BohemianPlayboy

My brother Long recently compiled a very amazing compilation of all his (and mine) favorite Disco Tracks. Here it is along with his manifesto for this mix.

How I learned to stop worrying and love Disco Mix (mp3)

In honor of the recent sensory devastation that those French legends, Daft Punk, have been wreaking on people across the US this summer, I have a confession to make. In the past year I have experienced a musical transformation, one that has shaken my very core sensibilities. What happened? A conversion: I, Long Le-Khac, am a born again Disco-phile. I worship regularly at the altar of Disco. I realize that to a whole generation Disco is a dirty word. In the late 70s, in the wake of the commercialization and white-washing of what was originally a radical, African-American, and predominantly gay art form, the rallying cry “Disco Sucks!” became ubiquitous across America. This unrecognized yet historic moment signaled the death of disco in the US and begins to explain why a whole generation grew up without familiarity with this genre that the rest of the world (most notably the Italians) heralded. (It might also explain why a whole generation of white kids not knowing how to dance for shit, but that’s a different story…) For better or worse, disco plunged underground in the US even as it became the precursor of basically all modern electronic music. Whatever acceptance disco enjoys today in the US is in no small part due to the efforts of those French gods, Daft Punk, who almost single-handedly wrenched disco back into the mainstream. Since that opening salvo, a whole generation of musicians has been reinventing and revitalizing disco for the 21st century. The sheer amount and staggering quality of modern disco confirms the genre’s richness and possibilities. Because at heart, disco is a rhythm and a sensibility, a universal sensibility that holds that music is movement, dancing is one of the true joys of life that everyone can share in, and that, yes, this can make the world a little better. I constructed this mix as a document of How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Disco and to share my love of it in the hopes that this new generation of disco makers and lovers will continue to thrive. It ranges from the majestic Nordic Disco pop of Sally Shapiro to the otherworldly space disco of Hans-Peter Lindstrøm to forgotten Italo gems like Katy Gray’s Hold Me Tight to perhaps the world’s greatest living disco band, Escort. It is meant to be listened to at a high volume, loud enough for the visceral urgency of the music to be felt and preferably in a space where you can fucking jam out. Throw it on at a party or in your car. Whatever you do, please enjoy.

Here is the tracklist (please contact me if you’d like to find out where to get some of this stuff: lekhac@gmail.com).
1 Kylie Minogue – I Believe in You
2 Reverso 68 – Tokyo Disko
3 Lindstrøm – I Feel Space
4 Sally Shapiro – Anorak Christmas
5 Alan Braxe & Kris Menace – Lumberjack (Short Cut)
6 Katy Gray – Hold Me Tight
7 Pulp – Disco 2000
8 Risque – Starlight
9 Gaz Nevada – Special Agent Man
10 Aeroplane – Aeroplane
11 Daft Punk – Digital Love
12 Together – So Much Love to Give
13 Tiga – Far From Home (DFA Remix)
14 Escort – Starlight
15 Change – A Lover’s Holiday
16 Michael Jackson – Don’t Stop Till You Get Enough

This entry was posted on Thursday, August 16th, 2007 at 1:30 pm and is filed under music. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.