UPTOWN FUNK
Unless you really, really haven’t been paying attention for the past few months, you’ve probably heard Mark Ronson’s “Uptown Funk,” the thumping boogie that’s taken Top 40 radio stations by storm.
Complete with squealing, funkadelic rhythm guitars, an irresistibly coarse bass harmony and a posse of shouting backup singers, “Uptown Funk” is a refreshing diversion from Top 40’s typically stale offerings.
Popular music that follows the same one or two formulas often ends up sounding repetitive and uninteresting, with little to set it apart from every other song with a pretty lead vocal and catchy chorus. “Uptown Funk” is unique in that it panders to a successful contemporary formula while maintaining all of the trappings of a 1960s boogie tune.
Ronson’s anthem has some qualities pretty common to modern music. You’ve got Billboard boy-toy Bruno Mars absolutely killing it on the lead vocals. There’s that pre-chorus “building up” noise leading into a drop, albeit one more organic-sounding than its dubstep equivalent. And the chorus is resplendent with trumpets, which are currently having a moment of prevalence in pop music, as they still make songs sound unique and almost quirky.
Even thematically, “Uptown Funk” abides closely to what makes many songs into radio hits. The lyrics ooze with bravado and swagger, reveling in women, money and alcohol. Ronson and Mars drop names and references (Michelle Pfeiffer, Hollywood, Saint Laurent), and then there’s the bridge, all cheeky not-quite profanity: “Uptown funk you up.”
But beyond the song’s ability to tick off the requirements of a successful — albeit commonplace — pop hit, “Uptown Funk” has the makings of a fantastically funky rhythmic anthem, a genuine rarity in today’s pop radio landscape. In addition to the funky, flaring guitar-and-bass combination, it’s got a swinging hook that easily replaces any chorus singalong. And the best part: It’s a song you can really bust a move to. Forget the jumping and fist-pumping; watch the music video once, and you’ll get the idea.
This blend of pop-funk perfection is what makes “Uptown Funk” so great. It ventures beyond the safety (read: unimaginativeness) of sticking to the tried-and-true pop formula and draws on a genre infrequently heard on the radio.
To be fair, a synergy like that isn’t exactly a musical revelation; “Uptown Funk” has its predecessors. It goes without saying that other songs have successfully blended genres to create music that’s greater than the sum of its parts. There’s great rap-rock or folk-pop songs, for instance. As a slightly more abstract example, The Great Gatsby’s 2013 remake had a soundtrack produced by Jay Z with songs by Lana Del Rey, will.i.am and Florence + The Machine. Such modern music might seem anachronistic in a movie that takes place in the Roaring Twenties, yet the juxtaposition worked really well. Rather than feeling dated, the party scenes in The Great Gatsby felt current and vibrant.
So although “Uptown Funk” isn’t a complete divergence from the norm, it’s plenty unique enough to stand out. Until Top 40 radio beats it into the ground with play after play, we can still enjoy its refreshing throwback sound
