Loud music in a dark place

laughingcrow · Post by **laughingcrow** » Wed Oct 29, 2003 4:30 pm

I was thinking about this today, after the post about new EC ventures, as well as the inane tinny headphone-cacophony on the train every morning...

Is 'dance music' good? (when I say dance I encompass houses, hard houses, garages, conservatories, techno et al)

I've got a couple of records of this kind of music, 2 albums by Norman Cook /Fatboy Slim (who is great simply because he was in The Housemartins) and they're pretty good if you're in an energetic mood, but not really regualr listening. Same thing for the Chemical Brothers, I bought their album because I liked one song, the rest is pretty samey. I heard the last album by the french duo Daft punk, and it was pretty good, same for Basement Jaxx ('Where's your head at' was really good).
I quite often listen to Pickled Eggs and Sherbet by the All Seeing I, with contributions by Jarvis Cocker, Babybird and Tony Christie (of Amarillo fame

) and consider this the best 'dance' record I've heard.

So, I don't go to these kind of clubs to dance in sweaty pits with people selling pharmaceuticals and bottled water (in fact I wouldn't be caught dead in one after some misadventures in my first year at uni in a palce called Cream), so how should I view this music? I can't stand techno's repetitve beat and drunken appeal, and hate the 'let's bung a woman's voice over this track' songs that regularly seem to chart in the UK (but then again I quite like Moloko). I can't help feeling like I'm poking my nose in where it's not wanted when I listen to the music, seeing as I'm not part of 'the scene'.

So what does this make me? I never listen to this music seriously, or find any emotion in it. I remember Elvis Costello saying something about it being music to be listened to in one place in one scenario, but I can find some musical value in some pieces...

What do you guys think?

noiseradio · Post by **noiseradio** » Wed Oct 29, 2003 7:36 pm

I like DJ Logic's albums, as well as Gotan Project, Tosca, and Propelerheads. It's really good stuff.

martinfoyle · Post by **martinfoyle** » Wed Oct 29, 2003 7:45 pm

The new Basement Jaxx album is a good one as well, and anything by DJ Shadow is worth checking out. This sort of music is great to listen to while working at night.

Elfslut · Post by **Elfslut** » Wed Oct 29, 2003 10:25 pm

Definitely agree about DJ Shadow...I like Delerium too.

I think a good portion of it depends on the bands themselves...There's good and bad of everything..

I go more for the Ambient stuff myself...

But I think that's cos I'm getting old...and mellow.

tokyo vogue · Post by **tokyo vogue** » Wed Oct 29, 2003 10:27 pm

Albums to change your mind:

Aphex Twin - The Richard D James Album
A lot of obnoxious chaff, but "Boy/Girl Song" and "4" are two of the most beautiful songs ever written.

DJ Spooky vs the Freight Elevator Quartet - File Under Futurism.
Fractured, crazy-ass beats with cello and violin. Gets a little samey after a while, but it's still brilliant and emotional. Spooky's album with Scanner is also to be recommended.

Luke Slater - Wireless
Kinda like a soundtrack to a moody sci-fi thriller. Both the fast songs and the more ambient tracks have a very dense, layered feel.

Jazzanova - In Between
Not exactly techno, more jazz than anything. Still, it's in the genre, and it's brilliant.

I could go on for a while. But damn, whenever someone dismisses a genre out of hand I start going crazy, you know?

Post by **BlueChair** » Wed Oct 29, 2003 11:21 pm

I tend to like artists who incorporate a little bit of dance/electronic influences into their sound, like David Bowie.

But I've heard a bit of Basement Jaxx, DJ Shadow, and I even like some Fatboy Slim (gasp)

laughingcrow · Post by **laughingcrow** » Thu Oct 30, 2003 4:31 am

Tokyo, read my thread again bud, I never dismissed it....

...I said I liked it, but felt like an outsider because it's more related to actually physically being somehere than any type of music ever.
So, it seems we all feel the same about liking some of it, but how do you guys listen to it? I usually have it on if I was getting ready to go out or something, or maybe party background.

Post by **BlueChair** » Thu Oct 30, 2003 9:46 am

Yeah, definitely background for me... I hate clubbing so I'd never listen to that in that environment

firebetty · Post by **firebetty** » Thu Oct 30, 2003 10:46 am

"free your mind, and your ass will follow"
-funkadelic

have always considered the connection between a liberated mind and body fundimental. dancing and music that was intended to be danced to is essencial to life. the scene is just a scene.
lc, embrace what pleases you. let other people lable you and tell them to fuck off.

Elfslut · Post by **Elfslut** » Thu Oct 30, 2003 11:15 am

firebetty wrote:"free your mind, and your ass will follow"
-funkadelic

have always considered the connection between a liberated mind and body fundimental. dancing and music that was intended to be danced to is essencial to life. the scene is just a scene.
lc, embrace what pleases you. let other people lable you and tell them to fuck off.

I so agree!

Gillibeanz · Post by **Gillibeanz** » Thu Oct 30, 2003 12:35 pm

Dance, trance, hip hop, techno, house, reggae, rap, rave, classical etc I love them all! People get far too serious and snobby about music . If its got a catchy tune or clever lyrics then why diss it? Life is one long manic dance - you got to have a little different music to boggie to along the way!:D

PlaythingOrPet · Post by **PlaythingOrPet** » Thu Oct 30, 2003 3:19 pm

Do tell us what happened in Cream, LC.

I went through a big dance phase in my late teens and all I would listen to was underground German crap (it was good at the time, Elvis is right when he says it is to be listend to at a certain time in a certain place). But I'll still listen to Daft Punk, Chemical Brothers, Yousef, Underworld, Faithless, Basement Jaxx and Tall Paul.

My cousin James was a founder member of Ultrabeat but left a few months before they got to #1 recently with Pretty Green Eyes. True story.

laughingcrow · Post by **laughingcrow** » Thu Oct 30, 2003 7:08 pm

You don't wanna know the gorier details of what happened in Cream, let's just say there was an Irish girl, some alcohol and a lot of frivolity involved which ended up badly for all parties.

It was expensive too...

PlaythingOrPet · Post by **PlaythingOrPet** » Tue Nov 04, 2003 11:03 am

Expensive, yes.

LC, does Pickled Eggs And Sherbet contain Walk Like A Panther, as sung by above mentioned Tony Christie? Great song, I always mistakenly think Nick Lowe sings it.

laughingcrow · Post by **laughingcrow** » Tue Nov 04, 2003 11:27 am

Yeah it does...it's a great album, seriously v v good. I bought it on the strength of that Tony Christie single, but was well chuffed when the record turned out to be so good. Tony also sings Stars on Sunday and Happy Birthda Jessica on it....great! Plus Phil Oakey of Human League fame (?) singing First man in space, which has excellent lyrics for a dance track.....also, I know you like a bit o Jarvis, and he makes an appearance!

Seriously reccomended...it was the first dance album I bought, and every one since has been inferior.