glitch Posted June 2 Posted June 2 On 12th July 1979 at the end of a Baseball game in Chicago, a box containing disco records was blown up on the pitch to a crowd of 50,000 people. The White Sox pulled the stunt in an attempt to attract more people to the game and partnered with anti-disco campaigner, DJ Steve Dahl, to pull of the stunt. Attendees were offered discounted tickets if they brought along a disco record to be destroyed as part of the event. This was the culmination of a wider backlash against Disco music in the United Sates, especially by Rock music fans. In the following years the genre declined in popularity and many artists started instead referring to their music as "Dance" music. Arguably the impact is still felt in the US music scene to this day.
Pendulum Posted June 2 Posted June 2 And 40 years later, in 2019, Dua Lipa reignited the spark for disco with the release of the colossal smash that was Don't Start Now
Virgos Groove Posted June 2 Posted June 2 (edited) Yeah. I feel like we (and music aficionados in general) don't talk enough about the reactionary effect this had on music. The way radio formats work in the US and the influence radio programmers have in how music is sold to the public would make for a fascinating discussion, actually. Still, there is some poetic justice in the fact that the same city that "destroyed" disco ended up becoming the breeding ground for its successor, house music. Edited June 2 by Virgos Groove 2
makeawish Posted June 2 Posted June 2 3 minutes ago, Virgos Groove said: Yeah. I feel like we (and music aficionados in general) don't talk enough about the reactionary effect this had on music it's very racist and homophobic coded isn't it: music made by black artists and a big part of the gay subculture that had to be symbolically destroyed for 'manly' rock music to reassert itself. embarrassing tbh 6
JoeAg Posted June 2 Posted June 2 this was the most embarrassing and pathetic thing ever, and it failed in the long run. who got the last laugh? the gays, the brilliant black and latin american and queer artists of all genders who made the heavenly music in the first place, and generally those of us who are smart enough to know that it's ridiculous to limit your musical enjoyment to what we're "told" is the best. b*tch. disco is one of the most stunning and timeless genres there is, and no stupid ass lazy DJ nor any sore loser hetero douche in his 20s could ever change that fact the legacy of disco lives on in all the best uptempo pop music of today! the disco revival of 2020-2023 was one of the most exciting trends in pop this century, and I hope those losers from that night could feel that sting of fine musical art triumphing as it always will 1
Dante Silva Posted June 2 Posted June 2 (edited) Yes, I wrote about it at length on another thread somewhere a month or so back. If you are suggesting that every millennial/ gen z should make the connection and understand how the events of that night still resonate down the line, years later then you'd be correct. The archetype born in reaction to Disco, that led to its destruction lives on through the executives behind iHeartRadio and Anthony Fentano. Know your Enemy! Edited June 2 by Dante Silva 1
Batsy Armada Posted June 3 Posted June 3 I learned about this whenever I first started getting into Grace Jones year ago. I was wondering how and why that genre of music faded, for as much as I had loved it whenever I first started getting into it.
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