is Rick James a punchline now?

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It seems that whenever I mention him (and this is hardly an everyday thing or anything) someone makes an "I'm Rick James, bitch!" crack or says "cocaine's a hell of a drug" or makes a fake slap motion. Sometimes all three, but I try to avoid those people. Now, I'm not offended by it, just a little sad for Rick James, since he had a pretty decent career but is just going to be remembered as a character on a defunct sketch comedy show. The man gave us "Super Freak"...he deserves props.

musically (musically), Thursday, 30 March 2006 18:00 (twenty years ago)

Rick James' props:

http://www.wmattmeyer.com/archive/image/crack-pipe6557.jpg

Pleasant Plains /// (Pleasant Plains ///), Thursday, 30 March 2006 18:02 (twenty years ago)

Asked and answered.

Hey, you act infamously, you get infamous. Comes with the territory. Ask Ike Turner or Courtney Love...

Edward III (edward iii), Thursday, 30 March 2006 18:10 (twenty years ago)

PS His reputation has nothing to do with his music...

Edward III (edward iii), Thursday, 30 March 2006 18:10 (twenty years ago)

I'll always remember him from the "Party All The Time" video.

mike h. (mike h.), Thursday, 30 March 2006 18:20 (twenty years ago)

Didn't work out too well for me, either, really.

Dave Chappelle, Thursday, 30 March 2006 18:29 (twenty years ago)

I've been getting into him lately, and the Rick James jokes are kinda played out, so to me, no. To most people, probably.

Rodney's motives are beyond the comprehension of men (R. J. Greene), Thursday, 30 March 2006 22:49 (twenty years ago)

Music generally outlives sketch comedy, I wouldn't worry about it.

Shakey Mo Collier (Shakey Mo Collier), Thursday, 30 March 2006 23:15 (twenty years ago)

is Rick James a punchline now?

is Garfunkel?

Confounded (Confounded), Friday, 31 March 2006 11:53 (twenty years ago)

I'm Art Garfunkel, Bitch!

ESTEBAN BUTTEZ~!!! (ESTEBAN BUTTEZ~!!!), Friday, 31 March 2006 11:57 (twenty years ago)

eighteen years pass...

ok so i should know this or know how track it down but i'm being lazy plus the ILM poly-mind will surely know quicker than i can do the research

on a pedro bell cover for (i assume) a funkadelic LP, there's a little sequence of tiny cartoons panels referencing (and mostly laughing at) other artists in the same field (or i guess NOT in the same field, acc. g.clinton)

one of these panels simply reads like "new ick james album" along with a 👎🏽 (and that's everything in the panel)

Q: which cover is it? mine are currently inaccessible and anyway it's not on one i own (i don't own them all)
Q: or have i misremembered this? (it "lodged" in my "brain" in the early 80s so there's plenty of scope for that)

mark s, Thursday, 6 March 2025 18:49 (one year ago)

I would *guess* Let's Take It to the Stage

Whiney G. Weingarten, Thursday, 6 March 2025 18:52 (one year ago)

cheers whiney -- i peered at the stage sleeve blown up on discogs and can't locate what u think i'm looking for? (no line of tiny cartoon panels) so i think this may not be the one

mark s, Friday, 7 March 2025 10:20 (one year ago)

tbf "sleeve blown up on discogs" is not exactly forensic precision so i might just have missed it

mark s, Friday, 7 March 2025 10:23 (one year ago)

is it Electric Spanking of War Babies?

encino morricone (majorairbro), Friday, 7 March 2025 10:41 (one year ago)

Back cover of "Uncle Jam Wants You", there's a little cartoon having a dig at Rick James.

Please play Lou Reed's irritating guitar sounds (Tom D.), Friday, 7 March 2025 10:43 (one year ago)

... however I think it might be "One Nation Under a Groove" you're looking for.

Please play Lou Reed's irritating guitar sounds (Tom D.), Friday, 7 March 2025 10:45 (one year ago)

not finding it on groove (which is to hand at vinyl size and does indeed have several of the panels im thinking of): now worrying my ageing eyes can simply no longer pick out the requisite details

now off to peer myopically at the blown-up pixels on discogs for spanking and uncle jam (i know he made other digs at "ick" tho)

mark s, Friday, 7 March 2025 11:00 (one year ago)

ok with the caveat that my eyes are awful these days and the online pictures are tiny and blurry, i don't think this is groove, spanking, uncle jam or computer games

any input from pp who own the LPs at vinyl size and can actually pore over them as god intended?

mark s, Saturday, 8 March 2025 10:29 (one year ago)

Inspected the fold outs of Uncle Jam, One Nation, and Standing On The Verge and can confirm it's not one those. Off to buy the rest now, will report back ;)

willem, Saturday, 8 March 2025 13:01 (one year ago)


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