Anatomy of a Dance Tune
OK, so I was ellipticizing myself the other day when the Hercules Club Mix version of "Blind" by Hercules & Love Affair popped up on my ipod and it inspired a couple of thoughts.
First I thought, why are these club versions so dang long? I like the song but I don't necessarily want to hear it for seven or eight minutes straight, you know what I'm saying? But then I started analyzing it and it began to make sense.
The way I see it, the first 30 to 45 seconds of a club track consist of deep, pounding beats that act like a clarion call from a distant place, urgently calling to you, Come on, come on, let's go! So if you were at a club you'd feel a distinct pull toward the dance floor. The next 30 seconds or so are when you'd negotiate for some prime space on the floor, hopefully placing yourself near some hottie you had your eye on and you'd like to meet. Then you get into the meat of the song, which can last anywhere from two to four minutes, after which it calms down a bit and gives you a chance to breathe before kicking back into high gear. Following that brief respite, you have about two minutes wherein to decide whether your heart is beating as hard as it is because you're desperately out of shape or desperately lusting after the person you're dancing with. Then you have about a minute to strategize how you're going to either disconnect from said person or entice your newfound friend to hang around and dance with you some more. Apparently you need every second of the song to accomplish all these things!
And that is my theory as to why dance tunes are so damn long.
Hercules & Love Affair--"Blind (Hercules Club Mix)" mp3 off Blind (Remixes) (buy)
p.s. Can you tell I'm obsessed with this song? I promise to stop now.
does ellipticizing involve a small current? is it that thing that one does
with a plunger and some cheese?
well, whatever it is hope it is not too painful... now to listen to some
music!
it can be painful, but does not involve a plunger or any cheese! lol!
I never minded the length of these remixes when I was dancing (lordy, that
was a while back), but for plain listening they are just way too long. Not
enough to stimulate the brain. Better for the loins, but then I think that
was your point, eh? Almost all the remixes I have are of U2 songs, which I
generally never tire of (even when they suck!), but unless I'm running or
dancing, with something else to distract me, they are way too long.
Dearest Marcy, you're supposed to listen to these songs while dancing madly
and out of your tree on drukz. In those circumstaces you'd be both
disinclined towards and incapable of any anaysis...
At last, an answer to a question that's been bugging me for ages! Love the
theory.
I have another challenge for you now. It may be a naive and silly
question, but
I've never been able to understand exactly why people who remix the work of
others get applause and credit for it. How come they get praise for
doctoring someone else's creation?
Thanks marcy.....your words brought back so many memories of a long time
ago. I didn't realise that was what I was doing.....but it was.
wre--i agree for the most part about the remixes not being any good to
listen to unless you're doing something else, although there are some that
i actually love more than the originals, so it's hard to generalize. but
yes, the dance tracks are most definitely aimed at the loins! : )
Ah yes...I had that thought after I'd posted my last comment - that it's no
different from a cover version of a song really. We're on the same
wavelength there then. I don't mind cover versions of songs, but have
always dismissed remixes with a sniff of disapproval! Maybe it's time to
give em a chance!
agnes--maybe i'll do a special remix post of some remixes that i dearly
love. it's been a while and some of them are definitely worth reposting.
thanks for the inspiration!
Remix post a great idea - I look forward to checking it out!
good theory however the reason club mixes are so long is so that dj's can
mix in and out of the song.
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