* * * Guest List: Del the Funky Homosapien * * *

[Elano]

Welcome to the latest edition of Pitchfork's Guest List. Each week, we ask one of our favorite artists to fill us in on what they've been up to lately: which tracks they can't stop spinning, what books they can't put down, and what new bands they've caught on tour. This week it's Del the Funky Homosapien, who takes a little time out of his rigorous recording schedule to rep a Styles P joint, wax nostalgic about Parliament-Funkadelic's stage show, and set the record straight on major vs. minor key scales.

>> Favorite Songs from the Past Year

"The Hardest" by Styles P. That's one of my favorite songs. Another one, let me think. I spend a lot of time working on my own music, so honestly, I'm not really listening to a lot of new stuff. That one Styles P song, that's the one I've had on-- you know what I'm saying? I play that song a lot. I play that Super Gangster [Extraordinary Gentleman] album a lot, actually.

>> Favorite Older Songs at the Moment

I listen to Parliament all day. Parliament-Funkadelic, I've got damn near every record they ever made, every off-shoot of Parliament that they ever made, you know what I'm saying? I stay absorbed in that. And James Brown to a lesser degree. But more, at this point, for like studying purposes, that's the main thing I listen to. But I listen to funk in general. I've got an iPod filled with CD upon CD of funk. "Catch a Keeper". That's probably the song that I like the best, that I've been playing. It changes from time to time.

>> Favorite New Aritst

Let me think about this...I can't really tell you, man, like I said I've just been working on my stuff. Well, there's this cat named Nobody that we work with. He's really dope. Real dope. That's one of them, you know? He's kind of like in my same camp. He's from Oakland.

>> Favorite Song Ever

I don't really play favorites. I like different songs for what they do. One day I might like one song, another day, I might like another. I'll say it like this, thought: anything that Redman do or anything that Deathsquad do, I'm gonna feel that, pretty much. Hands down. That's something that I can always listen to. That's on the rap tick; as far as funk and stuff like that, it's Parliament-Funkadelic.

>> Best Recent Concert

I was watching a Parliament show. It was in 1972. And of course, that was off the hook. George Clinton was skinny, like, he was just a shrimp. The mothership landed, all that shit. Incredible stage show. Lighting. People in different costumes. George Clinton was changing costumes throughout the set. He come out as Starchild, Dr. Funklestein...it's a trip. You know what? I kind of liked Bootsy [Collins]'s show a little better. He got a little more continuity to his stage goings-on. Like it was a little more unified and goofy. Parliament's all over the place.

>> Last Great Film I Saw

I Am Legend was pretty good, but to be honest with you, I don't go out to watch movies. My girl watches movies all damn day. Me? I'm working on music, 24/7. Literally.

>> Last Great Book I Read

I don't have time to read as often as I used to. What's the last book I read? Akira. Someone gave me an Akira graphic novel. Real book, though? The last real book I was Lies My Music Teacher Told Me [Music Theory for Grownups] by Gerald Eskelin. That's one of my favorite books. Basically, it's talking about the real deal as far as how music works. When you're in a music class and stuff, they give you re-filtered theories and knowledge, I guess you could say, that's been going on for years and years, and some of it is kind of inaccurate. It was basically just breaking down different things that you think is real about music, and then they give you the real deal about it. Such simple little things you might not know, such as...minor scales and major scales are the same, basically. Once you have a certain scale set up, you can play it in any key. It doesn't matter. It's the same scale. When you have music class, you know what they do: They make you practice every scale, over and over again, but it's kind of missing the point. If you have a certain scale structure, you can transfer that or transpose that to any key you want, it doesn't matter. So once you know the formula for that scale, you can play it in any key, basically. It's a damn near waste of time to be practicing the different scales in different keys over and over again. And it's missing the point.

Pitchfork: Maybe you should teach a music class.

I've helped a lot of people with music. I'm not going to profess to be the most knowledgeable person in music theory. I basically studied so I could learn more about black music, because I couldn't understand what musicians were talking about without knowing music theory.

>> Favorite Piece of Musical Equipment

My computer. Sitting in front of me right now. I do wonders with my computer. I work with Ableton Live, that's the program that I play stuff on. But don't get me wrong, I still got the ST, of course, at the house. I've got a few MPCs. But a lot of time, I'm on my computer. It's just easier. I can do more stuff with it. I can actually record a song if I want to. It's not just memory for the drum machine. You can see what you're doing. You can actually see the waves on the screen. You can arrange it instantly, because you can see everything. In this day and age, I got to be quicker, more efficient; people want more, better product, and faster. Basically, as far as I'm concerned, you can't survive without a computer at this point. You got to have a computer in your show.

>> Favorite Record Shop

Leopold's used to be my favorite record shop before it closed down. That used to be my hangout. They had an arcade over there, across the hallway from where I used to live. They had a pizza parlor downstairs, so my whole world was that place. I even used work there. Now it would have to be a tie between Rasputin Music and Amoeba Records.

>> Best Purchase of the Past Year

I don't spend money, man, to tell you the truth. I just bought a new MacBook because I needed one, but I try to save my money. I don't do too much frivolous spending. Not anymore, anyway.

>> Best Thing I Did This Year

Getting my album out, really. That's an achievement. It's been a long time coming, and I've had a lot of obstacles in my way, threatening from preventing it to ever coming to life. It's been a triumph for me, it allows me to put that in the past, and get along with whatever else I've got to do.

>> Favorite Venue

B.B. King's is tight. Just because of the historical implications of B.B. King's. That's the blues. All this other stuff that we listen to is based on that. Still. That just means a lot to me.

>> Favorite TV Show at the Moment

TV is whack, man, but honestly, you could catch me watching Bret Michaels ["Rock of Love"]. I watch that a lot. I watch "Flavor of Love" sometimes. That's pretty much damn near the only thing that's on TV at this point: reality shows. Honestly, it's just kind of on. Like I said, I spend a lot of my time just concentrating on music, just kind of working on projects. Seriously. But I watch the dramas. It's funny.

>> Favorite Video Game at the Moment

I don't play as much as I used to; like I said, I spend a great deal of time concentrating on music. But I just stood in line waiting for "Super Smash Bros. Brawl".

>> Favorite Radio Show

Again, I don't really listen to the radio. I'm not hatin' or nothing, but anything I want to listen to, I probably have it at home. Or I could get it. I turn on TV, watch BET, MTV, or VH1 if I want to hear what's on the radio. If I have to listen to the radio, when I'm in the Bay area, I listen to KMEL.

>> My Ringtone

The plain old ringtone that came with my phone. I got an iPhone. It's not a big deal to me. My other Sidekick, I had something by Bun B on my Sidekick. But I'm not really into trying for "oooooh, this is my ringtone". I'm not into that. I'm a plain guy, man. I'm a simple guy. I like things to be simple, be straightforward.