Bruno Mars and Mark Ronson's 'Uptown Funk!' Notch 14 Weeks at No. 1

**marv2** · 04-16-2015, 08:11 AM

But the scary thing for me is I heard it for the first time this morning when I did a search for it on Youtube! LOL!!!

**marv2** · 04-16-2015, 08:13 AM

I only heard of this song today after hearing a brief mention of it's time at number one on radio station CKWW 580am's news!

http://singersroom.com/content/2015-...Weeks-at-No-1/

**Bluebrock** · 04-16-2015, 11:06 AM

It is good song but not THAT good!! I admit that Bruno Mars is one of the few modern artists whom I have any time for, and Mark Ronson is a renowned fan of old school soul music.

**soulster** · 04-16-2015, 11:30 AM

Originally Posted by marv2

But the scary thing for me is I heard it for the first time this morning when I did a search for it on Youtube! LOL!!!

What??? I think I even posted this video on here months ago.

**timmyfunk** · 04-16-2015, 12:36 PM

Homogenized Funk at best.

**Jerry Oz** · 04-16-2015, 01:08 PM

Here is previous discussion on it: http://soulfuldetroit.com/showthread...ht=uptown+funk

**antceleb12** · 04-16-2015, 02:15 PM

Originally Posted by timmyfunk

Homogenized Funk at best.

You could say the same thing about the Supremes. One could say their style was "homogenized R&B." But look what it did to help mainstream acceptance of R&B.

It's not supposed to be straight-up funk. Mark Ronson's style is amalgamating various styles together. "Uptown Funk" is, to me, funk-flavored pop. Which is great. At least its giving the masses a taste of music a little spicier than the bland Top 40 mush to which they're so accustomed.

**soulster** · 04-17-2015, 12:01 AM

It's better categorized as R&B.

**jboy88** · 04-17-2015, 12:10 AM

Another track off that album that's even funkier and raw is "Feel Right" with Mystikal! You'd have to stomach a lot of profanity and the occasional N word, but the hardcore funk track is worth it.

**Jerry Oz** · 04-17-2015, 02:09 PM

'Uptown Funk' is obviously paying homage to songs that preceded it. Whether it is homogenized or not, it's clearly respectful of the genre. With that being said, it's been played out to the point that I'm tired of hearing it on commercials and movie trailers.

**jboy88** · 04-17-2015, 10:24 PM

Originally Posted by Jerry Oz

'Uptown Funk' is obviously paying homage to songs that preceded it. Whether it is homogenized or not, it's clearly respectful of the genre. With that being said, it's been played out to the point that I'm tired of hearing it on commercials and movie trailers.

That's one of the many problems with today's mainstream radio! Even if the song is a real great one, they play it no less than twice an hour, and then you get sick of it. Long gone are the days when a song could be a smash in one City and not be such a smash in another. These days Top 40 radio is really top 5 radio!

**soulster** · 04-18-2015, 12:45 AM

Originally Posted by jboy88

That's one of the many problems with today's mainstream radio! Even if the song is a real great one, they play it no less than twice an hour, and then you get sick of it. Long gone are the days when a song could be a smash in one City and not be such a smash in another. These days Top 40 radio is really top 5 radio!

Top 40 or hit radio has always played the hits in heavy rotation. It's not something that just happened recently.

**Jerry Oz** · 04-18-2015, 01:29 PM

To jboy88's point, there used to be regional hits by artists who couldn't break out nationally. The artists comprised a lot of one hit wonders from back in the day. Frankie Smith, for example broke out with 'Double Dutch Bus' which was a tribute to the way the kids in Philadelphia used to talk in their own street code. Somebody played it somewhere else and it broke on a national scale.

It wasn't particularly special, though and is a song that would probably played two or three times per day on most stations if it hadn't been a hit. I remember listening to local radio stations and hearing the same song only once per each DJ's turn behind the turntables.

**glencro** · 04-20-2015, 02:45 AM

Always loved this SNL clip

**glencro** · 04-20-2015, 03:16 AM

Huge Bruno Mars fan and that's something I can't say about many of the artists out today. Recently had a photo shoot with 5 small children and it was like pulling teeth until I put this song on. They then gave me all of the energy I needed. Though I had to play the song around 10 times in a row [[so I now turn the station when I hear it), it worked for me on that day

**timmyfunk** · 06-05-2015, 07:43 AM

Originally Posted by antceleb12

You could say the same thing about the Supremes. One could say their style was "homogenized R&B." But look what it did to help mainstream acceptance of R&B.

It's not supposed to be straight-up funk. Mark Ronson's style is amalgamating various styles together. "Uptown Funk" is, to me, funk-flavored pop. Which is great. At least its giving the masses a taste of music a little spicier than the bland Top 40 mush to which they're so accustomed.

No you couldn't. Motown may have been cosmopolitan R&B, but it never came off as homogenized. This record liberally borrows from four major sources: the Gap Band, Midnight Star, the Time, and Zapp. And it comes as no surprise that the Gap Band reached an out of court settlement with Mark Ronson and Bruno Mars regarding Uptown Funk.