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Unsung


Eric83

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1. I'm disheartened to hear that the same man that preached about a mind being a terrible thing to waste had no problem being abusive towards his son or ignoring the daughter that he sired outside his marriage, though I do appreciate that he was ashamed enough to make amends with them towards the end of his life.

2. I don't buy for a second that Erick knew nothing about the robbery of his groupmate, though I will say that his production skills are above any super-producer that has blown up over the past 15 years.

3. Was the second abusive assh0le that Candi Staton referred to Clarence "Strokin'" Carter?

4. I also don't buy for a second that that lone 'Disco Sucks' defender didn't believe that the backlash was steeped in racism, sexism, and homophobia.

5. I couldn't help but chuckle at the many ways that Unsung tried to avoid referring to Donna Summer as the Queen of Disco, as I'd imagine that that was the only way that they'd get Gloria Gaynor to participate in this episode.

6. I know that some were underwhelmed by the Disco special, but I did appreciate that they spent just as much time on the musicmanship as they did on the culture. The latter often gets lost in the shuffle while the former is usually magnified, so I was happy to see just how some of these musicians laid those beats and grooves down.

7. I'm also glad that this episode confirmed just why I've always preferred the R&B-flavored disco that I hear on the classic soul stations over the watered-down poppiness that I hear on the mainstream dance stations. No offense to the latter acts - who did what they did well - but there's a realness to the former (to paraphrase Candi Staton) that grabs at your heart in a way that the other kind doesn't.

8. I'm kind of mad that they didn't name-check Kraftwerk when they spoke of the use of synthesizers in disco. IMO, they deserve as much credit as Giorgio Moroder for pushing the genre into the next frontier.

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Happy viewing:

http://www.tvoneonline.com/shows/unsung/video/full-episode--disco.html

P.S.: I'm glad TV-One finally got a clue about putting their episodes online for those who don't have the channel.

P.P.S.: I hope that they don't skip over Eddie Kendricks getting arrested (or was he just served?) at David Ruffin's funeral for non-payment of child support in his episode next week.

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Although I still don't consider Heavy D. himself to be "Unsung" in any way, shape, or form (since he had a great career as a rapper/actor/exec), I do see why they decided to dedicate this episode to 'Heavy D. and the Boyz' (since they - and especially Eddie F. as a producer - are unsung).

I thought this was a great season opener (and one of the better episodes that I've seen in a while) and a wonderful trip down memory lane that was my childhood and teen years (man, do I miss the greatness that was the Uptown Records roster). Though I am nitpicking about the fact that they failed to mention his guest spot on Queen Janet's "Alright", they did make up for it by paying homage to my favorite hip-hop song of all time, They Reminisce Over You (T.R.O.Y.). :)

All and all, it (as well as the TLC biopic/reruns) reminded me of just how much I miss how fun 90s hip-hop-n-B used to be.

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