I’ve been thinking a lot about Stones Throw since catching the new documentary. According to its narrative, directly after the release of Donuts and the passing of J Dilla in 2006, the label’s output got a whole lot weirder. That definitely holds true with tossed off joke records from Baron Zen and Folerio (Peanut Butter Wolf as a low-rent Prince), but the strangest stuff actually dates back a few years earlier. Gary Wilson is the go-to example of Stones Throw’s left-field picks, with his 1977 proto-Svenonius creeper classic "6.4 = Make Out" given the 7” treatment in 2004 (eventually resulting in a 2010 Jimmy Fallon appearance which I missed at the time and would love to see in full). Later releases from Bruce Haack, Anika, Oppenheimer Analysis (leading up to the Minimal Wave Tapes comps), and the completely slept-on Crow44 are all awesomely unlikely selections from a so-called hip-hop label as well. Yet that all said, Scuba Slim’s “Sara” from 2001 might be the #1 batshit crazy all-timer. Pressed on wax directly from a cassette demo and notoriously selling single digit copies at the time of its release, it’s essentially a warped lover man mumble-rap (which isn’t really that far off from Dâm-Funk or Doom) except this one features a scratchy loop of… wait for it… Jefferson Starship! “Sara” is nowhere to be found on YouTube (‘natch), but you can check it out (complete with needle skip) here.
