Before listening to Amanda Winterhalter & Rebecca Young’s “The Bump Room in L.A.,” my favorite Prince-inspired song was Bill Callahan/Smog’s “Prince Alone in the Studio.” Originally written for The Bushwick Book Club Seattle’s January 2021 showcase featuring songs inspired by Prince’s memoir The Beautiful Ones, Amanda and Rebecca’s collaboration on “The Bump Room in L.A.” began with a shared reading of the book and the passing of thoughts and ideas about and inspired by it. Together they transform Prince’s words and world into bumping feminist anthem.
Amanda’s vocals are delivered with such soul and conviction that the lyrics pulled from Prince’s memoir and their meaning become hers. “I live by the Feminine Principle. What you imagine is critical. Time is a lie. We’re all changeable. Create your life. Just try.” Damn. That’s inspiring. But wait, there’s more. This is a Prince-inspired song. It’s sexy. It’s steamy. At times it’s racy. But it is Amanda and Rebecca, not Prince, who set the tone and call the shots. Rebecca’s bass pulses and throbs. She finds the space between the notes to help dim the lights to accent Amanda’s most sultry lines. Contributing to the bumping atmosphere are pianist Jason Staczek and Moe Provencher, whose percussion tracks and production add the perfect amount of perspiration.
“The Bump Room in L.A.” is a much funkier song than Smog’s “Prince Alone in the Studio” and is a tribute better suited to an artist who worked closely with and celebrated women musicians throughout his career. Importantly, Smog’s work relies on a foreknowledge of Prince in order for it to come together, whereas Amanda and Rebecca build upon material left behind by Prince and elevate their song beyond his orbit so that it stands and succeeds without necessarily knowing their inspiration. Though, knowing “The Bump Room in L.A.” was lifted from the pages of The Beautiful Ones adds a layer of hilarity to this banging number.