I can't think of disco without thinking of the contributions that Chic made,
especially Nile Rodgers. Forget the "Freak Out," and "Good Times" joints,
but go back and listen to some of those instrumentals and intros. And don't
forget that same sound was used for Sister Sledge.
Lookin' at these Disco comp CDs I have right here and that "Lost In Music"
by Sister Sledge was awesome. There were some other funk/disco groups, with
full brass and rhythm sections that were on point too. Like Fatback Band and
Mass Production. I still argue that Fatback Band's "King Tim III" was
actually the first rap record. But that's an entirely different argument.
I think true music lovers are able to see the connections. That one genre
begot another, begot another. There are things about disco that will always
make me sick, The Bee Gees, Saturday Night Fever. But without it, and bands
like Rufus, there would have never been the whole Chicago house scene. Then
acid house --- all that move your body, jack your body stuff. I love seeing
and hearing and feeling the connections, the threads that bind the music we
love. For instance the one things that makes me love this Angie Stone track
about missing you is that it samples "Backstabbers." Even in the new skool
house records, I occasionally hear a guitar riff, bass line, etc. that was
lifted from a disco era source.
It's similar to how at one time, house and hip-hop weren't on such separate
ends of the listeners' ear. Remember Jungle Brothers, "Girl I'll House You."
Even early hip-hop used breaks from disco records for the MCs to rap over.
Disco was a good thing in many ways. It fueled almost every musical genre we
talk about on this list today.
:: info ::
Lynne d Johnson
c :: 347.693.9669
e :: lynne@lynnedjohnson.com
w :: http://www.lynnedjohnson.com
From: Velanche Stewart <vstewart@calpoly.edu>
Organization: Cal Poly State University
Reply-To: velanche@kcpr.org
Date: Mon, 13 May 2002 16:26:19 -0700
To: acid-jazz@ucsd.edu
Cc: peyronieus@yahoo.com
Subject: Re: Disco!
The Disco that I remember was the time with the polyester pants, the
tacky platform shoes, the afro, and what not. It was during my early
days of high school that it was really at its peak. Truth be told, some
deep music that came out of that period. Even if they have ended up on
some commercial labels, there was a bit of guilty pleasure with such
tunes. It's funny to see nowadays the 20-somethings into the old stuff
from back then.
What I wasn't aware of was the genesis of disco before the big labels
latch onto the genre as the "next big thing" and have all but decimated
it to rubble. It wasn't until I've read a book recommended on the list
last year called "Last Night, A DJ Saved My Life" (an excellent primer
on the history of DJ culture) that I've found out about the raw disco
sounds and culture from New York, Chicago, and (to a limited, but
no-less-important, degree) San Francisco.
I've somehow missed those tunes that were essential back then--that is,
the ones that were either only played in clubs or on the radio stations
in those respective cities. Being that I have lived in California during
that period, I'm really surprised that somehow such tunes flew past the
radar of most of the stations here (especially the handful of disco
stations at the time). From what I've read, much of what was carried
here on the Cali stations were sanitized, manufacturered versions that
took the soulful essence out of what disco was in the beginning.
I personally would not mind finding such gems in the crates that I've
grown up with. It would be cool to try them out in the clubs or the
radio and blend them with current house tunes, so long as there's soul
in the music.
V.
peyronieus@yahoo.com wrote:
>
> C'mon people Disco rules! (in small doses)
> It was before my time, but I am still working on my collection.
> Any suggestions for pre-commercial funky disco obscurities?
> There is one disco gem that I have been trying to find for a long time
> now but I don't know the name.
> It's a really funky track with the chorus. . ."Can't stop cause it
> feels so good". . .Wicked!
> Any ideas?
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
> Do You Yahoo!?
> LAUNCH - Your Yahoo! Music Experience
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