Hurts and Crop Tops

You know how girls are wearing crop tops again? Well, they’re still as impractical as ever. It's not that the bastard child of a t-shirt and a sports bra has changed. We’re the ones who’ve changed. Ten years ago, our only logical explanations for wearing a crop top would be either a sudden growth spurt or the new professional name of ‘Krystal’. But now, we gaze upon crop tops as throwbacks to erstwhile glamour, the kind of trashy early 90’s look that we spent a whole decade running away from, just to return to its acrylic-taloned clutch.

In a similar way, I think we could all do with changing our attitudes to Freestyle. It’s just as trashy as crop tops are, but it’s been left behind in the cold. With only its crop top to keep it warm. I’m hoping that Hurts will bring it back. Most hype about the band Hurts discusses how they’re arty and aloof and European. But not many people have got to the heart (yes, there is one) of what makes them great.

The two tracks floating around the ether are both sombre pop-opera affairs laden with hyperbole over a synth backing. The differences are very telling. They’re either going to stick with the Disco Lento (literals, ‘slow disco’) of ‘Blood, Tears, Gold’ and be shuffled into the neverending pile of sing-a-long-a-synthpop, right next to OneRepublic and Timbaland. Or they’re going to aid a Freestyle resurgence with more songs like ‘Wonderful Life’.

This isn’t proper Freestyle, but it contains elements: syncopated beats, slap bass, subtle falsettos and a naughty touch of brass. This makes it pretty sassy, and something that people who aren’t white might enjoy.

Freestyle found its feet as part of Latin pop in the late 1970s. It soon developed as an alternative to Disco, bringing listeners back to dance music during a lull in the early 80s. Freestyle lyrics are all about people upset about a lost love, or striving for more. It’s all quite tragic. It’s called Freestyle not only because of the dancing, but because beats were so syncopated that DJs had to switch their mixing styles FREE-quently. Or something like that.

If crop-tops have made their way back into fashionistas’ hearts and onto cold-stomached shoulders, then why can’t Freestyle wriggle back towards our ears? People want to look like 1980s Miami Latinas, adorning themselves with pale denim shorts and trashy piercings, snarling around East London with curly tendrils… maybe they should have a worthy soundtrack. What do you think of Freestyle?

Hurts – Wonderful Life (Arthur Baker Remix)

Santa Esmerelda – Please Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood

Nayobe- Please Don’t Go

Shannon – Let The Music Play

C Bank with Jenny Burton – One More Shot

Planet Patrol – Play at Your Own Risk

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This piece was originally written for the Chew The Fat! blog.

music #677

moooosics

Florence and the Machine are just brills, hopefully seeing them at some festival this year somewhere:




Major Lazer was introduced to me by my friend Dom. I'd got us tickets to see Diplo and Switch at Notting Hill Carnival, where they would've premiered this shit, but Dom and I were both too hungover to go. We're idiots for that, but we're enjoying this stuff like heck and it was nice to hear it played just the right amount at Beach Break. Beach Break almost rinsed me of my appreciation of La Roux.






I've actually seen Yeah Yeah Yeahs and they are fantastic. I'm pleased to see the way they're going. It's a bit electroclashy.





Lysa Lynn's stuff is gayer than a row of freshly lubed and torn, rainbow tattooed anuses, but I like it. Perhaps for that very reason.

get down to some vicious love

My dissertation is coming along beautifully. The structuring just fell into place today. I've put everything nicely into its context, I like to think. And instead of disagreeing or agreeing with one critic, I'm analysing the two texts (Breakfast at Tiffany's and The Apartment) and picking and choosing critics to agree with me. I feel confident and smarmy about it. Here's what's helped me along tonight to get to the 1100 mark:



and this is more of a surprise but again confirms my hopes/desires that rap has got a soul to it:



You see, last week at fuel4life, at 1.58am, I whacked on this:



After a good two hours of bassline, fidget and dubstep, the crowd didn't falter. I usually whack on a soul track so as to clear the dancefloor, but everyone stayed on, proving how fucking good soul can be.

ALSO. Bangers&Tash are playing Beach Break Live on the 16th-19th June. I don't really know who reads this, if anyone. But come along.

If there's a cure for this, I don't want it.

On the search for more Larry Levan, I got to this.

I sent it to a dear dear friend who's mostly into soul/motown and does have a certain affinity for cheese club nights. This is probably because she gets to convince the DJ that it's our friend's barmitzvah. And that our friend is called Barchard. And is a girl. Queue Barchard dancing to Kool + The Gang's 'Celebration' on a podium, with Devonshire deejay shouting 'HAPPY BARMITZVAH BARCHARD', unawares to all of the errors of his chant.

However, my friend really likes this song. It's sexy. Apologies for the lack of video content. Do something else when you're listening. Go for a pace around the room. Did your hair. Fix your nails. Sharpen your talons. Whatever, bitch.

lay your problems on the floor

This stuff cheers me up. The video's prety cool, too. The kids are so bad at what they do that they give off this really cool, aloof image. It's just so terrible that it's amazing. You can also see how Baby's Gang have inspired Justice, what with the disco + kids formula they both bandy about.

Fuzzlewuzzlers.

So I DJ within a collective called Bangers+Tash. We used to play in a small venue in Exeter. It was fun, we got a good few nights in but there were drawbacks. Bangers+Tash is now associated with fuel4life, a much bigger electro-hiphop-house night at a much swankier club. Last night was its launch and it was mesmerising. This is the facebook group:

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=55550438011&ref=ts

I should be playing some funk, soul and hip electro next week. We're also playing lots of other events around campus, including the only student gay night in Exeter and charity events, including the RAG Fashion Show. AND houseparties!

Which is nice.