I have somewhere in the neighborhood of a bazillion Friday Night Video drafts, but man, it’s been a long, stressful week. It’s been a long, stressful year really. So the Mrs. and I (we’re not married, and if she knew I just called her the Mrs., there might be trouble) have decided that we should go to a DJ show and dance with 20-somethings to blow off some steam. In order get in the mood, I figured some dance music was in order. So your Friday Night Videos have been replaced this week by a Dance Party!
Given that this is about bass, I recommend donning headphones, preferably really brightly-colored ones with a flashy logo like a skull or a “b” or something, and unlocking your inner 23-year old (if you are actually 23, this should be particularly easy for you). If you have a strobe light, you might as well turn that on too.
Now get loose:
And groove:
Maybe even twerk:
OK, if you’re not actually 23, I don’t recommend twerking. But you could probably pop it:
Now you’re ready! (Or you have a massive headache.) I hope there’s some real dancing in your weekend, even if it’s just by yourself in your north room.
If you’re wondering about the music (and you shouldn’t be wondering, you should be dancing), I selected it from a long list of trap music I’ve accumulated over the last several months in a vain attempt to seem hip. Trap music is basically hip hop meets dubstep, and meant to be played by a DJ in a club with a bunch of kids bouncing to it. Half the time someone has to tell me “this is trap music” for me to be able to distinguish it from several other dubstep derivatives with hip hop beats, but I’m pretty sure most of these are at least trap-ish.
DUDE, so weird. I was in a dancin’ mood earlier, and everybody was out of the house, and I was letting the new Graze rip (I have pretty good speakers hooked up to my computer in the office).
I was boogiein’, I was doin’ The Robot, I was doin’ some silly steps that don’t have names but I remembered from my misspent youth.
I really want to play these and continue, but am away from my computer (and trying to bounce a baby to sleep, after which I must decorate for a party).
You kids have fun, be safe and have a shot for me.Report
Ugh, after I’d already written this, I learned that pretty much everything tonight has been cancelled, because there was a tiny little bit of ice 14 hours ago, so we’re going tomorrow (when the high will be in the upper 60s) instead.
But I can still dance by myself behind closed doors!Report
Has dance really progressed past it’s culmination in Eric Prydz’s “Call On Me”?Report
It’s all basically house music with ever-increasing bass and more playing with samples, right? I mean, you get a beat, you repeat some short hook, maybe have a bridge where you slow things down a little bit, but just to lead up to an explosion of everything that came before it. Whatever it is, it’s impossible to hear it and not move, and when you move with music, eventually you’re going to get happy, whether you like it or not.Report
It’s all basically house music with ever-increasing bass and more playing with samples, right?
So, junkier and louder?Report
It’s definitely louder.Report
@mike-schilling – so I THINK you are mostly just doing the “you kids get off my lawn” thing, but if you are interested in electronic music that is less club-oriented and more cerebral/mathematical (for lack of a better word), I can probably make some suggestions (in fact, I have…)
Rhythim Is Rhythim – Kaotic Harmony
Plastikman – Lasttrak
Aphex Twin – Tha
Burial – Etched Headplate
Graze – Skip/Crush
Report
Yes, the music I posted here is meant to be just about anything but cerebral. You’re just supposed to dance to it. Preferably with alcohol.
I will say this, whatever its merits as “art,” it’s fun, and there’s something to be said for fun.Report
I had a comment making an analogy to summer blockbusters vs. art house cinema, but somehow it sounded even *more* dismissive of much club music, which wasn’t my intent; since even though I definitely have my preferences and they don’t always align to that which is currently most popular, I appreciate the utility (no economics!) of music made specifically for dancing.
Except for that one reggaeton beat that they use over and over and over in every song. That thing can go to heck.Report
The same beat is one thing. In bounce music, they sample the same 3 songs, and have for more than 20 years. The same 3 songs!
I would post some bounce music, but there are no bounce videos that are even remotely appropriate. Heh… this reminds me of the first time I went to a club that was playing bounce music (not long after Katrina, when a lot of people from New Orleans had relocated, or had been relocated, to Austin). I walked in, got a drink, walked over to the dance floor, and damn near dropped my drink. (If you make the mistake of looking up bounce music on YouTube, you will understand why.)Report
I think JB posted it here before, but there’s a YouTube video essay of sorts, talking about the Amen break, and how this same little fraction of a single drumbeat has been used and re-used and chopped and twisted and stretched and sampled so that it now comprises some ridiculous percentage of the substrate of dance music. If you’ve never watched it it’s pretty interesting.Report
The Wilhelm scream of dance music.Report