US hate Disco & Europe love it.Why?

[babyluv]

Ok
What is about Dance/Disco music in the US?.The last 15 years it has been thousands of Disco/Dance hits in Europe,but in the US maybe 10.

I was actually shocked when I saw Kylie Minogue in the top 20 billboard chart a while ago.
I was in Denver in 2003 and the record shops just dont sell it.(Virgin megastore anyway)
I dont understand. why? You guys are weiirrd.

[markydefad]

Blame it on the radio conglomerates (Clear Channel, for example) that own and program almost ALL of the radio stations in the US. They don't play dance stuff anymore--except on certain Saturday night programs where they try to give a taste of club sounds to the folks at home or in their cars goin' to the clubs.

They did play Kylie's "Can't Get You Out Of My Head" a few years back & Cher's stuff--but since then not much. Maybe if they made BETTER MUSIC, someone would play it!!! Just an idea. :roll:

[babyluv]

Hm
Thanks for your reply!
Interresting comment.
So what you are saying is that Europeans have bad taste and US residents dont.
I know discussing good or bad music goes nowhere fast, but you cant seriuosly mean that everything else in the Billboard charts is there because its better than the Dance/Disco music that has been released the last 15 years.

[NickNack]

Hm
Thanks for your reply!
Interresting comment.
So what you are saying is that Europeans have bad taste and US residents dont.

I'm sure marky will explain but I think you've misunderstood. Our radio stations don't play a lot of dance/disco here because the owners don't believe it will sell. Most young people are not into 'that sound' and that is the target audience. Therefore, hip-hop and rap rule, dance/disco is out. Nothing to do with good or bad taste... just money.

[DiscoMan]

Only un-sophisticated Americans hate Disco.
Those of us who have class and style love it.

I really don't kow.
Probably because many Americans are just ignorant and the record companies and radio stations prey on that.

In America Disco was originally a northeastern phenomenon.
NYC, Philly, Boston and Detroit. SNF changed that in '77
and made it a fad in parts of the country where it never should have been introduced 'cause they were then and are still now kickin' cow ****!

My wife and I still Hustle to Disco Classics (local club) and we're in our 50s!

[Voyage]

Those of us who have class and style love it.

It couldn't have been said any better! :lol: :lol: :P

Voyage :P

[the whistler]

Good Topic!
In Melbourne Australia in the 1990's ,radio was dead ,it was Rock ,Soft, and **** inbetween, then in 1993 a community station came along and played 90% dance music ,after 3 months ,it blew every commercial radio station out of the water ,everybody tuned ,it rated better than the commercial stations, and because this dance station was only a temporary broadcaster vying for a full time license, they could only broadcast 2 times a year for 3 months at a time ,while they were waiting for its next test broadcast the big commercials stations stole it's format and their listeners.


6 more temporary dance stations came along ,including a DISCO station and made a mockery of the commercial stations ratings
Everybody wanted dance music!!


These dance stations were the guinea pigs for the big stations, if the music worked ,they'd steal them.

In the end (9 years later) the Australian Broadcasting Authority didn't give a full time license to a dance station and the music on Melbourne radio now is FUCKED cos these big wankers are stuck in their old ways!!

The botom line is ,that commercial stations are going on a tried and proven theory.
Their all too scared to try something NEW just in case they lose one listener in the ratings.

[efunk_adelic]

I'm surprised not to see any TECHNO radio stations out there. Maybe there is not much of a demand out there for this.... I don't think it's possible to feature

ATB
and
KYLIE MINOGUE


in the same hour... and not enough vocals could be part of the problem these days to make an impact. There are plenty of American's that like Techno... and actually it could be a good idea to start one. I wonder how the DJ's would handle it when one songs ends/fades out, then put on the latest by Kylie Minogue as an example.... :lol:

[Keith RS]

I'm inclined to believe the FM radio Giants theory. FM radio is nothing like it was inthe 70's when DJs could play what they wanted. Morning radio is even worse. The last thing I want to hear early in the morning is mindless banter, endless commercials, or sports talk by a bunch of frustrated couch potatos.

The solution is satelite radio or play your own cds. Also, college radio stations are still a ray of light on the FM airwaves. Here in Philly we are fortunate enough to have Temple, Penn, Drexel and Princeton.

When it comes to music trends, Americans are like sheep. Some seem to be satisfied that "Big Brother Radio" tells them what kind of music to like. When "Disco Sucks" tee shirts appeared in the late 70's, it became popular to jump on the bandwagon. Some dipshits seemed to question your manhood if you went to discos and danced the hustle. While some of the kids in my neighborhood were standing on the corner drinking beer and throwing up on each other, I was downtown spinning pretty women around the dance floor.

Good news is, here in Philadelphia, a new club opened last Friday called "Posh". It caters to the 30's 40's, 50's crowd. Local radio personality Bob Pantano was the DJ last Friday and hopefully will have a long term engagement. Folks were dancing the hustle and it was a lot of fun!!!

This website shows that are many of us Americans that still like disco. 8)

[Forrrce]

Just a couple of weeks ago, I browsed an article in Exclaim! magazine on how the Canadian scene is in almost total white-out, with indie and rock ruling the roost on the airwaves and other forms of music, though much bigger in America, are pretty marginal.

I need to find the essay again, though I'm sure it was pretty much about the current state of play. Perhaps the disco period wasn't any different.

[the whistler]

When it comes to music trends, Americans are like sheep. Some seem to be satisfied that "Big Brother Radio" tells them what kind of music to like.

Spot on !!!!

[originalbigm]

Just a couple of weeks ago, I browsed an article in Exclaim! magazine on how the Canadian scene is in almost total white-out, with indie and rock ruling the roost on the airwaves and other forms of music, though much bigger in America, are pretty marginal.

I need to find the essay again, though I'm sure it was pretty much about the current state of play. Perhaps the disco period wasn't any different.

Your spot on Forrrce.Radio in Canada has always been predominately rock and pop oriented.During the disco era the top stations were playing disco but it was all the commercial crap and it was limited.Dance oriented stations don't seem to last here. Last year 103.5 which was a dance oriented station ,that I listened to with some regularity,all of a sudden switched to country.It's a sad state of affairs! I think the only skill set that a program director needs nowadays is the ability to read a Billboard chart.Creativity and record breaking on the radio are a thing of the past over here.

[DiscoMan]

I was downtown spinning pretty women around the dance floor.

:D :D :D

Good news is, here in Philadelphia, a new club opened last Friday called "Posh". It caters to the 30's 40's, 50's crowd. Local radio personality Bob Pantano was the DJ last Friday and hopefully will have a long term engagement. Folks were dancing the hustle and it was a lot of fun!!!

I'm movin' to Philly this week :D

[ALBATROS]

I think the only skill set that a program director needs nowadays is the ability to read a Billboard chart.Creativity and record breaking on the radio are a thing of the past over here.

Which is pretty good description of things going on just about everywhere now! And I have tought that only in my country rednecks have taken over!
Let's face it; Music today is produced MOSTLY from commercial viewpoint, and MAJORITY of people ( sorry, but I have to say it!) is in reallity conditioned like sheep.Very small percentage of people have ability to INDEPENDENTLY value anything that is served to them. Isn't globalisation what is all about? Same stores, same food, same clothes, same MUSIC !!! NO, NO, THANKS, NOT FOR ME !!!

ALBATROS

[originalbigm]

A homogenous world were everyone is fed the same **** and do the same work and are watched over benevonently by Big Brother.I recall a book written by George Orwell that described this phenomenon only he had the wrong date in the title.

[BrunoRepublic]

A homogenous world were everyone is fed the same **** and do the same work and are watched over benevonently by Big Brother.I recall a book written by George Orwell that described this phenomenon only he had the wrong date in the title.

Yep, Orwell was 20 years ahead of his time.

[BrunoRepublic]

Just a couple of weeks ago, I browsed an article in Exclaim! magazine on how the Canadian scene is in almost total white-out, with indie and rock ruling the roost on the airwaves and other forms of music, though much bigger in America, are pretty marginal.

Yup yup yup. New rock, classic rock, and easy rock make up about 2/3 of the stations here. Add in a couple of advertiser-friendly retro or retro-and-mainstream-new stations, one urban station, and that's pretty much it.

[the whistler]

About 3-4 years I found this website in Miami ,Florida ,I'm pretty sure it was called AllnightDisco.com, I think it went bust ,did any of you listen to it or know what happened to it?
Cheers

[Mixmachine]

I'm inclined to believe the FM radio Giants theory. FM radio is nothing like it was inthe 70's when DJs could play what they wanted.

I’m afraid you’ll need to step back a few more decades to find completely independent radio Djs (if they ever existed), with few exceptions radio Djs in the 70's had to play what the 'music director' required after extensive market research, this is one reason why even in my teens I hated top 40 stations and why I turned to R&B and Disco in the first place, of course 70's music now, (even that old tired top 40 stuff) is a welcome respite from what we've been getting for the last 10 or 15 years, and the present excessive commercialization of music (and everything else!) has dummied down music to the lowest possible common denominator and I’m afraid this includes the original poster’s beloved European trance/techno or whatever they are dubbing it today.

When it comes to music trends, Americans are like sheep.

I’m afraid that whether you are aware or not, we are all in some way “sheep”, and besides, why should Americans along be considered ‘sheep’ because they don’t listen to European music, I could easily make the same argument about Europeans exclusive taste for this Techno stuff, why do they like it so much, ‘cause they play it on the radio? :lol:

[HustleBaby]

Forrrce what is 'indie music'?

After Jammin' 105.1 (disco) was killed :evil: and replaced with Power 105(rap) :evil: , I don't have any choice but to listen to cds. Every morning I wake up to CBS.FM because it plays easy listening tunes like lounge music and motown. I also enjoy 104.3 (classic rock) and thank god for Joe Causi (disco dj) on 103.5 WKTU sunday nights . Unfortunately he has three crappy hours to spin but its worth it.

*DISCO DELIGHT*

[Forrrce]

Forrrce what is 'indie music'?
*DISCO DELIGHT*

It's a kind of soulless, wimpy, drivelly dirge with jangly guitars, traditionally favoured by shoe-gazing, suicidal students in provincial towns; and one of its leading lights is Morrissey of The Smiths. I'd really rather listen to other forms of music I don't like.

[babyluv]

OK!
So it all boilds down to airplay. Guess I knew that,really. To be honest right now isn't the best time for disco in Europe,neither. Exept for Sophie Ellis Bextor "Murder on the dancefloor" which was nr.1 on the European singles chart and the rest of the world exept for of course US,there hasnt been much.Ohh and Room 5 feat.Oliver Cheatham "Make luv" which stopped at nr.3 in the European singles chart 4 months ago.These to tracks is quite close to the 70's disco sound.
Sad about the radio stations and their music choice, its all about the money money.

What is VERY cool though is that here in Oslo, Radio Oslo plays old disco classics sporadically all trough the day AND as a hole hour between 12-13 dedicated to 70's disco, with a few 80's italio disco tracks in between. That makes my day.
Seems to me that the ultra hip cool thing to do at least in Norway,other parts of Europe I don't know ,is to be into old disco.But I guess not in US.
Well it's all right I dig a lot of rap to, espicially those with old Disco samples :D

[Paulo]

Here in Brazil, during the 90's there was this dance-music explosion on the airwaves.

From the early 90's with Lisa Stansfield (BEEN AROUND THE WORLD), Rozalla's ARE YOU READY TO FLY or Be Noir's GIVE ME YOUR LOVE to 1996 Jamiroquai's SPACE COWBOY or 1998 Newton's cover of SKY HIGH, every dance hit was on the radio (... it seemed like the disco days...)

Enter the 2000 and the whole thing vanish... rock and roll rules again... 90's and 2000's indie guitar loud & agressive rock bands (complete with very angry faces) plus britney & aguillera plus the usual brazilian pop/rock crap.

I don't listen to radio but I would like to see HOUSE receiving air-play because this music is much better now than it was in the early to mid 90's.

It seems that music made for dancing is always doomed to be underground.

It seems that this battle between ROCK x DANCE is always on. But for me is like the stablishment (rock) X the underground (house / disco or whatever...) - although in people's minds this is perceived exactly the opposite way.

[Studio74]

In my opinion i don´t think it´s a case of Rock vs Dance, more like a case of the major labels trying to force down our throats what they think is "hip", wich usually is crap (there are execptions of course...).And the radios today only play that kind of stuff or hits of yesterday...The major labels and radio today aren´t cutting edge.They don´t show new music or good old music to the people.Returning to the Rock vs Dance debate, there´s much Rock that´s kept underground by major labels and radios. And i consider that today there´s a healthier mixture between Rock and Dance ( hear bands or projects like The Rapture,Radio 4,LCD Soundsystem,Headman,etc).But of course i recognize that Dance Music is in certain ways more underground, and let´s not forget that most Dance Music is made by faceless producers.And the major labels alo like to sell image, most of the times image surpasses the music (like those crap Boys Bands),wich i think is wrong.If the music is good, it speaks for itself...Were in a Disco forum,speaking about Disco (and other related subjects) 21 years after it´s suposed demise...It´s a sign that good music stays forever.There aren´t forums about New Kids On THe Block,or Bros ,or Take That (at least i never heard of them...).This shows that what´s good will stay forever :D

[babyluv]

Yes, paulo
I love your comment about rock and disco and how people percieve it.You are so right.Actually, I just have to mention since you said that. I as a producer and an entertainer I work with has finished mixing a ROCK track that celebrates disco.Its totally true,I swear.Its called Commercial rebel. We will see if it is to crazy for the radio stations and people,but we had fun at least. The fun thing is that it sounds like a radio hit.
My original post though was about that disco seems to have survived commercially in Europe and a lot of other countries,but not in the US and I just wondered why.

If you look at "Are you ready for love" with Elton John as an example, which was an original disco recording from the 70's and it became nr.1 in UK and a big hit in the rest of the world and is right now,but not in the US.
I just read another comment where they discuss House etc. from the US and he havent even heard it on the radio.And I guess thats why,because radios dont play disco in the US.

Anyway, I dont know why, but I think rock will kill rock.I mean commercial rebel,someday they will see the illusion. Its so funny beacause rock is supposed to be against the establishment.