I guess I would say I had a few experiences of electronic music bliss over the course of a few years starting in the late 1990’s and ending in the early 2000’s. The first and most influential song which started “it all” for me would have to be “Around the World” by French electronic duo, Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo and Thomas Bangalter, also known as Daft Punk,
If you can believe it, I remember the first time I took a listen, without even realizing I was doing so. It was while scrolling the channels in my teenage years, when I inevitably came to MTV, much like most teenagers did in those days. (I think I left if parked on that channel for the duration of high school.) And of course an episode of Daria was on, In this episode the main character, Daria, herself, a teenager with a cynical yet shockingly observant view on the realities of life, was perusing her closet for whatever reason, and guess what was playing in the background, but none other than Daft Punk’s “Around the World” off their 1997 album, “Homework” off of Virgin Records for Daft Trax.
The subtle groove of a vocoder-processed chant gently nudged my ear and I knew I had experienced something new and exciting. A sound that would be carried within me for all time.
Check out the video for the song. It's very French! Hopefully you'll take note of where some of American artist's music videos and TV shows derived inspiration from. Daft Punk's "Around the World" music video on youtube.
We move; we change. However we don’t forget our past and this was a moment in time that I will never forget. This song was my first, and like our first love’s in any genre (hint hint) it will always remain in my heart.
Trying to get my hands that new sound has seemed to be a treasure hunt I’ve been trying to keep up with most of my adult life. Trying to catch up to that beat, or get my hands on that DJ’s latest album. Take for instance Fat Boy Slim. And who didn’t rock out to “Rockefeller Skank,”
when it seemed to be in every teen movie of 1998, in a perfectly choreographed dance sequence during that obligatory prom scene? The song, off his 1998 album, "You've Come Alone Way Baby,"
peaked at #72 on the Billboard Top 100. A feet for a dance song at the time.
It took me a while before I was able to track down the originator of this song. The song itself contains samples from a myriad of artists, including, “Vinyl Dogs Vibe" by Vinyl Dogs featuring Lord Fitness, "Peter Gunn" by Art of Noise featuring Duane Eddy, "Beat Girl - Main Title" by John Barry, and "Sliced Tomatoes" by Just Brothers. This wasn’t a house song in it’s typical form, but a new genre pioneered by Fat Boy Slim (Norman Cook), himself, called big beat. His song, Rockefeller Skank, was released on Skint Records under exclusive license to Astralwerks in the United States, in 1998.
Check out the video for Rockefeller Skank. It's utterly American, or as perceived from one who might not live in America necessarily and has an unusual eye as to whom American's are and what they do, for fun. Maybe not. Take a look and draw your own conclusions and tell me you don't positively love the cheeky take on America and it's subcultures.
It was a time when house music was seemingly upbeat, no pun intended, a happy sound, where twisted disco vibes were purveying.
Emotions seem to be cyclical in dance music. It occurs in all genres. Basically, the cycle goes from underground to radio-friendly and back to underground with the corresponding emotions leading the way. And let’s not forget what’s happening in the world at the time the song is written, IE: a recession, or the rest of the world, IE: a war. I know this is a very basic generalization, but I promise you, the listener, that I will try my best to explain this cycle in my future blogs. Most of you are probably aware of this already. Now, with that said, I can only tell you what I know from what I see and hear in my primitive experience of immersing myself into the culture of dance music…listening to everything I can get my hands on and purchasing, when I can, the grooviest of the bunch.
However, I digress.
A few years later, I was in college and ready to change the world when out of the blue, I heard something new over the radio, It was unlike anything I had ever heard before, completely filtered and the beat that was just pop enough for radio airplay, but was able to mesmerize dance music enthusiasts such as myself. After a few phone calls to radio stations, I found out it was Basement Jaxx’ “Rendez-vu,”
off of their 1999 XL album “Remedy.
Of course, it was unlike anything I had heard at the time. A bit of synths, a strumming guitar, a chunky base line and a filtered hook of which the song is centered around letting us, the listeners, know that one is ready for a rendezvous. Note rendezvous with tongue firmly planted in cheek. Felix Buxton and Simon Ratcliffe whom make up Basement Jaxx come from Brixton, just south of London, England and their radio-friendly song was new and completely shocking to my rock sensibilities, something different than my favorite bands at the time.
It was late at night, as most radio stations use the cover of darkness to test new songs they don’t know exactly how to classify. Was it a dance song? Could it make it into the top 40? Would normal day listeners enjoy it? After all, it did reach #1 on the U.S. Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart. Needless to say, I bought the album the next day.
And lastly, I give you the video for Basement Jaxx' "Rendez-vu"
So my question for you, the listener, so little time. “What dance songs first turned you on?” Which of these dance songs had a groove that you just couldn’t get out of your head and sticks with you to this day? I gave you my first three, thus I would love to know your first three. After all, good things come in threes.
Now with those questions posed, were you able to see the similarities in all the videos? Well, I'll give you the answer to that one. They remind us we all wear masks, either to hide who we are or what we're doing, whether it be good or bad. Eyes Wide Shut anyone? Maybe Stanley Kubrick was on to something just before he passed away. The rational for hiding a person's true character, be it through the wearing of a mask, hiding it in the chorus of a song, or adapting it to film (or music video,) is one that will take us on a journey that we may not be ready for. Hopefully, you, the listener, will keep reading my blogs and together we'll explore these underlining rationals, however we must leave that for later consumption and continue to explore what originally turned us on?
So I leave you with a few websites where you can purchase these albums in their entirety:
Daft Punk: Homework
Fat Boy Slim: You've Come Along Way Baby
Basement Jaxx: Remedy
No comments:
Post a Comment