p/funk

As we ordered both these new CDs we thought: "What is it lately about Brits and back-in-the-day California music?"

Because "regionalism" is all the all-the-rage right now, us obscurantist music snerds are benefiting from limey music curators. From Brit label owner "Jazzman Gerald" Short and Brit drummer Malcolm Catto comes California Funk (Jazzman/Now Again Records), their lovingly cherry-picked comp of 21 booty-bumpin' sides from forgotten Vietnam-era combos like Billy Larkin & the Delegates, Ray Frazier & the Shades of Madness and (our faves) L.A. Bare Faxx. Check out the L.A. Weekly's survey of the collection here.

On the more musically primitive side, UK writer/broadcaster Jon Savage, has chosen 26 raw and sweaty Cali thrashers for Black Hole Californian Punk 1977-1980 (Domino). And yes, the gang's all here: the Dils, The Dead Kennedys, The Avengers, The Screamers, X, The Zeros, The Weirdos...can we stop now? We respect Mr. Savage for being author of the best Sex Pistols bio ever written (England's Dreaming...roit!?) AND sometimes we need to rely of some John Bulls over the pond to remind us sun-dizzy Californians of our own rich music history AND we realize we haven't even heard the comp yet (it's out 11/11/10), but we're already wishing for a second volume because "Forming" and "We're Desperate" seem a little rote. For more info on the collection, check out this short piece from Fact magazine.