Saturday, August 12, 2017

Disco Demolition



It’s obvious to the most casual acquaintance that I like music, and my tastes gravitate toward rock and roll. Heck, I was raised on it alongside a sprinkling of Dad’s preferred Johnny Cash or The Oak Ridge Boys, some of Mom’s golden oldies thrown in for good measure. Hearing The Man in Black covering a Nine Inch Nails tune still makes me delirious with joy.

Disco, on the other hand, curdles my blood. Always has. I don’t denigrate the talent of its performers, but please do not make me listen. When my favorite podcasters Josh Clark and Chuck Bryant covered the topic on Stuff You Should Know I struggled a little not to shut it off when they sampled the music. And my eyes glazed over hearing the litany of mostly unfamiliar artists’ names (not a good thing when you’re driving, I might add).

I did learn some interesting facts, of course, about the history and whatnot. For example, during that era the number of disparate artists across vastly different genres trying their hand at the campy style blew my mind.

Really, Dolly? How could you?

My favorite part was learning about the so-called death of disco in Chicago, Illinois. I was ten years old at the time and never heard a peep. You can bet I would have cheered at that tender age had I known. However, flinging vinyl at peoples’ heads and tearing up a baseball field were egregious acts.

You can watch the clip if you’re interested. It’s not terribly long and quite fascinating.


Had you heard about this raucous event in 1979? Would you have attended?

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17 comments:

  1. I have not heard of this event. I'm more of a rocknroll/alternative girl myself but there is some good disco that's awesome to dance to...

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    1. Dancing is good, for sure. ~grin~ Thanks for commenting!

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  2. No clue what I was going on with me while that was going on...I did not know about it. I was 19 at the time and I lived through Disco. Sat. Night Fever and the whole nine yards. Remember Disco Duck? Haha....

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    1. Oh, Josh and Chuck even mentioned Disco Duck. Too funny. Thanks for the laugh.

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  3. Ah...I was in Chicago then. I was 20. I had friends who went to the old Comiskey Park that day just to be part of killing disco. Steve Dahl was king of FM rock radio in Chicago back then. You either hated him or loved him.

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    1. How cool! Thank you for sharing. I hope you and Bill are having a wonderful weekend.

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  4. I actually liked Disco music when I was a kid :) I do prefer Rock now and a little country.

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    1. I'll forgive you. ~grin~ Thanks for sharing, my dear!

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  5. I heard about it way after the fact. My brother went through a disco phase in the early '90s. It was after his rap phase. Some songs are fun. But there's a reason why the disco craze lasted about 2 years. After a while, that beat gets to you, and not in a good way.

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    1. Interesting! What shocked me about the era was that the majority of the craze was filled with one hit wonders. Then again, maybe that's not so different from any other genre. It just made me sad that the artists were treated like throwaway commodities.

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  6. Never really been into Disco myself. There are a few songs that I can kinda dig, but I definitely relate well with Mark Watney (from The Martian). Was born and raised on Pink Floyd, Queen, The Doors, AC/DC, The Eagles, etc.

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    1. I like your taste in music! ~grin~ Thanks for visiting, Robert, and best wishes on your gaming project!

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  7. Hahaha! I can't dance or disco to save my life!

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    1. Oh, I miss dancing to rock and roll. It only happens on special occasions now, or when I'm alone at home. ~grin~ Thanks for stopping by!

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  8. I had never heard of that event. OMG I watched the video. They sure trashed that field. I would have been there, if in that area, with my brothers' disco album, although he hated it too. Nothing to like about disco.

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    1. That's funny that your brother didn't care for it and owned the album. ~grin~ I appreciate you stopping by with a fun word. Be well!

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