What's ye'r opinion on Dance music?

latenia

It's lost its way completely over the last few years but for 5 or 6 years in the mid to late 90s dance music was the most creative, original and vital music around. You won't find these in any Q magazine-style best-of lists (or near the top anyway) but of the 10 best albums of that decade I'd say at least 5 were dance/electronic.

Aphex Twin-Selected Ambient Works 85-92
Orbital-Snivilisation
LFO-Frequencies
LTJ Bukem presents Logical Progression
Massive Attack-Blue Lines
T-Power-Self Evident Truth of an Intuitive Mind
Underworld-Dubnobasswithmyheadman
The Prodigy-Music for the Jilted Generation

These albums changed music while rock was running around in Union Jacks ripping off the Beatles.

Davei141

Felixdhc wrote: »

Criticising peoples taste in anything will naturally rise them and a thread like this is quite likely to provoke. I for one love music in general and electronic music is a large part of that in its many forms... starting with the likes of New Order from the 80's right up to dub techno today with many varities in between.

It is annoying to read narrow minded opinions formed from people who haven't a clue about a genre of music yet decide based on poor chart music that an entire genre is rubbish. So I hear a few bad rock songs on the radio, does this mean rock is cr*p and without talent? :rolleyes:

Exactly, whenever somebody says it "repetitive ****e" and "its all the same" when talking about such a big genre. I just think their opinion aint worth ****.

Xavi6

Dance music peaked in the year 2000 with Mark McCabe. It hasn't quite recovered since unfortunately.

latenia

Xavi6 wrote: »

Dance music peaked in the year 2000 with Mark McCabe. It hasn't quite recovered since unfortunately.

Oasis (whom I see you like from another thread) peaked in 1994.

Xavi6

And your point? This is the thread on dance music so I'll stay on topic thanks.

Affable

I'm no expert on Dance music, know **** all about it tbh but it's a totally valid art form and just cos music is electronically produced doesnt mean it cant move you.

Placid_Casual

I have to laugh when I see people saying dance music is crap, and then using a techno version of The Fields of Athenry as evidence - well, obviously, that's crap!
I'm not a big dance music fan generally but a couple of my favourite bands at the moment could be classified as dance - Hot Chip and LCD Soundsystem. I'm also partial to a bit of The Chemical Brothers. These acts are a million miles away from the commercial nonsense that some posters are using as a stick to beat dance with.
And there's plenty of Indie/Alt acts that have been influenced by dance/electronica - Super Furry Animals, MGMT, even Radiohead as pointed out. There's also people who have made music in both genres under different names - Soulwax/2 Many DJs, Doves/SubSub.
Good music transcends genres.

Standman

I think maybe the reason why some people say dance music is crap is because really crap dance music, like the fields of athenry one and others, actually get played in nightclubs and are popular to some degree. I can't imagine a rock song that crap getting any airtime, fair enough if it happens once or twice, but it seems crappy dance songs do have an audience. I'm not saying that this audience is stupid. This form of music does it's job and I wouldn't criticise anyone for enjoying it unless they said it had some kind of musical genius behind it!

I think this also adds to the idea some people have that dance music fans have no musical sense and are worthy of ridicule. I think it would be healthy to differentiate between the commercial, unimaginative style and dance music that has some depth to it. I think that the term "dance music" is now meaningless and we would be better off without it, I only use it for the sake of this thread.

Nailz

Dance music peaked in 1989.

ntlbell

Standman wrote: »

I think this also adds to the idea some people have that dance music fans have no musical sense and are worthy of ridicule. I think it would be healthy to differentiate between the commercial, unimaginative style and dance music that has some depth to it. I think that the term "dance music" is now meaningless and we would be better off without it, I only use it for the sake of this thread.

It's a pitty you hadn't worked all this out before starting the thread

Standman

ntlbell wrote: »

It's a pitty you hadn't worked all this out before starting the thread

Why?

Tragamin2k2

I think some people need to open their minds to electronic music. It shouldent be all catagorized into the one "dance music" thing and ya get people sayin "ugh i hate dance music".

The problem with one big catagory is that alot of the popular "dance" artists are a pile of useless talentless fools. Speeding up an old song and putting a 4/4 heavy beat to it is to get to a target audience of 12 year olds. Not people that actually respect music

There is some very talented folk in the electronic world. I could start naming but id be here for awhile

rororoyourboat

I'm not a huge dance music fan, but I'm pretty open-minded and decent dance music can be amazing. I think anything that pushes boundaries and makes you want to go out and dance is well worth a listen! I think stuff like LCD Soundsystem and Hot Chip are where dance music is headed in the future. A return to using real instruments and live bands, instead of one guy with a computer.

Nailz

Talentless?? It depends... Basshunter, Scooter (and other such forms of Euro-scum) are utterly talentless and crap. But, Aphex Twin, for one example is a very experimental talented man, some of the stuff he does with his music it unreal! But in all fairness, he is not really a dance artist, his music more so hits the barriers of an Avent-Guard style. I suppose more suitable examples of "Dance" would be such artists as Pendulum, 808 State, Daft Punk, FSOL (CSOM), Gerald Simpson, Xpander, Audio Bully, Underworld and maybe Faithless (depending on your opinion).

Tragamin2k2

Nailz wrote: »

Talentless?? It depends... Basshunter, Scooter (and other such forms of Euro-scum) are utterly talentless and crap. But, Aphex Twin, for one example is a very experimental talented man, some of the stuff he does with his music it unreal! But in all fairness, he is not really a dance artist, his music more so hits the barriers of an Avent-Guard style. I suppose more suitable examples of "Dance" would be such artists as Pendulum, 808 State, Daft Punk, FSOL (CSOM), Gerald Simpson, Xpander, Audio Bully, Underworld and maybe Faithless (depending on your opinion).

Exactly. Theres a fine line between basshunter/dj cammy and say daft punk/boys noize.

And i think aphex is almost his own genre heh. Saw him at that festival awhile ago...bizarre stuff

ntlbell

Standman wrote: »

Why?

So you wouldn't have used meaningless terminology which would of prevented a meaningless thread ?

fairly straightforward like

dr.bollocko

All me mates are mad fer it.
From some of them liking the mainstream stuff, chem bros, prodigy daft punk and all that.
All that stuff just sounds like party music for girls to do their make up to to me.
And then there is the serious stuff. The *insert stupid adjective* *Insert inanimate object* music.
Minimal techno
acid house
scouse house
handbag house
smelly garage.
dirty saucepanlid.
It all just sounds like the CD is skipping to me.

I have tried I really have. I just do not like it, and do not see why it merits such a mainstream audience, play in all clubs, taking over the radio every sat night, and fecking "choons" banging out of every car.

Give me a little classic rock instead please.

dasdog

latenia wrote: »

Aphex Twin-Selected Ambient Works 85-92
Orbital-Snivilisation
LFO-Frequencies
LTJ Bukem presents Logical Progression
Massive Attack-Blue Lines
T-Power-Self Evident Truth of an Intuitive Mind
Underworld-Dubnobasswithmyheadman
The Prodigy-Music for the Jilted Generation

These albums changed music while rock was running around in Union Jacks ripping off the Beatles.

Some great albums there. Logical Progression really changed the way I thought about and composed electronic stuff. Favourable mention to Photek also. Some of the 4/4 stuff does sound dated now but if you haven't heard Eat Static they are well worth investigating (check out 'Implant'). I saw them headline Dance Valley in Holland in '96 - awesome.

HalloweenJack

I like some dance like Basement Jaxx but then there's some terrible stuff like Tiesto and Scooter.

I'm divided for an overall opinion.

Standman

ntlbell wrote: »

... great thread.

I must have missed the sarcasm.

Blisterman

I like some of it, but I don't like the really repetative stuff, where it's the same thing looped 50 times, slightly changes, then looped again 50 times, etc.

Fine, if you're off your face on ecstacy, but if you're listening to it on your ipod, it's very boring.

I'm also not really into artists whose primary thing is remixing other people's songs. I generally want a completely new song.

Electronic artists I do like:
Basement Jaxx, Daft Punk, Mylo, The Prodigy and some Fatboy Slim and Chemical Brothers songs, as well as dozens of one hit wonders, who released one decent song, and dissapeared.

Wertz

Love it personally, with the exception of the aforementioned commercial trance (basshunter, ultrabeat, Irish clubland remix sh*te etc)...have always loved it since I first heard stuff like kraftwerk and Tangerine Dream when I was about 8, up until the present and with all the crazy sub genres, new directions and niches it has worked it's way in to. I also love my hip hop and rap and mostly everything they branched off in to...

For me though, it's as much about just hearing new music rather than listen to the same stuff over and over (I have this opinion on most music for that matter) and in that regard, electronic club music is the easiest way to satisfy my thirst for stuff I haven't heard.
I loved "dance music" long before I took any drugs associated (or not) with it, but have to say that many years of clubbing and doing as you do has cemented my liking for it.
IMO "dance music" these days has an unfortunate (and possibly ill deserved) over association with scummers/skangers/boyracers and to a large extent that has closed a lot of people's minds to it...the already mentioned drug association doesn't help matters either.
As someone above pointed out, an awful lot of the stuff that gets played in the average Irish club pertaining to be "dance music" is utter drivel and tbh I can see why, if this (along with daytime radio/chart dance) is people's only regular source of what the whole genre has to offer, that there is such a poor attitude to it amongst a lot of folk.

I saw "chill out" being slated above...again, far too wide a genre (if it can even be called one)...there are so many acts out there producing electronic music that you'd have it hard to get up out of a chair for, never mind dance to, that I can't see how anyone can just assert that "chill out is sh*t"...

I also see PVD (whom I've always had a liking for) getting a bashing...not really that fair...it may be commerical now and he may be asked to remix every second chart release, but the man has talent and has been doing his thing for well over a decade, breaking a lot of new ground on the way. Vandit records and some of the acts they went on to produce have been very influential in the way things have gone over the years. I can live without Tiesto, but again the guy has had a huge influence and his stuff has mass appeal.

The only sub genres that generally don't appeal to me is hard house and happy hardcore, but I'll give them a chance and like anything else there's a time and place.
Faves would be stuff from the current crop of electro producers and DJs, all kinds of D'n'B, breakbeat (hugely underated IMO) earlier (late 80/90's) house/trance/techno (especially if it's got a piano riff ), late 90's progressive and minimalist, soul/garage/vocal house...so many to wade through.
That said, there are tracks from all those genres that I'll just flick past if they don't catch my ear...there's no fun in repetitiveness for repetitiveness' sake and some stuff can sound downright cheesy and can grate on the ears if it's not well structured, performed or produced.


Just like to add that it seems everyone whther they like "dance music" or not, tends to like Daft Punk, Basement Jaxx, Air and that sort of stuff...for the most part I find that they don't do anything for me; I'm not saying that they have no talent or skill, quite the opposite, but I can definitely take or leave them. The Chemical Bros; they seem to go through phases where I'll not like what they're doing and then I'll hear something new (own track or remix) and I'll declare them geniuses again (anyone catch the new video?)

I'll close with this; there is a whole world of electronic music out there with lots of varying beat structures, tempos, vocals or lack of, rising crescendos, simple basslines, intricate chords and a multitude of other sounds and expressions...it's unfair to just assume that everything is unce-unce-unce with a sampled chipmunk on helium and clichéed trancetastic breakdown.

Nailz

Tragamin2k2 wrote: »

Exactly. Theres a fine line between basshunter/dj cammy and say daft punk/boys noize.

And i think aphex is almost his own genre heh. Saw him at that festival awhile ago...bizarre stuff

Yeah my brother told me, I bought him the tickets for his birthday (what a lovely brother I am!!) and first thing I asked him was "how was Aphex Twin?" (which, for you's who know me, would normally be asking "how was the Charlatans/Ian Brown?") but no I like him so much. He said, "Let me tell ya Paul, that's some weird shìt!!"

I also asked him was there a video screen, and yes. He didn't even play "Come to Daddy" or "Window Licker", and there was a bunch of lads making some expression with their heads, slouching and moving from side to side, sounded odd at the least!! And he wasn't like "one of those wànkers in the light" lads, he was in the dark, doing his shìt, maybe with CC.

Bren_M.Records

Saw the Chems at a certain festival a couple of weeks back and I must say it was one of the most amazing audio visual experiences Iv ever had and yes I was completely sober and drug free at the time!

Iv often mentioned it here before but tracks like Pacific State by 808 State, Papua New Guinne by FSOL and Blue Monday by New Order are just about the pinnacle of music for me.

Havnt really had a chance to keep up with whats happening with dance music for the last few years though as Iv been busy with bands but what I have heard in passing has been pretty much universally god awful.
Anyone who listens to Scooter need to be neutered to stop them procreating

phenomenon

Zaph wrote: »

Dance music itself is bad enough, repetitive nonsense that's offensive to my ears, but it's the bastardising of classic songs that really gets on my wick. It makes me jump to the conclusion, rightly or wrongly, that many dance music artists are nothing more than talentless plagiarists.

Whoa hold up. You could make the same criticism about hip hop, a genre that was born out of sampling other songs and a rapper reciting his own lyrics over it, probably due to the fact that a lot of poor black kids in the Bronx couldn't afford musical instruments or afford the lessons to learn how to play them.

Personally I love dance music and the remixing of classics of the eighties has resulted in someof the best dance tunes this decade eg Sunset Strippers - Waiting for aStar to Fall

Nailz

Doesn't that Baxxter chap look like complete scum?

And as usual, I completely agree with Bren.

Jello

Nailz wrote: »

Yeah my brother told me, I bought him the tickets for his birthday (what a lovely brother I am!!) and first thing I asked him was "how was Aphex Twin?" (which, for you's who know me, would normally be asking "how was the Charlatans/Ian Brown?") but no I like him so much. He said, "Let me tell ya Paul, that's some weird shìt!!"

I also asked him was there a video screen, and yes. He didn't even play "Come to Daddy" or "Window Licker", and there was a bunch of lads making some expression with their heads, slouching and moving from side to side, sounded odd at the least!! And he wasn't like "one of those wànkers in the light" lads, he was in the dark, doing his shìt, maybe with CC.

Yeah think I was at the same show as him and I must say it was one of the craziest experiences of my life, but absolutely brilliant though. The face contortionists were mad, as was the porn being shown on the screen at times!

But yeah, 'dance' music is a very broad term. There's a huge difference between, say electro house and trance. Must say some forms of it are my favourite types of music, such as MSTRKRFT, Boys Noize, Justice, Digitalism, Crookers, Chemical Brothers (saw them a while back too and it was probably the best live experience of my life), Daft Punk, Kraftwerk, Soulwax, Jean Michel Jarre, Aphex Twin and so on...

Other types are just absolutely terrible - the likes of Basshunter, Scooter and most forms of trance do my head in.

So I don't think you can criticize someone's taste in a genre that's so broad (see here!) without knowing exactly what it is they're into.

Blisterman

What annoys me, is when dance artists basically remix a song, and claim it as their own.

Eric Prydz- 'Proper Education', should really be called Pink Floyd - Another Brick in the Wall Pt. 2 (Eric Prydz remix)
Armand Van Heldan - 'I want your Soul' should be Siedah Garrett - 'Do you want it right now (Armand Van Heldan Remix)

I've no problem with a bit of sampling, but these songs go way beyond a bit of sampling.

Daft Punk (Who I really like) are pretty guilty of it too on a number of songs. Robot Rock for example.

Spunge

someone who calls it "dance music" doesnt know much about electronic music imo

Nailz

Jello wrote: »

Yeah think I was at the same show as him and I must say it was one of the craziest experiences of my life, but absolutely brilliant though. The face contortionists were mad, as was the porn being shown on the screen at times!

But yeah, 'dance' music is a very broad term. There's a huge difference between, say electro house and trance. Must say some forms of it are my favourite types of music, such as MSTRKRFT, Boys Noize, Justice, Digitalism, Crookers, Chemical Brothers (saw them a while back too and it was probably the best live experience of my life), Daft Punk, Kraftwerk, Soulwax, Jean Michel Jarre, Aphex Twin and so on...

Other types are just absolutely terrible - the likes of Basshunter, Scooter and most forms of trance do my head in.

So I don't think you can criticize someone's taste in a genre that's so broad (see here!) without knowing exactly what it is they're into.

Yeah but dance seems to be only stuck to electronic music, no "IT'S WHAT MAKES YOU DANCE!!" its that simple. But out of the list on wiki, I'd have to say, Acid House would be my most loved there (mainly for its formation from Madchester), Ambient House and simular genres.