Making the P funk connection

Parliament's 1976 effort, Mothership Connection, is a concept album that begs the question, "What would music sound like if it came from another planet?" \nGeorge Clinton, known for his funky style in music as well in fashion (the braids in his hair look like a Technicolor pompom) teams up with the excellent bassist Bootsy Collins and Fred Wesley (an almunus of James Brown's band), to create an out-of-this-universe sound and P Funk classic. \nThe album consists of seven songs that will improve anybody's "interplanentary funksmenship." "P Funk (Wants to Get Funked Up)" is the first track of the album and sets the tone for the rest of the record. The song transports you from your drab living room to a psychedelic party on the mothership, and everyone is dancing with the music. The party mantra "make my funk the P Funk/I wants to get funked up!" makes it impossible not to have a good time. And this is only the first song!\n"Mothership Connection (Star Child)" is another highlight. The bass guitar is amazing and the many layers of vocals add to the album's otherworldly mystique.\nWhat's amazing to me is this album was released 30 years ago but still sounds as fresh as ever. This is mostly because of the emergence of producer/rapper Dr. Dre, whose classic album "The Chronic" samples two songs off Mothership Connection and the P-funk sound as a whole. Say what you want about the ethics of sampling, but it's because of artists like Dr. Dre that this music is reintroduced to a completely different generation.\nSelling for only $6.93 on iTunes, Mothership Connection can be peppered into your best party mix and perfect it. Or download it to your iPod and funk with the funk on your way to class. It's impossible to have a bad day after listening to the P Funk. So, as the "Star Child" says, "put a glide in your stride, a dip in your hip and come on to the mothership"