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Friday Funk #43 – ‘Shine-O-Mite (Rag Poping)’ by Bootsy Collins
Friday Funk #43 – ‘Shine-O-Mite (Rag Poping)’ by Bootsy Collins
Friday Funk #43 – ‘Shine-O-Mite (Rag Poping)’ by Bootsy Collins
We continue Bassist Month with a Bootsy Collins classic. Happy birthday to Bootsy, who turns 73 tomorrow – and is still funkin’!
In 1982, Bootsy Collins released The One Giveth, The Count Taketh Away, the first of a few Bootsy album titles to mention funk or the One. Following were Tha Funk Capital of the World (2011), World Wide Funk (2017), The Power of the One (2020), and the upcoming Album of the Year #1 Funkateer.
The album opened with ‘Shine-O-Mite (Rag Popping)’. Most of the track is dominated by Bootsy’s fuzz bass and a heavy emphasis on the One. Bootsy’s elder brother, Catfish Collins, plays typically irresistibly fidgety guitar. It sounds like he might have palm muted his entire part, achieving a scratchy sound that adds to song’s restless feel. That restlessness is partly due to an abundance of syncopation, with Bootsy, Catfish, and synths all hitting offbeats, keeping almost every bar unpredictable. It also comes through a lack of structure. There aren’t really clear verses or choruses. The primary hook is Bootsy’s main bassline. He leads up to the One with different, short phrases, and leaves plenty of space in each bar for the other instrumentation.
Bootsy has talked about the power of the One, to borrow his title, in almost mystical terms. He told Rolling Stone:
“I’ve started to realize ‘the one’ is bigger than musical terms,” he says. “It means all of us collectively together, we’re equal. We are the one. We’re the ones that take care of this planet. We’re the ones that make the music and invent stuff. And regardless of our differences, we all are still on this mothership, which is the Earth. It’s one planet, and we’re all on it. There’s millions of us on the planet, but we’re all one people. If we go at it that way, we can do anything. That’s the power of the one.”
And The Guardian:
“Funk just brings people together, from the ground up. It doesn’t have nothing to do with colour. It has nothing to do with status. It just brings you to ‘the one’, and the one thing that we all have in common is that we all just want to live. That’s what it’s really all about. It’s making something from nothing, like me.”
And Relix:
“Eventually, out of all of those experiences [with James Brown and Parliament-Funkadelic], I realized that it’s much deeper than just a band being on the one. The power of the one is all of us collectively going in the same direction together. Everybody’s a part of the one, no matter what their beliefs are. The one is that light in everybody’s soul, no matter what they call it. The power of the one breaks down barriers. The goal is to bring everybody together, without the name calling. We’re all on one planet—spinning around in space—and we have to work and live together. That’s the power of the one.”
In pretty typical P-Funk fashion, some of the lyrics are difficult to make out: Genius reckon the chant at 0:27 is “Ootsy-be that-play unky-fe”. That seems speculative, but matches CD reissue liner notes. Well, alright then – it sure feels good!
By ’82, Parliament and Funkadelic had been recently dissolved, but the album is full of P-Funk playfulness, and P-Funk musicians. Like on Stretchin’ Out In Bootsy’s Rubber Band, Fred Wesley helped Bootsy arrange the horns. The horn section was made up of Maceo Parker, Fred Wesley, and Richard “Kush” Griffith, but horns are absent on ‘Shine-O-Mite’, with the many vocal parts taking care of melodies that horns might have provided. The standout lyric might have come courtesy of George Clinton, who co-wrote and co-produced ‘Shine-O-Mite’ with Bootsy: “The secret to walking on water is knowing where the rocks are.”
George doesn’t sing much but pops up for one of the bridge sections: “Bootsy gonna shine like the light from shiny shoes.” Bootsy then goes back to the line that opened the song, referencing his own ‘Bootzilla’ megahit by imitating the “Wiiiiiiiiiind me up!” hook: “Shiiiiiiiiiine-O-Mite!” That 'Bootzilla' line was previously borrowed by Parliament – twice – for ‘Deep’ and ‘Rumpofsteelskin’.
After 3:20, there’s some very ’80s vocoder, but listening decades later, it’s saved from sounding pastiche by the fidgety, offbeat percussion that arrives at 3:25. It sounds like possibly claps or drum hits filtered through rubbery effects. Bootsy’s bass comes back in at 3:49 – on the One, of course.
Today, Bootsy released 'The JB's Tribute Pastor P' from his upcoming album. The track is dedicated to drummers Jabo Starks and Clyde Stubblefield.
We continue Bassist Month with a Bootsy Collins classic. Happy birthday to Bootsy, who turns 73 tomorrow – and is still funkin’!
In 1982, Bootsy Collins released The One Giveth, The Count Taketh Away, the first of a few Bootsy album titles to mention funk or the One. Following were Tha Funk Capital of the World (2011), World Wide Funk (2017), The Power of the One (2020), and the upcoming Album of the Year #1 Funkateer.
The album opened with ‘Shine-O-Mite (Rag Popping)’. Most of the track is dominated by Bootsy’s fuzz bass and a heavy emphasis on the One. Bootsy’s elder brother, Catfish Collins, plays typically irresistibly fidgety guitar. It sounds like he might have palm muted his entire part, achieving a scratchy sound that adds to song’s restless feel. That restlessness is partly due to an abundance of syncopation, with Bootsy, Catfish, and synths all hitting offbeats, keeping almost every bar unpredictable. It also comes through a lack of structure. There aren’t really clear verses or choruses. The primary hook is Bootsy’s main bassline. He leads up to the One with different, short phrases, and leaves plenty of space in each bar for the other instrumentation.
Bootsy has talked about the power of the One, to borrow his title, in almost mystical terms. He told Rolling Stone:
“I’ve started to realize ‘the one’ is bigger than musical terms,” he says. “It means all of us collectively together, we’re equal. We are the one. We’re the ones that take care of this planet. We’re the ones that make the music and invent stuff. And regardless of our differences, we all are still on this mothership, which is the Earth. It’s one planet, and we’re all on it. There’s millions of us on the planet, but we’re all one people. If we go at it that way, we can do anything. That’s the power of the one.”
And The Guardian:
“Funk just brings people together, from the ground up. It doesn’t have nothing to do with colour. It has nothing to do with status. It just brings you to ‘the one’, and the one thing that we all have in common is that we all just want to live. That’s what it’s really all about. It’s making something from nothing, like me.”
And Relix:
“Eventually, out of all of those experiences [with James Brown and Parliament-Funkadelic], I realized that it’s much deeper than just a band being on the one. The power of the one is all of us collectively going in the same direction together. Everybody’s a part of the one, no matter what their beliefs are. The one is that light in everybody’s soul, no matter what they call it. The power of the one breaks down barriers. The goal is to bring everybody together, without the name calling. We’re all on one planet—spinning around in space—and we have to work and live together. That’s the power of the one.”
In pretty typical P-Funk fashion, some of the lyrics are difficult to make out: Genius reckon the chant at 0:27 is “Ootsy-be that-play unky-fe”. That seems speculative, but matches CD reissue liner notes. Well, alright then – it sure feels good!
By ’82, Parliament and Funkadelic had been recently dissolved, but the album is full of P-Funk playfulness, and P-Funk musicians. Like on Stretchin’ Out In Bootsy’s Rubber Band, Fred Wesley helped Bootsy arrange the horns. The horn section was made up of Maceo Parker, Fred Wesley, and Richard “Kush” Griffith, but horns are absent on ‘Shine-O-Mite’, with the many vocal parts taking care of melodies that horns might have provided. The standout lyric might have come courtesy of George Clinton, who co-wrote and co-produced ‘Shine-O-Mite’ with Bootsy: “The secret to walking on water is knowing where the rocks are.”
George doesn’t sing much but pops up for one of the bridge sections: “Bootsy gonna shine like the light from shiny shoes.” Bootsy then goes back to the line that opened the song, referencing his own ‘Bootzilla’ megahit by imitating the “Wiiiiiiiiiind me up!” hook: “Shiiiiiiiiiine-O-Mite!” That 'Bootzilla' line was previously borrowed by Parliament – twice – for ‘Deep’ and ‘Rumpofsteelskin’.
After 3:20, there’s some very ’80s vocoder, but listening decades later, it’s saved from sounding pastiche by the fidgety, offbeat percussion that arrives at 3:25. It sounds like possibly claps or drum hits filtered through rubbery effects. Bootsy’s bass comes back in at 3:49 – on the One, of course.
Today, Bootsy released 'The JB's Tribute Pastor P' from his upcoming album. The track is dedicated to drummers Jabo Starks and Clyde Stubblefield.
We continue Bassist Month with a Bootsy Collins classic. Happy birthday to Bootsy, who turns 73 tomorrow – and is still funkin’!
In 1982, Bootsy Collins released The One Giveth, The Count Taketh Away, the first of a few Bootsy album titles to mention funk or the One. Following were Tha Funk Capital of the World (2011), World Wide Funk (2017), The Power of the One (2020), and the upcoming Album of the Year #1 Funkateer.
The album opened with ‘Shine-O-Mite (Rag Popping)’. Most of the track is dominated by Bootsy’s fuzz bass and a heavy emphasis on the One. Bootsy’s elder brother, Catfish Collins, plays typically irresistibly fidgety guitar. It sounds like he might have palm muted his entire part, achieving a scratchy sound that adds to song’s restless feel. That restlessness is partly due to an abundance of syncopation, with Bootsy, Catfish, and synths all hitting offbeats, keeping almost every bar unpredictable. It also comes through a lack of structure. There aren’t really clear verses or choruses. The primary hook is Bootsy’s main bassline. He leads up to the One with different, short phrases, and leaves plenty of space in each bar for the other instrumentation.
Bootsy has talked about the power of the One, to borrow his title, in almost mystical terms. He told Rolling Stone:
“I’ve started to realize ‘the one’ is bigger than musical terms,” he says. “It means all of us collectively together, we’re equal. We are the one. We’re the ones that take care of this planet. We’re the ones that make the music and invent stuff. And regardless of our differences, we all are still on this mothership, which is the Earth. It’s one planet, and we’re all on it. There’s millions of us on the planet, but we’re all one people. If we go at it that way, we can do anything. That’s the power of the one.”
And The Guardian:
“Funk just brings people together, from the ground up. It doesn’t have nothing to do with colour. It has nothing to do with status. It just brings you to ‘the one’, and the one thing that we all have in common is that we all just want to live. That’s what it’s really all about. It’s making something from nothing, like me.”
And Relix:
“Eventually, out of all of those experiences [with James Brown and Parliament-Funkadelic], I realized that it’s much deeper than just a band being on the one. The power of the one is all of us collectively going in the same direction together. Everybody’s a part of the one, no matter what their beliefs are. The one is that light in everybody’s soul, no matter what they call it. The power of the one breaks down barriers. The goal is to bring everybody together, without the name calling. We’re all on one planet—spinning around in space—and we have to work and live together. That’s the power of the one.”
In pretty typical P-Funk fashion, some of the lyrics are difficult to make out: Genius reckon the chant at 0:27 is “Ootsy-be that-play unky-fe”. That seems speculative, but matches CD reissue liner notes. Well, alright then – it sure feels good!
By ’82, Parliament and Funkadelic had been recently dissolved, but the album is full of P-Funk playfulness, and P-Funk musicians. Like on Stretchin’ Out In Bootsy’s Rubber Band, Fred Wesley helped Bootsy arrange the horns. The horn section was made up of Maceo Parker, Fred Wesley, and Richard “Kush” Griffith, but horns are absent on ‘Shine-O-Mite’, with the many vocal parts taking care of melodies that horns might have provided. The standout lyric might have come courtesy of George Clinton, who co-wrote and co-produced ‘Shine-O-Mite’ with Bootsy: “The secret to walking on water is knowing where the rocks are.”
George doesn’t sing much but pops up for one of the bridge sections: “Bootsy gonna shine like the light from shiny shoes.” Bootsy then goes back to the line that opened the song, referencing his own ‘Bootzilla’ megahit by imitating the “Wiiiiiiiiiind me up!” hook: “Shiiiiiiiiiine-O-Mite!” That 'Bootzilla' line was previously borrowed by Parliament – twice – for ‘Deep’ and ‘Rumpofsteelskin’.
After 3:20, there’s some very ’80s vocoder, but listening decades later, it’s saved from sounding pastiche by the fidgety, offbeat percussion that arrives at 3:25. It sounds like possibly claps or drum hits filtered through rubbery effects. Bootsy’s bass comes back in at 3:49 – on the One, of course.
Today, Bootsy released 'The JB's Tribute Pastor P' from his upcoming album. The track is dedicated to drummers Jabo Starks and Clyde Stubblefield.