Playback with Black Market Dub
Parliament at peak powers. In this episode we dive into Funkentelechy vs. the Placebo Syndrome, the 1977 P-Funk classic where George Clinton turns a whole philosophy of funk vs. “placebo” disco and consumerism into a wild concept album.
We talk about the P-Funk mythology (Sir Nose d’Voidoffunk, the Placebo Syndrome, the idea of funk as real life-force), how this ties together tracks like “Bop Gun (Endangered Species),” “Sir Nose d’Voidoffunk,” “Wizard of Finance,” “Funkentelechy,” “Placebo Syndrome” and of course “Flash Light,” with Bernie Worrell’s legendary synth-bass line.
In this episode:
– What the “placebo syndrome” actually is in the context of P-Funk
– How Parliament use groove, chants and comedy to talk about consumer culture
– Why Funkentelechy vs. the Placebo Syndrome is one of the most important funk records of the ’70s
– How this album fits into the larger P-Funk universe and Parliament’s run of classics.
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Chapters:
00:00 (Intro)
00:16:13 (Brief History of Parliament - Funkadelic)
00:41:56 (The Concept and Music of the album)
01:21:27 (Standout Songs and Deep Dive)
02:12:041 (Final Thoughts)