dance (not dance)

(question spurred by listening to "black secret technology" for the first time in a while and realizing that it's very much a jungle record, but still unsure just how well it would work on the dancefloor-proper. the other drum and bass albs. which actually *work* ("parallel universe," about half of "new forms") seem to fall into this category as well.)

How about some kinds of 'modern' jazz, where the influence is James Brown or Sly Stone, the sound/instrumentation is 'funky', but where the possibility of actually dancing all the way through a track wld be nigh-on-impossible? I'm thinking of seventies Miles, Pharoah Saunders, Art Ensemble ...

Also, funky not funky groups like ESG, Liquid Liquid etc.

AC/DC. Aerosmith. Mersh blooze-metal, uptempo variety.

Sure. Though, in that regard, 'dance' as an ability would have to be more of a possible reaction to that type of music than its defining characteristic. Dave q mentioned cock-rock type bands, which definitely get some asses shaking across smalltown America ... I've been to a karaoke bar in a suburb of D.C. here, and Bon Jovi had the bikers in the bar Living on a Prayer... so the music is first and foremost rock, a subcategory that happens to be danceable.

I enjoy alot of music, but I've always had an affinity for the type of gothic/industrial/darkwave/ethereal nightclub event that alot of indie kids seem to make fun of and avoid. Third- and fourth-wave industrial, of course, is easily classifiable as danceable -- not just the Skinny Puppy/Front 242/Front Line Assembly crowd, but also the harder metal-oriented modern stuff (not my cup, but hey), as well as the acid-influenced Coil/Psychic TV stuff.. likewise, new wave/darkwave.

.. but what I also like about those type of events is that more unconventional songs get played. Songs that could only become dancefloor 'classics' in that open-minded type of event, from Bauhaus' "Bela Lugosi's Dead" to Nick Cave's "Red Right Hand," from something nearly beatless from the Cocteau Twins to the ethnic- influenced beats of Dead Can Dance .... of course, you could turn out a pocketful of putdowns for a dancefloor like that, caricaturing a bunch of black-clad art-students flailing about the floor dramatically, but nevertheless it's alot of fun ... the music is challenging to dance to, but rewarding for it, and the vibe can be damn sexy.

Also, though I haven't had the pleasure of finding too many nights like this, I'm intrigued by alot of the experimental/noize/IDM nights (the overlap there seems appropriate enough, especially if you're actually going to get enough people to the bar to support!) that have cropped up in the last few years, often held at clubs rather than bars.. check Rituals, a night that was held in DC, http://groups.yahoo.com/group/RitualsDC/ or Byzantium, a New York night I really wish I'd had the chance to get to .. http://www.nycgoth.com/homepages/byzantium/

chris.

"new wave electro" labels Ladomat and Disko B ? Maybe? Homes of bizarre warblings and strangely tuneful sleaze-techno.

I keep waiting for the opportunity to ask; what is IDM??

I keep waiting for the opportunity to ask; what is IDM??

Absolute bollocks.

("intelligent" dance music)

I'd say Underworld might be the best example....any of their albums. All 3 of them have some tracks you'd *want* to dance to, but a lot of the others aren't really all that dancy, without being IDM or "armchair techno"....something like Mmmmm Skyscraper I Love You, from the Dubnobasswithmyheadman album.

Catch the Mud Shark!

What the hell is wrong with "IDM"? Shite name, good music... Autechre are the best example of what you were asking for IMHO...

The alternative would be something like Enigma...