Punks Got Soul (#4)

 

Here's the fourth (and likely final) volume of Punks Got Soul.  It's been interesting to think about musical genre.  Consider the artists covering these songs: are they punk? Post Punk? New Wave? Pub Rock? Mod? 

And the songs themselves: at what point does R&B evolve into soul, soul into funk, or funk into disco?  The Blasters got it right when they titled their first album American Music.  The Who had it right when they billed themselves as "Maximum R&B" -- music for dancing, but with amps to 11!

I've asked myself whether I'm just collecting examples of the whitening of Black music (like Pat Boone's version of "Tutti Frutti").  But then I remember that rock & roll was kind of a collision between jump blues and hillbilly music.  Maybe the best soul music needs a great singer -- but the best rock (and punk) needs a LOT of guitar. 

When all is said and done, the music is (in the words of Q-Tip) "devoted to the art of moving butts". I leave you with these confusing musings and another collection of 1980's versions of soul, R&B, girl groups, Motown, funk, and whatever other omfuggin' labels you might choose to apply to these songs. 

Speaking of moving butts, we have two more Triple Song Title collections today.  Sexy Sexy Sexy contains disco, funk, soul, and other styles of music for dancing. Cool Cool Cool is mostly alt-rock from the last two decades, for those of us too cool (or too self-conscious) to venture onto the dancefloor.

ELSEWHERE ON THE BLOG:  more Joan Jett, Dave Alvin, Barrence, John McGeoch, and Oil Tasters!