Disco...The Cheesiest music ever?

[QUINNY]

Disco...the cheesiest music ever!

Certainly appears to have that title among most younger people nowadays. Even classics (like George McCrae -Rock Your Baby and Gloria Gaynor - Never Can Say Goodbye) are universally rubbished as being nothing but cheesy wedding music.

I guess 30 years on is a big enough time span to totally alienate young people from it and (for people less than 20/25) not realise a particular record's place in the whole scheme of things.

Such is life.

[SandraDee]

Why care about what young people think anyway? Today's society seems to place too much emphasis on youngsters' views & needs IMO. Why the youth obsession? I'm very victorian in my approach; I believe children should be seen & not heard. (not 'children are our future' as the karaoke favourite goes!)

[Cdnbob]

Originally Posted by SandraDee

Why care about what young people think anyway? Today's society seems to place too much emphasis on youngsters' views & needs IMO. Why the youth obsession? I'm very victorian in my approach; I believe children should be seen & not heard. (not 'children are our future' as the karaoke favourite goes!)

I agree with you there but... I think they may have valid points to make but making them the center of the consumer society is wrong and patterning a whole industry towards them is wrong too. I'm sick of being told by the media that if you're over 30 you're unimportant, and just because you aren't Lindsay Lohan, or Ashlee Simpson that musically you don't count.

[QUINNY]

60 is the new 50, 50 is the new 40.

It's a well known fact that baby boomers actually have lots more money than youngsters and therefore more clout with all the focus groups that tell companies how to wring more moola outta us all.

Sooo... I gotta say as a 56 year old, I often feel quite sought after, if only to relieve me of some of my ill gotten gains.

[musiquelover]

Originally Posted by QUINNY

Disco...the cheesiest music ever!

Certainly appears to have that title among most younger people nowadays. Even classics (like George McCrae -Rock Your Baby and Gloria Gaynor - Never Can Say Goodbye) are universally rubbished as being nothing but cheesy wedding music.

The thing is that those 3-minute-songs that are generally presented as disco classics, be it on TV shows or at parties, are in the same vein as "YMCA", "Dancing Queen" or "Daddy Cool". In case that those songs would be the only disco songs I knew I'd probably classify disco as "cheesy wedding music" as well.

[discophil]

But why is it thought of as "cheesy"? Is it because --ironically-- it doesn't have an over-powering beat that can shake loose a car's rearview mirror? Or because it isn't laced with obscenities? Or because it doesn't talk (not sing, mind you) about slapping "ho's" and getting much "bling bling"?

If that's the case, give me "cheesy" any day.

[musiquelover]

Originally Posted by discophil

But why is it thought of as "cheesy"? Is it because --ironically-- it doesn't have an over-powering beat that can shake loose a car's rearview mirror? Or because it isn't laced with obscenities? Or because it doesn't talk (not sing, mind you) about slapping "ho's" and getting much "bling bling"?

No, it's because it's actually cheesy music dripping with sweetness that features simplistic arrangements and is performed by third-rate talents or one-hit wonders.
This is a cliché, obviously, but it's confirmed by mainstream media and those self-respected DJs with a repertoire of ten disco songs they play at every party.

[QUINNY]

Originally Posted by musiquelover

No, it's because it's actually cheesy music dripping with sweetness that features simplistic arrangements and is performed by third-rate talents or one-hit wonders.
This is a cliché, obviously, but it's confirmed by mainstream media and those self-respected DJs with a repertoire of ten disco songs they play at every party.

Gawd! What are they gonna call a lotta House music in 15 years time? The House music that featured tenth-rate talent and no arrangement at all, to speak of.

[RetroRuss]

I think that most of the cheesiest disco isn't disco at all but pop music and because it has a 4/4 beat and a disco type drumbeat then it has been classed as 'cheese'. I always thought that Melba Moore's Pick Me Up I'll Dance was fairly cheesy - played it last night and it got the biggest audience reaction of everything I played (except 1,000 Finger Man)!

A lot of people did jump on the disco bandwagon - and their lack of understanding of the genre led to them creating tunes that were cheesy!

I could be contentious now listing these bands/acts!!

[boogyjuice]

What i actually feel is that the disco-sound has been (kinda/sorta) inherited by the current club/dance/garage/house-scene , especially in Europe .
The French DJ-producer Bob Sinclair mixes the classic sound in some of his productions . He even released a project as a tribute to Cerrone .
Also , i think that Jamiroquai has used the disco-feel in his releases to some degree .
So far , the millennium has been an era where lots of classic sounds have been recycled/sampled in many recordings , so i believe that disco has not become totally extinct and might catch the attention of some listeners from newer generations . Even a few years back there was the release of a trio with that track called "Crying Out the Discotheque" ( or something like that ) , which contained the sample of "Spacer" by Sheila B. & The Devotion .
Only problem that happens sometimes is that even though a new track has a classic sample , it is not always recognised by new listeners , mainly because many of them don't collect the physical product anymore ( vinyl or cd ) , besides that some might be fickle , or simply don't even care who recorded the original ...
... that's a thing for the hardcore-collectors ( i guess )

[musiquelover]

The public perception of disco music is often that of cheesy music because you need to delve deeper into the subject to get to know the more sophisticated and beautiful arrangements that disco can offer. Your average music consumer, especially the younger generations, probably never heard the names of Alec Costandinos, Gregg Diamond, Rinder & Lewis, Larry Levan, Tom Moulton, Boris Midney and many more to name.

The attention span of todays' audience accustomed to 3-minute songs might pose a problem, too. Could a TV or radio station really present a "real" disco song in let's say a 7-minute version let alone a 15-minute work of art without viewers/listeneres relentlessly switching channels?

Anyway, don't forget with what kind of "music" people grow up nowadays:
YouTube - SCHNUFFEL - "Kuschel Song" (deutsch)[OFFICIAL MUSIC VIDEO]

Compared to this no disco music can seem that cheesy. There's also an English version available if you want.
Before you wonder if people actually like this: Schnuffel's ringtone-based "song" claims the no. 1 spot on the official German single charts, now at the top for its' 8th week in a row.

[boogyjuice]

Originally Posted by musiquelover

Anyway, don't forget with what kind of "music" people grow up nowadays:
YouTube - SCHNUFFEL - "Kuschel Song" (deutsch)[OFFICIAL MUSIC VIDEO]

Compared to this no disco music can seem that cheesy. There's also an English version available if you want.
Before you wonder if people actually like this: Schnuffel's ringtone-based "song" claims the no. 1 spot on the official German single charts, now at the top for its' 8th week in a row.

There's still quality out there , imo .
I've heard some good recordings on sites like CDbaby , MySpace , SoulChoonz .
Not all disco-related though , but nevertheless .

[QUINNY]

........confirmed by mainstream media and those self-respected DJs with a repertoire of ten disco songs they play at every party.

If those 10 songs are tracks like:
Chic - Le Freak/Good Times
Sister Sledge - We Are Family/Lost In Music
Gloria Gaynor - I Will Survive
Candi Staton - Young Hearts Run Free
Shalamar - A Night To Remember
Kool & The Gang - Celebration/Ladies Night
Patrick Hernandez - Born To Be Alive
Two Man Sound - Que Tal America
Gibson Brothers - Cuba
KC & The Sunshine Band - That's The Way/Get Down Tonight/Shake Your Booty
etc; etc.

Overplayed...certainly
Cheesy.....per se, I really don't think so.
Some were obviously out and out 'made for fun' tracks, BUT what's wrong with that? Some of the 'more serious' Disco was a contrived, pretentious pain in the ass by comparison. Disco certainly wasn't about pains in the ass.

[RetroRuss]

So what would constitute the 10 most cheesiest disco tunes? I think we're qualified to make this judgement!

I think my list is very predictable!

1. Dancing Queen
2 Night Fever
3 D.I.S.C.O
4 One Way Ticket
5 Rasputin
6 any tune by Ethel Merman
7 I'll Be Good - Renne & Angela
8 When You're In Love - Dr Hook
9 Stayin Alive
10 I Will Survive (sadly)

What's yours?

BTW - check the link The Big Cheesy Disco

[musiquelover]

Originally Posted by QUINNY

If those 10 songs are tracks like:
Chic - Le Freak/Good Times
Sister Sledge - We Are Family/Lost In Music
Gloria Gaynor - I Will Survive
Candi Staton - Young Hearts Run Free
Shalamar - A Night To Remember
Kool & The Gang - Celebration/Ladies Night
Patrick Hernandez - Born To Be Alive
Two Man Sound - Que Tal America
Gibson Brothers - Cuba
KC & The Sunshine Band - That's The Way/Get Down Tonight/Shake Your Booty
etc; etc.

You're cheating in a way. How can you omit disco stars like ABBA or Boney M from your list to make room for less known acts like Chic?
Take a look at RetroRuss' list which is better in this regard.

This reminds me of reviews on Amazon where CDs with tracklists resembling both your lists minus the actually good stuff spawn reviews like "This would be the best disco collection if it included the essential disco hit [insert a tune by ABBA or other danceable pop hits of the time]."