Sorry about the light blogging of late, especially Songbook-wise, but I’m movin’ to Newport News for a “new gig” and travelin’ meantime back to my Cali home.
Thanks to a tip from a tardy commenter on my epic essay on social dance, however, here’s a ‘lil something for you, from La France, no less, a group called Caravan Palace. Swing-done-retro, reminding one of the Squirrel Nut Zippers, but unlike in the 90s, very interestingly and promisingly linked to contemporary “disco” sounds. This studio work shows why their stuff could easily get played at a club.
It’s an example of what I was talking about in my epic essay on disco when I said this:
“From the moment Edison invented recording, various trends were preparing the way for disco, and its full advent in the 70s and 80s was inevitable. Certain folks will always be figuring out that it can be made better, more like the R+B, soul, and funk it came out of, insofar as one brings live musicians thoroughly trained in Afro-American music into the “mix,” and into the “command booth,” so to speak. Various Dee-lites of that sort will always remain possible, and always ready to push back against robotic rhythms and canned sounds while winning over the dancers that have become used to them.”
No, the studio cut isn’t entirely to my taste, but it does put some “joy in my head” about the future. What’s your reaction?
Anyhow, thanks Colin Brown!
December 20th, 2012 | 1:29 am
[...] Sorry about the light blogging of late, especially Songbook-wise, but I’m movin’ to Newport News for a “new gig” and travelin’ meantime back to my Cali home. Thanks to a tip Source: Postmodern Conservative [...]
December 20th, 2012 | 1:00 pm
A couple of things you might be interested in, Carl.
First, another group based out of Paris that you might find interesting is Gotan Project, a sort of disco/tango/hip- hop mashup. If you haven’t heard their music before, I highly recommend “Una Musica Brutal” as an introduction. It seems to me that, apart from their being French by way of Argentina, their music is just the kind of thing you’re talking about in your commentary on social dancing, disco, and live music.
Second, I wonder if you’re aware of the long-standing dance craze(which is the official dance of North and South Carolina- who knew states had official dances?) that began along “the strand” of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina called “the shag.” Although I was born in South Carolina, after living in the DC area for some time I was shocked to find that nearly all the natives at the South Carolina university I ended up going to knew how to “shag.” Of course, I was jealous that I couldn’t participate.
This dance, like the Charleston, is associated with a certain kind of “beach music,” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beach_music) exemplified by the soul group The Chairmen of the Board (especially “Carolina Girls” and “Give Me Just a Little More Time”). If you’re ever along the strand, there are multiple “beach music” radio stations. You’ll also see carolinians doing the shag to pretty much every other type of music, from country to hip-hop.
December 20th, 2012 | 9:34 pm
Thanks, Corey. I’ll check out Gotan Project when I’ve more time.
Love local traditions like the Carolina shag and their funny category of “beach music.”
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