One of the things I’ve been thinking about lately is Disco (well, who doesn’t?) and various interesting things that can be said about it. It’s 4/4? It pretty much is responsible for the popularity (if not the invention) of the extended remix? The fact that it was so easy to dance to that everybody danced to it? Of course, there are also the criticisms… it’s funk without the funky and rock and roll without either the rocking or the rolling. Roller Disco?
It’s easy to make fun of disco and I’m sure that, circa 1980, it was easy to hate it. I think that there’s a lot of really, really good stuff that gets overlooked (if not dismissed outright) because of a handful of songs that get all of the airplay.
Speaking of which, I’d like you to check this one out (and I’m certain you’re familiar with this song) but only listen to it for 30-40 seconds because I want you to listen to the second song and I don’t know that you’d be able to if you listen to the whole thing. It’s “Good Times” by Chic. I’d put that in the category of “cotton candy” kinda disco. Anyway, I want you to pay close attention to the bassline.
Etched into your brain, right? Well, there’s nothing wrong with cotton candy from time to time. But check this out… we’ve got Roxy Music dancing dangerously close to the disco with this one off of Siren:
It’s almost the exact same baseline… but if the first song was cotton candy, Roxy Music’s is steak.
Warning: we’re probably going to talk about disco next week too.
So… what are you listening to?
Much Obliged — Bridgeless, UM
Eels Souljacker was the last thing I listened to before leaving to come home.
Port of Morrow, the new Shins album.
http://www.metalsucks.net/2012/05/04/exclusive-full-album-stream-cattle-decapitations-monolith-of-inhumanity/
militant vegetarian death-grind hybrid! (note: i don’t know if they’re militant vegetarians or just play one via album art/lyrics.)
Weirdly, I have been thinking a bit about disco too recently. Have you listened to any of the neo-Italo-disco artists like Sally Shapiro or the whole Johnny Jewel/Italians Do It Better axis of Chromatics/Desire, etc.?
They keep the basic structure of disco, but completely invert the stereotypical disco ‘mood’ (communal euphoria) by slowing the beat down a bit, adding some space, and enervating the vocals.
It’s like they took Morrissey’s old criticisms of disco culture (‘…says nothing to me about my life’ ‘…you go and you stand on your own, and you leave on your own, and you go home and you cry and you want to die’) and internalized them, resulting in ‘dance’ music that is achingly, existentially sad and lonely.
I find it completely engrossing. But probably hard to dance to.
That sounds awesome. I need to check it out.
This sounds really sweet, actually.
If you have seen ‘Drive’ , you have heard some of this stuff.
Director Refn wanted Johnny Jewel to do the soundtrack originally, but studio wanted Martinez instead – but some of Jewel’s stuff still got used anyway (and Jewel recently basically just released his original ‘Drive’ soundtrack under the name ‘Symmetry’).
Try Chromatics’ ‘Night Drive’ album to see if this stuff floats your boat, I love that one. Their new one (‘Kill For Love’) is pretty good too, and you can get the physical media for cheap (like $5) from their site if you so desire. Desire’s ‘II’ is also decent.
I’m celebrating with Pink! I could barely get my makeup on this morning because I was too busy dancing around.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XIyHpWmna9U
For the past few days, my office music listening has always begun with Bauhaus’ ‘Bela Lugosi’s Dead’.
I’m not sure what that says about me or my job.
That is an interesting way to start your day.
On Saturday, I got my one year old dancing to it.
Greatest. Dad. Ever.
2 things:
I always thought it would be awesome if on stage Peter Murphy had risen from the coffin, wearing a suit, to a podium with a presidential-looking seal on it (maybe with bats added), and simply read the song’s lyrics as though they were a press release, with awkward pauses between the exclamations of ‘Undead!’
Also, that song, and Bauhaus in general, makes me wish there were more goth-dub hybrids out there. 2 sounds that just belong together.
From what I understand, they were mocking the goth subculture with that song and only stopped laughing when they checked their bank accounts.
I scored a deal to compose an original score for a movie soundtrack a couple of weeks ago. I’ve been working on the main theme on and off since then, and a few things that I would like to do with it have come up in that time.
The main theme is based loosely on the Promenade from Pictures at an Exhibition (form) and the Quintette du Hot Club de France (melody), with a lot of influence from Kansas; arranged for trumpet, alto sax, guitar, piano, bass, and a trap kit.
I’ve been listening to a lot of Roberta Sá and Tatyana Ryzhkova over the past week or so.
As far as disco goes, I still like the old Jimmy Castor stuff. I like One Way, the Time, et al, but I think that’s more funk than disco.
This is too probably, but it’s still a classic.
the first concert I ever went to was Earth Wind and Fire 🙂
“One of the things I’ve been thinking about lately is Disco…”
This may be Mindless Diversions’ best opening line yet.