I used to sit with my DJ friend and just observe with him the reaction to this. Through him though, I have come to appreciate Italo. I too, at first, was put off by it, but came to thoroughly enjoy it as good party and dance music.
It just so strnage to me now to see those same people have their house parties and be dancing and name-dropping Giorgio Moroder, and other random Italo singles, saying that's their new favorite song, when a little over a year ago they were bitching about how lame it is. But, then again, humans, and especially social views on what is cool or not, what is acceptable is very strange...
If you haven't heard Italo disco, it is dance music composed by Italians (obviously) in the late 70's, through the early 80's. Italo disco was inspired by disco music at it's height. Giorgio Moroder was particularly the pioneer of this genre, giving it it's namesake.
The music is characterized by catchy melodies (a lot of times overproduced), and almost always containing lyrics pertaining to love, heartbreak, etc. It was cheap to make and perfect to dance to. A lot of the musicians sang in broken English with very simply lyrics.
Some of the most popular, and best Italo artists (and their singles) include: savage, "don't cry tonight"; alexander robotnick "problemes d'amour"; kl ein & m.b.o. "dirty talk"; charlie "spacerwoman"; fun fun "happy station", gazebo "i like chopin"; ken laszlo "tonight"...and many many more.
There are countless compilations of greatest Italo hits. It's a hit-and-miss process of going through the songs and determing which ones are listenable.
If you want a more detailed info on history, background, influences, etc., Wikipedia has some pretty good info:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italo_disco
I went to Fiesta today with my mother while I dropped in town (Dallas) to visit with the old folks and eat some breakfast. I like Fiesta a lot. It's a very interesting Mexican grocery store. They have ethnic foods that you can't find in other grocery stores, like ingredients for Asian, Indian, Jamaican food etc...it's just neat. I like to just wander around the grocery store, see what I find.
Today I found (much to my surprise) some Yerba Mate, but not just the bag with the ground up tea, I found this "limited edition" set that comes with the gourd and the bombilla for drinking it.
I had tried yerba mate over a year ago. A friend of a friend brought it over with the gourd and bombilla and everything and handed it to me. It was extremely strong, but I loved it, and kept drinking it. After having several servings ( I was greedy!), I felt invigorated, and just really good and charged up. I have to say it's almost like being high, or on drugs, but completely legal, and healthy.
Yerba Mate has a lot of vitamins (especially B I think), minerals, and antioxidants and it is also known to suppress appetite, and can be used as a diet supplement. A lot of people drink just because they enjoy it (like me), or as a way of trying to lose weight.
So, when I got home, after taking a nap, I went straight to the yerba mate, boiled some water, poured some yerba mate in my gourd along with some cinnamon (for extra taste), and sipped away.
I'm starting to feel pretty charged up and good now, which I need since I have a good amount of homework :(
So, anyways, I'm totally excited about my new yerba mate tea and set!!
If you haven't checked out this band Gang Gang Dance, you really should. They're an experimental band from New York...they came out several years ago, but it seems they are just now getting popular.This song if off their album God's Money, which I personally think is the best. This song especially makes me either want to completely zone out, or break out into some crazy tribal dancing.
Here's what allmusic.com has to say about them:
Since their formation in New York City's Brooklyn borough in 2001, Gang Gang Dance has earned an enthusiastic underground cult following by providing experimental, left-of-center music that uses a lot of electronics but is also very percussion-minded; percussion, in fact, is a prime ingredient of their sound. The group's eccentric work (which favors free-form structures and has never adhered to a standard verse/chorus/verse/chorus format) has been described as avant-garde rock, experimental rock, and art rock, all of which are applicable. Gang Gang Dance draws on a variety of direct or indirect influences, ranging from Brian Eno to ambient electronica to psychedelic rock to world music (elements of Indian, Middle Eastern, Arabic, Asian, and African music have found their way to GGD's live performances and recordings). Electronic music is a strong influence, and yet GGD's music is not dance-oriented or club-oriented per se and is not aimed at the rave subculture; their audience is more of an avant-rock audience, and they are as well known for their live shows as for their studio recordings.
Put the pen
To the paper
Press the envelope
With my scent
Can't you see
In my handwriting
The curve Of my g?
The longing
Oh
Who is left that
Writes these days?
You and me
We'll be different
Take the cap
Off your pen
Wet the envelope
Lick and lick it
Oh
I need you
The time is running out
Oh baby
Can't you hear me call?
It turns me on
To imagine
Your blue eyes
On my words
Your beautiful pen
Take the cap off
Give me a sign and I'd come running
Oh
It's you
I want you
What fictional creature do you wish were real?
Totally unicorns...for realz
I then started to realize why it was my favorite album in junior high.
Granted, Smashing Pumpkins are a mainstream alternative band, but you have to hand it to them for incorporating elements of dream pop into their songs.
This is particularly evident on the album Siamese Dream (you can hear the influence throughout the whole album). But they didn't just use it on Siamese Dream, now that I think about there's a lot of the dream pop, shoegaze thing going on on other albums such as Mellon Collie, and the b-sides album Pisces Iscariot (which is my personal favorite).
So, make fun of me all you want for still listening to the Smashing Pumpkins, but they were a stepping stone for me to get into bands like Slowdive, My Bloody Valentine, Ride, etc., which are now some of my favorite all-time bands.
Here's one of my favorite songs off that album...if you listen you can clearly see why I'd get into Slowdive a few years down the road.
So, I'm supposed to be moving back to Dallas today.
I got up at 3 a.m. to get boxes to start packing.
I came home to my roommate/boyfriend yelling at me to be quiet about it...it makes me all the more glad that I'm moving out...
Anyways on a lighter note, I'm stoked about going to Chicago next week. It's a much needed vacation from the D/FW area.
Actually, I don't think I've left Texas in about 5 years, which is pretty sad. I can't stand the weather here. It's so fucking hot.
When I get to Chicago one thing is for sure- I'm eating some bad-ass pizza. I'm a pizza addict.
Oh, and Sarah if you read this I'm extremely sorry for not sending your package yet.
As soon as I get to Dallas I will. Things have been so hectic lately with my moving and all.
Who's the most annoying person on TV?
There's a lot of annoying people on TV, but Ryan Seacrest has to be the most annoying.
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Life In Ruins said:
Yeah that is pretty good. You should like the catherine wheel. The old sampling they do is pretty crazy. read more
on 03 egowar -
mellon_yellow said:
i need to download some catherine wheel. i love brian eno. have you heard the album 'my life in the... read more
on 03 egowar -
mellon_yellow said:
no problem..they're one of my favorite bands right now read more
on 02. Ombrages en Morceaux
on My Bloody Valentine - Soon