Gettin’ My “Russell” Rush On.

I’m not a big rare record collector, as a) I’m not a d.j. or a producer, b) a lot of music is on CD or p2p networks, and c) I bought most of what I really love when it originally came out. (Well, O.K.: I didn’t purchase World’s Famous Supreme Team’s “Hey D.J.” 12″ (the track’s glorious video, here), a Jean-Michel Basquiat “test pressing sleeve” version of Rammellzee vs. K-Rob’s “Beat Bop,” or perfection itself—Endgames’ “Ecstasy” instrumental—but hey, I can’t be everywhere at once.)

However, I did once gleefully fork over significant cash to an unseen Brit for a beautifully preserved, 12″ copy of the Russell Brothers’ 1983 electro-funk masterpiece, “The Party Scene,” above. The reverb-laden, synth-spazzed track’s first minute-and-a-half have always sounded, to my ears, like something big, dangerous, and powerful being turned on, then warming up; like, say, the Large Hadron Collider if it was being run by Parliament-Funkadelic.

If you know what I mean, or loved this disc during your Back In the Days days, this chilly YouTube link will, paradoxically, warm your cockles. The rest of y’all, take your chances. Play loud, as always.