A goodbye and thank you to the Godfather of House.
Posts tagged "dance music"
Robin Thicke, Blurred Lines: Album Review
“Blurred Lines” is the song of the summer. That’s not mere conjecture; that’s almost scripture at this point. “Blurred Lines” is a big old Smash Hit, the kind we only get a couple of a year, the kind that everyone knows the words to. They know T.I.’s vowel-heavy guest rap, Pharrell’s every “whoo!”, the sly way Robin Thicke himself barely conceals a chuckle as he croons “what rhymes with hug me?”… the song’s massive, and why shouldn’t it be? With […]
Pet Shop Boys, Electric: Album Review
It’s not always easy to be objective about a new album release by one of your favorite artists. And I preface this by saying Pet Shop Boys have been one of my favorites, really only second to Prince, since their debut Please in 1986. Don’t let their lack of airplay in the States since the 90’s fool you, PSB have sold over 50 million records worldwide, are the UK’s most successful duo ever, and still consistently make noise in the […]
Mini-bLISTerd: A Tribute to the Style of Nile
If you like music and you’ve been on the Internet in the past few weeks, you can’t go far without seeing Daft Punk’s name in print. The French dance duo came back in a big way this month with the release of Random Access Memories , a stirringly retro dance album and their first proper studio album in eight years (a live album and the soundtrack to TRON: Legacy have all appeared in the interim). Deftly zigging where an EDM-fueled crowd expected them to […]
Spin Cycle: Thomas Dolby’s “A Map of the Floating City”
Thomas Dolby has a new album out. Yes, THAT Thomas Dolby. Check out our review, wont’cha?
Spin Cycle: Justice’s “Audio, Video, Disco”
Sometimes, subverted expectations can be fun. Case in point: Justice, otherwise known as “that group that had that song” (“D.A.N.C.E.”, in case you were wondering) or perhaps “the band Daft Punk fans listen to between albums”, have returned with a sophomore set. Their fun, monolithic slabs of electronica sounded reasonably fresh on their debut, Cross, but the replay potential wore thin, and the prospect of a new record – especially in a week that sees a prolific release from fellow […]
Spin Cycle: Erasure’s “Tomorrow’s World”
To dismiss Erasure as mere “synthpop pioneers” seems like it’d be erroneous; it’s true, the duo of Vince Clark and Andy Bell built a career from the ground up, dolling up their sound with more canned drumbeats and squelching keyboards than you could shake a Yaz at. But any pop connoisseur knows the real deal: peel away the layers, and what remained under that distinctly-80’s veneer were, simply, a series of excellent pop songs. Melodically, next to nothing can compete with […]
Hear Here: Justice’s “Civilization”
Man, there was a point in time when dance music sucked. I’m talking about the late Nineties, when everything was techno bump-bump-bump. During my limited clubgoing experience, I found myself quickly discouraged, not only because the people that frequented those places weren’t exactly the types I wanted to hang out with, but also because the music generally sucked. Thanks to groups like Daft Punk, dance music has taken a turn for the better over the past decade. I hate to […]
The Disco 100 Continues: From Sunup to Midnight
I hope you haven’t put away your balls yet-your disco balls, I mean (we love sophomoric humor here at Popblerd central). I have returned to continue my list of the 100 Grooviest Disco Songs of all time! Here’s #81-#90 , in case you missed it. Now, moving on!! 80. “I Hear Music in the Streets” by Unlimited Touch 79. “Working Day & Night” by Michael Jackson http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PyfHNUBY1lY
Embracing Your Club Diva: Estelle & Kelis
I’m not sure how I feel about today’s R&B singers doing dance/disco/house-influenced music these days. I mean, it’s great that we’ve decided to reclaim a style of music that we originated, since there was a period around ’93/’94 when we cast house music aside as being too Euro or too gay for us. Two of our favorite single-monikered female singers have released their latest singles, both of which have a heavy club influence. First off,we have Estelle, of “American Boy” […]