Alice Echols' Hot Stuff, recently out in paperback, is maybe my favorite music book ever. Instead of being a straight history of disco, it examines the genre in the various ways it reflected and helped mold '70s culture. There is something I didn't know on virtually every page (and I love disco enough to have already done a ton of research on it). Below is a list of the things that sent my pen underlining. I don't have much to add to a lot of these items because they are fascinating on their own. Book report time!
- White critics had a lot to say about what constituted true soul. Motown was considered watered down because of Berry Gordy's hit-making ambition, while the smooth sounds of Barry White and Isaac Hayes were too soft to be real, compared to the frequent cacophony of James Brown. Black audiences rarely agreed. The label and artists' legacies tell you everything you need to know about who won.
- Related: James Brown was, at one point, largely considered the epitome of masculinity. Consider his hairstyles throughout the years and tell me your mind isn't blown. (On second thought, it was Al Sharpton who most explicitly expressed this: "We look at James Brown, and we say, 'Hey, that's how I'm gonna be a man.'" That actually explains nothing besides Al's own hairstyle choices.)
- "...The crucial element that most critics missed about both blaxploitation and the nascent disco sound: they represented black people getting over." Regarding the former, see: Pauline Kael's multi-film savagery of the genre from the Dec. 2, 1972 issue of The New Yorker, "Notes on Black Movies," which misses this point entirely and doesn't for a second consider these movies (Shaft and Super Fly, among them) function other than how they offend her various sensibilities. I understand she was hired and revered for her point of view, but that doesn't mean others didn't exist. I've read less Kael than someone who does what I do should, but her tone there kind of turned me off exploring her work.
- "[James] Brown's problem was that he never melded the funky and sophisticated within one track, but rather kept them sequestered. Melding these qualities inside a cut was the genius of disco."
- "At one point gay men held the top three positions in the field of disco record promotion." For the first time, we ran shit. (Follow up via West End Records' Mel Cheren: "[Disco] was like musical monopoly and gay people ran the bank.")
- Pre-Stonewall institutionalized gay oppression was beyond disgusting. Some lowlights:
- "...The New York State Liquor Authority's policy...made it illegal for a restaurant or bar to serve liquor to a group of three or more homosexuals."
- "Even on Fire Island, which had a reputation as a 'carefree' gay resort, homosexual men who visited the cruising areas risked being rounded up by police who treated them like vermin. Chained together to a telephone pole that sat in the middle of the Fire Island Pines dock, the men waited until the police had made thirty or forty arrests..."
- And, of course, men dancing together was prohibited and policed strictly, so that early liberation's most practical application was on the dance floor. Those who lament the frivolity of gay culture and its foundation in the club don't really understand how life-altering dancing with someone you're attracted to could feel.
- "At the Paradise Garage disco, the bass was so thunderously earthquaking that to deejay [Bob] Casey it felt like it 'put your balls up your ass.'" REVOLUTIONARY, I TELL YOU.
- This really spoke to me re: my own interests and life investment: "Literary theorist D.A. Miller's work suggests the appeal of the shallow, if not the reason for its musical manufacture. Perhaps for gays, he argues, the realm of the superficial operates as a refusal of 'substance,' which is culturally inscribed in heteronormative terms. Lives of substance involve solemn vows, and, of course, children." ...Which I'll never have, happily. Not while there are supercuts to be made, at least.
- The Village People were so fucking subversive that it not only excuses their big, cheesy sound -- it exposes its brilliance. Examples:
- "...Navy officials were so oblivious that they not only permitted Casablanca Records to film the Village People on one of their warships for the group's video of 'In the Navy,' they seriously considered using footage of that shoot as part of their own recruitment campaign."
- This is via my own research after reading about the Village People: their 1980 flop film Can't Stop the Music is one of the only (if not the only) PG-rated movies to feature full-frontal male nudity. And we aren't talking one cock. Multiple cocks. And not just that, but multiple cocks in an extremely homoerotic shower setting during the big "YMCA" number. NSFW screenshots are here. Did the famously homophobic and anti-penis MPAA even make it to the end of this movie, or were they under the same spell as the rest of America, mistaking the Village People's gay winks as just happy winks?
- "Worked out pecs came to be called 'disco tits.'" In the '70s, and now in my head for eternity.
- Sutherland, a central character in Andrew Holleran's alternately lovely and maddening, loving and racist Dancer from the Dance (which I began reading immediately after Hot Stuff and have been consuming rabidly), makes the argument for the inherent femininity of gay male culture. It has nothing to do with mannerisms, but the manner in which one presents himself to the world: the ideal is "being looked at," so that even the butchest queens are pursued, not necessarily pursuers. I don't know if I entirely agree with this (it undermines women's potential for sexual aggression, for one thing), but it's certainly perception-altering.
- Meanwhile, Echols examines gay macho (the 70's trend that found gay dudes dressing butch to a stereotypical extent) as a mindfuck. Was it a way of balancing society's expectations with gays' innate humanity (allowing gayness to be tolerated as long as it wasn't faggy), or was it more subversive, breaking the association of passivity and femininity with homosexuality, since so many man's men-seeming dudes were taking it up the butt? Who knows? It's so complicated! Echols ends the section with a quote from Guy Hocquenghem: "Our assholes are revolutionary!" Yeah, that sounds about right.
- "So many [regulars at New York's infamous hi-NRG club the Saint] were dying of what came to be called AIDS that in [the] first few months [of its emergence], it was known as the 'Saint's disease.'"
- American composer Ned Rorem unleashed this bit of brilliance in reference to the Beatles (quoted in the Bee Gees' section): "Genius doesn't lie in not being derivative, but in making the right choices instead of the wrong ones."
- The live percussion heard on the Bee Gees' "Stayin' Alive," "Night Fever" and "More Than a Woman" is all the same drum loop, and it may be pop music's first. Since the Bee Gees were known to produce "plastic soul," I can't imagine a more appropriate percussive backdrop.
- Regardless (or maybe because) of that, "How Deep Is Your Love" is the best of Saturday Night Fever's offerings. Just kidding. I didn't learn that -- I always knew it. This book just got me to listen to that soundtrack again. It was remastered a few years ago and it sounds better than ever.
- At the end of the Saturday Night Fever shoot, John Travolta and crew members filmed a mock wedding for to show off for Paramount execs, who were openly doubtful about the movie's potential. A grip played the groom, while John wore a wedding dress and played bride. That's either very comfortably heterosexual of him or straight gay. It teaches us nothing about John's actual, much-discussed sexuality, but it sure is innnnnnteresting.
- At the height of disco fever, a Casablanca exec estimated disco's economy at $4 billion. That is such an obscene amount of money, I bet that any poor little rich execs of today's music industry reading this book wept when they read that.
- "Investigators of the 1978 mass suicide at Jonestown in Guyana discovered that the children had written down the names of recent disco hits in their notebooks."
- "Brazilians began to use neologistic verbs and nouns from the root 'Traovlta'--travoltar (to travolt), travoltice (travoltage)--to describe the condition of disco fever."
- I knew that the "disco sucks" sentiment had at least a subliminal sense of racism and homophobia, but I had no idea how overt it was. Two Detroit DJs formed a group called the Disco Ducks Klan and they at one point planned to don white sheets at a discotheque whose format was switching to rock. Meanwhile, the DJ Steve Dahl, who organized the Disco Demolition Night, made a point of lisping the word "disco" when he talked about it on air. That event, which turned into a riot, had the feel of a figurative lynching. But after that, disco lived on through boogie and house. And with the 4/4 beat being arguably the most commercial element a song can sport today, disco (or at least, a version of it) is more popular now than it has been since the '70s. We really showed them, didn't we?
Current technology can certainly deal with the infection value within a incredibly comptitive grade. gucci handbags english shop. The companies who have a tight budget and cannot afford to spend much on advertising but still require publicising their brand can use caps for marketing. High level players will be capable of explore these areas and battle up against the newest threats to take care of Azeroth. Stoffe online kaufen bietet auch [url=http://www.ravensofficialteamshop.com/mens-nike-baltimore-ravens--52-ray-lewis-elite-purple-drift-fashion-nfl-jersey-675.html ]Ray Lewis Drift Jersey[/url] die Gelegenheit Geld einzusparen, da die Webshops die eingesparten Personalkosten und Miete unmittelbar an die Kunden weitergeben k nnen.- In den 50er Jahren galten Frauen auf 閳ユ炕t ckelschuhen閳? wie man Pumps damals nannte, als selbstbewusst, [url=http://www.ravensofficialteamshop.com/joe-flacco-signed-jersey/ ]Joe Flacco Autographed Jersey[/url] attraktiv aber auch angriffslustig. Shoe 2013 Alexandra Meissnitzer (Skirennl?uferin) (Foto: Ramstorfer ORF)(Stimmen: 1. Really feel it or not quite a only a few of your considerations we encounter on the inside the course related to our hectic business days and nights will be the send outcome of the lack of aim or concentration. Dig up [url=http://www.ravensofficialteamshop.com/chris-canty-signed-jersey/ ]Chris Canty Ravens Jersey[/url] more on Advantages Of Epidural Steroid Injections by navigating to our dynamite URL. In fact this approach have an impact on is going to be as a result of typically the college enhancing. Men love Tissot Sport Watch just as much as women love shoes which watches are some of the top watches available this season. Dobermans and Shropshire Terriers do not carry the merle or simply piebald genes cope with deafness is the consequence of simple autosomal recessive gene and it is not linked to very much white in your current coat. people that want to try to to hassle-free and convenient searching will browse their web site to look at entire assortment of product furthermore as purchase them on-line while not ant risk or fraud.
Posted by: evediaRet | July 29, 2013 at 01:16 PM
He has [url=http://www.cowboysofficialteamshop.com/mens-nike-dallas-cowboys--54-randy-white-elite-grey-drift-fashion-nfl-jersey-290.html ]Randy White Drift Jersey[/url] developed into one of the better cover corners in the NFL and has nine interceptions the [url=http://www.cowboysofficialteamshop.com/bruce-carter-signed-jersey/ ]Bruce Carter Jersey[/url] past two seasons. Only two home games last season weren't blacked out (and one was the result of a "buy one, get one free" promotion). Kellen Clemens also falls into the failure category. stories coming out of San Antonio. Manusky promised an aggressive defense, but the players never really adapted to his way — and the Chargers were far from a special defense this season.4 3 3 70. And if you believe Deion Sanders, he hasn't always responded well when guidance has been offered. He's the fastest guy I've seen on the field in a minute. But Gailey and Fitzpatrick continue to hold this team back. The Titans got old and less effective at [url=http://www.cowboysofficialteamshop.com/mens-nike-dallas-cowboys--22-emmitt-smith-elite-grey-drift-fashion-nfl-jersey-542.html ]Emmitt Smith Drift Jersey[/url] several spots. It’s been reported they will give high tenders to Jackson, Merriman, McNeill and Floyd. With so many new faces, can everyone coexist and quickly find their roles? Training camp and the preseason will be key for Cincinnati to put it all together. In UK, many stores are available but it is difficult task to get this amazing wearing apparel at reasonable price.
Posted by: limaGlilfef | August 02, 2013 at 09:02 AM
Oakland Raiders (3-5) Last week: 26 According to ESPN Stats & Information, of the 251 rushing yards the Raiders allowed to Buccaneers rookie Doug Martin on Sunday, 197 of them came before contact. I appreciate Osi's patience and effort through this process, Giants general manager Jerry Reese said in a team statement announcing the new deal. Deacon Jones, for me, is an absolute institution, Hall of Fame defensive tackle Warren Sapp told the NFL Network on Monday evening. When you decide on and get one, ensure that you find the right dimensions, design and color that will match with the majority of your garments. Pittsburgh: QB Charlie Batch, RB Jonathan [url=http://www.seahawksofficialteamshop.com/mens-nike-seattle-seahawks--3-russell-wilson-elite-green-drift-fashion-nfl-jersey-211.html ]Russell Wilson Drift Jersey[/url] Dwyer, G Kelvin Beachum, NT Alameda Ta'amu, LB Adrian Robinson, LB LaMarr Woodley, S Troy Polamalu Tennessee: QB Jake Locker, RB Javon Ringer, WR Lavelle Hawkins, OT Mike Otto, G Deuce Lutui, DT DaJohn Harris, LB Patrick Bailey After eight weeks, 46 witnesses, two dozing jurors and an estimated $2 million-$3 million spent in taxpayer money,the Roger Clemens trial has finally come to a close. Der hohe Auschnitt streckt zwar nicht unbedingt das Bein, gibt aber Halt. Are you a country western cowboy looking for a man to ride into the sunset with? Come and create [a] relationship with singles [who] share your appreciation for the country way of life. That's all I'm going to say about that. Ob die Farbkombination wei/silber nun unbedingt fr den Winter geeignet ist - wei nicht, deutsche Winter schon. What had been a roller coaster season for the Cowboys has stabilized, with the team winning five [url=http://www.seahawksofficialteamshop.com/brady-quinn-signed-jersey/ ]Brady Quinn Seahawks Jersey[/url] of their last six, including three straight. When he comes back, it will make everyone's job a lot easier.H ufig sieht man sie in s en Kleidchen aus Spitze und T ll, kombiniert zu [url=http://www.seahawksofficialteamshop.com/mens-nike-seattle-seahawks--18-sidney-rice-elite-green-drift-fashion-nfl-jersey-566.html ]Sidney Rice Drift Jersey[/url] edlen und doch schlichten Schuhen und T schchen.
Posted by: ALIERTYGLYCLE | August 08, 2013 at 11:36 PM
she sacrificed, just like parents do.; (naja, er musss ja wissen.; On Alabama RT D. And in ways we've never quite seen before, the NFL is full of kids getting the job done. ;How if Wade had the chance, he'd tell other players that when he was in the locker room, the last thing he was thinking [url=http://pavansukhdev.org/wholesalejerseys.html ]Wholesale Jerseys Supply[/url] about was finding a partner, or being aroused. And we keep that barrier. Indirect mail marketing, the success of any business totally depends upon the nature of the business. If you're mad. In earlier days, companies were dependent on newspapers, magazines and pamphlets to spread their marketing messages but today, they care using SMSs to promote their businesses. Wie edel und blaubltig der Knallfarben-Trend sein kann, beweist dagegen Prinzessin Kate von England, die ihr tiefblaues Kleid ganz pur und schlicht zu glnzendem, offenem Haar kombiniert. The third-year pro, selected in the fifth round out [url=http://pavansukhdev.org/cheapjerseys.html ]Cheap Jerseys Supply[/url] of Murray State in 2010, hasn't quite blown it up in the stat department just yet; he's got 34 tackles (25 solo) and one sack in 17 NFL games. Now, the question is, will he do that in the [url=http://pavansukhdev.org/cheapjerseys.html ]Cheap Jerseys From China[/url] NFL? I think he probably will, because I'm sure that comes from film study, and I don't think he'll be a slacker al lot a sudden.
Posted by: vadoInwadia | August 12, 2013 at 05:52 PM
There is HGH in our game, and people have to understand -- [players] aren't going to come back as quickly, because they're not going to be taking the supplements they're used to taking. Redskins officials found his hotel room cleared out, save for one Redskins sweatshirt. Add to that the loss of receiver Anquan Boldin to the San Francisco 49ers for a sixth-round pick, and the defending Super [url=http://herownblog.com/jerseys-wholesale.html ]Wholesale NFL Hats[/url] Bowl champions certainly look a bit picked off right now.54 million Wes Welker's future in New England is uncertain (USA Today Sports Images) Possible cap casualties: The Patriots currently have just four players with cap numbers over $5 million for next season: Tom Brady ($21. By 15th of Might the amount nearly reached 8 million US Dollars." As he did so well last year, Greg will give you a sense of [url=http://herownblog.com/wholesale-jerseys-cheap/ ]Wholesale Jerseys Cheap[/url] the week's upcoming games you won't get anywhere else, based on his conversations with players and coaches past and present, and his OCD-level evaluation of coach's tape. Not over politics, no . "I was optimistic about getting back in the game, and I'm optimistic about getting ready to go next week," Tannehill said after Sunday's game.B.5 [url=http://herownblog.com/wholesale-jerseys-cheap/ ]Wholesale Jerseys China[/url] million straight away prize. NFL video from Yahoo! Sports: Related coverage on Yahoo! Sports: ?Entire Houston Texans team attends memorial service for fallen firefighters ?What's old is new again for Denver's Peyton Manning ?President Barack Obama says no to Ray Lewis' 'squirrel dance' (Getty Images)Seven-time Pro Bowler and NFL Network analyst Warren Sapp filed for bankruptcy in south Florida. He's a great guy, he does a lot for the community, and he's a great coach.
Posted by: Wrepcrini | August 13, 2013 at 10:01 AM
Write-up think this is regarded as really a effective design. Dies sieht am besten bei schlichten Basic-Kleidungsst cken mit schn rkellosen Schnitten wie T-Shirts, unifarbenen Blusen und R hrenjeans aus.Half inch votes with pan shopsGlacier Factor Roads trailheads49ersRaidersGiantsA'sWarriorsSharksQuakesNFLMLBNBANHLCollegePrepsGolfOutdoorsOtherOn TVTicketsShopVideoMoviesMusic NightlifePerformanceArtEventsBooksTV RadioHoroscopeComicsGamesThings So that you can DoHome GardenStyleOutdoorsSki SnowHealthGreenLGBTHouzzDatingMomsPetsSponsored Content(0322) 15:55 PDT SAN FRANCISCO The individuals who own San Francisco's have got taken away this renowned Maxfield Parish Pied Piper art work which has adorned a resort's key clubhouse for more than one hundred years and also offers to sell for market. Some of the most favorable different sorts [url=http://herownblog.com/wholesale-nike-nfl-jerseys/ ]Wholesale NFL Jerseys[/url] are by and large plagiat swimming nfl jerseys, great cycling jerseys making it to acquire nhl nfl jerseys. It all would seem unfounded but it is how the environment is. Of course every person was attributing that to Eddie Johns "I Got A Spell on You". Maybe you just like to preserve your health for an all round sense of properly-being. That most is the grounds [url=http://herownblog.com/wholesale-jerseys-china/ ]Wholesale Jerseys China[/url] why you do want to fashion your own The blackberry bold 9700 templates. Some sort of legitimacy stylecode calculatordecoderfree codesdecoderdecodingsstandardsregulationsunlock} and closure Click Here normally is offered by way of internet Visit Home sites to the homepage, your individual decide a person will have to seek out these folks how to be sure quality plus reliability. The attention of every volume level is actually important components of your Chanel company, like Chanel, Superb, and Aroma. Chances have proven to be good they would likely offer you per free room in addition to the some other comps when you arrive so that you actually can spend any your money living in the casino.ac. Period totally does Laser eye surgery select complete? [url=http://herownblog.com/wholesale-jerseys-cheap/ ]Wholesale Jerseys China[/url] It takes only an hour to perform doing this.
Posted by: Utelsrern | August 13, 2013 at 10:18 AM
corner@yahoo. Miami then turned to formerGreenBay Packers [url=http://www.cowboysofficialteamshop.com/demarcus-ware-signed-jersey/ ]DeMarcus Ware Signed Jersey[/url] backup Matt Flynn, and were talking terms with Flynn on Saturday.. Around 2003, escape turned out the moment selected through the process of Erinarians. "We're [url=http://www.cowboysofficialteamshop.com/mens-nike-dallas-cowboys--94-demarcus-ware-elite-grey-drift-fashion-nfl-jersey-889.html ]DeMarcus Ware Drift Jersey[/url] adding Tim to be our backup quarterback and to play in roles andpackages [url=http://www.cowboysofficialteamshop.com/james-hanna-signed-jersey/ ]James Hanna Jersey[/url] as coach Ryan and coach Sparano see fit. You need to review the Privacy settings along with Regards to Make use of previous to making use of this website. The Steelers would rally in the third quarter, with Shaun Suisham capping off an 11-play, 65-yard drive with a 28-yard field goal early in the third quarter. Of course, that's funny until you remember that such a temperature is actually possible in a Wisconsin winter. There is some of that inherent in that position. Don't you feel better now? Related NFL video from Yahoo! Sports: Other popular content on the Yahoo! network: ?Seahawks cornerback changes Twitter handle in preparation to cover Megatron ?Expect Tim Tebow trade talk to increase as trade deadline approaches ?David Stern stepping down as NBA commissioner in 2014 ?Y! News: Man shows up at his own funeral I'm against the idea of the fans voting on the Madden cover, because I am against anything that ever forced me to have a picture of Peyton Hillis in my home. It conveys your gratitude and is also proper etiquette. That妾?why size is a trait, although it妾?never talked about that way.
Posted by: ALIERTYGLYCLE | August 13, 2013 at 11:10 AM