Sacred cows from the dance canon that are now irrelevant

(Obv I'd have preferred a double CD of etc etc called Druqks as it turns out.)

I still like Strings Of Life but I'm not totally sure how many 18 year olds would. Pretty much all 86-88 stuff sounds really slow now.

Craig David/Artful Dodger - Re-Rewind. R'n b has overtaken this, and the whole UK garage sound now has dated badly.

Reel 2 Reel - I Like to move it. Kids would laugh at this the way kinds then laughed at it.

also, when you think about the dance canon, it makes you realise just how much shit was signed or released that was utterly pointless:

wiseguys, crystal method or monkey mafia, anyone?

and all the careers that survived for years on the basis of a few good early tracks: The Orb, Orbital, Juan Atkins...

Yes it seems a bit unfair to suggest "I Like To Move It" as a 'sacred cow', I did it at karaoke though and the rap isn't as easy as I thought it would be.

i vigorously disagree with the uk garage assessment, i suppose it goes without saying.

And why is sounding like a SHANNON record at all bad?!?!?!

also, all those old school keyboard patterns sound way more electro than house now, with the hindsight of 10-15 years of history.

Inner City Life was hailed as a classic more out of hope than anything else I think. I can't remember a record from that time that I tried quite as hard to like.

MAW feat India - "I can't get no sleep"

I think this sounds pretty corny now, much as I used to love it. The minimal US garage sound is kind of timeless but all the disco-ised stuff now sounds like Room 5 (i.e. bad).

Todd Terry - "Weekend"

What a pointless record. The original sounds much fresher and the stuttering beats which are charming on some other records from the era just really grate.

De'Lacy - "Hideaway"

This comes across as really thin and watery. I think we expect monster bass with everything now, and dance tunes that don't have it really suffer.

On Derrick May again, I was somewhat embarassed by the fact that I nominated my FAVOURITE D May track as my least favourite. The Dance totally rocks my world and always has. I don't know what a teenager would make of it though. It's Strings of Life that I think is over-rated. Especially those string stabs that go all the way thru. They're crap. I like the ambient version but.

Even more controversially, I want to advance the thesis (ooh, thesis!)that it's the brutalist techno that ages well. The noodling bendy string stuff, with fingers studiously avoiding sharps and flats, making pretty tunes, hasn't aged so well. Even here, there's some exceptions, like R-Tyme's 'R-Theme'.

Almost all Alan Oldham's brutalist stuff has aged really well, cos he's so damn funky.

Todd Terry, to my ears, sounds old-fashioned but good, due to his keen structural skills and his rhythm box programming.

Hey I think we need some teenagers to answer these questions.

I think the Bjorky vocal tracks on that Alex Reece record probably sound a lot better now than they did in '96, I can never even remember Pulp Fiction through.

"The UK pop R&B scene as far as I can see has 'moved on' to retro-disco (good though some of it is) and fleamarket Destiny's Child knock-offs, witness the hugely disappointing second Mis-Teeq record."

B-b-but Tom the Destiny's Child knock-offs on the second Mis-Teeq record are better than those on the first!

wasn't the commotion over "inner city life" more about the "jah: the seventh seal" mix anyway?

i'm not sure derrick may ever appealed to any american eighteen year-olds who weren't there in person at the music institute.

"french kiss" is more relevant now than any other time in the last ten years, same with the other 86-88 tracks mentioned.

you're starting to resort to stuff that wasn't ever in any "canon", jacob.

??? "Nitro"? "Eye Candy"? "Just For You"?

Yeah, but it's a much different story elsewhere in the world.

Those moist ballads on Eye Candy really grew on me after a while as well. Check the harmonies on "Home Tonight"!

Alison limerick - Where love lives
Joey beltram - Energy flash
Ce ce rogers - Someday
Josh wink - Higher state of conciousness
Eric b & rakim - Paid in full
Underworld - Cowgirl/rez
Mariah carey - Dreamlover
Future sound of london - Papua new guinea
Joe smooth - Promised land
Massive attack - Unfinished sympathy
Orbital - Chime
Donna summer - I feel love
Nightwriters - Let the music use you
Fpi project - Everybody(all over the world)
Jaydee - Plastic dreams
X-press 2-london - X-press(the journey continues)
Rhythim is rhythim - Strings of life
Jam & spoon - Stella
Mr fingers - Can you feel it
Inner city - Good life
Everything but the gir l - Missing
Gat decor -passion
Leftfield/lydon -Open up
Bizarre inc -Playing with knives
Dsk - What would we do
Hardfloor - Hardtrance acperience
Dj misjah & dj tim - Access
Stone roses - Fools gold
Itj bukem - Horizons
Dave clarke - Red 2(of 3)
Phuture - Acid trax
Funky green dogsfrom outer space reach for me
Sabres of paradise - Smokebelch 2
K-klass - Rhythm is a mystery
Moby - Go!
Urban soul - Alright
Age of love - Age of love
Candi staton - You got the love
Frankie knuckles/jamie principle - Your love
Aphex twin - Digeridoo
Goodmen - Give it up
Baby d - Let me be your fantasy
Circuit - Shelter me
Jam & spoon - Follow me
Bassheads - Is there anybody out there?
A guy called gerald - Voodoo ray
Billie ray martin - Your loving arms
Ron trent - Altered states
Brothers in rhythm -Such a good feeling
Empirion - Narcotic influence
Sl2 - Djs take control
De'lacy - Hideaway
Lil' louis - French kiss
Degrees of motion - Do you want it right now?
Sueno latino -Sueno latino
Ravesignal 3 - Horsepower
Last rhythm - Last rhythm
Shades of rhythm - The sound of eden
Slam - Positive education
Bucketheads - The bomb!
Lionrock - Packet of peace
Inner city - Pennies from heaven
Glam - Hell's party
Hashim - Al naafyish(the soul)
South street player - (Who)keeps changing your mind?
Marshall jefferson - Move your body(house music anthem)
Kariya - Let me love you for tonight
Subliminal cuts - Le voie le soleil
Mantronix - King of the beats
River ocean - Love and happiness
Urban shakedown - Some justice
Nghtcrawlers - Push the feeling on
M people - How can i love you more?
808 state - Pacific state
Capricorn - 20 hz
Lfo - Lfo
Leftfield - Not forgotten
Dee patten - Who's the badman?
Dan hartman - Relight my fire
Frankie knuckles - The whistle song
Outlander - Vamp
Ruffneck - Everybody be somebody
Red planet - Stardancer
Nitro deluxe - This brutal house
Sterling void - It's alright/runaway girl
The prodigy - Out of space
Soul 2 soul - Keep on movin'
Liquid - Sweet harmony
Stetsasonic - Talkin' all that jazz
Disco evangelists - De niro
Grace - Not over yet
Young mc - Know how
Robin s - Show me love
Rhythm on the loose - Break of dawn
Cool jack - Just come
D:ream - U r the best thing
Robert owens - I'll be your friend
Felix - Don't you want me?
A homeboy,a hippie and a funki dread - Total confusion
Jesus loves you - Generations of love

I'm sure I remember one though, maybe it was in something else entirely.

The Beatles “Tomorrow Never Knows” (EMI 1966)(Revolver L.P.)
James Brown “Funky Drummer” (King 1969)(7”)
Marvin Gaye “What’s Going On” (Motown 1970)(L.P.)
Incredible Bongo Band “Apache” (MGM 1973)(Bongo Rock L.P.)
Augustus Pablo “King Tubby Meets the Rockers Uptown” (Island 1976)(7”)
Double Exposure “Ten Per Cent” (Salsoul 1976)(12”)
Donna Summer “I Feel Love” (Casablanca 1977)(12”)
Kraftwerk “Trans Europe Express” (EMI 1977)(King Klang L.P.)
Grandmaster Flash “Adventure On the Wheels of Steel” (Sugarhill 1981)(12”)
Afrika Bambaataa “Planet Rock” (Tommy Boy 1982)(12”)
New Order “Blue Monday” (Factory 1983)(12”)
Streetsounds Electro “Volumes One - Eight” (Streetsounds Compilations 1983-5)(12”)
Double D & Steinski “Lesson Three” (Tommy Boy 1985)(12” promo)
Mr Fingers “Can You Feel it” (Trax 1987)(12”)
Phuture “Acid Tracks” (Trax 1987)(12”)
Techno “The House Sound of Detroit” (Ten Compilations 1988)(12”)
Public Enemy “It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back” (Def Jam 1989)(L.P.)
A Guy Called Gerald “Voodoo Ray” (Rham 1988)(12”)
Rhythim is Rhythim “Strings of Life” (Transmat/Jack Trax 1988)(12”)
De La Soul “Three Feet High & Rising” (Tommy Boy 1989)(L.P.)
Lil’ Louis “French Kiss” (FFRR 1989)(12”)
Soul II Soul “Club Classics” (Virgin 1989)(L.P.)
808 State “Pacific State” (ZTT 1989)(12”)
Primal Scream “Loaded” (Creation 1990)(12”)
The KLF “Chill Out” (KLF Communications 1990)(L.P.)
Massive Attack “Blue Lines” (Virgin 1991)(L.P.)
Joey Beltram “Energy Flash” (R&S 1991)(12”)
Leftfield “Not Forgotten (Hard Hands mix)” (Outer Rhythm 1991)(12”)
Lennie De Ice “We Are I.E.” (Reel 2 Real 1991)(12”)
The Prodigy "Charly" (XL 1991)(12")
The Future Sound of London “Papua New Guinea” (Jumpin’ & Pumpin’ 1991)(12”)
The Aphex Twin “Digeridoo” (R&S 1992)(12”)
Gat Decor “Passion” (Effective 1992)(12”)
Jam & Spoon “Stella” (R&S 1992)(12”)
Hardfloor “Hardtrance Acperience” (Harthouse 1992)(12”)
DJ Shadow “In/Flux” (Mo’Wax 1993)(12”)
L.T.J. Bukem “Music” (Good Looking 1993)(12”)
Marmion “Schöneberg” (Superstation 1994)(12”)
Dave Clarke “Red 2” (Bush 1994)(12”)
Dust Brothers “Chemical Beats” (Junior Boy’s Own 1994)(12”)
Goldie “Inner City Life” (FFRR 1994)(12”)
Robert Hood “Minimal Nation” (M-Plant 1993)(12”)
Basic Channel “Phylyps Trak II” (Basic Channel 1995)(12”)
DJ Trace “Mutant Revisited” (SOUR 1995)(12”)
Fatboy Slim “Everybody Needs a 303” (Skint 1995)(12”)
D’Angelo “Brown Sugar” (Chrysalis 1995)(12”)
Misjah & Time “Access” (X-Trax 1995)(12”)
Double 99 “Rip Groove” (Northwestside 1997)(12”)
Tina Moore “Never Gonna Let You Go” (Delirious 1997)(12”)
Stardust “Music Sounds Better With You” (Roulé 1998)(12”)

This should have been top of my list...

X-press 2-london - X-press(the journey continues)
Jam & spoon - Stella
Leftfield/lydon -Open up
Itj bukem - Horizons
Funky green dogsfrom outer space reach for me
Sabres of paradise - Smokebelch 2
K-klass - Rhythm is a mystery
Moby - Go!
Goodmen - Give it up
Lionrock - Packet of peace
Felix - Don't you want me

All of those are fairly weak, but agree, not neccessarily all that canonical.

certainly filter-disco has replaced handbag as the high street dance subgenre of choice

i don't know how to say this in a way that doesn't sound like i'm totally dissing you - believe me, i'm not! - but i'll never ever ever understand the british habit of using neighborhoods to diss music.

Black Dog Productions?

Bola?

air liquide OTM but what canon were they in? bola was never good!

never! i still listen to spanners and bytes often and still love them both. especially spanners.

A thousand times yes to Tracer's Unit Moebius. Nice one, Mr Hand!

That 808 track is dated, but was influential in the UK.

(okay, I haven't heard a lot of the first list, but things that jump out at me - haha stone roses, + I'm wondering how relevant "unfinished sympathy" is (can't decide whether mezzanine was ahead or behind the times))

(underworld/prodigy - relevant to lots of rock bands in the late 90s, right? & I could never ever figure where underworld slotted in to the dance scene, ever)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ah, Robin, you could be right, but when I want to get a party started it's 'Good Life' and 'Bounce Your Body To The Box' that do it every time, guaranteed.

Todd Terry's best stuff is great but when you have as many goddamn Todd Terry records as I do, a lot of them are painfully dull. The hits, including most of the stuff on the 2 LPs are all killer of coure, the Oranges Lemon Texican track(doing the Mexican) is dope and the Sound Design EP rocks, but lots of other stuff he did under different names doesn't really stand out.

Interestingly, Pal Joey, who's style picks up right from Terry but is even more simplified, i.e., sample a classic, add your own drums, somehow make it sound uniquely yours at the same time, has dated even less then Todd Terry, and his records, even the played out hits, still sound totally fresh and hot, always rock an danceflore, and it's no suprise he keeps repressing them. I got to spin with him a few months ago and he hooked me up with the Earth People repress that has Dance Dub on it(that wasn't on the bootleg I used to have) and it's just totally amazing. Same with It's Partytime and of course Hot Music.

But you're crazy about Lil Louis! That song is perfect and put in the context of everything else he was doing, it's just pure genius. The hooks, the like one key change, the slowing down, the orgasm. Still totally awesome.

My favorite sacred cow classic that I love to hate is Maurice-This Is Acid. It just reminds me too much of the crap that it directly inspired that I heard coming out of too many white camaros in high school.

oddly this is the massive attack track that feels most dated to me! the one i keep returning to on blue lines is "lately." if you stripped out the vocal, you could add boingy robot sound fx and release it as a beck-ripoff in '97, throw on some laser noises and a disaffected vocal and rerelease it as electroclash in '01. that bloopy bassline works for everything!

oh i guess the ineffectual scratching is v. much 1991 forever, though

But Weekend, I think just has all the worst elements of his style. Actually, I also totally hate on "I'll house you" which is just plain irritating.

And I agree about Lil Louis but the key words you used are "in the context" - that's kind of what i mean. It seems like a lot of the tracks that people pick out as classics are picked because of context and because they were "first" even if they were the first to do something that then became totally played out.

For me, I'm fascinated by the things in music that date and the things that don't. Like the corny hi-nrg Italo is as fascinating to me as the "tasteful" stuff because they have so many of the same elements. And even, I think down to the level that a track like "Hypnotic Tango" which is (deservedly) called a classic, but probably wouldn't be nearly so revered if it had been released in 1987....

But basically, what got me thinking about this was the "Secret History" comp. Because that's a selection that will probably go down now as the "Italo canon". But it's a selection that it seems was made in terms of records that are obvious precursors to 90s techno and 00s electro tunes. And not that there's anything wrong with that.

But the dance canon to me seems very different because it's basically the view of a bunch of middle-aged dance 'historians' who look at the records from the perspective of how much they enjoyed them at the time, rather than from what still stands up as classic now.

I still don't know what's on the Secret History. Speaking of italo canon, see this quick rant I spewed out:

http://www.woebot.com/movabletype/archives/000034.html

RE: Todd Terry, I'm talking about even more anonymous records, all those Lake Eerie and such, I can't even remember the names, just like, all these 91 house records you can't walk down the street in NYC without tripping over a dozen.

What I meant about context w/ lil louis is, if you play French Kiss in the context of shitty trance or profressive house, it may not seem so great, but in the context of his other stuff, I'm blanking on names, video crash? Just weird weird stuff.

Corny is a weird, subjective term. I have this pet peeve, when I go to old movies, I always hate people laughing at things that weren't meant to be funny, and really aren't that kitschy. Every time I see Night of the Hunter, some people just think it's the funniest thing. Now some of that hi-nrg italo stuff I'm sure I used to find cheesy, but I also used to find house music cheesy, it's more where you're coming from, and I guess I've grown to like it. When I say i'm playing cheesy italo-disco to people, I'm really saying "well, YOU'LL find this cheesy, but I don't." To be totally honest, I don't find the vocal mix of Hypnotic Tango to be cheesy at all. And while most "techno" djs stick to the instrumentals to avoid this, I love the vocals. Tarzan Boy by Baltimore, now that's cheesy italo. I guess it's a fine line.

what you say about Secret History is interesting, because when trying to research italo-disco one realizes that the stuff that we all love thanks to I-F and mixed up at the hague and such, is a small subset of a much bigger thing, and most of the european italo lovers like a wider range of stuff. Some guy in germany will have every italo record I have, and yet my 10 favorites won't even be on his list of the top 100. Yet, I-F, John Selway, Danny Wang, Morgan Geist and countless italo lovers, who all come from New Wave into Disco backgrounds, will agree on what's hot and not. I suppose at the time the american DJs and then producers and labels did as well. Klein and MBO, Robotnik, Kano etc were released here, while the stuff just to the right of "cheesy" was not. But I think a lot of us move from what type of historian to the other. You start by saying "the instrumental mix of Penguin Invasion by Scotch" is pure techno so I'll mix this in, later you decide that Disco Band and other cheesy vocal pop italo tracks sound so cool and have nothing to do with latter day techno, and you end up looking for new tracks that fit into the old context, as opposed to the vice versa, and there's no shortage of excellent stuff done with a contemporary simplicity and a timeless, if not overly retro/nostalgic feel. I-F/Parallax Corp, Macho Cat Garage, Metro Area, Danny Wang etc. At least that's how I see it. Now everyone's doing it and if you ask me, it's a good thing, because the end result of "90s techno"(and house...and electro) was totally boring.

why do I feel like I'm the only one who writes such long-winded nonsense on I Love Music?

oddly, I am consistently amazed at how much I love "Energy Flash"! it just rocks, and it always sounds like it's right on the cusp between cheesy, menacing, cool (in "the birth of the" sense), and throwaway. ditto "Age of Love"

surely "Promised Land" and most of the '86-'89 era (maybe after too) of post-house qualifies for this thread title. then again, maybe not, if you happen to find classicist vocal house relevant. (I waver.)

also overrated: "Acid Trax." and "Sueno Latino" is not a good record at all.

No, me either, but I don't think "Visitors" or "Void Vision" is cheesy either, so I'm probably not representative on that score...

Track listing for secret history is:

Liasons Dangereuses - "Peut-etre pas"
Alexander Robotnick - "Problemes d'amour"
"Hypnotic tango"
Gaz Nevada - "IC love affair"
Visage - "Frequency 7"
Telex - "Brainwash"
Paul McCartney - "Temporary secretary"
Material - "Secret life"
Klein and MBO - "Wonderful"

The Liasons Dangerous LP has been reissued, don't know if that track is on it, and that Material song is on one of Tigersushi's 12"s. Nothing really suprising.

I say forget about what tracks were the MOST influential, how about amazingly awesome cool tracks that nobody heard? I'd name some but that would spoil it. Rephlex would reissue them before I got the chance to!

Anyway, also check out their reissue of the Black Devil Disco Club stuff coming out, that's the most amazing thing, really deep dark soundtracky stuff crossing the bridge of the earlier more disco-y italo-disco to the spaced out electro-y italo-disco.

The thing about this thread is that its really several threads. I have absolutely no thoughts or opinions on Massive Attack and know nothing about the classic drum and bass and uk garage canon other then some stuff I got on CDr from Simon Reynolds, which I haven't digested and can't put in any context anyway.

But as far as good dance music intros, I always say get all 4 volumes of Tommy Boy's Perfect Beats. and these sights:

www.deephousepage.com and
www.deepdisco.com

Did you know some of the Crystal Waters stuff was produced by Maurice Fulton? Now it's hip! Gypsy Woman was the name of that song and it makes one remember a time when House music was in the US top 10!

'Hideaway' is still amazing, 'Music Sounds Better With You' came out round same time as 'You Can't Hide From Your Bud' but is still the turning point... actually, let's get down to the question who here gets down?

Provincial highstreet clubbing is all about the Neptunes sound. Boring seven minute build-ups are boawrin. So radio edits are the shit, always.

Yeah, how fucking weak-minded to get excited about the most obviously exciting musical development of the nineties!

"Bukem and his label must have been the most over-hyped musicians in history"

This statement has a better chance of standing up, but even then by linking the two together you imply that Bukem and dnb were synonymous which is wrong wrong wrong.

This comes across as really thin and watery. I think we expect monster bass with everything now, and dance tunes that don't have it really suffer.

this i find extraordinary. this is a true classic and the trademark Deep Dish swish metallic beats are pretty tough and dirty - and how can you say it's not bassy? get a proper system!

Well, I dunno if it was the most exciting next to what was happening in hip hop, but even then there was no sense, in a lot of publications, of proportion. I suppose most were written for DJs who did get thru 20 new records a week, but not enough writers said 'this is dull', and a hell of a lot of it was and is (i'm talking late jungle/dnb here).

I'm 20 and I love Derrick May. I think lots of 18 year olds could get into it, it's not obtuse or weird, I would say Strings of Life sounds the most dated, whereas Nude Photo or Beyond The Dance still are pretty solid affirmations of house/techno as weird and wonderful music.

Jacob's second list strikes me as a very good one, mind you Don't You Want Me by Felix is an odd blueprint for the filter disco sound of the late 90s I always feel. It does sound pretty iffy now though unless pitched up heavily and even then.

Papua New Guinea really is top of the list, it owns this thread I agree.

On the subject of Kevin Saunderson, I couldn't disagree more! Stuff like Velocity Funk and Pump The Move still sound brilliant to me, just need a bit more pitch perhaps.

I think a Hideaway is an interesting suggestion. It's a track which has almost ceased to seem like a dance classic and become just a classic to me. I could see a similar argument for Music Sounds Better With You except it did become the blueprint for loads of pop and dance songs after it.

I think CHIME is a now irrelevent, take that canon! Smokebelch II also irrelevent now I agree. Both are good, better than Papua New Guinea but dance has moved beyond "I am spaced out of my mind dude play me heavenly weird noises". Not far beyond but beyond nonetheless.

(as an off-topic, how hard to track down is that Klein and MBO album? slsk maybe?)

I agree, I like Chime, but it does fit the thread I think, in the sense that it's no longer relevent to dancefloors. I don't think including something here has to be a diss.

hmmm. the last track i heard that had that good 'ol kym sims vibe was the "maurice's livegig mix" of "bills, bills, bills". i think when r+b gets this storming there's not really any call for that stuff anymore.

Whereas Saunderson continues to be the most underrated Detroit geezer of all.

Personally speaking, I'd like to give a good kicking to some of the philistines who've stuck their heads over the parapet in this thread...

What?

Although, i think to some degree, that 303 will never lose an audience somewhere in the world.

I do agree with Tim Simenon and Mark Moore's inclusion, as much as I think Tim's work post BTB was a bit underrated and overlooked (i.e. Depeche Mode production)

The line of questioning for this thread (granted, it's two years old) is a bit suspect though.. Sacred cows aren't born sacred calves.. or at least weren't in the late 80s. There wasn't this type of eager journalism scrambling to proclaim the "next big artist" as much as "the next big scene". Time, and falling apart before being discovered en masse, are the two elements that make a "sacred cow", usually.. see: Pixies, Slint.. in the college rock context.

That song used to kill on dancefloors here (even the full version), so my sense of its public perception is extremely different from yours, DF.

lil louis isn't on the warp compilation! your point is well taken, though ...

one artist who currently does enjoy a massive (and perhaps for the wrong reason) reputation in large part thanks to the warp 10+1 collection: MR FINGERS.

if most people knew that most of his output sounds closer to men at work or simple minds than to "can u feel it" or "washing machine", would he be this popular?

also, would people have a different perspective on the evolution of dance music if "what about this love?" were considered as canonical as "washing machine"?

What do you have in mind by this Vahid?

1) the vocal end of poppy microhouse (luomo-core?) is getting deep housier all the time, as is vocal broken beat.

2) it's the one dance music that goes over well w/ hipsters and proles over on the other side of the rap/dance divide (theo parrish for the hipsters, jill scott remixes for the proles)

"twister (dynamic bass mix) / get up on your feet"!!

"dig the new breed"!

"under glass"! "se15"! "boomin back atcha"!

Vladislav Delay going more R&B with the next Luomo album seems like a logical progression.

Prima why you gotta hate Target???

(fuck it, if anyone else is reading i have a strong dislike for riko too *gasp*)

best comment ever!

i dont really like target either. i dont like all the stuff he does with pianos, and his beats wobble between "really good" and "really boring". those aim high comps are peppered with boring tunes by target on it. "they dont know", that doneao tune is a good example. its sort of ok because of his trademark accordian, but it could really easily be Another Rubbish Target tune. i dont mind riko but D double is awful. that stupid sound he makes is, well, stupid!

i think breaks are a bit of an easy target. like big beat, they are super populist and kinda naff but they are sort of compelling, in a listless way (?!). like, i was dancing to breaks at the weekend, and it was good to just sort of feel...nothing...just like beats, and bass.

but, it sold a million copies or something. it was thee dance track of '89.

x post

yeah, that's a pretty good way of putting it - maybe no wonder j lavelle is calling his new (fashion) project "surrender"? you could also note his predilection for black-on-black-on-black color schemes ...

For me Exit Planet Dust is like drinking Belgian fruit beer. Intriguing, a little strange, outwardly appealing but having to take more than a few sips is more than the body can stand. Whenever I hear 'The brother's gonna work it out' and the crunching bass and beats comes in, I'm praying for the record to end.

(x-post not esp bothered one way or the other, Dan)

I wonder if we're watching the normal life cycle of a major genre being played out here.

'Give It Up' is a good example because the 'tribal beats' thing has seemingly disappeared entirely from the Dance palette this decade. Plus, the way that track is structured follows a certain model which I'm not sure exists anymore. The marimba-like riff that comes in halfway through really lights the whole thing up and it feels more like a pop song than an underground club thing as a result. But this line was blurrier then and now seems much more clearly defined. Or maybe I'm wrong and there are similar recent examples of a similar thing today.

Talking about tracks like this in terms of their crossover success I often find useful but then the charts seemed more relevant then than they do now too. I was just thinking that you may well get a 'French Kiss' sort of track in the top 3 today if the gimmick was plugged well enough, but you don't seem to get sublime instrumental dance tracks in the charts today like you once did with 'Pacific', or maybe even Robert Miles 'Children'! So what is their relevance, in that respect?

also:

6th Feb - The Source feat. Candi Staton - You Got The Love (Positiva)

is on EMI's release schedule for 2006 - any ideas what form it's going to take this time?

Let it be Gabba!

Why hasn't there been an old-skool/jungle-techno revival lately?

Presumably there has been a bit of this within the scene itself - people like High Contrast remixing 'Renegade Snares' etc.

Jacob, do you know the new version of "Hypnotic tango" by Master Blaster? Maybe you should give it a try...

― Rudolf (Rudolf), Monday, December 8, 2003 10:01 AM (5 years ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

L.. O.. L.. you've gotta be kidding, right?

It's so rediculously over the top, i love that version. Their album is great too.

I mean these guys don't give those italo tunes the reverential treatment at all like the Bunker dudes etc but totally maintain the utter cheesiness factor - 00s style.

we need one for rock/indie/etc

The ultimate goal of pop is to eventually (or rapidly) become irrelevant, so congrats to everyone listed in this thread!

Is that the official statement

we don't need anything for rock/indie

some sort of vaccine maybe

plenty of syringes in use among artists of all genres

Ryan Adams strikes again.