Sacred cows from the dance canon that are now irrelevant

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?

(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.