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Audiography
- University Press of Mississippi
- Chapter
- Additional Information
Audiography Compiling an audiography (also called a discography) for this book underscores the problems of documenting sound recordings in the twenty -first century. Prior to the close of World War II, such work was relatively easy. The majority of sound recordings were made by a handful of commercial record companies, most notably RCAand Columbia or one of their subsidiaries. This changed after the war, with the proliferation of small record companies inspired by an entrepreneurial spirit and the availability of the magnetic tape recorder. In the present day we face an everincreasing maze of small record labels, which presents the discographer with an almost overwhelming task. Go-go music is a unique case because the genre is so localized. Nearly all go-go recordings have been made in Washington, D.C., or Prince George's County. The time-frame is limited, too; go-go has only been around since the mid-1970s. These two factors help, but it's still a nightmare. In the 1980s, the following companies alone issued a variety of 7-inch and 12-inch vinyl recordings of go-go: Big City, Capital City, Capitol Beat Records, CD Enterprise, Creative Funk Records, D.E.T.T., Flash, Full House, Future, Galaxy Unlimited, Go-Bin, Gotta Go Go, Hi Hut, I Hear Ya!, Jam, Jam Rose, Kapitol Sity Wrecords, Kolossal, ND/Goff Records, Raw Venture, Resolution, Rhythm Attack, Sound Music Company, Sounds of the Capitol, Street Records, Studio Records, Teddy Bear, The Bush Records, T.T.E.D., TWF Productions, Washington Hit Makers. (Source: Washington D.C. GoGo Labels — http://laurent.thiebaut.free.fr/bmc/labels/gogocatalogue.htm) Fully documenting these releases—even basic information such as recording date, location, personnel, instrumentation, and vocals—is all but impossible. Many of the sessions were done in small or private recording studios that did not keep logs. Quite often these studios or companies are no longer in business. Nor did the bands—many of which no longer exist—themselves retain such information. Because they are so ephemeral, we do not address P.A. tapes in this audiography. Instead, we have limited the audiography to two sections. The first section is a highly selective list of classic go-go recordings that help to define the genre. They are difficult to find—many are long out of print—but they merit inclusion in this book. The second list consists of go-go recordings available on compact disc as of spring 2001. Anyone 278 The B e a t wishing to sample go-go might be interested in the CD compiled by Liaison Records to accompany this book. Finding go-go discs outside of the metropolitan Washington, D.C., area is difficult. Some of the bands have Web sites—Rare Essence: www.rareessence.com; Trouble Funk: www.troublefunk.com; JunkYard: http://blackplanet.members/JunkYardBand—and you can purchase their product directly from them. But as we write this in January 2001, the best source for go-go material over the Internet is the P.A. Palace. This longestablished business has a Web site (www.papalace.com) and is perhaps the most comprehensive source for ordering commercial go-go releases as well as P.A. tapes. A few final words about go-go and the Internet. Two sites are always worth checking. The first is Kato's www.tmottgogo.com, not only for the latest word on go-go and for the bulletin board, but to check out the links. The other important site is maintained by Jordan Rich (http://funkmasterj .tripod.com/gogo.htm). Rich keeps the most comprehensive set of gogo links, which are broken into the following categories: "Articles, General, & Online Clubs," "Labels, Vendors, and Venues," "Bands," "GoGo Fan Homepages," "Go Go CDs," and "Go Go Radio." He also maintains the site with great regularity. Funkmaster J is also working on a complete discography of commercial albums, and while it's not comprehensive , it is by far the best information out there. Our own discography owes a tip of the hat to Mr. Rich and his work. [18.208.172.3] Project MUSE (2024-03-28 18:54 GMT) A u d l o g r a p h y 279 A SCORE-MORE OR LESS-OF CLASSIC G O - G O RECORDINGS BACKYARD BAND • "Skillet" CHUCK BROWN AND THE SOUL SEARCHERS • "Bustin" Loose" • "We Need Money" • "It Don't Mean A Thing (If It Don't Have The Go-Go Swing)" EXPERIENCE UNLIMITED • "Rock Your Butt" • "E.U. Freeze" • "Shake...