tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2830563225783203492.post7338117980600341678..comments2023-04-29T06:37:18.856-04:00Comments on Our God is Speed: Last Stop on the Groove LineGreyhooshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14161781141733273715noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2830563225783203492.post-58033932499438900522012-04-27T10:57:42.287-04:002012-04-27T10:57:42.287-04:00And I guess the matter of a perspective from "...And I guess the matter of a perspective from "within the culture" ultimately connects to disco as being part of a lifestyle, rather than a mere consumable cultural trend. And I'm guessing it's that lifestyle aspect that you were possibly referring to in your "utopian" comment elsewhere. But as I remember, Shapiro went to great length to highlight how one of the disco's biggest acts -- Chic -- were actually a bit skeptical about that same lifestyle, and were often lampooning or critiquing it in their music. I recall he quoted Nile Rodgers a fair amount, because Rodgers (as a former member of the Black Panthers) had a way of putting the whole movement into an interesting cultural context.Greyhooshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14161781141733273715noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2830563225783203492.post-4347036673676012112012-04-27T10:16:51.775-04:002012-04-27T10:16:51.775-04:00I did....read it a few years ago. Quite a good boo...I did....read it a few years ago. Quite a good book, yeah. As I recall, though, Shapiro mostly wrote from the perspective of an "inside" history -- largely dealing with the music industry and nightclub end of things, from within the culture. Which he did a fine job with, but I don't remember him going much into the broader pop-culture end of things.Greyhooshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14161781141733273715noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2830563225783203492.post-86157316618825352132012-04-27T09:04:52.553-04:002012-04-27T09:04:52.553-04:00Have you read Peter Shapiro's 'Turn That B...Have you read Peter Shapiro's 'Turn That Beat Around'? Makes a good case for disco's importance - and a very useful companion to 'Rip It Up & Start Again', not least on parts where those respective 'movements' converge.David K Waynehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10756535951359716522noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2830563225783203492.post-24528473336013180252012-04-26T19:15:15.207-04:002012-04-26T19:15:15.207-04:00Yeah, there's a lot to that -- the whole matte...Yeah, there's a lot to that -- the whole matter of diffuse reactionary tendencies. And yeah, Reagan (& co) found a way to harness them, capitalize on them. After all, his whole campaign-trail anecdote about "welfare queens" was lifted directly from George Wallace's presidential campaign of the previous decade.Greyhooshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14161781141733273715noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2830563225783203492.post-8800915833266221382012-04-26T18:59:37.981-04:002012-04-26T18:59:37.981-04:00"If anything, there was a big streak of anti-..."If anything, there was a big streak of anti-cosmopolitanism about the whole thing."<br /><br />True, and maybe not homophobic or racist per se, but anti-cosmopolitanism is usually very reactionary. In Europe at least (depression fascism was big on it). Reagan tapped into anti-cosmopolitanism in a big way, didn't he? Plus the 'fuck the disco fags and hippies with their conscience' wing of US punks got overtly racist at times (many of whom I assume were suburbanites reacting against the 'excremental city' they were trying to make a name in). <br /><br />I'm not saying it was a concentrated social backlash, but 'disco sucks' appeared to converge with a lot of other reactionary trends that came to dominate 80s culture. Even though pop was still pretty much disco-derived, the name 'disco' remained mud for most of the decade.David K Waynehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10756535951359716522noreply@blogger.com