Music / Mothership Connection

Give up the funk, you punk

"Oh, we want the funk
Give up the funk
Oh, we need the funk
Gotta have that funk"

— Parliament, "Give Up The Funk (Tear The Roof Off The Sucker)"

Mothership Connection is Parliament's fourth album, released in 1975.

Tracklist

Side A

1. "P. Funk (Wants To Get Funked Up)" (7:41)
2. "Mothership Connection (Star Child)" (6:13)
3. "Unfunky UFO" (4:23)

Side B

1. "Supergroovalisticprosifunkstication" (5:03)
2. "Handcuffs" (4:02)
3. "Give Up The Funk (Tear The Roof Off The Sucker)" (5:46)
4. "Night of the Thumposaurus Peoples" (5:10)

2003 CD remaster bonus track

1. "Star Child (Mothership Connection)" (3:08)

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"Oh, we want the tropes, give up the tropes, oh we need the tropes, gotta have those tropes":

• Afrofuturism: Acknowledged by George Clinton himself, since he was a big Star Trek fan and had the idea of having black people on a spaceship.
• The Bermuda Triangle: Mentioned in "Mothership Connection"
• Crunchtastic: "Supergroovalisticprosifunkstication"
• Do Not Adjust Your Set: The opening words:
  "Good evening, do not attempt to adjust your radio, there is nothing wrong."
• Epic Rocking: "P. Funk (Wants To Get Funked Up)" runs 7:41, and the shortest song, "Handcuffs," runs 4:02.
• Flying Saucer: "Unfunky UFO"
• Fun with Acronyms: The radio station in "P. Funk" is called WEFUNK.
• Funk: One of the definitive examples.
• Longest Song Goes First: The album opens with "P. Funk (Wants to Get Funked Up)" at 7:41. None of the other tracks cross the 7-minute mark.
• The Mothership: Along with the title, from the title track:
  Put a glide in your stride and a dip in your hip and come on up to the Mothership
• Obligatory Bondage Song: "Handcuffs," which was officially a Parody of hyper-macho R&B.
• Pyramid Power: From "Mothership Connection":
  "We have come to claim the pyramids"
• Record Producer: George Clinton, of course.
• Singer Namedrop: "P. Funk (Wants To Get Funked Up)"
• Take That!: From "P. Funk":
  "Then I was down south and I heard funk with some main ingredients
  Like Doobie Brothers, Blue Magic, David Bowie
  It was cool
  But can you imagine Doobiein' your funk? Ho!"

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