Can somebody tell me why disco is so poorly rated?

[Deja Q]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c_wolPDJL6s

"We Are Family" - there's something timeless and cool about this song and video...

[Strawman]

1. 1979 Pirates is what it reminds me of

Loved that team.

[Arugula Latte]

2. I remember that -- they wore those old fashioned round caps, too.

It also reminds me of changing for P.E. in 7th grade -- some of the 8th grade girls played this song incessantly in the locker room.

[SeattleGirl]

3. Oh, yeah! The Pirates! I was totally into them that year.

It was like a party to watch one of their games, with that song playing!

[enigmatic]

4. It was the time, I think

I was a punker during that time and I despised it; my wife has a huge collection of Disco from 75-83 (and does a show for me on the station)and since listening to her play it I've mellowed greatly about it..

[Arugula Latte]

6. I'm not saying this applied to you, but I think there was a great deal

of anti-gay, anti-minority sentiment in the whole "rockers hate disco" thing.

[enigmatic]

9. Well, that too

I can't deny that, but I think it was more amongst what's now called the "Classic rock/metal" crowd than any other music faction. It was the same thing when Rap became so popular, though that time I was on board pretty quickly w/ Rap because of how much I loved the style of music. I remember the comments by guys I played in bands with when Run-DMC's version of Walk This Way came out. It wasn't pretty at all. Pretty sickening, actually..

[SeattleGirl]

7. I love disco. Sometimes I put some on, and dance around

the house. It's fun, it makes me feel better, and it's great exercise!

[enigmatic]

12. You and Mrs. E

She grabs the Enigmatic Kitty to dance w/ because the only dance I know is the Pogo!

[u4ic]

17. And me!

Though I don't grab eKitty...

Some disco is atrocious, but I like a lot of it. I love to dance to it, as well.



I remember the Pogo very well...

[enigmatic]

19. I watched a guy break another guy's nose accidently pogo-ing once

He was dancing right next to me; I think it was my last time on a dancefloor

[SeattleGirl]

22. Yikes! Beware of "Dangers on the Dance Floor!"

[SeattleGirl]

20. Hmmm, Mrs. E and I must have been separated at birth!

Um, does she sing songs to the Enigmatic Kitty as well?

I sing to my three cats and my dog.

[enigmatic]

24. Ohhhh yeah

The kitty doesn't do so well on harmony vocals, though

[SeattleGirl]

26. ROFL! Neither do mine!

And I can carry a tune! I don't know WHAT they are complaining about!

[Starbucks Anarchist]

21. Me, too.

[idgiehkt]

5. I've read that the backlash against

disco, when it happened, was about racism. I don't know about today. Some of those singers kicked ass, in fact most of them did.

[S n o w b a l l]

8. Disco was a blast...

I hadn't heard about the racism thing. Late seventies was when I first started going to clubs with a fake ID. Dancing and the club scene was never more fun IMO.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Putity0ZMl8

[idgiehkt]

14. great song

I recently told someone the backstory about this song here and they said I made it up (about how the band wrote it after being denied entry to studio 54, and the original lyric was 'awwwwwww-fuck off')

[S n o w b a l l]

15. LOL...I hadn't heard that...

But I believe you.

[u4ic]

23. I think I went through 2 of those singles

I wore them out...all I sang for months...still love the song.

[Deja Q]

34. Squee, thank you!!

I had been thinking of that song but couldn't quite recall the band name or song.

That song defines the soul of what humanity should be about: Fun and living.

And Nile Rodgers produced Chic! The guy's a living legend; whatever he does I'm there. (Another example of his involvement is with the B-52s for albums "Cosmic Thing" and "Good Stuff"; which are my favorites...)

[mark414]

10. cause it sucks

[SeattleGirl]

11. To each their own, you know?

[blonndee]

13. I can't think why this is considered disco--

This'll make any DUer who has any love for 70s bands happy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n_hMSGIdyws

[S n o w b a l l]

16. That would be disco in slow motion maybe...

[enigmatic]

18. Every band from the 70's at that time brought out a disco record

Ever hear The Beach Boy's "Here Comes The Night"? Hoo boy...

[Oeditpus Rex]

25. The beat

A 2/4 beat is counter-rhythmic to heart and brain waves.

Disco can kill you or drive you insane.

[S n o w b a l l]

27. Ahh...my mental illness explained...

[SeattleGirl]

28. Ah, NOW I know why you are the way you are!

[Oeditpus Rex]

29. Pretty obvious, isn't it?

I sold my soul to rock 'n' roll.




So why am I watching the Dixie Chicks on PBS?

[SeattleGirl]

30. Because you have class AND taste!

[Oeditpus Rex]

32. Nah

It's because if Natalie had smiling eyes, she'd be a ringer for my Most Memorable First Kiss.

[bigwillq]

31. Disco is awesome!

I so wish I was old enough to enjoy that time period.

[last_texas_dem]

33. I always figured it had to do with

the phenomenon becoming so big so quickly. Many fads and styles that reach such a level of popularity inevitably encounter a backlash.

I think there is a lot of interesting disco stuff from the era. It's especially cool to hear some of the artists who weren't remotely close to sounding like disco before it became big who attempted to do something in the genre. Some of them did a pretty good job, others not so much. Another cool thing about disco is that much of it is listenable and can stand on its own instead of just being background music for a club; not much of the dance music that has followed stands this test, at least IMHO. A disadvantage (and I'm basing this observation on something I read, though after I thought about it I decided it rang true and I agreed with it) is the affect it seemed to have on R&B. Although there are some cool R&B/disco songs, the disco era seems to be the dividing line between the awesome Motown/Stax/Philadelphia International soul stuff and the largely slicker and less interesting smooth R&B that seemed to dominate starting in the '80's. (I know that is a simplification but it seems true to a point.)

A few of the really big songs have gotten played to the point that I wouldn't mind never hearing them again, but there are also some greats that have really stood the test of time. The phenomenon itself I can take or leave (I don't like dancing or going to clubs, and I imagine I wouldn't feel much differently had I been around in the late '70's for disco- except I would have liked the music getting played at the clubs more!) but I like a fair amount of the music from the era.

[NewWaveChick1981]

35. Because it SUCKS!!!!

I was subjected to all the popular disco songs at school dances in junior high school and into my early high school years, and it was torture. I'm just not a disco person.