"If in our fears, we don't learn to trust each other, and if in our tears, we don't learn to share with your brother, you know that hate is gonna keep on multiplying"
Maggot Brain is an album from the 70s funk band Funkadelic led by the legendary George Clinton. Surprisingly the band is still kicking with their most recent album dropping in 2014. The album's name is seemingly random but depending on who you ask it is either named after guitarist Eddie Hazel who was nicknamed Maggot Brain or the less cheery option, George Clinton finding his brother's decomposing body. But, no official source has been named for where the name of the album came from.
The opening and title track "Maggot Brain," features a few words from George Clinton then what can only be described as one of the best guitar solos of all time from Eddie Hazel. The solo continues for ten minutes straight. If someone tells you it's the greatest guitar solo of all time, just walk away as it can't be argued against. This solo went on to inspire people like Vernon Reid who later put together the band Living Colour. If there were a seven wonders of music this solo would be included.
"Hit It and Quit It," is a song about hitting it and quitting it, a one night stand. That's it, no deeper meaning to the song. However, it's followed by the song "You and Your Folks, Me and My Folks." This song urges for unity. It doesn't blame anyone for anything, just asks for peace. It asks poor people to put their differences aside and come together. It makes hints towards racial differences mentioning that we'll never overcome our differences if we don't stop fighting and just talk. It points out that poor people really don't have anything to lose by putting differences aside because "the rich got a big piece of this and that, the poor got a big piece of roaches and rats."
The song "Back In Our Minds," is a track that can be looked at in two ways. It can be looked like a love song, or it can be looked at as a continuation of "You and Your Folks, Me and My Folks." It's a happy song in more ways than one. The lyrics include the line "We don't fight no more, we done closed that door." I like to see it as a what if scenario. What if people of all difference races do put away their differences and work together. We close the door on racism and the fighting stops. Sure you may say rich people will still wage war, but rich people don't go to war. It's poor people who fight in wars. If poor people put their differences aside there are no troops. Donald Trump will not go to war and stand on the front lines, nor will Mitt Romney or Marco Rubio.
"War of Armageddon," is the track that follows and can be seen as an alternative. It's a track that's much longer and darker sounding. It's filled with random sound effects including bombs dropping. The pacing of the track is also must faster and features much harsher instrumentation than any other track on the album. It's a track that shows what happens if people don't just sit down and come together. It's a track where people are yelling for freedoms and power. Considering this album came out in 1971 you can say that's where we are now. People didn't come together for peace now there are riots in Baltimore, racist cops doing combat rolls to harass kids at pool parties. We didn't listen. While, we aren't in a full blown war you can't deny the fact that we are indeed in a war.
Maggot Brain is a different kind of album than the others we've looked at. Lyrics are sparse throughout the album. The actual instruments are used to set the tone of the album. Despite touching on heavy topics with the lyrics, the music does most of the talking. When there are lyrics, they don't blame anyone, they don't call for an uprising. Instead they just call for people to come together. It's an album that asks the timeless question: Why can't we all just get along?
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You can hear Darrell on the CP Time and Powerbomb Jutsu podcasts. He also plays classic arcade games on The Cabinet
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