Mind Funk Music

They weren't originally called "Mind Funk." You can use your imagination to subtract and add the necessary letters to turn the word "Funk" into something inappropriate. The band was forced to change their name to the much less offensive "Mind Funk," and later "Mindfunk," by their original label Epic Records.

This heavy metal funk band from the 1990's was sort of a super group, at least a second-tier super group. It featured singer Patrick Dubar, formerly of the hardcore punk band Uniform Choice; guitarist Louis J. Svitek and bassist John Monte both former members of M.O.D. (Method of Destruction); guitarist Jason Everman who had played with Nirvana and Soundgarden; and drummer Reed St. Mark who was a past member of the Swiss heavy metal band, Celtic Frost. Both Svitek and Monte went on to perform with the industrial metal band, Ministry.

After the turn of the century, the term "Mind Funk" took on a completely different meaning. Instead of being associated with members of Uniform Choice, M.O.D., and Celtic Front, Mind Funk became associated with DJ Shawnodese, Djane Ada, Djane Back 2 Mars, and DJ Merry.

Born out of a series of raging parties held in Amsterdam, Holland between 2001 and 2002, Mind Funk became the name of a record label specializing in psytrance music. Mind Funk operated on the assumption that the term "psychedelic" was being used incorrectly and way too frequently in the world of dance music.

Whether Mind Funk is used as the title of a heavy metal funk band, a psytrance record label, or a type of music, the term conjures up an unique style of music possessing out-of-the-mainstream sounds, integrity, vitality, and relevancy. Whether you're an ardent follower or an enthusiastic neophyte to the Mind Funk concept, it's clear that the term speaks to both the imagination and the intellect. Want to know how the mind processes music?

Mind Blowing Music

Music has the power to "blow one's mind."

We've all had a friend text us the name of a brand new band that we MUST listen too because their sound is so "mind blowing." Of course most of these ebullient recommendations fail to blow one's mind, most even fail to blow one's nose, and most just blow. But that's another story.

There is a way artists can blow one's mind without strumming a single chord or singing a single note. Artists can be mind blowing by selling a bazillion albums or oodles of concert tickets. Or they can blow one's mind by being part of unmitigated flops and historic failures. For example, the Beatles have sold more than 237 million albums worldwide, Jay-Z has more number one albums (11) than Elvis (10), and Bob Dylan has never had a number one single.

Is your mind blown yet? Probably not, but it will be after you check out the seven great artists listed below and their mind blowing success (and in one case, their mind blowing failure).

George Strait
They don't call him "The King of Country" for nothing. Country legend George Strait released what would be his first number one single, "Fool Hearted Memory," in 1981. By the time 2009 arrived the "Troubadour" had sent 56 more singles to the top of the country music charts for a mind blowing total of 57. Needless to say, Strait has more number one singles than any artist in any genre of music, ever. One can't imagine the number of George Strait tickets that have been sold. Even more amazing, when Strait turned 57 in 2009 he had at least one number one single for every year he was alive. If that doesn't blow your mind nothing will.

Roger Waters
Roger Waters is probably the only artist on this list that has had mind blowing success and made mind blowing music. Waters was the main songwriter, co-lead vocalist, and founding member of the rock band Pink Floyd. In 1973, Floyd released The Dark Side of the Moon. This seminal progressive rock oeuvre would go on to spend a mind blowing 741 weeks (or more than 14 years) on the Billboard 200. Roger Waters wrote or co-wrote seven of the album's ten songs including "Money," "Time," and "Brain Damage." Roger Waters is also the creative force behind the mind blowing album, The Wall.

Jimmy Buffett
It can't be proven but Jimmy Buffett's "Margaritaville" has to be the most sung-along-to-song in the history of rock and roll. Everyone sings along to that indelible ditty whether they hear it on the radio or during a Jimmy Buffet concert. However, that's not why he's on the list. Buffett makes the list for mind blowing futility. His debut album, Down to Earth—released in 1970—was so awful that it only sold a few hundred copies. Today, both Parrotheads and Jimmy refuse to include the opus in his official canon, and you prbably won't hear any of those songs at a Jimmy Buffett concert.

Tim McGraw
Being married to country music singer Faith Hill may be mind blowing enough for you, but not for us. Nor is he on our list because his Soul2Soul II Tour (undertaken with his spouse) was the highest grossing tour in country music history. And Tim McGraw tickets were being sold by the handful. Tim McGraw is on our list because he not only had multiple Top 40 hit singles but he also had one named after him. The first single ever released by Taylor Swift is called "Tim McGraw." It dropped in 2006 and peaked at number 40 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Carrie Underwood
This is an easy one. Carrie Underwood is the best-selling American Idol contestant of all-time. You may not put much stock into outselling Clay Aiken and Taylor Hicks, but look at it this way, Underwood surpassed Kelly Clarkson despite the original Idol's two-year head start. Still, Underwood has achieved some undisputed mind blowing success. Her Some Hearts album is the fastest selling debut in country music history. The album eventually became the best selling debut for a solo female artist in the annals of the genre.

Lady Gaga
Lady Gaga generally blows people's minds. Not so much with her catchy pop songs but with her outrageous outfits which you can see live if you buy Lady Gaga tickets online. Nonetheless, the pop diva's video for "Bad Romance" briefly held the title of the most viewed video in YouTube history. The ultra cool "Bad Romance" vid garnered over 248 million views—that's like as many viewers as two Super Bowls and a World Cup final. What's so mind blowing about Lady Gaga's accomplishment is most of her fans have jobs and therefore they don't have a lot of time to spend watching videos all day. That sentiment will make more sense after you read the next paragraph...

Justin Bieber
The amount of success he received before being old enough to enlist in the army is mind blowing enough, but Justin Bieber isn't content to rest on his teenage laurels. Bieber's video to "Baby" surpassed "Bad Romance" as the most viewed video in the history of YouTube. Even more mind blowing, when Bieber surpassed Gaga, he owned the top spot as well as the fifth spot. Granted his fans probably watched the video every day in home room (and on recess), but 250 million-plus views is still mind blowing.