Dance Music...

I'm taking a risk here, but this is the best place where I think I can find answers without being attacked for a question: why listen to dance music?  What is the point of this one-emotion-music (of utopian joy)?  It seems to be so abundant simply because it satisfies some primal instinct for...reproduction, to put it better (because it isn't for god(s) too much anymore)?

Could it be instinctual music, while the rise of non-dance music is serving as a means to satisfy our minds, intellect, and other human emotions?  Could the rise in the number of non-dancers (those who do not listen to dance music) be related to the increase in self-awareness and intellectual yearning (which happened with some individuals before psychology entered societies and began changing the human world)?  I mean, music throughout history has almost always been dance until scholars began to emerge (usually implicitly) requesting intellectual music.  Then there were musicians longing to portray emotion and technical/intellectual aspects in their music (displaying self-expression that could be related to others, connecting us in a sense).  Before that, music was for dancing and worshipping god(s), right?

What type of people listen to dance music?  Can those who listen to such music be generalized (of course, not accurately, but generally) as younger with more spunk and drive or those who wish to revisit their youth?  Or more to the point, what is the purpose of this music?  Does it make people remember good times in clubs, etc.?  Or, am I just overanalyzing a genre that I just do not like and others call me soulless for not liking (when I see dance music as soulless!)...?  (Or, am I missing out on some intellectual or emotional dance music out there that I may like?) 

Do others feel the same?  Is this worthy of a discussion between music lovers? (For those thinking I'm attacking you for liking dance music, I'm not; the internet is full of reasons to like and need to listen to dance music.  I'm looking for different viewpoints.)
(Note: if this post annoys people and moderators see it as pointless, just delete it, which will likely happen since most people don't like to have reason with types of music- you just like it and intellect/analytical thinking with music is taboo, right?)


Edited by komplexnous

komplexnous wrote: am I missing out on some intellectual or emotional dance music out there that I may like?

Since there isn't really a single style of "dance music", I'll give you a few examples of electronica with beats, these are IDM ("intelligent dance music" )

Try:

Aphex Twin (and indeed, anything on Warp Records)

Squarepusher (excellent bass playing)

Venetian Snares (just mad)

and the album Merzbeat by Merzbow - he's a noise artist, but that disc and another one he did recently are his attempt to work with beats as well (note - don't start with that )

That's only scratching the surface - I admit I know next to nothing about the style in general.

Actually, come to think of it, if you're into modern jazz, Jaga Jazzist may be your thing - electronic jazz and excellent with it.

Then there's Cinematic Orchestra, but you probably wouldn't associate them with dance music, since beats aren't really that predominant in their music.

But Aphex and Squarepusher and all those similar artists are all generally referred to, as Goose says, as Intelligent Dance Music (IDM)

There's lots of dance music out there which is varied, clever and musically credible.  You just have to get up and find it because it won't present itself to you on MTV or the radio.

hopelevre wrote: goose i believe you are severely misinterpreting what dance music as the thread meant it is....aphex twin is NOT dance music...have you ever heard aphex? try dancing to it then...good luck...same thing with squarepusher....electronic does not automatically mean dance

If he were only talking about the dull, lifeless dance music, then

komplexnous wrote: Or, am I missing out on some intellectual or emotional dance music out there that I may like?

 

wouldn't make any sense. It'd be like asking "Is there any good third rate rock music?"

Plus as someone said, there is a DM in IDM (and if I recall rightly, a couple of Squarepusher's albums were very danceable indeed - I don't know the titles though). Warp is primarily a dance label - electronica gets a lot further from dance than their releases - drone, for example. Even Autechre is less like dance than these guys, and he (they?) still comes under the broad category of IDM.

Edited by goose

Dance music....

AIRWAVE 'ABOVE THE SKY'

On the track you will find a sample taken fron the '72 album '666' by Aphrodites Child.

Even the crazy heads who create this music actually have some taste i guess

Edited by Karnevil9

  That was quite a funny post Gentle Ronnie! 

Regarding the whole presenting on MTV comment; if a "band/artist" were on there, I would have an even more difficult time "discovering" them, as I despise that horrid channel. 

That is ironic; I was asking about intellectual dance music, and a genre is out there called IDM!    I must give the genre a listen since it is difficult to imagine intellectual dance music that would actually be danceable without feeling odd.  And, isn't dance music a sort of innate (or dare I say, primitive) mating ritual by humans?  I mean, dance music does not get played anywhere unless it does not challenge the crowds who seemingly want nothing more than to numb their brains and solely focus on their physical being, usually (and making this action spiritual/deep [,etc.] at times, almost like a sort of Zen moment that one can do by listening to Earth and/or collecting one's thoughts quietly and freeing them for a period of time, which offers to be more refreshing in some people's minds...).

I'll check out all of these artists you have been mentioning, although I have heard (note: not listened) to quite a few of them.  Thank you all for not coming out with virtual pitchforks ready to attack, even though I may come off as rude or insensitive to others' tastes...

I must say, quite a few people and friends I know love dance music, it being popular, "underground" or simply not known too well.  They all sound the same to me, with the exception of some trip-hop and more experimental electronica.  Even then, they all usually repeat that same high-pitched hiccup sound in the same rhythm, if you know what I mean.  (I think it's the equivalent of the guitar's presence in rock music with the only change in it being tempo; correct me if I'm wrong.)  Then they throw some female or whispering vocals on the beat repeating the same phrase for the remainder of the song, ranging from 30 seconds to over a half hour!  I mean, with Prog, you get some amazing solos, shifts, twists, etc., but with dance music, that same looped beat goes on and on and on and on....

To me, it isn't that broad of a genre, yet.    If one can dance to it, it's dance music, where most Prog and Indie, classical, etc., is not!  I mean, to dance to a certain music, it must be predictable or repetitive, or else it can not be danced to, right?  Even more, it is traditionally not mentally challenging as those who would like to dance are focusing on shaking their limbs and head to a rhythm or protocol of sounds-turned-to-movements (Latin dancing, etc.).  I'm sorry; I'm making dancing sound as I perceive it, and that can be quite offensive and likely simply ignorant on my part.  :(  ...enlighten me...(?)...

But, before I begin ranting once again (and possibly upsetting others), I'll go and check out these groups/people mentioned here so I may be more exposed and educated about what I classify as dance.  Thanks for taking the time to post on this topic; it really can be interesting (especially since thinking about dance music can be so taboo to many people)!   

komplexnous wrote: To me, it isn't that broad of a genre, yet.    If one can dance to it, it's dance music, where most Prog and Indie, classical, etc., is not!  I mean, to dance to a certain music, it must be predictable or repetitive, or else it can not be danced to, right?  Even more, it is traditionally not mentally challenging as those who would like to dance are focusing on shaking their limbs and head to a rhythm or protocol of sounds-turned-to-movements (Latin dancing, etc.).  I'm sorry; I'm making dancing sound as I perceive it, and that can be quite offensive and likely simply ignorant on my part.  :(  ...enlighten me...(?)...

Even the sort of repetitive dance music you're talking about has hundreds of subgenres - jungle, breakcore (although I think that's more experimental), drum 'n' bass, drill 'n' bass (the grindcore of dance music? ), etc. etc. - I wouldn't know one from the other but equally someone who listened to techno woudln't be expected to differentiate Zeuhl and RIO. From the outside, we usually see the stereotypes and the populist part from a genre.

The problem with IDM is that it isn't really meant to be danced to (last New Year's Eve I was at a party and I knew the guy who was DJing, some girls asked for dance music and I got him to play Venetian Snares' remix of the Coronation Street Theme and cleared the dance floor ). If that means you don't consider it dance music then it's fair enough - a lot of people who listen to "regular" dance music either.

Another good example of IDM/Prog is Steve Hillage/Miquette Giraudy's System 7.Hillage and Alex Paterson (The Orb).have been long-time collaborators.System 7 recorded a trance version of Neu's Hallogallo a few years back.It is worth checking out.


Edited by Man Erg

I think you guys are over intellectualizing the whole thing...

Do the following; come to Miami, visit south beach and you'll see why people like dance music. Our particular brand of dance music is Salsa and Merengue, shared with a "prieta latina" or "una garrota Brazilera".