Monday, May 19, 2008

Why was I so obstinate about dance music?



The older I get, the more I'm proud that I have stuck true to many of the values I held in my teens (thirty one and counting, since you ask). I'm still veggie, would rather buy vinyl than CD, am still left-wing, and proud that I teach in a comprehensive not a private school.

So why the heck was I so damn conservative about dance music for so many years? Why was I so rockist?

The reality is that dance music, rather like indie, is such a broad church that the label increasingly means less and less with every year that passes.

As time went by, acts like Portishead, Massive Attack (who were responsible for my favourite song of the last twenty years 'Unfinished Sympathy'), Leftfield, Orbital, the Orb, Daft Punk, The Chemical Brothers...and many others told me not to be so foolish. And when I discovered the DFA label, it bought a new understanding to me, finally enabling me to understand that ghettoisation was not necessary.

And finally, I have been led, my interest piqued by the famous Simon Reynolds, to check out Joey Beltram. These two tracks are regarded as classics. Nearly twenty years after they came out, I think I finally understand why.

Joey Beltram - 'Energy Flash.' mp3

Joey Beltram - 'Mentasm.' mp3

Joey Beltram's MySpace

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

probably because unless you get past the commercial veneer there doesn't appear to be much of interest except to people in pimped corsa's with big bass bins, the truth is that even an old punker like myself has found gems. prodigy, chemical bros, leftfield and massive attack to name a few. Also check out bands like Intro5pect who mix punk and dance to great effect. this may be my last comment for a while (thank fuck for that i hear many murmering) as my cable goes off soon ready for moving. As the governor of california stated, i'll be back
A.J

Ed said...

Hope it goes well, AJ, look forward to hearing from you soon here.

Ed