)

(5) Block-Rocking Beats (1997)

(6) Hey Boy Hey Girl (1999)

(7) Let Forever Be (1999)

(8) Out of Control (1999)

(9) Galvanize (2005)

(10) Wide Open (2015)

 

RATING: 4 STARS****

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Friday Night Funk: Top 10 Music (Mojo & Funk) (7) Jamiroquai – Love Foolosophy

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(7) FUNK: JAMIROQUAI – LOVE FOOLOSOPHY (A FUNK ODYSSEY 2001)

B-Side: Don’t Give Hate a Chance (2005)

 

“Baby baby, I feel these sweet sensations

Honey honey, looks like a superstar”

It doesn’t get much funkier than Jamiroquai – indeed, Wikipedia lists the band’s genres as “funk, acid jazz, jazz funk, nu-funk, pop and disco-rock”.

Jamiroquai is best known by its lead singer Jay Kay, dubbed the cat in the hat – particularly in his incarnation as the Buffalo Man, the silhouette character on their album covers – and his idiosyncratic style of dancing, showcased to best effect in the trippy video to Virtual Insanity, their best-selling single.

Or to its fans, the use of their single Canned Heat in that dance scene from Napoleon Dynamite. (Vote for Pedro!)

Their breakthrough album, particularly in the American music scene, was Travelling without Moving – apparently the best-selling funk album according to the Guinness Book of Records, with the aforementioned Virtual Insanity as its flagship single. Personally, I prefer the single Alright as funkier (“Let’s spend the night together, wake up and live forever”), although my true soft spot is for the sci-fi boogie of Cosmic Girls and its cheesy lyrics:

 

“I’m scanning all my radars

Well she said she’s from a quasar

Forty thousand million light years away

It’s a distant solar system

I tried to phone but they don’t list ’em

So I asked her for a number all the same

She said, step in my transporter

So I can teleport ya

All around my heavenly body…

She’s just a cosmic girl

From another galaxy”

However, my favorite Jamiroquai single and accordingly this entry is from their fifth album A Funk Odyssey (aptly enough in 2001) – Love Foolosophy.

Close-runner-up is a single from their sixth album Dynamite (and their singles compilation High Times) – (Don’t) Give Hate a Chance.

 

And as for the balance of my Top 10 Jamiroquai songs:

(3) Alright (Travelling Without Moving 1997)

(4) Cosmic Girl (Travelling with Moving 1996)

(5) Supersonic (1999)

(6) Little L (A Funk Odyssey 2001)

(7) You Give Me Something (A Funk Odyssey 2001)

(8) Corner of the Earth (A Funk Odyssey 2001)

(9) Feel So Good (A Funk Odyssey 2001)

(10) Feels Just Like it Should (2005)

Although Supersonic (Synkronized 1999) is a close runner-up, particularly for its trippy video

 

RATING: 4 STARS****

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Friday Night Funk: Top 10 Music (Mojo & Funk) (6) Groove Armada – I See You Baby

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Groove Armada’s logo

 

(6) FUNK: GROOVE ARMADA –
I SEE YOU BABY (1999)
B-side: Paper Romance (2010)

“This is the house that funk built – Groove Armada style!”

Nuff said.

Or perhaps not – Groove Armada (English electronic music duo Andy Cato and Tom Findlay) is another big beat funk entry from the 1990’s.

This entry, I See You Baby, is arguably their signature single and certainly one of the defining songs of 1999-2000. Although the original single was funky in itself, I prefer the even funkier remix by Fatboy Slim. (Interestingly, the duo DJ’d Fatboy Slim’s – or rather, Norman Cook’s – wedding). Watch out for that video – it gets a little raunchy

“You got to get on the dance floor…Oh this party got it going on!”

Don’t look for much in the way of lyrical depth (or lyrics) there – it’s all about the funk.

For my B-side – their 2010 single Paper Romance from their album Black Light (also remixed with other songs in their White Light album that year)

As for the balance of my Top 10 Groove Armada songs:
(3) Song 4 Mutya (2007)
(4) If Everybody Looked the Same (1999)
(5) Madder (2003)
(6) Superstyling (2001)
(7) My Friend (2001)
( 8 ) Think Twice (2002)
(9) Purple Haze (2002)
(10) But I Feel Good (2003)

RATING: 4 STARS****
A-TIER (TOP TIER)

 

Friday Night Funk – Top 10 Music (Mojo & Funk) (3) Fatboy Slim – Rockefeller Skank

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(3) FUNK: FATBOY SLIM (NORMAN COOK) –
ROCKAFELLER SKANK (1998)
B-Side: Weapon of Choice (2001)

 

Right about now – the funk soul brother! Check it out now – the funk soul brother!

And we’re in the electronic dance funk end of the funk scale, so don’t look for lyrical depth – or any lyrics beyond the above.

A prolific producer or mixer of dance music, Norman Cook has an appealing array of musical funk sub-genres attributed to him by Wikipedia – electronica, acid house, trip hop, nu-funk and the nomenclature with which I identify him, big beat.

Of course, not many people identify him as Norman Cook – he is best known by the moniker he adopted in 1996, Fatboy Slim, and under which he released the album which represented perhaps the height of his acclaim, You’ve Come a Long Way Baby. And that album featured this entry, Rockafeller Skank.

I am also partial to the following Fatboy Slim album Halfway Between the Gutter and the Stars, particularly my B-side selection Weapon of Choice and its video, because who doesn’t love Christopher Walken dancing?

 

And as for the rest of my Top 10 Fatboy Slim songs (including his previous incarnation as Pizzaman):
(3) Happiness (Pizzamania 1995)
(4) Sex on the Streets (Pizzamania 1995)
(5) Going Out of My Head (1997)
(6) Right Here Right Now (You’ve Come a Long Way Baby 1999)
(7) Praise You (You’ve Come a Long Way Baby 1999)
( 8 ) Sunset / Bird of Prey (Halfway Between the Gutter and the Stars 2000) – I mean, come on, it samples Jim Morrison!
(9) Don’t Let the Man Get You Down (2005)
(10) That Old Pair of Jeans (2006)

 

RATING: 4 STARS****
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