Disco. Soundtrack to a revolution

Music Room
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BBC2 Saturday night heads up for some disco fever.

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‘Get up, stand up, strut your funky stuff…’

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That wasn’t what I expected.

It seemed to be a vehicle for history and identity politics rather than actually about music :thinking:

Interesting if you want to watch a documentary programme about various ‘movements’ in the 70s but not so much if you’re expecting a lot of disco music.

Glad the rest of the family didn’t watch it with me as comments on sexual practices in places and songs featuring multiple passionate oohs and aahs probably wouldn’t have been comfortable family viewing, admittedly it was on after 10pm.

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Surely that’s the exact reason why such programmes have been criticised in the past i.e. they have attempted to do the music without the context. Disco was co-opted by the mainstream as something they could sell but its origins and various branches are inextricably linked to what we now call identity politics.

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It just wasn’t what I was expecting to be honest Mike, I caught the end of the preceding programme on iPlayer and thought I’d settle down in the AV room with a glass of red, let my hair down and enjoy a couple of hours of disco music.

Just an assumption of what the content would be as I’d not researched the programme in advance.

I watched both episodes through (another next week?), and it was interesting from an historical perspective, and I certainly learned a few things I was hitherto unaware of.

Fair to say I’d have probably appreciated it more at another time, not when I was hoping for back to back music.

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A humorous critique of the genre. :innocent:

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Screw identity politics, here’s a clip of Janice-Marie playing the bass and a bunch of folk gettin’ down…

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I detested “disco” music at the time, and still do, so didn’t bother watching. As for revolution, not at all, just continuing evolution. (Unless talking musically with punk’s beginnings.)

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I think I was expecting more like this, and may have caught the end of one of these shows:

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Finally got around to watching this with Mrs. H. last week. Thought it was absolutely fantastic. Probably the best 3 hours on disco you will ever see. The context was spot on but also there was absolutely loads of great music and compelling footage over 3 hours. No complaints at all here. One of those lovely rare occasions someone gets the documentary format spot on.

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