ONE HIT WONDERLAND: "Funkytown" by Lipps Inc.

Поділитися
Вставка
  • Опубліковано 24 гру 2024

КОМЕНТАРІ •

  • @michaelmcdonald8452
    @michaelmcdonald8452 4 роки тому +2690

    I once had a friend refer to this group as “Lips Incorporated” with complete seriousness.

    • @Vladdyboy
      @Vladdyboy 4 роки тому +282

      I mean. That IS what Lipps Inc. stands for... the pun is only second nature. I see it as calling them by their full name rather than the shorter nickname.

    • @PIXPromosMore
      @PIXPromosMore 4 роки тому +143

      Could be worse, somebody could refer to E.L.O. as "elo"

    • @AdamTPersonette
      @AdamTPersonette 4 роки тому +39

      I feel like he should we wrapped up in a blanket and told to sit down in a hushed soothing voice while holding him close

    • @crescentfreshbret
      @crescentfreshbret 4 роки тому +75

      This is something I would’ve done... and probably did. I didn’t get the joke in the name until just recently.

    • @zombiedodge1426
      @zombiedodge1426 4 роки тому +36

      That’s what Siri calls them when you ask to play this song on Spotify!

  • @91Vault
    @91Vault 4 роки тому +2707

    it took me over a second to realize this was new and todd hasn't actually already done funky town

    • @yeltseingeorge3125
      @yeltseingeorge3125 4 роки тому +101

      I was going crazy tryna figure it out...I thought it was a re-upload

    • @user-du6vx7ir7m
      @user-du6vx7ir7m 4 роки тому +61

      New to this, are most videos from like 2013-2016 because that’s what it feels like unless Todd is just such a boomer everything he says makes him sound old lol

    • @Froggievilleus
      @Froggievilleus 4 роки тому +46

      So glad that I wasn't the only one who thought this. I figured that UA-cam's algorithm popped this gem up for me.

    • @pablograssdestroyerofass6965
      @pablograssdestroyerofass6965 4 роки тому +12

      holy shit this was uploaded today lmao

    • @ms06fzakuii26
      @ms06fzakuii26 4 роки тому +43

      i swear to god i remember him doing funky town

  • @robinchesterfield42
    @robinchesterfield42 4 роки тому +2082

    Back when I played Animal Crossing, I unironically named my town "Funkyton" (they only give you eight letters), made a surprisingly decent/recognisable picture of a disco ball the town flag, AND, as soon as I found out you could make the town "anthem" whatever you want, guess what? Yep. THAT SYNTH RIFF.
    I regret nothing. :D

    • @theschoolgy1985
      @theschoolgy1985 4 роки тому +101

      Thank you, I’ll be stealing this idea

    • @imfamoushero
      @imfamoushero 4 роки тому +64

      That reminds me I just named a Minecraft world “Funkytown” LMAO

    • @rachellochness
      @rachellochness 4 роки тому +30

      My animal crossing new leaf town is called funktown haha

    • @planescaped
      @planescaped 4 роки тому +6

      God I can't wait for New Horizons... it looks as amazing as Sword/Shield was mediocre.

    • @livingbirthcontrol8145
      @livingbirthcontrol8145 4 роки тому +9

      best animal crossing player ever?

  • @gamerguy425
    @gamerguy425 4 роки тому +728

    This song is like the opposite of "video killed the radio star"
    That song was the most 80s song EVER and made in 1979, this is a quintessential disco song made in 1980.

    • @justanotheranimeprofilepic
      @justanotheranimeprofilepic 2 роки тому +38

      They deserve each other

    • @derdritte7957
      @derdritte7957 Рік тому +12

      Both were made in 1979.

    • @WereDictionary
      @WereDictionary Рік тому +2

      @@derdritte7957 wikipedia says march 1980

    • @derdritte7957
      @derdritte7957 Рік тому +4

      @@WereDictionary Wikipedia also says:
      It was [...] released as the second single from the group's debut studio album, Mouth to Mouth (1979).

    • @jwardbass4452
      @jwardbass4452 Рік тому +3

      @@derdritte7957ahhh, that explains it. the single itself was just released in 1980. strange choice given that disco died but the song is just undeniably great. rare power.

  • @BonJoviBeatlesLedZep
    @BonJoviBeatlesLedZep 4 роки тому +731

    "He went into web design, which. I mean, look at him yeah."
    That one got a REAL hard laugh out of me lol

  • @smjaiteh
    @smjaiteh 4 роки тому +1235

    Funkytown. The last hit single of the disco genre. Inspired by Kraftwerk. Incensed the career of Prince. This song is the lynchpin of music history.

    • @ExplizitDuester
      @ExplizitDuester 4 роки тому +41

      Haha like how there would have been now death row records without vanilla ice

    • @santiagobauza4257
      @santiagobauza4257 4 роки тому +16

      Was is the last hit single of disco? Give It Up by disco staple KC and the Sunshine Band reached the top 20 and No. 1 in the UK in 82/83.

    • @ktee1403
      @ktee1403 4 роки тому +20

      @@santiagobauza4257 I was also gonna say Donna Summer 'She Works Hard For The Money'. Also 1983. I think that was the official last year of disco.

    • @darganx
      @darganx 4 роки тому +24

      @@ktee1403 the OP is right.. the line was drawn at 1980, Ms. Summer was doing duets with Barbara Streisand FFS! By 1983 she was a born again Christian, singing songs written by Jon Anderson of Yes (State of Independence) and 'She Works Hard For The Money' was pure 80s largesse, more Flashdance then anything Disco.
      Back to this track.. in the era of New Wave, Two-Tone Ska and the New Romantics, it was a curtain closer with a nod to the future: the violins of Chic (even Nile Rodgers had moved on by this time!) mixed with the programmed beats similar to Arthur Baker or Italo House (although Giorgio Moroder and Cerrone were playing with this concept in the 70s) - I would say this was the last Disco hit before it went back underground and re-emerged as Dance/House in the mid-80s.

    • @ktee1403
      @ktee1403 4 роки тому +12

      @@darganx good response! I agree. Sometimes I find it difficult to separate the artist from the genre. I always think of Donna Summer as the queen of disco, but her music did evolve in the 80s. When you listen to Bad Girls ('79) and She Works Hard ('83) you can definitely hear the change.

  • @HappyMan0203
    @HappyMan0203 4 роки тому +1045

    I remember the first time I heard this song was "Shrek 2" when I was a kid.
    That movie had a pretty awesome soundtrack, honestly.

    • @Annafyz
      @Annafyz 4 роки тому +19

      same here

    • @waynegoodman135
      @waynegoodman135 4 роки тому +51

      Eels- I Need To Sleep(awesome track!)

    • @MatteoTomatto
      @MatteoTomatto 4 роки тому +56

      I don't even like Counting Crows but I still can't get "Accidentally In Love" out of my head. Plus, that movie introduced me to Bonnie Tyler.

    • @bacht4799
      @bacht4799 4 роки тому +7

      Wayne Goodman Agee.. and Tom Waits: a little drop of poise..

    • @santiagobauza4257
      @santiagobauza4257 4 роки тому +47

      The first two Shrek movies had amazing soundtracks. It's the reason the first Proclaimers song I knew wasn't I'm Gonna Be

  • @Dog-999i
    @Dog-999i 4 роки тому +999

    Disco never really died. It went underground and evolved into House music. It never died in Europe and then became Italo Disco and French House. There were even US Disco bands like The Crown Heights Affair that were popular in Europe but not in America.

    • @LeoMidori
      @LeoMidori 4 роки тому +150

      Fair enough. Daft Punk certainly has HUGE disco roots.

    • @RobertJRoman
      @RobertJRoman 4 роки тому +130

      Quincy Jones said in the mid eighties that eighties dance music (like Madonna) was just disco with an acceptable pink nipple

    • @ACETYGRA
      @ACETYGRA 4 роки тому +41

      Plus if anything at least disco music was more interesting and colorful then Air Supply or Rupert Holmes or any of the other random yacht rock crap that replaced it in 1980/81.

    • @joshyoder871
      @joshyoder871 4 роки тому +11

      @@RobertJRoman Speaking of...I'm wondering if Todd is going to get flagged for that blonde in the sheer top? ^_^

    • @buppy_gaming
      @buppy_gaming 4 роки тому +3

      @@LeoMidori all house does

  • @Lastclerk3
    @Lastclerk3 4 роки тому +889

    When is Todd ever going to cover Lindanna and her hit song “I’m Lindanna and I wanna have fun”? Sure she had the typical one hit, BUT she married another one hit wonder in Max Modem. Their kids passion for music not only reunited Love Händel, but they also had their own one hit wonder story as Phineas and the Ferbtones with “Gitchee Gitchee Goo” The Flynn-Fletcher Dynasty of one hit wonders deserves an episode!

    • @brendamartin8458
      @brendamartin8458 4 роки тому +118

      Todd 100% does not get this reference but it’s still good!

    • @MattMcIrvin
      @MattMcIrvin 4 роки тому +96

      "Whoa, whoa, that's a little too Seventies for the Eighties! Just push the button and let the machine do the work!"

    • @williameyelash8053
      @williameyelash8053 4 роки тому +11

      Thank you! YEEEES we need that episode ASAP

    • @Hola-tq4pg
      @Hola-tq4pg 4 роки тому +29

      @@brendamartin8458 Phineas and Ferb got old enough already to be remembered by young millenials and zoomers, he might get an idea of what they guy said

    • @NJGuy1973
      @NJGuy1973 4 роки тому +13

      And Lindanna name-checked two other one-hit wonders.

  • @ChristoTitan
    @ChristoTitan 4 роки тому +502

    Why on earth was Cynthia Johnson not in any of the original videos? She's absolutely gorgeous.

    • @danmseattle975
      @danmseattle975 4 роки тому +20

      Yes, she certainly is! Strikingly beautiful.

    • @nate567987
      @nate567987 4 роки тому +49

      well the 2nd video was clearly made for white folks

    • @burr1aj
      @burr1aj 4 роки тому +110

      There was a lot of silent racism in the early music video days, and especially in the first few weeks (or probably months, I don't know, I wasn't born until 87) of MTV.

    • @brunixot1
      @brunixot1 4 роки тому +3

      Exactly

    • @witherblaze
      @witherblaze 4 роки тому +48

      @@burr1aj I remember CBS tried to sue MTV for discrimination when they didn't accept Billie Jean music video

  • @Mr96POP
    @Mr96POP 4 роки тому +2098

    I can’t believe it’s been nearly 10 years since Todd talked about Pseudo Echo’s cover of “Funkytown” in his Top 10 Worst Hit Songs of 1987 video.

    • @fatnin13
      @fatnin13 4 роки тому +50

      Wait, really? Man, I feel old now.

    • @TheUnmitigatedDawn
      @TheUnmitigatedDawn 4 роки тому +119

      10 years and I’m still waiting for the One hit wonderland for Brandy(You’re a fine girl) by Looking Glass

    • @lillydalliesaboutthings
      @lillydalliesaboutthings 4 роки тому +42

      Not sure how to feel as someone who loves Pseudo Echos cover xD

    • @AlexVorstermans
      @AlexVorstermans 4 роки тому +26

      My parents are avid Psuedo Echo fans (even saw them in concert at the time and recently), many mornings have been spent walking out of my bedroom to hear them blasting Crazy Town or What an Adventure

    • @SonofMrPeanut
      @SonofMrPeanut 4 роки тому +9

      @@TheUnmitigatedDawn "Bellbottom Blues"

  • @anenigma8378
    @anenigma8378 4 роки тому +569

    If you say "Funkytown" 3 times in front of a mirror, a pianist will play the iconic synth line right behind you.

    • @Musicradio77Network
      @Musicradio77Network 4 роки тому +10

      That synth line was later used in an arcade game called “Fantasy” by SNK in 1981 in the jungle stage, and the voodoo stage.

    • @MiniMackeroni
      @MiniMackeroni 3 роки тому +15

      H-he won't... leave... He just keeps playing the same riff over and over.

    • @uzimyspecial
      @uzimyspecial 3 роки тому +9

      @@MiniMackeroni I guess you gotta make a move to a town that's right for you, now?

    • @jamesparson
      @jamesparson 2 роки тому

      Now how do I make it stop?

  • @BenEd2
    @BenEd2 4 роки тому +377

    Genuinely impressive that you made it the whole way through without mentioning Shrek 2

    • @lancerutt9936
      @lancerutt9936 4 роки тому +12

      After his time

    • @paradise2pink
      @paradise2pink 4 роки тому +33

      I'm surprised the comment section isn't full of Shrek references.

    • @ccateni28
      @ccateni28 4 роки тому +3

      I forgot they had it in Shrek 2.

  • @BigBrezzy
    @BigBrezzy 3 роки тому +383

    15:33 Fun fact: this song would later be sampled by Polish rapper Cypis in his song "Gdzie jest biały węgorz? ("Where is the white eel?"). As you may guess, this rather depressing record is about the singer's struggles with cocaine addiction, but it would be best known internationally as the soundtrack to the Polish Cow meme.

    • @AaronAnaya
      @AaronAnaya 3 роки тому +49

      I knew that sample before that meme blew up only because of this video lol.

    • @BigBrezzy
      @BigBrezzy 3 роки тому +78

      @@AaronAnaya I immediately jolted up in my seat as soon as I heard that synth line.

    • @gogovish
      @gogovish 2 роки тому +37

      when i heard that i was like "i heard that in that cow song"

    • @jimbabbbson7653
      @jimbabbbson7653 3 місяці тому +4

      i absolutely adore that song ngl

    • @landheaux6547
      @landheaux6547 2 місяці тому

      I didn’t even put two and two together that it sampled this, and I have watched this video and listened to the rap song several times.

  • @MsClaudiaDuran
    @MsClaudiaDuran 2 роки тому +220

    This song was the death of disco, but it was something more. It passed the baton to the classic 80's sound that we know today. Right before the guitar riff in the chorus, there's a deep, base-like synthesiser. THAT sound and style was used by every major pop artist of the 80's, from the opening of Madonna's "Like a Virgin" to the opening of Whitney Houston's "I Wanna Dance With Somebody" to Michael Jackson's "Billie Jean".
    "Funkytown" was disco's dying breath that whispered to the 80's "Live long and prosper", and the 80's delivered.

    • @therebelreaper1486
      @therebelreaper1486 Рік тому +4

      It was also there for the death of someone else

    • @HaonProductions
      @HaonProductions 11 місяців тому +2

      "Dearly beloved, we have gathered here today to get through this thing called life..."

  • @IndigoRose13
    @IndigoRose13 4 роки тому +580

    Speaking as a Swede, it's always so weird when I hear Americans talking about 'the death of disco', because in most of Europe, disco never really went away. I was so confused the first time I heard the term 'deader than disco' because as far as I was concerned 'disco' was basically an evergreen presence in the music world.

    • @denisenova7494
      @denisenova7494 4 роки тому +125

      Europeans call every kind of dance music "Disco". Many use to word "Disco" for all kinds of dance clubs and raves. Many songs that Europeans consider Disco is called Dance or Dance Music in the US. Or even Euro Dance. What Americans call Disco is heavily associated with the 70s, a certain style to dress and with funky music.

    • @theobuniel9643
      @theobuniel9643 4 роки тому +57

      Meanwhile here in the Philippines, disco didn't die in the 80s, in fact it fucking thrived, even. Disco survived and went alongside the new wave explosion. Even today Filipino boomers dance to old disco hits like it's 40 years ago.

    • @willowweedsYT
      @willowweedsYT 4 роки тому +21

      Denise Nova I do think we use the word in a broader sense, but I think that's more for the fact that it didn't become a dirty word here and the genre was allowed to develop, it is still the same sound.

    • @TahtahmesDiary
      @TahtahmesDiary 4 роки тому +49

      Thats because the death of disco in America was racist, but other cultures didn't have the same issue. Shortest way to put it. Its just never acknowledged what events took place that switched it so rapidly in the span of months in this one place while everyone else continued to build on the genre.

    • @Ryoga2K
      @Ryoga2K 4 роки тому +10

      Yes.. same in Mexico, that's why designer music did so well, I mean it was their second single after the massive funky town , obviously was going to do well, by that time , when US output started to decline italodisco from Europe started to take its place and Canadian disco too, that kind of more electronic disco started to be called "hi-nrg" but I guess only to get in line with the charts of the neighbor country, dance versions of tracks and whatnot still stated (disco version) on them, like it wasn't like "it died today" it was more of a slow phase out of the name

  • @GrantH
    @GrantH 4 роки тому +1531

    This is definitely a good “transition” song in terms of trends, which is probably why is was able to survive the disco backlash. Obviously still a disco-style beat, but the stabbing synth melody was a sign of things to come.

    • @Hakajin
      @Hakajin 4 роки тому +47

      Keen observation!

    • @56jklove
      @56jklove 4 роки тому +8

      @TC Fenstermaker so is off the wall count as disco or post disco?

    • @charliemoll5435
      @charliemoll5435 4 роки тому +14

      Disco type beat

    • @guguigugu
      @guguigugu 4 роки тому +6

      yes, i never really percieved it as a disco song it sounds a lot more 80s than 70s

    • @ACETYGRA
      @ACETYGRA 4 роки тому +27

      @@56jklove I've always viewed Michael Jackson's Off The Wall album as the sort of last big gasp for disco while songs such as "Upside Down" by Diana Ross and "Take the Time(Do it Right)" by SOS band were essentially the last blatantly disco songs to be hits on the pop charts (Both songs were hits in the summer of 1980.)

  • @courtneyjohnsonhaber4591
    @courtneyjohnsonhaber4591 4 роки тому +371

    If Funky Town is responsible for Purple Rain, we owe so much to Steve Greenburg.

    • @IamGaby
      @IamGaby 4 роки тому +19

      ummmmmmmmmm it is not. dont get it twisted Prince is his own genre

    • @courtneyjohnsonhaber4591
      @courtneyjohnsonhaber4591 4 роки тому +9

      @@IamGaby oh of course!

  • @LividImp
    @LividImp 4 роки тому +141

    Funkytown was able to hit in the 80s because of that synth. By '83 synth was king, and Funkytown managed to thread the needle between disco and synthpop.

  • @MrODigga
    @MrODigga 4 роки тому +685

    "What's more evocative to the gay experience than wanting to get the fuck out of a nowhere town and go somewhere where there's an actual scene?"
    Either Todd is one of us, or he has an incredible amount of insight into the queer experience for a straight person.

    • @thatkidwiththehoodie
      @thatkidwiththehoodie 2 роки тому +205

      It’s come up a couple of times in his videos and his podcasts that he’s about as straight as it gets. He’s just a decent guy with a lot of queer friends.

    • @RenaldyCalixte
      @RenaldyCalixte 2 роки тому +93

      @@thatkidwiththehoodie Todd just seems to understand what the LGBT plus community celebrates.

    • @lasarousi
      @lasarousi 2 роки тому +35

      That's kind of human nature in show business and almost nothing to do with your groin or groin preference.

    • @RCSDominoToppling
      @RCSDominoToppling 2 роки тому +7

      Lol I was thinking the same thing. Like, that was so spot on it hurts (especially living in Wyoming for now)

    • @meowtherainbowx4163
      @meowtherainbowx4163 2 роки тому +24

      @@lasarousi That’s true to an extent, but just because the experiences of gay people are comprehensible and relatable to others doesn’t mean they’re all the same. As a 22-year-old straight guy from a not particularly sheltering family, I still find myself learning new things about the experiences of gay and other LGBT+ people.

  • @williameyelash8053
    @williameyelash8053 4 роки тому +788

    Lol I was about to comment something along the lines of: what are you talking about failed follow up? Designer music is *super popular* I can't escape that song.... Are you doing a bit with a plot twist as you sometimes do because there is no way that song isn't popular I...
    Todd: it was huge In Mexico and Philipinnes
    Me a mexican: OH.....

    • @TheUnmitigatedDawn
      @TheUnmitigatedDawn 4 роки тому +23

      Screw Todd for insulting Ambrosia. They are an underrated prog rock band. Check out their eponymous debut album. It’s a prog masterpiece

    • @barbarrojaa.c.4761
      @barbarrojaa.c.4761 4 роки тому +62

      Without knowing Designer Music's name, as a Mexican I agree. I heard the riff and immediately knew which song it was. No idea it was by the Funkytown guys. Weird world

    • @spongejoseandres
      @spongejoseandres 4 роки тому +5

      I remember being introduced to Designer Music through Molotov's cover of it. Good times.

    • @thomashanke4857
      @thomashanke4857 4 роки тому +5

      The a-ha effect here in Europe 🙋🏼

    • @midnighter2k
      @midnighter2k 4 роки тому +6

      Sadly not the first time Todd attacks a song that was literaly HUGE in Mexico. When he began is tirade against designer music i though to myself: Not again!

  • @DarthSocks
    @DarthSocks 4 роки тому +381

    I did not realize that Funky Town was considered disco. I always assumed it was synth-pop like Safety Dance.
    Thanks for the music documentaries, Todd.

    • @simongunkel7457
      @simongunkel7457 4 роки тому +28

      Seems like a matter of place, if it came out of Sheffield it'd be synth pop, but hailing from Philly makes it the last leg of Disco. I think in Europe Disco just became more synthetic and by the time it crossed over to the US it was synth pop, much like Rock ended up going back as Beat. i mean, you just have to look to Mark Almond and Jimmy Summervilles cover of I feel love to get a sense of the continuity. And Vince Clark is just a very Disco person, period.

    • @marquisdelafayette1929
      @marquisdelafayette1929 4 роки тому +1

      Simon Gunkel really? I’m from Philly and didn’t know that. We worship Rocky and Eye Of The Tiger. If in thousands of years an advanced civilization will find the statue of Rocky and think it was a great god that was worshipped by the population and they would be right.

    • @MattMcIrvin
      @MattMcIrvin 4 роки тому +10

      As he eventually gets around to saying, the line between disco and synth-heavy 1980s dance music is really blurry, and there's a lot of stuff there that would have been called disco if it had come out when disco was considered cool. They just took out most of the Giorgio Moroder strings.

    • @josh44026
      @josh44026 4 роки тому

      @@simongunkel7457 have you heard of post disco

  • @chefbanjo8139
    @chefbanjo8139 4 роки тому +222

    The Prince observation rocked something fundamental in my brain.

    • @NinjaDash360
      @NinjaDash360 4 роки тому +14

      Yeah, kinda unexpected for Flyte Time to be connected to Funkytown lol

    • @NinjaDash360
      @NinjaDash360 4 роки тому +8

      @@rommix0 oh yeah I know the whole story. It's very interesting to see the early days of the minneapolis music scene back in the 70s and 80s.

  • @krisstarring
    @krisstarring 4 роки тому +82

    "Funkytown" was inspired by Kraftwerk. In a way, it was the bridge between the disco era of the 70's and the New Wave/synthpop era of the 80's. It firmly belongs in 1980 as part of an era of transition.

  • @amberdent651
    @amberdent651 Рік тому +69

    The thing about Funkytown is that if you've seen _that video,_ then you can't ever hear it the same. If you haven't seen it, god bless you and don't go looking for it.

    • @naikigutierrez4279
      @naikigutierrez4279 Рік тому +6

      The one where they mash up Funkytown with Closer by NIN?

    • @amberdent651
      @amberdent651 Рік тому +13

      @@naikigutierrez4279 Um. No. Are you in a position to receive information that might hurt you? (It’s one of the grisliest snuff videos on the internet of a guy being skinned alive by the cartel. Do not go looking for it.)

    • @naikigutierrez4279
      @naikigutierrez4279 Рік тому +5

      @@amberdent651 I actually did locate info about the video you were referring to on another comment on this video.

    • @lionmanemusic
      @lionmanemusic Рік тому +1

      god yeah, it’s hard to even watch this video

    • @whimsicaljapes
      @whimsicaljapes 11 місяців тому +8

      I've never watched the video (and hopefully never will), but just knowing what happens in it is enough send chills down my spine everytime I hear the song

  • @planescaped
    @planescaped 4 роки тому +263

    Greenberg is a caricature of a socially awkward guy. XD
    I love it.

    • @Braxant
      @Braxant 4 роки тому +24

      And a caricature of a New York Jew lol

    • @Nebuchadnezzar31
      @Nebuchadnezzar31 4 роки тому +4

      I love your avatar is Mighty Boosh Hitcher

    • @ChromeDestiny
      @ChromeDestiny 4 роки тому

      @SoreThumbChronicles David Cross too.

    • @playlist9980
      @playlist9980 2 місяці тому +1

      He's funny though. The line 'Oh I got plenty...I had none' killed me.

  • @michaelbiscay9836
    @michaelbiscay9836 4 роки тому +268

    I feel like an idiot for only just now becoming aware of the "Lipps Inc." & "lip sync" correlation. Thanks, Todd.

    • @irs2486
      @irs2486 2 роки тому +8

      lips incorporated

  • @emirvmendoza
    @emirvmendoza 4 роки тому +459

    So "Designer Music" is a Lipps, Inc. song, huh? I keep hearing this song where I live. Edit: Yes, the Philippines.

    • @roguishpaladin
      @roguishpaladin 4 роки тому +22

      I mean, it was either the Philippines or Mexico, right?

    • @TheUnmitigatedDawn
      @TheUnmitigatedDawn 4 роки тому +7

      Too many walls by Cathy Dennis - One hit wonderland

    • @johngregor6743
      @johngregor6743 4 роки тому +3

      @@TheUnmitigatedDawn Kinda challenging given that "Touch Me (All Night Long)" and "Just Another Dream" were also hits.

    • @danielvarela6259
      @danielvarela6259 4 роки тому +2

      Mexican here, yes it was a big hit here.

    • @khaimk4r4su
      @khaimk4r4su 4 роки тому +2

      @@danielvarela6259 "diseño rolas"

  • @Thomas_Dim95
    @Thomas_Dim95 4 роки тому +45

    Holy cow, that "How Long" cover is the sample used in the Dancing Polish Cow meme.

  • @paulyearley1084
    @paulyearley1084 2 роки тому +33

    It's aggressively vapid, but goes SO HARD and I unironically love it. I say with the last two records I bought having been early Whitehouse.

  • @moviegeek5361
    @moviegeek5361 4 роки тому +226

    I love that Todd’s embracing the disco decade more and more

    • @RatelHBadger
      @RatelHBadger 4 роки тому +17

      Play That Funky Music White Boy

    • @zoidsfan12
      @zoidsfan12 4 роки тому +32

      Wait till he discovers we are currently in another disco age. It's just more underground this time because its a derivative of vaporwave. Good ole futurefunk by far my favorite new genre.

    • @TheProfessor529
      @TheProfessor529 4 роки тому +18

      @@zoidsfan12 | And folks re/discovering things like City Pop. Disco and Funk were able to adapt and survive pretty much everywhere BUT the USA.

    • @timmy841212
      @timmy841212 4 роки тому +2

      Disco was/is fun. Least when you cut the cheese out (Rolling Stones, Rod Stewart, Ethel effing Merman lol).

    • @santiagobauza4257
      @santiagobauza4257 4 роки тому +4

      @@zoidsfan12 Well, one of the biggest hits of the year so far is straight up Jamiroquai-ish post-disco. To my understanding Todd really likes it.

  • @UnorthodoxIndividual
    @UnorthodoxIndividual 4 роки тому +343

    Nobody:
    Todd: *Oh boy 3AM*

    • @carybeweary7209
      @carybeweary7209 4 роки тому +10

      Thank God I'm an unemployed drunk!

    • @giuliaalvarez-katz3213
      @giuliaalvarez-katz3213 4 роки тому +14

      actually it’s just in time for my european morning he’s just considerate of his international viewers!!!!

    • @davidwright1577
      @davidwright1577 4 роки тому

      The painted cow

  • @TheWwwyzzerdd
    @TheWwwyzzerdd 4 роки тому +282

    You know, she sings about wanting to go to Funkytown, but I've always wondered what she was going to do once she got to Funkytown.
    They should make a sequel called "Welp, I Made It To Funkytown (Now I Need a Job)."

    • @EpicB
      @EpicB 4 роки тому +22

      Funkytown 2

    • @hebneh
      @hebneh 4 роки тому +20

      The sequel would be incredibly easy to do: "Now I've made the move to a town that's right for me / Town that keeps me movin', keeps me groovin' with some energy / Well, I talked about it...(etc.)...Well, now I'm here in - Funky Town / Now I'm here in - Funky Town", etc. Since it's now 40 years later, millions of people who don't know the original could be sucked in, thinking this was a fabulous new funky song!

    • @SebasnatorHDChannel
      @SebasnatorHDChannel 4 роки тому +4

      Gone Hollywood -Supertramp

    • @Aforementioned
      @Aforementioned 2 роки тому +2

      @@EpicB Funky-two-n?

  • @hollandscottthomas
    @hollandscottthomas 3 роки тому +67

    I used to work for the keyboardist from Pseudo Echo in a record store and we'd occasionally drop Funky Town over the loudspeakers for a laugh.
    "Fuckers still owe me money", he'd say. Good dude.

  • @wfbgenius
    @wfbgenius 2 роки тому +51

    Todd talking about how a decade doesn’t actually start or end anything doesn’t feel great thinking about how abruptly 2020 burned everything to the ground.

  • @TheMgutierrez
    @TheMgutierrez 4 роки тому +332

    Todd: Designer Music was a hit in Philippines
    Me, with Filipino ears: Ok I can see why (its probably the oversinging)

    • @TheUnmitigatedDawn
      @TheUnmitigatedDawn 4 роки тому +10

      Todd in needs to do a one hit wonderland episode for Layla by Derek and the Dominos

    • @duffman18
      @duffman18 4 роки тому +14

      @@TheUnmitigatedDawn Eric Clapton is about the furthest thing from a one hit wonder you can get. He's had hits in every decades he's played in. Layla is just one of them.

    • @TheUnmitigatedDawn
      @TheUnmitigatedDawn 4 роки тому +13

      @duffman18
      It’s a Derek and the Dominos song. Not an Eric clapton song. The whole band made it a hit.

    • @duffman18
      @duffman18 4 роки тому +8

      @@TheUnmitigatedDawn yes and "Derek" is Eric Clapton and the domino's were just his backing band. It's like when Prince changed his name to that symbol, it didn't stop him from being Prince. Eric wrote the song all by himself.
      And have you seen an episode of One Hit Wonder? Todd covers the entire history of the band/artist, before and after and during the hit. He takes into account whether say the artist was in a band before that were massively successful, and if they were, then they don't count as a one hit wonder.
      Eric doesn't count; just because he decided to change his stage name for one album, that doesn't mean he was a different artist. The band were like the band members of Wings, sure they're great but Paul was the only one people knew and cared about because he wrote everything and often performed every instrument during recording. Same deal with Eric here. Derek and the Dominoes were Eric's Wings
      Now is love to see him do an episode on Eric Clapton or maybe just that song anyway, because it'd probably be really good and a change from his normal kinda songs he reviews. But it wouldn't count as a one hit wonder, because Clapton is one of the most successful musicians in history
      Also if you wanna request one you've got to do it on patreon. He already has a big list of requests people have paid for that he's getting through but maybe he'll do the episode if you pay him enough, just not as a one hit wonder. But yeah man's gotta eat, he lives in NYC, he needs those patreon supporters

    • @TheUnmitigatedDawn
      @TheUnmitigatedDawn 4 роки тому +9

      @duffman18
      Jim Gordon, the pianist, basically wrote the second most iconic part of the song, the piano interlude in the second part. Also Duane Allman did the awesome slide solo and Carl Radle gave us the underrated groovy bassline that went nice under the guitars. Duane also wrote the iconic main riff btw

  • @NEEDbacon
    @NEEDbacon 4 роки тому +124

    So I'm a huge car guy and we had a similar phenomenon the decade earlier known as the "Muscle car era". From the release of the GOAT in 1964 to 1970 when laws were passed that brought everything to an end due to fuel and emissions. I was reading a book that had little blurbs regarding the cars and one of the last big mucle cars had one that went; "If you're going to show up late to a party bring one hell of a dip".
    Funkytown is the disco equivalent of that, a damn good 7 layer dip to a party on the wane.

    • @andreasfrost-blade4689
      @andreasfrost-blade4689 4 роки тому +2

      Is that about the 71 Superduty Trans Am?

    • @NEEDbacon
      @NEEDbacon 4 роки тому +1

      @@andreasfrost-blade4689 I think it was the 1970's Dodge Challenger.

    • @andreasfrost-blade4689
      @andreasfrost-blade4689 4 роки тому

      NEEDbacon I thought of that one too, but didn’t it eek out right before the regulations where passed, the Superduty was well after and still pretty comparable to the late sixties muscle, I may be wrong though about the regulations and the challenger.

  • @davestevens6283
    @davestevens6283 4 роки тому +193

    An introvert making a song for extroverts.

  • @felixcroc
    @felixcroc 4 роки тому +103

    The "dancing polish cow" song is built off a sample of the How Long cover

    • @geoffreyexcellent4199
      @geoffreyexcellent4199 4 роки тому +20

      Just realized this, my mind is blown by such a obscure connection between the two...

    • @lemonworm
      @lemonworm 3 роки тому +13

      i was literally just thinking how their backlog seems extremely sampleable

    • @rauldjvp3053
      @rauldjvp3053 3 роки тому +5

      Woah

  • @FredyeahEternal
    @FredyeahEternal 4 роки тому +63

    "Designer Music was a huge hit in Mexico", mate, its because post-disco never died in here, if you have 15 minutes to spare look for Vice's "The Last HI-NRG Ravers in Mexico" video (spoilers, its not even close to dying 7 years later, it's actually growing)

  • @jonahfalcon1970
    @jonahfalcon1970 4 роки тому +157

    Oh, and 1980 also had Kool and the Gang's "Celebration". And that endured.

    • @danieleatwell7757
      @danieleatwell7757 4 роки тому +17

      Also Earth, Wind and Fire's Let's Groove in 1981.

    • @tonyhogg9839
      @tonyhogg9839 3 роки тому +1

      I really like a lot of songs from 80 and 81, but it is true there was not much of a direction pop music was going those two years.

    • @jonahfalcon1970
      @jonahfalcon1970 3 роки тому +6

      @@tonyhogg9839 Well, they tried to give the whitest music they could do, which is how Eddie Rabbit had a hit song.
      In 1982, Michael Jackson had arrived and that ended.

    • @mikerivera373
      @mikerivera373 3 роки тому +4

      Another One Bites the Dust and Another Brick in the Wall were both massive hits in 1980, and those are two of the most iconic songs in the history of rock music

    • @SonofMrPeanut
      @SonofMrPeanut 3 роки тому

      I attribute that to the song becoming a bit of a Jock Jam (played at a lot of sporting events).

  • @Kittylover074
    @Kittylover074 4 роки тому +263

    One Hit Wonderland: What's Up by 4 Non Blondes
    You know you have to do that Todd.

    • @UBvtuber
      @UBvtuber 4 роки тому +52

      He probably knows he'll have to reference HEYAYAYAY at some point and wants to avoid that.

    • @timothy4097
      @timothy4097 4 роки тому +42

      He said it was one of his least favorite songs ever. Like, maybe the worst.

    • @EpicB
      @EpicB 4 роки тому +10

      I think the first time I heard that song was in elementary school. I forget the occasion but I think a staff member sang it. Including the line "get real high".

    • @DJsocial7102
      @DJsocial7102 4 роки тому +23

      That will be the last one hit wonder he does. He hates it aloooooot.

    • @Avrysatos
      @Avrysatos 4 роки тому +6

      Gonzo Lewd that song is so awful though. Why would we force him to listen to it over and over?

  • @AGB-
    @AGB- 4 роки тому +248

    Me as a Mexican: Oh "Designer Music" yeah they like playing it in retro radio stations.

    • @BizarreWords
      @BizarreWords 4 роки тому +5

      Yep. It was there at least once a week when I used to listen to Mix FM LOL

    • @Kirbita22
      @Kirbita22 4 роки тому +4

      its insane to think that doesnt count as a hit in the us

    • @rayelgatubelo
      @rayelgatubelo 4 роки тому +13

      Molotov is far from the biggest names in Mexican music, but their legacy will forever be soundtracking Latin radio stations on GTA games

    • @CustomKnights
      @CustomKnights 4 роки тому +2

      @@rayelgatubelo Que mal que se fueron cuando mas los necesitamos :'(

    • @Romanticideitzcoatl
      @Romanticideitzcoatl 4 роки тому +2

      yeah, we are sometimes a magical place where US one hit wonders become two hit wonders or even more wonders XD

  • @anamelessyoutuber1462
    @anamelessyoutuber1462 4 роки тому +160

    I'm showing my age when I say "I know this song because of Shrek 2".

    • @TMC1982Part2
      @TMC1982Part2 2 роки тому +4

      I always associate "Funkytown" with being in the trailers to Dumb and Dumber.

    • @dallonpainter2674
      @dallonpainter2674 Рік тому +7

      Basically everyone born in the last 20 or so years associate it with Shrek 2, Malcolm in the Middle, or Mexico

    • @pingu4938
      @pingu4938 10 місяців тому +1

      ​@@dallonpainter2674Now that last one was just uncalled for
      Like what happened to the guy in that video

    • @LifesNeverHumDrum
      @LifesNeverHumDrum 10 місяців тому +1

      Same

  • @MrRYANG96
    @MrRYANG96 4 роки тому +66

    Ever thought of doing a review of A Thousand Miles by Vanessa Carlton or Sex and Candy by Marcy Playground?

  • @rosebyanyname
    @rosebyanyname 4 роки тому +74

    My mouth dropped when the clip of Ethel Merman singing disco started playing.

    • @ischmidt
      @ischmidt 4 роки тому +11

      I feel like The Ethel Merman Disco Album (yes, it's called that) justifies the anti-disco backlash. Along with "Disco Duck".

  • @ROL4NDpkmnguide
    @ROL4NDpkmnguide 4 роки тому +146

    Feels weird that Greenberg wasn’t able to transition to a new wave sound

    • @ischmidt
      @ischmidt 4 роки тому +9

      Funkytown is primarily New Wave aside from the Nile Rodgers-sounding guitar riff in the chorus, so yeah, it's really weird that he couldn't figure out the 80s after that.

  • @kal.e.4556
    @kal.e.4556 4 роки тому +561

    Everyone in the comments: Todd, let me sleep!
    Me: *laughs in European*

    • @annnee6818
      @annnee6818 4 роки тому +11

      @@robinchesterfield42 That's the way scarier laugh😂

    • @Mchannnel
      @Mchannnel 4 роки тому +10

      Me: LAUGHS IN JAPANESE

    • @billpeel4408
      @billpeel4408 4 роки тому +11

      *laughs in health care*

    • @dillwad88
      @dillwad88 4 роки тому +2

      @@billpeel4408 you make me sad, do they have health care in funky town? america is not funky:(

    • @theFakeRed
      @theFakeRed 4 роки тому +2

      *laughs in Australian*

  • @NewGoldStandard
    @NewGoldStandard 4 роки тому +23

    Your effortless piano covers of the songs you talk about really adds a lot. Loads of people are critics, but I think the simple act of playing the tracks you talk about gives you a level of qualification others lack. Your editing is also great and I know the time that takes so, thanks.

    • @guyincognito320
      @guyincognito320 Рік тому

      His off the cuff anti-white comments are sublime also

    • @NewGoldStandard
      @NewGoldStandard Рік тому +1

      @@guyincognito320 I guess it does come off as a bit up his ass, in hindsight... so to speak. I'm way more cynical now.

    • @guyincognito320
      @guyincognito320 Рік тому

      @@NewGoldStandard I see you've sprouted quite nicely

  • @jocompp541
    @jocompp541 4 роки тому +25

    My dad's 60th birthday was earlier this year. The theme was "bring the funk" and he went ALL OUT. Rented out a local bar for a private party, had a DJ playing exclusively funk music.... when this song came on my father jumped on stage and told everybody that they HAD to get on the dance floor. Started yelling out individual names because he didn't see them in the crowd.
    Everybody dances to Funkytown. That's just a rule or something.

  • @alextorch3416
    @alextorch3416 4 роки тому +67

    Funkytown is one of those songs where you know exactly two lines an the chorus and then nobody ever knows how the rest goes

  • @justinbromley6817
    @justinbromley6817 4 роки тому +116

    Genius interpretation on the instrumentals: Basically the drums in a simple, though addictive beat. Disco was not known for elaborate instrumental solos and this one does nothing to change this

  • @magnivisimo
    @magnivisimo 4 роки тому +136

    A song with this many hooks:
    "Need You Tonight" by INXS
    (Also a No. 1 hit)

  • @travisdelee8647
    @travisdelee8647 2 роки тому +17

    Towelie doing funky town is still my favorite thing about South Park.

  • @dynaboyjl.4220
    @dynaboyjl.4220 4 роки тому +15

    That BGM transition from "Tragedy" to "Babe" at 6:06 is immaculate. You're a great editor, Mr. in the Shadows.

  • @danstiver9135
    @danstiver9135 4 роки тому +65

    Disco still survived in Europe well into the 80s, though it changed over time. It's mainly just in the US and the UK that it died a quick and painful death.

    • @danstiver9135
      @danstiver9135 4 роки тому +1

      @@Tornado1994 And it slaps

    • @josh44026
      @josh44026 4 роки тому

      Thriller is a disco song

    • @denisenova7494
      @denisenova7494 4 роки тому +4

      Europeans call a different Disco than Americans. What Europeans call Disco is called Dance or Euro Dance or Euro Pop in the US. It's very 80s and 90s. What Americans call Disco is very funky and 70s. We call it Funk.

    • @ischmidt
      @ischmidt 4 роки тому +2

      @@denisenova7494 Right, US disco was basically producers dropping a ton of strings on what otherwise would've been perfectly good Parliament/Funkadelic records. Euro disco in the 80s was much closer to synth pop.

  • @Mutant_Renegade
    @Mutant_Renegade 4 роки тому +123

    A) shouts out to acknowledging the gay/latin roots of disco
    B) I'm feeling like an episode on Junior Senior's "Move Your Feet" would be fun

  • @UBvtuber
    @UBvtuber 4 роки тому +34

    Well, this is a strange time to upload....but I imagine you had to get this off your chest or else that catchy as hell synth line would've kept you up all night.

  • @thelastattempt666
    @thelastattempt666 4 роки тому +16

    Malcolm’s Dad, Hal, Walter White himself, brought me this into my childhood. Thank you Best Dad

  • @ThePinkStarsGirl
    @ThePinkStarsGirl 3 роки тому +4

    15:37 it took me a while to figure out where I listened to that synth lyne before.
    It was from that cow song meme last year. How did they manage to find that old cover and sample that??

  • @Cassadinegirlaz
    @Cassadinegirlaz 4 роки тому +46

    And now, may I present you with the Todd in the Shadows motto: "sleep is for the weak!"

  • @SamAronow
    @SamAronow 4 роки тому +49

    Wait, so this is a *different* Steven Greenberg from the one who gave us Hanson and the Baha Men?
    Well now I feel stupid.

  • @ezwriter5589
    @ezwriter5589 4 роки тому +35

    I spent the whole summer of 1982 in Saltillo, Mexico, and I can attest to the fact that "Designer Music" was an absolute monster hit in Mexico. And I loved it. I also loved "Rock It". I loved both of them more than "Funkytown", which I always thought was pretty stupid.

  • @Lauren-rl4eu
    @Lauren-rl4eu 4 роки тому +15

    For the first fifteen years of my life I thought for sure that the lyrics were "taco body" instead of "talk about it".
    I remember being really confused but too scared to ask what a taco body was

  • @imwatchingyou994
    @imwatchingyou994 4 роки тому +15

    15:33 i recognize that sample being used in that dancing Polish cow meme.

    • @ianbosso9105
      @ianbosso9105 6 місяців тому

      THATS what it was. Thank you

  • @bigPhill12
    @bigPhill12 4 роки тому +109

    An interesting train records would be Motley Crue’s self titled album after Vince Neil left. Documentaries and books love to forget this forgettable album

    • @RetroDrew
      @RetroDrew 4 роки тому

      I've been requesting this too. I hope it happens

    • @mikeyexplainseverything5482
      @mikeyexplainseverything5482 4 роки тому +1

      I actually like that album, I feel like it's their most mature album

    • @marshallself3124
      @marshallself3124 4 роки тому +4

      Phill I’ll admit it’s not a good album, but it’s not a train record. Motley Crue is still up and kicking it off of multiple songs, while other train records are known for like two songs nowadays

    • @Karmy.
      @Karmy. 4 роки тому

      Off topic but
      GO GREEN GO WHITE!

    • @jcunningham8041
      @jcunningham8041 4 роки тому +4

      is that some sort of ecological-white supremacist slogan?

  • @PowerArmorV113
    @PowerArmorV113 4 роки тому +108

    I'm still waiting for that "Return Of The Mack" OHW. It's like Snow's story except British and WAY more illegal stuff happened.

    • @SuperJNG18
      @SuperJNG18 4 роки тому +7

      That song still slaps

    • @SRLovesPandas1
      @SRLovesPandas1 3 роки тому +19

      your wish has been granted

    • @PowerArmorV113
      @PowerArmorV113 3 роки тому +11

      @@SRLovesPandas1 Why thank you tinkle fairy.

  • @DefNotAiko
    @DefNotAiko 4 роки тому +30

    To this day, Designer Music still plays on Afternoon & Weekend radios here in the Philippines.
    It's infectious enough for us, I guess.

    • @rafaelsolano494
      @rafaelsolano494 4 роки тому

      Anong radio station? hahaha

    • @DefNotAiko
      @DefNotAiko 4 роки тому

      @@rafaelsolano494 Hindi ko alam sa ibang stations, pero sa Star FM ay pinapatugtog siya.

  • @w4dester
    @w4dester 4 роки тому +58

    I beleive that Skee-Lo's track "I Wish" deserves a spot on this show, deeply.

    • @VoidPlugger
      @VoidPlugger 2 роки тому

      I’m here two years later and I am waiting just as much

    • @keyscored3710
      @keyscored3710 Рік тому +1

      rapper's delight definitely should be there

    • @tank1319
      @tank1319 Рік тому

      Get ready soon.

    • @TRAVXIZ614
      @TRAVXIZ614 Рік тому +4

      way to go, sir

    • @ButterStick64
      @ButterStick64 Рік тому +1

      Agreed, dude.

  • @valmarsiglia
    @valmarsiglia 4 роки тому +47

    There's absolutely no comparison between 1980 NYC and 2020 NYC. Different space-time continuums entirely.

  • @tsukishiro70
    @tsukishiro70 4 роки тому +18

    A new One Hit Wonderland for my Monday? Why, thanks Todd, old bean.

  • @ryandowney8743
    @ryandowney8743 4 роки тому +30

    When you were saying which countries "Designer Music" was popular in, I genuinely expected you to say Japan.

  • @ThatGuysAlright
    @ThatGuysAlright 4 роки тому +39

    Still blows my mind that when I talk to people from out of state about the Minnesota music scene, the two names that always seem to come up are Prince.... and Lipps Inc.?? I mean, I'd like to think we're a pretty musically diverse area. The Replacements, Husker Du, Atmosphere, Lizzo, Soul Asylum, Doomtree, Low.... BOB DYLAN FOR CHRISTSAKE! But it always seems to come up.... "oh yeah, the Funky Town group"....

    • @darganx
      @darganx 4 роки тому

      Robert Zimmerman was from Minnesota? Always thought he was a New Yorker!

    • @ThatGuysAlright
      @ThatGuysAlright 4 роки тому +4

      @@darganx born in Duluth, raised in Hibbing, MN! Went to NY in 1961 I believe, and never looked back. Doesn't change what shaped him!

    • @darganx
      @darganx 4 роки тому +1

      @@ThatGuysAlright indeed not, just obviously you think of Greenwich Village with Bob..

    • @Gatorade69
      @Gatorade69 4 роки тому +1

      Fuck yeah, Husker Du.

    • @ThatGuysAlright
      @ThatGuysAlright 3 роки тому +2

      @Is me ? born in Detroit, moved briefly to Houston, eventually moving to Minneapolis and settling there before starting her career! She calls herself minnesotan!

  • @pathfinderproductions
    @pathfinderproductions 3 роки тому +72

    Okay, this may sound like bullshit, but I have a story to tell you.
    So, my grandfather was a teacher at a Minneapolis school, and one of his students was one Cynthia Johnson. She (at the time) was the lead vocalist of Flyte Tyme (interestingly enough, Prince, who turned Flyte Tyme into The Time, used to attend my grandmother's gym class in high school), and she had met a guy named Steven Greenberg, who offered Johnson a chance to finally break into the limelight, having already written a few songs for her (Funkytown being one of them), and she jumped at the opportunity.
    So she recorded the song, alongside several others, but when it was time for her to release her album, which was a year or two later, Greenberg decided to not credit her as the overall performer, only crediting her as the singer. Instead, he decided to completely make up a band called "Lipps Inc." and released the album as such, and to make matters worse, she wasn't even asked to appear in either of the existing videos. To this day, she still gets no royalty checks from it. Greenberg is the only one who does.
    The lesson to be learned is this: There are people out there who want to take advantage of your talent, and to avoid another situation like Cynthia's, never accept a deal that seems too good to be true.

    • @vaelethun
      @vaelethun 2 роки тому +15

      Oh man...if that's true (and I can easily believe it, tbh) that definitely puts Greenberg in a pretty heinous light. Was he afraid her being the voice, and therefore the face, of the track would eclipse him? Really shitty of him, either way. Guess we can take some solace in his lack of continued success, then. Not that it's any consolation for Johnson.

    • @eyeheartsushi2212
      @eyeheartsushi2212 2 роки тому +5

      @@vaelethun The story tracks with a lot of the shady stuff that used to go down (and I guess it still goes down) with vocalists getting screwed in contracts.

  • @twodivision
    @twodivision 5 місяців тому +3

    Their "How Long" cover was sampled for the polish rap song about drug addiction from the dancing polish cow meme, so there one more important cultural impact from them.

  • @flubadubdubthegreat1272
    @flubadubdubthegreat1272 4 роки тому +66

    I've seen a particularly disturbing cartel execution video with this song as the background music

    • @marisam9803
      @marisam9803 4 роки тому +9

      I will always associate Funkytown with a man being skinned alive..😯🎵

    • @darganx
      @darganx 4 роки тому +1

      Link??

    • @Vladdyboy
      @Vladdyboy 4 роки тому +3

      Thank you for mentioning that. I can't muster the strength to listen to this without going into panic mode and reimagining that video...

    • @beatsbycossack
      @beatsbycossack 4 роки тому +2

      I've heard about that one. I don't have the guts to even get past the thumbnail though

    • @flubadubdubthegreat1272
      @flubadubdubthegreat1272 4 роки тому +10

      @@beatsbycossack never watch it. It is burned into my memory. It's literally given me a fear of Mexico

  • @zeldazonk4914
    @zeldazonk4914 4 роки тому +121

    Hi Todd is it possible you could Cover The verve's Bittersweet Symphony for One Hit Wonderland I think it would be a Great Episode

    • @EpicB
      @EpicB 4 роки тому +21

      That, and the unfortunate lawsuit.

    • @hallamhal
      @hallamhal 4 роки тому +14

      But The Drugs Don't Work!

    • @knowyourroleboulevard7119
      @knowyourroleboulevard7119 4 роки тому +4

      He tries not to get all the big ones covered at the same time. Guarantee years for certain ones.

    • @timothy4097
      @timothy4097 4 роки тому

      @@knowyourroleboulevard7119 - I wonder if he'll ever do the Macarena then.

  • @paulojrneto
    @paulojrneto 4 роки тому +111

    Todd: "You look at the charts in 1980 (...) and almost none of the songs has stood the test of time."
    Call Me? Another Brick In The Wall? I'm Coming Out? Upside Down? Another One Bites The Dust? Crazy Little Thing Called Love? Cars? The Rose? Brass In The Pocket? Fame? All Out Of Love? Rock With You? Give Me The Night?

    • @auldthymer
      @auldthymer 4 роки тому +5

      right?

    • @ladydontekno
      @ladydontekno 4 роки тому +3

      Paulo Neto also I love Robbie Dupree’s Steal Away

    • @Aquatarkus96
      @Aquatarkus96 4 роки тому

      Turn it on Again?

    • @tomuchcamoflauge
      @tomuchcamoflauge 4 роки тому +42

      chances are with the way he phrased it those weren't the big hits of the year and became popular later. the charts are full of songs that just did not stick around

    • @MewLillyPad
      @MewLillyPad 4 роки тому +1

      Brick house!

  • @majinsole8554
    @majinsole8554 4 роки тому +17

    “Know if you’ll excuse me, I’m about to go beat my...”
    Rod in the shadows.
    ~_~

  • @dynaboyjl.4220
    @dynaboyjl.4220 4 роки тому +7

    Nu Shooz's "I Can't Wait" is the better soulless, faceless eternal post-disco work of pure synthetics and sound economy

    • @darganx
      @darganx 4 роки тому

      It worked for me in 1986!!

    • @dynaboyjl.4220
      @dynaboyjl.4220 4 роки тому

      @@cindigonzalez7350 I mean, it's also probably the best song of all time. Just think it fits the parameters Todd brings up in this video better than "Funkytown" does

  • @masonthewarriorful
    @masonthewarriorful 4 роки тому +20

    Insomnia pays off!!!!
    Helluva time to upload Todd

  • @NemFX
    @NemFX 4 роки тому +31

    I'd make the argument that "groove is in the heart" was secretly the last disco song.

    • @UBvtuber
      @UBvtuber 4 роки тому +9

      I refuse to call Never Gonna Give You Up anything but a disco song until the day I die....it's literally just a disco song, but digitally updated.

    • @NemFX
      @NemFX 4 роки тому +6

      @@UBvtuber I will counter that, and shatter your mind. Rick Astley is the 80s version of Elvis Presley.

    • @UBvtuber
      @UBvtuber 4 роки тому +1

      ​@@NemFX ...I can hear it tbh, maybe he should've did that "Feels like I'm in love" song instead of Kelly Marie to really bring us full circle.

    • @NemFX
      @NemFX 4 роки тому +2

      @@UBvtuber Todd? Or Rick Astley? Cause that song would be a good crooner. Probably would come out like "I can't help falling in love with you"

    • @UBvtuber
      @UBvtuber 4 роки тому +1

      @@NemFX Rick Astley

  • @RatelHBadger
    @RatelHBadger 4 роки тому +24

    Towely: "wanna get high"
    (Nonsensical beeping)
    "That was the tune to funkytown"

    • @cwgodzilla
      @cwgodzilla 4 роки тому

      Ratel.H Badger You’re a towel.

  • @nv52895
    @nv52895 Рік тому +16

    today, i've just learned that there are like six different types of post one hit wonder careers for one hit wonders
    A. the ones where they get a large following in another country (ex: scatman john, mr. big, lipps inc)
    B. the ones that end up ghostwriting for future mainstream pop artists (ex. mitchell allan from sr-71, dan wilson from semisonic, gregg alexander from new radicals)
    C. the ones that leave their showbiz world behind and move to tech (ex. chamillionaire, mims, thomas dolby)
    D. the ones who milk their chosen hit for other generations (ex. right said fred, los del rio, lou bega)
    E. the ones that actually have another or more top 40 billboard hit(s) but are often thrown on the one hit wonder section due to their big hit being big in pop culture media (ex. a flock of seagulls, men without hats, hanson)
    F. the ones that hide in shame for their embarrassing one hit (ex. debby boone, baha men, the calling)

    • @microwavegrilledtomato
      @microwavegrilledtomato Рік тому +3

      There are also artists who just kind of do their own thing and continue to make music, like chumbawamba or the butthole surfers. There are also artists who spend years desperately trying to find the next hit and not succeeding

    • @luasdublin
      @luasdublin Рік тому +1

      Theres G which is the British/European/Australian etc band/artist that had a string of hits in their home territory , and continued to have them after that one song that made the US charts ...basically Aha/The Cardigans/Dexys etc (Kind of a variation on A and E

    • @sirgemini5743
      @sirgemini5743 Рік тому +2

      can't forget the ones who don't get pissed off if you call them a one hit wonder and just can't deny that they only had 15 minutes of fame with one chosen song like carl douglas and white town.

  • @4632mavis98x
    @4632mavis98x 2 роки тому +6

    Fantastic job with this one Todd! BTW, you mentioned how Funkytown was never on any of the “best of” lists, but it ranks #22 on my best of the 80’s playlist, and stands out like a sore thumb

  • @michaellee8816
    @michaellee8816 4 роки тому +46

    Have you ever done Teenage Dirtbag in this series?

  • @RocketRoketto
    @RocketRoketto 4 роки тому +52

    Adding to my last comments, I think that's why ppl are surprised that "cars"was a full 6 months before 1980 because it sounded way more 80s and yet 3040. Like what?

    • @roguishpaladin
      @roguishpaladin 4 роки тому +4

      It doesn't help that it's on the year-end list for 1980 at #11: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billboard_Year-End_Hot_100_singles_of_1980
      Also on that list with probably no business being counter as a 1980 song - Crazy Little Thing Called Love.

    • @timothy4097
      @timothy4097 4 роки тому +5

      Whoa! That's crazy. I had to search that one up.
      The video totally looks like an early low budget MTV video, it's crazy how ahead of its time it was. Too bad Todd has made so many videos on 80s new wave hits, it would get a bit repetitive to review that one hit wonder. Even if it's not technically an 80s hit.

    • @RocketRoketto
      @RocketRoketto 4 роки тому +4

      @@timothy4097 yeah. I'm still waiting for him to do "too shy"

    • @DJsocial7102
      @DJsocial7102 4 роки тому +8

      Video killed the radio star actually predicted the future. It was released in 1979, before mtv. I used to think it was written about mtv.

    • @timmy841212
      @timmy841212 4 роки тому +2

      Cars came out in 79. New wave was hitting the charts at the same time disco was, probably not as massive but it was there.

  • @zoidsfan12
    @zoidsfan12 4 роки тому +4

    Just happened to watch your 1987 video the other day so it is almost too good of a coincidence that you uploaded this. The song was fresh on my mind with curiosity over it's story.

  • @charlessaints
    @charlessaints 2 роки тому +56

    thanks to the gore scene, this song will forever mean somehting different to me

    • @WhaleManMan
      @WhaleManMan 2 роки тому +2

      Wdym

    • @charlessaints
      @charlessaints 2 роки тому +19

      @@WhaleManMan not that i recommend you go looking for it, but it's a narco video where there's a guy with his faced flayed off, hands cut off, and they are sawing through his neck with a box cutter. and dude is alive through all of it, cause supposedly they inject him with synthetic adrenaline.
      towards the end, funky town comes on in the background and one of the torturers is humming the song.
      i mean, there's sweet child of mine playing too, but they hum funky town. 🤷‍♂️
      pretty messed up, to say the least

    • @JohnDarksoul69
      @JohnDarksoul69 2 роки тому +24

      imagine dying gruesomely and one of the last things you hear is funkytown playing in the background

    • @JillLulamoon
      @JillLulamoon Рік тому +1

      ​@@charlessaints Very very messed up. I've seen people call it the worst gore video online and I'm inclined to agree. I think Ms. Pacman is only one arguably worse.
      What's even more unsettling is the origin being cartels is just speculation. Nobody really knows for sure who the poor guy is or what he did.

    • @Jaceblue04
      @Jaceblue04 10 місяців тому +1

      I guess I should be thankful, then, that I don't explore the dark web O_O

  • @albertqhumperdinck
    @albertqhumperdinck 4 місяці тому +1

    Every single musical hook in this song has become a fundamental building block of every remix or mashup or dj set that has ever come since. It`s true what Todd pointed out about each instrument only getting one bit, and each one of those riffs has become idiomatic, even (dare I say it) ICONIC.

  • @Texy88
    @Texy88 4 роки тому +39

    One-hit wonderland: _Tarzan Boy_ by Baltimora?

    • @TacticusPrime
      @TacticusPrime 3 роки тому

      That seems like the ur-weird-80s one hit wonder. Todd must be saving it for the capstone of the series or something.

    • @sirekumasutra7022
      @sirekumasutra7022 3 роки тому

      God yes this! Especially now that Tony Khan from AEW bought the rights to this song and Luke Perry's son has it as his entrance theme.

  • @jacktowers7533
    @jacktowers7533 4 роки тому +33

    Me an Australian: Clicking this out solely for a 20 second at most reference to Pseudo Echo
    Edit: Nice

    • @EpicB
      @EpicB 4 роки тому +5

      Todd also briefly talked about it in his worst hit songs of 1987.

    • @knightofoctober
      @knightofoctober 4 роки тому +2

      Don't you mean, "Noice"?

  • @huntercrunch94
    @huntercrunch94 4 роки тому +9

    I was born in 1994, and I still loved this song as a kid. Having spent the last 10 or 11 years listening to mostly interchangeable pop-punk as my genre of choice, I still love this song. When I think of what could be considered as perfect songs, this is absolutely one of them. There isn't a wasted second in its entirety.

    • @RenaldyCalixte
      @RenaldyCalixte 2 роки тому +1

      In the college basketball video game NCAA March Madness 2006 there is a cover of funky town performed by a marching band. Best song in the game.

  • @IABITVpresents
    @IABITVpresents 3 роки тому +8

    15:34 guys this is where the Polish cow song took the melody from

  • @jmhaces
    @jmhaces 3 роки тому +8

    Yeah, I was gonna say that "Designer Music" did become popular in Mexico to the point that a few years ago Mexican Rock band Molotov included it in their covers record simply because it was big when they were kids.

  • @Calmilla007
    @Calmilla007 4 роки тому +43

    Other youtubers: upload at a reasonable hour so lots of people see it right away
    Todd: OH BOY 3 AM

    • @sashizakura9124
      @sashizakura9124 4 роки тому +2

      LOL, sucks to be you, I guess. It's 6pm where I am, and the timing couldn't be better! ;P

    • @kidzoom221
      @kidzoom221 4 роки тому +2

      Todd knows that most of his audience has insomnia

    • @planescaped
      @planescaped 4 роки тому

      @@kidzoom221 I sure do...

    • @keiganm1287
      @keiganm1287 4 роки тому

      @@planescaped 4 am gang

    • @RoamingAdhocrat
      @RoamingAdhocrat 4 роки тому

      it uploaded at 9am what are you talking about

  • @UFBMusic
    @UFBMusic 4 роки тому +17

    Disco is part of a cycle that we see over and over again in Popular Music.
    1. An underground scene rises to prominence, usually with a breakout hit
    2. People who weren't into scene originally get into it because it's cool
    3. The scene has to make accommodations for the new fans and the sound gets diluted
    4. The scene collapses in on itself from all the extra weight it is expected to carry
    5. The original hardcore fans try to recapture the essence of the original scene, and end up creating new genres.
    It's how Disco mutated into House and Techno.
    Jungle exploded in the 90s, simmered down in the early 2000s and split into it's many sub-genres.
    UK Garage split off into Grime and Dubstep, and Dubstep is currently going through the same process.

    • @EpicB
      @EpicB 4 роки тому

      And something similar also happened with grunge.

  • @richarddorazi8565
    @richarddorazi8565 4 роки тому +51

    You weren’t kidding when you said 1980 and 1981 might as well be the aborted remnants of some uncompleted decade. It always amazes me at how sudden disco collapsed.

    • @josh44026
      @josh44026 4 роки тому +2

      Thriller has disco in it so

    • @Musicradio77Network
      @Musicradio77Network 3 роки тому +1

      Strawberry Shortcake did put out the “Live” album from 1981, and it was her last gasp at a disco novelty album. Kinda like the way it did after “Disco Duck” in 1976.

  • @maddiejoy6619
    @maddiejoy6619 Рік тому +5

    I think disco is seriously underrated today. There are times when you don't want to listen to a song about breakups, death, sadness, or other serious issues. You just want a happy song with a fun beat and catchy, fluffy lyrics. Disco is perfect for that!

  • @markcarey67
    @markcarey67 3 роки тому +14

    Another good series might be songs that were ahead of their time or started new genres or movements whether they were well known at the time (I Feel Love, Rocket 88, Papa's Got a Brand New Bag) or not so much (Venus in Furs, Autobahn, Blitzkreig Bop)