On digging in the crates

My folks don’t have actual crates, but they do have a pretty dope collection of 1970s vinyl albums. I got into a couple of Parliament albums my dad owned. And I just about wore out my dad’s copy of James Brown’s “Hot Pants.” Beyond that, however, I never appreciated these records growing up.

As an adult, my music tastes have taken an odd turn towards the 1970s and 1980s. Some of that is nostalgia for the jams of my childhood. But much of it is a desire to hear good shit. And the 1970s and 1980s heard copious amounts of good shit. Seriously: the music of the 1970s and early 1980s was so dope that it has been recycled, reborn and given extended life through hip-hop samples and rare grooves DJ sets. I know I’m stating the obvious here, but I am convinced that good music died — or rather, went deep underground — sometime around 1989 (with exceptions due to Biggie, Jay-Z, The Roots, and the ‘NuSoul’ movement).

Now when I visit my parents, I am more interested in their music collection than ever before. They have gems such as Betty Davis, Drums Of Passion and City Life on vinyl.

This time, they put me on to an album and artist I had never heard of before: Dr. Buzzard’s Original Savannah Band. The whole album is bouncy, band-style disco with surprisingly strong lyrics. Bonus? Finding two tracks that served as samples for two songs I adore: Cherchez La Femme / Se Si Bon, sampled by Ghostface Killah for Cherchez LaGhost; and Sunshower (featured below) which was sampled by M.I.A. on her track Sunshowers.