The 8 Records I’m Most Excited about Not Buying for Record Store Day 2017

I tried Record Store Day for the first time last year, and was woefully unprepared for the task; by the time I made it to my local wrecka stow, everything I was remotely interested in had already been snatched up by more enterprising/experienced shoppers. This year, I won’t be making the festivities at all: my family plans for the morning of April 22, unfortunately, do not involve any crate-digging. But that doesn’t mean I can’t look at the list of special releases and sigh wistfully at what might have been. Here are a few highlights:

“All Together Now” by André 3000 (7″, ltd. to 5000)

I did not know the most delightfully weird member of OutKast covered one of the most delightfully goofy songs by the Beatles. Now I do know, but there’s no way this thing is gonna stay in stock past the ten-minute mark. At least I can listen to it on YouTube.

“Strawberry Fields Forever”/”Penny Lane” by the Beatles (7″, ltd. to 7000)

Speaking of the Beatles, there’s no rational reason for me to own this. I don’t even particularly love 7″ singles: if I’m gonna buy a piece of plastic with two songs on it, it’d better be at least 10″ in diameter. But I was a Beatles fanatic as a preteen, and seeing that 1967-era picture on the sleeve hits me straight in the nostalgia zone.

BOWPROMO (box set, ltd. to 5000) and
Cracked Actor (Live Los Angeles ’74) (3-LP set, ltd. to 5000)
by David Bowie

Now these I do actually want, but to be frank, I doubt I could afford them: new pressing, multi-LP sets are a little rich for my blood, especially in limited editions. But come on: raw mixes of Hunky Dory-era Bowie? A live set I haven’t heard from the Diamond Dogs tour, one of his most fascinating and underrated periods? If I was even slightly more comfortably middle-class than I am, I’d be all over these. But I can take comfort in knowing that all 10,000 of these records will be hoovered up within minutes anyway.

“Groove is in the Heart” by Deee-Lite (12″, ltd. to 3000)

If you catch me in the right kind of mood, I might make a wildeyed claim that “Groove is in the Heart” by Deee-Lite is the greatest song of all time. And while I probably wouldn’t be right, I also know I wouldn’t be wrong. I would love to own this on vinyl and hear that slide whistle hook in superior fidelity. Alas, this April, it’s not meant to be.

“Little Red Corvette”/”1999” by Prince (7″ picture disc, ltd. to 5000)

Does anybody actually like picture discs–listening to them, I mean? I don’t especially care for them–I like playing records more than I like looking at them–but god damn if I don’t want this one. Sadly, I might as well just print out the inner sleeve pic from 1999 and découpage it over a regular 7″ single, because with Record Store Day falling the day after the one-year anniversary of His Purple Majesty’s passing, there is approximately no way in hell 5000 copies will survive a single day’s demand.

RSD 2017 Tote Bag by Run the Jewels (ltd. to 2500)

This isn’t even a record, but the artwork is dope and it would go great with the T-shirt I picked up from Run the Jewels’ Run the World tour back in January. But now I just have to hold back my jealous tears when I see some lucky asshole walking around with it.

What Time is It? by the Time (LP, ltd. to 2500)

Are you kidding me? The motherfucking Time?! This actually pisses me off for two reasons, because an album like this deserves a full-fledged re-release, not a limited-run one-off for Record Store Day. But I can’t promise that if I saw a brand new pressing on April 22, I wouldn’t be doing “The Walk” out of the store with it in hand. Fortunately–or unfortunately–that won’t be an option for me.

In all seriousness, though, missing RSD this year isn’t that big a deal: after all, there are approximately 364 other equally good days in the year to patronize our local record stores. If you’d like to see a few of my favorites, from Northern Virginia to Reykjavík, Iceland, check out my Wrecka Stow video series on Dystopian Dance Party. And if you make it to the stores on the 22nd, buy yourself something nice in my honor.

Bootsy At 65: The Funky Bassology Of William Collins

William “Bootsy” Collins represents the key aspect of funk for me. He was the first “bass hero” as it were. As part of the funk process,Larry Graham developed the vocabulary for it all to happen. And it was Bootsy who became in P-Funk what most lead guitarists do in rock bands. His bass was huge and flamboyant. And he made his “space bass” sound and image the start of the show with his Rubber Band,on his own and later with different session work. Of course,the story of how the Cincinnati native found fame through membership in the JB’s is well known. His beginnings with P-Funk are another matter.

Before Bootsy became a major player in the P-Funk arena,Funkadelic were more or less a groove acid rock jam band. And they had a slow,instrumentally raggedy approach. Especially in terms of rhythm. That gave them their uniqueness in the early 70’s. Bootsy arrived for their 1972 album America Eats Its Young. And he brought with his his profound sense of rhythm,and love of the singable melody. His personality shortly became as vital to P-Funk as George Clinton’s. In that way,he was able to change the face of P-Funk in the way he wasn’t as able to do in the strictly structured James Brown camp.

In all honesty,I haven’t yet heard everything that Bootsy has been instrumentally involved in. Especially in the 90’s,a number of musical projects in the Bill Laswell camp were  utilizing Bootsy’s talents to provide the driving groove element to them. Today,I’d like to present to you some of the Bootsy solo/Bootsy related session work that I’m personally aware of. And that are personal favorites of mine. I am excluding his contributions to Parliament and Funkadelic,since that’s an article in and of itself. So here is Andresmusictalk’s rundown of personal Bootsy favorites.

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‘Ahh,The Name Is Bootsy,Baby” (1977)

The groove on this song is both super clear and super punishing in terms of the funk. The deep,descending synth bass line alone makes the song. Not to even mention the horns and call/response vocals. Pretty much Bootsy’s defining song while leading the Rubber Band.

“Very Yes” (1978)

This punchy 1978 funk ballad was one I thought was sung by a very whispery female singer at first. Turns out this slow thump’s lead vocals were the work of Robert “P-Nut” Johnson. Just the combination of funkiness and quirkiness make this a very defining Bootsy number for me.

“She Jam” (Almost Bootsy Show)” (1979)

One of the reasons I enjoy this so much is that its a thick,throbbing Bootsy funk groove,as well as being an intricately written pop song. The combination of heavy funk instrumentation and melodic songwriting really make songs like this stand out.

“Its A Musical” (1980)

Bootsy utilizing his trademarked flamboyant,revved up bass style as the basic for every other instrumental and melodic idea of a song came to fruition on songs such as this “Its A Musical” did for Bootsy at the start of the 1980’s what “Bootzilla” and “Roto Rooter” had done a few years before.

“Hyper Space” by Sweat Band (1980)

This particular song by the Bootsy spin off Sweat Band is an instrumental that showcases P-Funk at its most melodically strong. The groove is an intense mix of synth bass,Clavinet and piano. The synthesizer plays a strongly modulating,jazzy theme as the main melodic theme,one the Clavinet also repeats. Some of P-Funk’s strongest music period.

“Shine-O-Mite (Rag Poping’)” (1982)

The bass/guitar interaction and sizzling synth interludes that define this groove make this what is,to me,some of the most slept on P-Funk of the early 80’s.

“Party On Plastic” (1988)

Took Bootsy awhile to make a comeback. But he came back in 1988 with a roar on his What’s Bootsy Doin’ album,a hard hitting electro funk set that is really defined by the sound of this song,its opener. It combines electronic drums,percussion and huge slap bass.

“Love Song” (1988)

Bootsy always had a way with writing funky love songs. On this,he did so in a pounding,ultra melodic Cameo-like funk manner. Always one of my favorite Bootsy numbers.

“Groove Is In The Heart” by Deee Lite (1990)

This funky house jam by the DJ collective Deee-Lite showcases not only Bootsy’s playing and influence. But is also loaded with his attitude and presence. In particular when he comes in saying “ASK YOUR MAMA!”.

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So there you have it,my rundown on personal favorite Bootsy jams. There were others that were more defining and influential to other musicians,of course. Still,one of the most important aspects of Bootsy’s talents was being able to make hard funk somehow singable and accessible to people who were not heavily instrumentally inclined. That’s a combination that takes a lot of understanding. And generally a positive attitude. And those are two of the qualities that keep Bootsy’s music moving straight ahead onto where his funk will take him on its next journey.