Disco

xpost

There's a glossary of terms you'd hear at a disco ("HEAVY: A person who tries to start a serious conversation at a disco,") a "discourse" chapter where he discusses why young people like disco instead of rock, a history of disco that ends with "not bad for something that originated in France," a chapter on Disco fashion ("Lycra-Spandex, it's futuristic and form-fitting - now all you need are stylish knee pads,") how to feel at home while dancing ("success at the disco is largely a matter of kinetic energy. There'll be plenty of time for hanky panky when you reach the mandatory disco retirement age of 38,") and how to start a DIY disco party.

Spencer: "Ralph Rocker - He is really terrified that disco will someday replace rock and roll, and he'll have to shower, shave, and become the regular person he was back in 1968, when he dropped out of kindergarten to drive a truck."

I spent most of my life thinking Sister Sledge records would probably be the most boring idea ever. HA! BOY was I wrong! It is a sin against mankind that "Love Somebody Today" cannot be bought on CD.

And yes, "Thinking Of You" is an especially good one of theirs.

another vote for classic.

Cocaine
John Travolta
Man-made fibres

There is Nothing that Disco cannot do.

Spencer: "Ralph Rocker - He is really terrified that disco will someday replace rock and roll, and he'll have to shower, shave, and become the regular person he was back in 1968, when he dropped out of kindergarten to drive a truck."

OMG

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/8142893.stm

I found this video on Youtube and it sounds similar to Chic's "Good Times". My question is, who borrowed (sampled) who?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zb2DJc59JcU

xxpost:
I don't mind retreads at all, and I listen to old stuff all the time, but I'm mainly talking about a cultural moment where there's no innovative disco culture. Doesn't mean new deep house stuff, or new garridge or broken beat or whatever isn't amazing, I'm just lamenting the fact that there's nothing really new to excite us in a "hey, what's this crazy new sh*t???" kind of way. Everythings gone very macho - there's nothing really unabashed anymore.
― Spencer Chow (spencermfi), Thursday, February 17, 2005 2:30 PM (4 years ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

I wonder if spencer still feels like this.

hey experts

I am away from my library and need my memory jogged. I remember a classic description of discotheque live mixing, a DJ using Robert Plant's moaning in the breakdown to "Whole Lotta Love" over another disco song to add tension...

does anyone remember the other disco song? (donna summer)? does anyone remember the DJ? (Larry Levan)? and does anyone remember the book this anecdote appears in? (Rap Attack? Can't Stop Won't Stop? Cut'n'mix?)

not giving you guys much I know, & appreciation in advance

In "Turn The Beat Around" Peter Schapiro describes Francis Grasso mixing the breakdowns of "Whole Lotta Love" and "I'm A Man" from the first Chicago album... not positive if that's the example you're thinking of, I'm sure "Whole Lotta Love" has been used by other DJs for similar mixes.

From Love Saves The Day by Tim Lawrence, p. 35, about early '70s Sanctuary DJ Francis Grasso: "The DJ's most famous permutation layered the Latin beats of Chicago's 'I'm A Man' over the erotic groans and vocal break of Led Zeppelin's 'Whole Lotta Love.'"

xp, obv

that's it precisely. I've never read either of those two books, but memory jogged, it was "I'm a man"

Lightening fast you guys, thanks

I wonder if spencer still feels like this.

― rip dom passantino 3/5/09 never forget (max), Monday, July 13, 2009 6:29 AM (4 weeks ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

not if hes heard this nu ringtone cru anthem

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0dZqghXe5FY

Damn you, Geir, for sabotaging an amazingly rare near-unanimous "C or D" thread!

Mostly classic, even though there were a few dud moments, such as sides three of Donna Summer's great "Bad Girls" and "Once Upon a Time..." albums.

easy disco track id: "from east to the west, only you know me best"

Milton, you might also want to check out DJ Harvey's Black Cock edit of The Winners' "Get Ready for the Future" (called "Get Ready") which also features Zep's "Whole Lotta Love" mixed into it.

will check it out, thanks. mostly trying to reconstruct early sampling precedents right now. drew mentioned a classic Levan trick, fading Kendricks' "Date With The Rain" into Chaka Khan's "Clouds" -- anyone know if there are tapes of this? I have the Live at the Paradise Garage CD set, but that's mostly segued beatmatching, not too much active juxtaposition or trickery... I'm interested in any actual 70's documents of the more creative mixes

I wonder if spencer still feels like this.

I've been trying to get into "funky house" but despite reading a lot of skykicking, I'm not quite there yet.

Still lots of good dance music around, but no movement I'm currently excited about.

I have the Live at the Paradise Garage CD set, but that's mostly segued beatmatching, not too much active juxtaposition or trickery... I'm interested in any actual 70's documents of the more creative mixes

― Milton Parker, Wednesday, August 12, 2009 1:26 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark

huh? 'more creative' mixes? you get a mix with cher, german disco & jermaine jackson, what are u looking for exactly?

Ok, exactly how is that sweeping stringy noise in disco songs used

(e.g. 21 seconds in here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8g6bUe5MDRo )

I just can't put my finger on it (and it's definitely among the better sounds in music's history)

I have the Live at the Paradise Garage CD set, but that's mostly segued beatmatching, not too much active juxtaposition or trickery... I'm interested in any actual 70's documents of the more creative mixes

― Milton Parker, Wednesday, August 12, 2009 1:26 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark

huh? 'more creative' mixes? you get a mix with cher, german disco & jermaine jackson, what are u looking for exactly?

― butthurt (deej), Thursday, August 13, 2009 6:40 PM (2 days ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

dude look at his post, he's talking about the MIXING not the tracklist

yeah from all reports larry was more interested in song selection and thematic sets than technically sophisticated mixes. still i love that live album so much, even though some of the segues are abrupt or rough it's so exciting or uh "hot" as they used to say.

i dont understand the part where he says 'actual 70s documents of more creative mixes' about an actual 70s document that has lots of creative mixes

'mixes' in this case meaning 'the mixing'

i mean, thats how Djs spun back then ... its not like they were doing long house music style blends or something

don't get me wrong, that mix is a symphony and it takes creativity to find a seamless flow through so many different songs, didn't mean to sound dismissive, and I know that is more representative of what the cutting edge was than the occasional moment of proto-mashup juxtaposition. people were mainly interested in turning corners, and extending the breaks out (the other anecdote that sticks in my mind is Kraftwerk at a US disco in the 70's hearing the DJ put on 'Metal on Metal' and only about 6 minutes later realizing 'what's happening, our record is only 3 minutes long, how this is still going')

that being said, I'm just as interested in looking for those proto-mashup flareups because we know they were happening

also re: Francis Grasso, looks like the text most of the stories about him come from is the 1978 Albert Goldman book. Looks like Grasso started doing sets in 1968, disco before disco

http://ped111251.tripod.com/francis.htm

this is myth-making

the second you take the mid-section of "I'm a Man" out of context and start adding stuff to it, I don't think 'disco before disco' is overstatement?

Another story is when (Levan) first played the Peech Boys' "Life is something special". He teased everyone by playing bits and pieces of it mixed into other records throughout the whole evening until he finally decided to play the whole thing. But a "standard" Levan mix would usually last for some 15-20 minutes with added extracts of other songs and sound effects. - http://www.disco-disco.com/tributes/larry.shtml

^^ this description is what I'm on the hunt for

though it is possible that because I'm ignorant of the source materials, I can't hear the number of layers going on in the mixes I've heard because they're so seamless

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZceQEwJwYrA&feature=related

no-fi recording, but you can hear him slipcueing -- hard entrances on each new song, not much in the way of crossfades, but right on the downbeat, so it doesn't even matter when the bpm changes slightly, the beat just keeps going

rented the DVD of 'Klute' tonight to see this, there's a 1971 documentary on the making of the film with wider shots of the Sanctuary that give you a better sense of what the room was really like, I love that it was converted over from a cathedral

@RecordMirror80s on Twitter uploads high quality scans of James Hamilton's pages (amongst much else) on a daily basis; they also use the hashtag #JamesHamilton

Oh nice, thanks for the tip.

Still would prefer something physical though. Which I'm sure is something the great man would have said.

I really enjoyed this a lot and learned a lot about the roots and culture around disco

https://www.amazon.com/Hot-Stuff-Remaking-American-Culture/dp/0393338916

Fantastic story here about a particular LA disco culture:

https://www.lataco.com/underground-disco-east-la/