I have a confession to make. I’m a sucker for some good disco music. I’ve found that a lot of people don’t share my admiration for it, which always confounds me. I don't think the issue is that people dislike the music. Disco isn’t some niche genre like heavy metal or dubstep. It’s actually very accessible and easy to jump on to from something similar like pop or rock. I think most people don’t jump on because they don’t understand how to enjoy it.
Disco began in the 70s as a new genre that fused together characteristics of funk and soul and added a four-on-the-floor dance beat to it. Four-on-the-floor is a type of drum pattern that involves a bass drum hit every beat (think “Another One Bites the Dust” by Queen). This continual, rhythmic, on the beat drumming gives disco a sort of driving energy that makes you want to get up and move around, which is the point. Disco is dance music.
I think in order to appreciate a genre of music, you have to understand its purpose. Modern pop tries to connect to the listener through relatable lyrics set to a catchy tune that is easy to remember. Heavy metal tries to convey the artist’s frustration with society through a powerful guitar-centric melody. Disco tries to give the listener a funky beat that they can groove to. Yep. That’s it. Disco is all about the boogie.
In order to listen to disco, you have to get into the groove. Once you start feeling the beat, it loses the boring repetition that many people originally percieve when they first listen to it. It’s energizing. Disco makes great workout music. It’s very good at making monotonous tasks more interesting. I’ve noticed that when I listen to disco in the morning, I become less tired and end up having a better day. Don’t expect disco to be relatable or to make you feel. That’s not the point. The point is to get moving and let all your problems melt away as you lose yourself to the boogie.
Disco had a very short lifespan. It was born in the early 70s, and quickly rose to mainstream popularity. It was so popular, in fact, that it became all that was played on the radio. Ever. By the late 70s, rock fans banded together with the slogans “disco sucks” and “death to disco” in protest to how they believed disco killed all the good music. There was one event where a mob of disco-haters stampeded a baseball stadium in the middle of a game and proceeded to blow up a large box overflowing with disco records with dynamite. By the beginning of the 80s, disco was dead.
I believe the reason disco got such a bad rap in the 70s is not because it is bad music, but because it was played in such quantities that would make any genre seem bad after a while. But I think enough time has passed for the public to be able to accept disco back into its good graces. That’s right. It’s time for a disco revival. What are your thoughts?
I think that disco was a really interesting time period for music. Disco was a more "consumable" period - like you said, the music doesn't have any deep meaning or purpose besides to make you dance. That's a severe departure from the music from the sixties that inspired it, because much of that was full of counterculture references and social commentary. Disco fills the role of "disposable" music better than newer stuff because it does have a certain energetic beat to it, something that a lot of modern pop lacks. Also, I'm just saying, the Bee Gees take a lot more criticism than they deserve.
ReplyDeleteI don't listen to much disco, but you're truly passionate about the subject, and now you've piqued my interest. Honestly, I've always thought of the flashy costumes and dance moves when it comes to disco, not the music itself. On the topic of a disco revival, I feel like the public is too obsessed with pop music right now for that to happen. People who used to listen to it have mostly moved on and are now aging citizens with much less incentive to dance to music. Meanwhile, young people who might be more interested in groovy dance music like disco are ignoring it in favor of pop, which can also be danced to. It would be nice to listen to more than just pop and a bit of country on the radio though, so I appreciate the sentiment.
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