Parliament
On
Mothership Connection (1975), the first track, "P Funk", concerns a
DJ character, who inspired the
Lollypop Man (alias the
Long Haired Sucker). According to Clinton (who shares credit for the song with
Bernie Worrell and
Bootsy Collins), he was frustrated that
radio stations refused to play his songs and invented his own station (called
W-E-F-U-N-K) and a DJ to man it.
On
Mothership Connection,
Starchild first appeared (inspired equally by
Sun Ra's "
Black Noah" and
Jesus); he is a divine alien being who came to earth from a spaceship (his arrival is "the Mothership Connection") to bring the holy
Funk (with a capital "F": the cause of creation and source of energy and all life) to humanity. As it turns out (according to
The Clones of Dr. Funkenstein, 1976), Starchild secretly worked for
Dr. Funkenstein,
the intergalactic master of outer space Funk, who is capable of fixing
all of man’s ills, because the "bigger the headache, the bigger the
pill" and he’s the "big pill" ("
Dr. Funkenstein", from
The Clones of Dr. Funkenstein). Dr. Funkenstein’s predecessors had encoded the secrets of Funk in the
Pyramids because humanity wasn’t ready for its existence until the modern era. The titular "clones" are the
Children of Productions whose job is to ensure that everyone is
on the One.
Starchild’s nemesis is
Sir Nose D’Voidoffunk ("Sir Nose Devoid of Funk" from
Funkentelechy Vs. the Placebo Syndrome, 1977). Inspired by the single "
The Pinocchio Theory" by
Bootsy's Rubber Band, Sir Nose attempts to end the Funk because he is too cool to
dance. He is the master of the
Placebo Syndrome,
which causes unFunkiness (a combination of stupidity and no dancing).
His goal is to place the minds of all humanity into a state called the
Zone of Zero Funkativity. Starchild, on the other hand, uses his
Bop Gun ("
Bop Gun (Endangered Species)", from
Funkentelechy Vs the Placebo Syndrome) to achieve "
Funkentelechy" for all humanity. With the Funky powers of the Bop Gun (which are augmented by the
Flash Light....Shine the light on them suckas!!!), Starchild causes Sir Nose to reach Funkentelechy, and find his Funky soul. He then dances away the night.
Sir Nose’s return (along with ally
Rumpofsteelskin) is detailed on the
Motor Booty Affair (1978). Here, Sir Nose is too cool to dance or swim, but
Mr. Wiggles and the good citizens of
Atlantis (a place where one can dance underwater without getting wet) cause Sir Nose to dance the
Aqua Boogie. At the end of
Motor Booty Affair,
and after Sir Nose's defeat, the citizens of Atlantis raise their home
out of the sea on the song "Deep" ("We need to raise Atlantis from the
bottom of the sea, dancing 'til we bring it to the top ...").
On
Gloryhallastoopid (1979), Clinton flips the script on "Theme From The Black Hole" (later sampled by
Digital Underground
for "Same Song") and allows Sir Nose to win one battle by turning
Starchild into a mule. While gloating over his victory, Sir Nose alludes
to multiple songs from
Funkentelechy and
Clones,
mockingly referencing the scat singing from "Sir Nose" ("humdrum,
twiddly-dee-dum Starchild!"), and pointing out the fact that Starchild
is temporarily without weapons or allies ("Where's your flashlight?
Where's your bop gun? Where's the Doctor [Funkenstein], Starchild?").
Sir Nose’s machinations are undone three tracks later by the "Big Bang
Theory", which reveals that the Funk caused the creation of the
universe, though the only legible clue is the ethereal backing vocal
line, "So we the clones were designed."
Another Sir Nose appearance is on
Trombipulation (1980), where he traces his ancestry back to the
Cro-Nasal Sapiens, who were especially Funky, leading Sir Nose to reclaim his Funky heritage, along with his son,
Sir Nose Jr.
The last recorded Sir Nose guest spot is on the lengthy 1982 song
Man's Best Friend/Loopzilla off of the P-Funk Stables last commercial
hit, Computer Games. In this song Nose says, "This sounds familiar! Let
me stick my nose in it and see what I smell this time! Ahahahaha."
