My Music Monday

New year, new MMM image. It's the law.

Mark Ronson can say that "Uptown Funk" is his song, and he might have wrote it. He might have produced it. He might have even played every instrument on it - but I'm not sure that makes it his.

At its worst, it's a Bruno Mars song. Not that that is a bad thing.

In reality, it is Ronson / Mars stealing from the Time, who was riding on Prince's coattails (if Mr. Nelson weren't already pulling their marionette strings) while ripping off James Brown at the same time. Not that that is a bad thing.

The horns are quintessential Brown. But the bass, the guitar strums and the keyboards are all from the Purple One.

Mars' vocals are his, but with touches of both Prince and Brown. It's a good lead vocal arrangement though the backing vocal style seems to be pulled right from the Time. And I'm almost 100% sure that this is the first song that has ever included Michelle Pfeiffer's name in a lyric.

Mr. Ronson is possibly most famous for producing Amy Winehouse's Back in Black. So he's not completely unfamiliar with pulling nostalgic sounds and placing them into current music. I don't know his work enough to know if that is his shtick or not. If it is, it works. If it's not, he revisits that stream to fetch his water.

It's very 60's meets late 80's meets now.

As for the video, Mars' and friends evokes some of Morris Day & Co's moves, albeit not as slick. Ronson, the lanky white guy, has a face for producing though he has those head movements from left to right down like nobodies business - and it drives me to distraction. White boy can't really move.

I haven't looked to see if "Uptown Funk" is going to be on an upcoming Ronson disk or a Mars one (or both) - or if their collaboration is a one-song shot. I'm not sure I care either, but the song is kind of fun.