Why was there a back lash against Disc?

[kool bubba ice]

Don't we still have Disco music? It's just called 'dance' music now..

 

[zombieDave]

Maybe because, at the time, it flooded the airwaves with vapid lyrics, drum machines instead of a real drummer, and songs that could've been written by, well...just about anyone. The "fashions" it uttered in - via clothing & hairstyles - were also ridiculous and short-lived. The people who hated disco were the "rockers" (followers of Led Zep, The Who, punk rock and later new wave, etc.) or those raised on Dylan, Neil Young, etc. who resented the fact that talentless hacks had brought this type of music to the forefront of the airwaves and pushed their favorite acts (those with true musical talent) out of the spotlight (for awhile, anyway).

Yes, most electronica/club music is the same as disco. I have no idea why there is no backlash against it, as there was for disco in the late 70's & early 80's, because it's just as bad or worse (remixing U2 songs for clubs - PLEEEEEEESE!). Maybe people are just more tolerant of other listener's tastes these days.

I still hate disco & electronica.

Just my 2 cents...

 

[wuwhere]

Well, whenever I went to clubs I wanted to hear disco/dance music to dance to or to watch other people dance.

But I never bought disco/dance music to listen to at home or anywhere else.

 

[JadeEast]

Disco was too black and too gay in it's early years for the mainstream, as it grew pop and mainstream influences watered it down. It's eventual mainstream popularity blew it up and overexposed it through a very rapid commercialization in the late 70s and the inevitable backlash happened. The first commercial 12 inch was released in 1976 and it didn't take very long to become even more popular.

By middle of 1979 the disco back lash probably reached it's peak with a infamous blowing up of a pile of disco records at a baseball game in Chicago. Perhaps ironically Chicago was the birth place where the next mutation of dance music took off.

At it's core disco was about danceable music and before records were made specifically for the disco clubs it would include a large number of very different styles mostly uptempo R&B and could include jazz and rock whatever moved the crowd.

 

[fatcat28037]

A disco must have............

 

[salannelson]

Because

 

[West726]

I have seen this thread 3-4 times tonight, and because of the title, every time I think omg is the CD going out of production? My short-term memory appears to be faltering . . .

 

[Uncle Erik]

At least Disco was more entertaining than today's music. Disco is a little silly, but today's music is equally silly, but with added pretension.

Maybe because people no longer appear capable of taking something not serious not seriously. There might not be a lot of depth to Disco, but it's still fun.

 

[roadtonowhere08]

Quote:

Originally Posted by zombieDave /img/forum/go_quote.gif Maybe because, at the time, it flooded the airwaves with vapid lyrics, drum machines instead of a real drummer, and songs that could've been written by, well...just about anyone. The "fashions" it uttered in - via clothing & hairstyles - were also ridiculous and short-lived. The people who hated disco were the "rockers" (followers of Led Zep, The Who, punk rock and later new wave, etc.) or those raised on Dylan, Neil Young, etc. who resented the fact that talentless hacks had brought this type of music to the forefront of the airwaves and pushed their favorite acts (those with true musical talent) out of the spotlight (for awhile, anyway). Yes, most electronica/club music is the same as disco. I have no idea why there is no backlash against it, as there was for disco in the late 70's & early 80's, because it's just as bad or worse (remixing U2 songs for clubs - PLEEEEEEESE!). Maybe people are just more tolerant of other listener's tastes these days. I still hate disco & electronica. Just my 2 cents...

I was not around back then, but that sounds just about right.

The reason why there is no backlash now, is because the mainstream music in addition to the club music is garbage. When people are used to garbage, there is no backlash against more garbage, because they do not know any better. Back then, the mainstream music was much better so the differences were great, and that fueled the backlash.

Having said that, I am not a disco fan by any means, but there are some songs from that genre that are just fun to listen to. I'm not afraid to admit it

 

[catachresis]

Don't forget that Disco and Pop-funk were genres in which Black musicians were making strong inroads into predominately White top-40 rotations. Disco semi-encouraged integrated dancing and socialization. I don't know about you folks, but when people from around where I grew up talked about real rock, they talked Zep, Eric Clapton, Deep Purple, but also Lynyrd Skynyrd and The Allman Brothers. The anti-Disco backlash in the South was partly about Whites seeing integration as a threatening dilution of White youth culture. They all breathed a sigh of relief when Reagan got elected and Country went 'Pop' in the 80s.

 

[krmathis]

Seems right to me.
Dance or Pop music these days, while Disco back in the -70s and -80s.

 

[Arjisme]

I don't think the backlash against disco had much, if anything, to do with racism. zompbieDave summarized it pretty well. Remember, Disco was popular. It was all over the airwaves, supplanting the great stuff that came before. Folks that still wanted rock were frustrated at being pushed to the sidelines.

I think the reason there is no backlash now is because the music scene is no longer as monolithic as it was in the 70's/80's. Everybody today has an iPod or equivalent and listen to what they choose. Radio is not as significant now as it was then. Yes, there was portable media back then, but it still was not nearly as convenient, portable and ubiquitous as in today's world. Britney Spears can play on the radio all day long for all I care. I never listen to the radio anymore anyhow.

 

[Spyro]

The real catalysts for disco going mainstream was "Saturday Night Fever" + The Bee Gees and it was embarrasing to say or admit that you liked either one.

 

[Happy Camper]

It was the cocaine crowd's boogy music. The potheads and trippers couldn't handle the energy it took to keep up.

 

[Dusty Chalk]

Because some of us can't dance. And we are jealous of those who can.