Anyway, I'm pretty sure I'm gonna buy this, so it's not a case of convincing me to, but I'm interested to know what I can expect... I have never heard "Menergy" the song but the idea of it alone makes me want to love it.
― Tim Finney (Tim Finney), Thursday, 10 November 2005 13:38 (eighteen years ago) link
― danny boy, Thursday, 10 November 2005 13:43 (eighteen years ago) link
― etc, Thursday, 10 November 2005 13:44 (eighteen years ago) link
― JoB (JoB), Thursday, 10 November 2005 14:04 (eighteen years ago) link
Menergy...Menergy...Menergy...
The boys in the barroom Living it up, Shootin' off energy.
The guys on the sidewalk Workin' it out, Talkin' 'bout Menergy.
The boys in the back room Laughin' it up, Shootin' off energy, The guys in the street talk checkin' you out, Talkin' 'bout Menergy.
Menergy...Menergy...Menergy..
The boys in the bedroom Lovin' it up, Shootin' off energy, We all know the feelin' It's no mistery, Talkin' 'bout Menergy.
― Gogi Ormsby-Gore (Arthur), Thursday, 10 November 2005 14:12 (eighteen years ago) link
― mike t-diva (mike t-diva), Thursday, 10 November 2005 14:26 (eighteen years ago) link
― Billy Dods (Billy Dods), Thursday, 10 November 2005 14:43 (eighteen years ago) link
― rentboy (rentboy), Thursday, 10 November 2005 14:48 (eighteen years ago) link
― rentboy (rentboy), Thursday, 10 November 2005 14:49 (eighteen years ago) link
― Billy Dods (Billy Dods), Thursday, 10 November 2005 14:57 (eighteen years ago) link
― tokyo nursery school: afternoon session (rosemary), Thursday, 10 November 2005 14:58 (eighteen years ago) link
i sometimes forget that places less liberated than South Florida existprobably just wishful thinking
― rentboy (rentboy), Thursday, 10 November 2005 15:00 (eighteen years ago) link
― simon 803 (simon 803), Thursday, 10 November 2005 15:13 (eighteen years ago) link
I did not know it was an album.
― PJ Miller (PJ Miller 68), Thursday, 10 November 2005 15:15 (eighteen years ago) link
― gold buck teef (mookie wilson), Thursday, 10 November 2005 15:18 (eighteen years ago) link
― mike t-diva (mike t-diva), Thursday, 10 November 2005 15:31 (eighteen years ago) link
― brittle-lemon (brittle-lemon), Thursday, 10 November 2005 15:41 (eighteen years ago) link
― Affectian (Affectian), Thursday, 10 November 2005 16:15 (eighteen years ago) link
The song COMES ON YOU. Sleaziest shit ever.
― Richj (Rich), Thursday, 10 November 2005 16:41 (eighteen years ago) link
http://patrick-cowley.elitemusic.mine.nu/
I was looking for the strippers.
― PJ Miller (PJ Miller 68), Thursday, 10 November 2005 16:45 (eighteen years ago) link
― PJ Miller (PJ Miller 68), Thursday, 10 November 2005 16:47 (eighteen years ago) link
― mike t-diva (mike t-diva), Thursday, 10 November 2005 17:00 (eighteen years ago) link
All of Cowley's stuff sounds amazing but it isn't all great. My favorite song, and the song that has the biggest crossover potential is Try a Little, an amazing electronic club track with female vocals that always blows people away when I play it.
― Dan Selzer (Dan Selzer), Thursday, 10 November 2005 17:33 (eighteen years ago) link
― iDonut B4 x86 (donut), Thursday, 10 November 2005 18:30 (eighteen years ago) link
Megatone is definately home to things I wanted to be better then they are, like early san fran hi-nrg covers of Pushin' To Hard and Lightning Strikes.
― Dan Selzer (Dan Selzer), Thursday, 10 November 2005 18:53 (eighteen years ago) link
― H2-H4 (H2-H4), Monday, 16 October 2006 23:17 (seventeen years ago) link
― I.M. From Hollywood (i_m_from_hollywood), Tuesday, 17 October 2006 01:55 (seventeen years ago) link
― Dan Selzer (Dan Selzer), Tuesday, 17 October 2006 03:19 (seventeen years ago) link
― your daughter is one (Jody Beth Rosen), Tuesday, 17 October 2006 03:21 (seventeen years ago) link
― Tim Finney (Tim Finney), Tuesday, 17 October 2006 10:50 (seventeen years ago) link
― veronica moser (veronica moser), Tuesday, 17 October 2006 12:38 (seventeen years ago) link
I am still undecided about his remixes of I Feel Love. Good sections but it isn't consistent overall.
― Disco Nihilist (mjt), Tuesday, 17 October 2006 15:02 (seventeen years ago) link
― mizzzell (mizzzell), Wednesday, 25 October 2006 17:55 (seventeen years ago) link
― W i l l (common_person), Wednesday, 25 October 2006 18:15 (seventeen years ago) link
― H2-H4 (H2-H4), Thursday, 26 October 2006 06:06 (seventeen years ago) link
I'm looking forward to new Patrick Cowley material.
http://www.electronicbeats.net/News/Music/Unreleased-Patrick-Cowley-album-to-see-the-light-of-day
― Enter nothing in the dialog and click 'OK' (Display Name), Thursday, 11 June 2009 18:08 (fourteen years ago) link
my gay anthem of the month is man parrish's out of the ordinary techno mix of man to man's male stripper. ahhhhhhh, i love it. i've been playing it at least once a day. on zyx. can't find it on youtube. although youtube does have a wealth of man 2 man/the fast stuff.
― scott seward, Thursday, 11 June 2009 18:28 (fourteen years ago) link
All nine minutes:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mHk0vd0RGOg
― Ned Raggett, Thursday, 6 August 2009 05:16 (fourteen years ago) link
if any of you are in the bay area for this, it should be an amazing event:
http://www.deejaypeeplay.com/megatronman/index2.html
― my bach penises and their contrapuntal technique (the table is the table), Monday, 28 September 2009 21:52 (fourteen years ago) link
oh goodness! that looks like a must-attend!
― lou reed scott walker monks niagra (chinavision!), Monday, 28 September 2009 21:58 (fourteen years ago) link
I don't know Menergy, but pulled down Megatron Man earlier this week. Was listening to "Get a Little" about five minutes before I read Dan's comment about not all Cowley being great, but that song being amazing.
I can't speak to the rest of his catalog -- but most of that record (LP, right? There's certainly 40 minutes of material on there) is outstanding and feels very italo. I particularly love his deplyment of female vocals -- on "Get a Little" but also the wordless cooing doubling the synthesizer lead on "Sea Hunt."
Also, the retro-50's sci-fi song about teens is cute.
― Naive Teen Idol, Thursday, 15 October 2009 16:10 (fourteen years ago) link
just saw today in Other Music's email update that there's a new CD of pre-Indoor Life music called Catholic. by Cowley and Jorge Socarras (Indoor Life's vocalist). review makes it sound pretty no-wavey (and good)
― dmr, Friday, 16 October 2009 04:19 (fourteen years ago) link
haha there is a myspace for it. sounds good!
http://www.myspace.com/cowleysocarras
― dmr, Friday, 16 October 2009 04:20 (fourteen years ago) link
Yeah I reviewed it this week, it's really fuckin great. A lot of Devo influence.
― BIG HOOS aka the steendriver, Friday, 16 October 2009 04:21 (fourteen years ago) link
I reviewed it here
― BIG HOOS aka the steendriver, Friday, 16 October 2009 04:22 (fourteen years ago) link
really the shorter version of 'menergy' with sylvester on vocals is the crucial one, though i have a feeling i might be in the minority on that opinion - the long version seems a bit directionless after about 6-7 minutes and the vocals are a bit dorky.
― racist of the falling leaves (haitch), Friday, 16 October 2009 04:33 (fourteen years ago) link
You can stream the whole of the new album here: http://www.deejaypeeplay.com/megatronman/catholic.html
― mike t-diva, Friday, 16 October 2009 18:50 (fourteen years ago) link
http://www.xlr8r.com/news/2009/09/patrick-cowley-remembered
i'll be there!!!
― my bach penises and their contrapuntal technique (the table is the table), Saturday, 17 October 2009 17:58 (fourteen years ago) link
trevor jackson dropped this on saturday night - still rules.
― well-hung parliament (haitch), Sunday, 24 January 2010 23:39 (fourteen years ago) link
www.phonicarecords.com/product/view/116895
A soundtrack of Cowley's gay porn tracks is coming out in October. Holy shit, talk about psychedelic synth wash heaven.
Sampler up on Soundcloud:
https://soundcloud.com/darkentriesrecords/sets/patrick-cowley-school-daze/
― octobeard, Tuesday, 10 September 2013 18:52 (ten years ago) link
-oooh
― the evening redness at the injection site (GOTT PUNCH II HAWKWINDZ), Sunday, 28 May 2017 07:48 (six years ago) link
OTM
― Michael F Gill, Sunday, 28 May 2017 13:40 (six years ago) link
DARK ENTRIES & HONEY SOUNDSYSTEM PRESENT AFTERNOONERS THE FINAL PATRICK COWLEY ARCHIVAL GAY PORN SOUNDTRACK WORKOUT OCTOBER 19 (LP / CD / DIGITAL)LISTEN TO "HOT BEACH" HEREhttps://soundcloud.com/darkentriesrecords/hot-beach?mc_cid=2ba5bf13d0&mc_eid=32e64a6326
Dark Entries and Honey Soundsystem Records have teamed up once more to release the final volume of gay porn soundtracks by San Francisco-based musician and producer, Patrick Cowley. One of the most revolutionary and influential figures in the canon of disco, Cowley created his own brand of Hi-NRG dance music, “The San Francisco Sound.” Born in Buffalo, NY on October 19, 1950, Patrick moved to San Francisco in 1971 to study at the City College of San Francisco. He founded the Electronic Music Lab at the school, where he would make experimental soundtracks by blending various types of music and adapting them to the synthesizer.
By the mid-70’s, Patrick’s synthesis techniques landed him a job composing and producing songs for disco superstar Sylvester, including hits like “You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real)”, “Dance Disco Heat” and “Stars.” This helped Patrick obtain more work as a remixer and producer. His 18-minute long remix of Donna Summer’s “I Feel Love” and his production work with edgy New Wave band Indoor Life were both of particular note. By 1981, Patrick had released a string of dance 12″ singles, like “Menergy” and “Megatron Man”. He also had founded Megatone Records, the label upon which he released his debut album, “Menergy”. Around this time Patrick was hospitalized and diagnosed with an unknown illness: that which would later be called AIDS. Throughout 1982, he recorded two more Hi-NRG hits, “Do You Wanna Funk” for Sylvester, and “Right On Target” for Paul Parker, as well as a second solo album “Mind Warp”. On November 12, 1982, he passed away.
In 1979 Patrick was contacted by John Coletti, owner of famed gay porn company Fox Studio in Los Angeles. Patrick jumped on this offer and sent reels of his college compositions from the 70s to John in LA. Coletti then used a variable speed oscillator to adjust the pitch and speed of Patrick’s songs in-sync with the film scenes. The result was the VHS collections “Muscle Up” and “School Daze” released in 1979 and 1980. “Afternooners” is the third collection of Cowley’s instrumental songs, recorded in May 1982. These recordings were culled from two 23-minute reels in the Fox Studio vaults. This compilation also includes three bonus tracks found in the archives of fellow Megatone Records recording artist Paul Parker and the attic of teenage friend Lily Bartels. Influenced by Tomita, Wendy Carlos, and Giorgio Moroder, Patrick crafted a singular sound from his collection of synthesizers, percussion, modified guitars, and hand-built equipment. The listener enters a world of forbidden vices, evocative of Patrick’s time spent in the bathhouses of San Francisco. The songs on “Afternooners” reflect the advances of the equipment available at the onset of the 1980s. Cowley's unadulterated electronic forms are stripped down and dubbed up. Lush electronic percussion, soaring synthesizer riffs and low slung funk grooves comingle on these magnificent soundscapes.
Featuring 70 minutes of music never before released on vinyl. All songs have been remastered by George Horn at Fantasy Studios in Berkeley, CA. The vinyl is housed in a gatefold jacket designed by Berlin-based artist Gwenael Rattke, featuring black and white photos of Patrick in his studio that opens to a full color array of x-rated scenes from the Fox Studio vaults. Included is a fold-out poster featuring a handmade collage using photography and xeroxed graphics of classic gay porn imagery and an essay from Drew Daniel of Matmos. For Patrick’s 67th birthday, Dark Entries and Honey Soundsystem Records present a glimpse into the futuristic world of a young genius. These recordings shed a new light on the experimental side of a disco legend who was taken too soon.
There will be a celebration of Cowley's life and work on November 9th at CounterPulse in San Francisco with performances by Group Rhoda and Jorge Socarras, and talks from John Coletti (Fox Studio), Theresa McGinley (Angels of Light), & Chris Njirich (Remember the Party) as well as screenings of original 16mm films from the Fox Studio Archives.
https://patrickcowley.bandcamp.com/album/afternooners
Patrick CowleyAfternoonersDark Entries + Honey Soundsystem10/19/17LP / CD / Digital
1. Big Shot2. Surfside Sex3. Hot Beach4. The Runner5. Furlough6. One Hot Afternoon7. Leather Bound8. Bore & Stroke9. Cycle Tuff10. Jungle Orchids11. Take A Little Trip12. Love Come Set Me Free for all the above + images & contact info:http://mailchi.mp/d4fb010a5270/85myiiza98-2808093?e=32e64a6326
― dow, Friday, 25 August 2017 20:30 (six years ago) link
That SF show in November sounds like a treat. And this news was also the prompt for me to finally get Muscle Up.
― Ned Raggett, Saturday, 26 August 2017 13:09 (six years ago) link
And here's Mr. Daniel's liner notes
http://www.thefader.com/2017/09/18/patrick-cowley-drew-daniel-surfside-sex-afternooners?mc_cid=e6cc5656c7&mc_eid=ea4c199572
― Ned Raggett, Monday, 18 September 2017 19:13 (six years ago) link
Sounds good!
― Eazy, Monday, 18 September 2017 19:43 (six years ago) link
'New' EP released tonight out of nowhere:
https://patrickcowley.bandcamp.com/album/kickin-in-3
During the 70s, Patrick was the lighting technician at The City disco in San Francisco’s North Beach neighborhood. This was SF’s largest Gay entertainment complex, where everyone from Grace Jones to Sylvester would perform. Frank Loverde was performing there with his band Loverde when Patrick asked if the band would like to do backups on some songs he’d been working on. Frank, Linda Imperial and Timmy went to Patrick’s studio and laid down vocals for songs, most of which were never released and remained buried in the Megatone vaults.In 2007 Honey Soundsystem was contacted by the former owner of Megatone Records John Hedges. Hedges’ was moving to Palm Springs and invited us over to his basement to collect over 2,000 records from his collection. Among the archives we noticed three moldy boxes of quarter inch reel to reel tapes. Included was the final mixed down reel for “Kickin’ In”, an epic 9-minute journey through disco, that Patrick recorded with Loverde in 1978. From the introduction of a bouncing arpeggiated Prophet IV to the harmonized vocals that transport the listener to another realm, the song encapsulates the Hi-NRG dance music that Patrick became known for. It was an “up” sound for the gay disco scene, music that would compliment and sometimes enhance all night dancing. On the flip are two earlier songs produced between 1975-77 featuring bass lines by college classmate and studio mate Maurice Tani. Both songs feature Patrick narrating erotic gay sex fantasies inspired by San Francisco’s leather bars, back rooms and bathhouses. These songs show the sleazy side of Cowley’s slow burning, oozing electronic creations with layers and layers of synthesizer, guitar, drum machine and vocoder.All songs have been mastered by George Horn, who originally mastered all of the Megatone Records releases at Fantasy Studios. “Patrick parted the veil and entered a dark world of forbidden vices, wondrous musical panoramas and bold, strident, hopeful possibilities. Patrick brought the future to us and laid it at our feet.”
Also in a couple of weeks is a new collection of unreleased work in general:
https://patrickcowley.bandcamp.com/album/mechanical-fantasy-box
Which itself is paired with a reproduction of Cowley's sex diary. Details and some screenshots at the link as well.
― Ned Raggett, Sunday, 6 October 2019 02:02 (four years ago) link
Pretty cool! Seems like Kickin' In originally surfaced a few years back (https://www.factmag.com/2015/10/21/stream-patrick-cowley-kickin-in-ep/) but it passed me by at the time.
― britain's secret sauce (seandalai), Sunday, 6 October 2019 16:33 (four years ago) link
I'm in for the 2xLP + softcover book. I missed Afternooners somehow but Muscle Up and School Daze are all time favorites
― Paul Ponzi, Sunday, 6 October 2019 17:40 (four years ago) link
By the timing on the Bandcamp download, the "Kickin In" track is 3 minutes shorter than the 2015 release.
― skip, Sunday, 6 October 2019 18:21 (four years ago) link
Holy shit, I haven't listened to this in ages but I was listening to my music on shuffle and this popped up right after some Soul Jazz reggae compilation. Timely revive!
― Josh in Chicago, Sunday, 6 October 2019 19:34 (four years ago) link
Decided to just get the LP without the book. Might pick it later if I love this album as much as Muscle Up and School Daze but money is tight atm and I'm not sure how many times I'll actually read Cowley's cruising journals
― Paul Ponzi, Monday, 7 October 2019 20:13 (four years ago) link
This is sounding really excellent so far. The two songs I listened to have some of the seasick wooziness of Muscle Up and School Daze but with the energy and textural variety of Megatron Man and Menergy. "Lumberjacks in Heat" almost sounds like something that could have been released on Innovative Communication in 1985. Really eager to hear the rest.
― Paul Ponzi, Friday, 18 October 2019 15:55 (four years ago) link
Anybody get their copy yet? First impressions?
― Paul Ponzi, Tuesday, 29 October 2019 18:47 (four years ago) link
More archival material!
https://patrickcowley.bandcamp.com/album/some-funkettes
Per the PR mailout:
Some Funkettes, the latest addition to this series, is a collection of previously unreleased cover songs recorded from 1975-1977. These raw, unembellished tributes both showcase Cowley’s early musical interests and chart the development of his production techniques. Some Funkettes opens with Cowley’s sauntering instrumental rendition of “Do It Anyway You Wanna”, the disco classic by People’s Choice. Next is a psychedelic reworking of the Temptations’ “Papa Was a Rolling Stone”, here hazily retitled “Papa Wuzza Rollinston”. Over its 7 minute runtime, the track’s metronomic, minimal groove builds to a frantic synth solo - this is pure Bay Area motorik. “Spiked Punch”, a curious riff on Herbie Hancock’s “Chameleon” follows. Cowley’s lurching, minimalist reimagining of Hancock’s opus prefigures the work he would later do on Sylvester’s masterpiece “I Need Somebody to Love Tonight”. Side B opens with a truly important historical document: Cowley’s cover of Donna Summer’s “I Feel Love”. The Moroder-produced disco anthem was a critical influence on Cowley - he would later resculpt the original song into arguably its highest form with his 15-minute-long remix. The instrumental cover version here is sparse and euphoric, brimming with classic Cowley synth signatures alongside the infectious Moroder bassline. A relatively faithful take on Bazuka’s 1975 funk classic “Dynomite” follows. The record closes with the dub version of “Spiked Punch”, which highlights developments in Cowley’s recording and synthesis techniques by way of its resonant burbles and spring reverb-laden passages.
― Ned Raggett, Thursday, 10 September 2020 16:07 (three years ago) link
Came here to post that - sounds like a good time.
― mise róna (seandalai), Thursday, 10 September 2020 17:09 (three years ago) link
Great clips sandwich on Soundcloud, linked from his bandcamp---thanks so much!
― dow, Thursday, 10 September 2020 20:40 (three years ago) link
damn this sounds great
― rascal clobber (jim in vancouver), Thursday, 10 September 2020 20:54 (three years ago) link
https://soundcloud.com/darkentriesrecords/do-it-any-way-you-wanna
here are the clips
― rascal clobber (jim in vancouver), Thursday, 10 September 2020 20:56 (three years ago) link
I will buy this even though the Cowley reissue campaign has been mostly diminishing returns for me since Muscle Up
― Paul Ponzi, Thursday, 10 September 2020 22:11 (three years ago) link
yeah i'm .. not sold on that tbr
― Give me a Chad Smith-type feel (map), Thursday, 10 September 2020 22:19 (three years ago) link
'menergy' on the other hand. has it been remarked upon in this thread that the uh 12" version comes 3 times in 8 minutes? the orgasm is the rising chord sequence with the boom at the end obv.
― Give me a Chad Smith-type feel (map), Thursday, 10 September 2020 22:21 (three years ago) link
agreed, every one of these archival issues seems to get worse and the clips are not that interesting.
― skip, Thursday, 10 September 2020 23:55 (three years ago) link
I wouldn't say worse necessarily, but I think I listened to that Mechanical Fantasy Box thing twice, which is one more time than I listened to both Afternooners and the "Candida Cosmica" 12". tbf the bar was set pretty high by School Daze imo
― Paul Ponzi, Friday, 11 September 2020 00:16 (three years ago) link
Some Funkettes is out today. Ignore my worries and misgivings above - it's great! I already like it much better than Mechanical Fantasy Box. "Spiked Punch" is basically proto-acid and sounds like a very early version of the "Somebody To Love Tonight" remix (and in fact had me going back to Muscle Up to compare that version), but with a surprisingly proggy breakdown in the middle. Still just getting to know this one but if you're on the fence I'd say this one is worth the plunge
― Paul Ponzi, Monday, 19 October 2020 18:07 (three years ago) link
Yeah this is great. Love that he got the inspiration for "Somebody To Love Tonight" by playing around with Hancock's "Chameleon"
― willem, Tuesday, 20 October 2020 08:54 (three years ago) link
@darkentriesrecsliterally the day after the anniversary of Patrick Cowley's passing we unearth a Mega Mix he made of Donna Summer's "I Love You / Happily Ever After"
― dow, Saturday, 14 November 2020 16:14 (three years ago) link
Dark Entries Records@darkentriesrecsReplying to @darkentriesrecs18 large reels1980-82 tech-no he was a geniusif anyone knows where tape 5 is, please tell mehttps://pbs.twimg.com/media/EmxN865UUAAqyjr?format=jpg&name=large
― dow, Saturday, 14 November 2020 16:17 (three years ago) link
As I said on What Are You Listening To?:Patrick Cowley, Some Funkettes: Firmly packed studio rat EP, sassy and fresh from the can, man, mid-to-late 70s queries--fave so far is instrumental version of "I Feel Love," with as much or as prominent organ as synth, maybe 60s garage fave Farfisa, bringing out seedy soulful punky Latin highlights from melody---other fave is finale, "Spiked Punch Dub."
― dow, Tuesday, October 27, 2020 11:58 PM (two weeks ago) bookmarkflaglink
sorry, meant to link, whole thing is here, with much else:https://patrickcowley.bandcamp.com/
― dow, Saturday, 14 November 2020 16:24 (three years ago) link
from my blogged 2021 round-up, in which White Trash stood tall amidst Top EPs:
Patrick Cowley remains the still-warm black leatherette motorcycle mustachio cap Arthur Russell of posthumous popologicical offerings, thee gifts that keep on giving, though Crowley's are more like poppers and flashbulbs going off in the garage. His later leavings get more and more 0 budget, if possible, but soundz still make it through v. vividly, even musically, even from the junk shop 7" single sources of his latest:
…four tracks culled from some of Cowley's earliest rehearsal tapes. In 1972 Patrick was living in the Haight-Ashbury neighborhood with Theresa McGinley and Janice Sukaitis, friends of his from New York. In 1973, Theresa and Janice formed White Trash Boom-Boom, an all-female avant-garde performance troupe. Reacting to the Angels of Light and the Cockettes, they captured the spirit of the times: camp, confrontational, and delirious. Theresa recalls, "We brewed a brand of performance that steered away from the doctrinaire and reveled in ambiguities." Patrick provided their theatrical experiments with appropriately zany musical accompaniment. Side A features two songs from the "Country and Western" skit, "Bride" and "Beer and a Pizza", which were written by Janice and Karen Dunaway and produced by Cowley. The feminist skit tackled the issue of women's limited life choices in society. The B-side contains "Baciami" and "Spengo la Luce", two songs from "Goes to Little Italy", a skit addressing Catholic expectations of female chastity, performed in 1974 on top of the bar at the Stud. These songs were lifted from an Italian folk 7" found at a thrift store, and feature "improvised" Italian. The material on Boom-Boom shows Cowley flexing his synthesizer muscles to create curiously camp genre pieces. This is an essential document of a bygone era.https://patrickcowley.bandcamp.com/
― dow, Monday, 28 March 2022 01:32 (two years ago) link
More from the archive
https://patrickcowley.bandcamp.com/album/malebox
Recorded from 1979-1981, these six tracks illuminate what was one of Patrick’s most creatively exciting periods. “If You Feel It” and “Love Me Hot” were both early Paul Parker demos; the former is a peak hour hi-NRG bomb,while the latter dips into Cowley’s zoned-out space disco sound. Jeanie Tracy’s soulful vocals feature on the demo version of “Low Down Dirty Rhythm”, which was later re-recorded by Sarah Dash. The slower, less-varnished rendition here hits with a wild psychedelic edge. Meanwhile, Patrick’s gifts for careful orchestration and infectious melodies shine on “Floating” and “Love and Passion”, which were likely demo tracks for Loverde.
― Ned Raggett, Wednesday, 19 October 2022 15:14 (one year ago) link
Dark Entries is opening a record store in San Francisco
https://thevinylfactory.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Screenshot-2022-11-28-at-11.57.29.png
The store kicks off with a launch party on December 10.Dark Entries Records is set to open a brick-and-mortar store in San Francisco on December 10.Located at 910 Larkin Street, San Francisco, the store will host a special launch event on opening day with DJ sets by Carlos Souffront, Topazu and Jeremy Castillo from 6-9pm.Founded in 2009 by Josh Cheon, Dark Entries’ aim is to release out-of-print and unreleased underground music and contemporary bands. Since then, the label has put out 100 releases from Severed Heads, Crash Course In Science, Patrick Cowley and more.
Dark Entries Records is set to open a brick-and-mortar store in San Francisco on December 10.
Located at 910 Larkin Street, San Francisco, the store will host a special launch event on opening day with DJ sets by Carlos Souffront, Topazu and Jeremy Castillo from 6-9pm.
Founded in 2009 by Josh Cheon, Dark Entries’ aim is to release out-of-print and unreleased underground music and contemporary bands. Since then, the label has put out 100 releases from Severed Heads, Crash Course In Science, Patrick Cowley and more.
https://thevinylfactory.com/news/dark-entries-record-store/
― dow, Thursday, 8 December 2022 18:26 (one year ago) link
Menergy: San Francisco's Gay Disco Sound by Louis NieburFor most of the US, disco died in 1979. Triggered by the infamous "Disco Demolition" night at Comiskey Park in Chicago on July 12, 1979, a backlash made the word "disco" an overnight punchline. Major labels dropped disco artists and producers, and those mainstream musicians who had jumped on the bandwagon just as quickly threw themselves off. Gay men, however, continued to dance, and in the gay enclave of the Castro District in San Francisco, enterprising gay DJs, record producers, and musicians started their own small dance music record labels to make up for the lack of new, danceable music. Almost immediately this music reached far beyond the Bay, with Megatone Records, Moby Dick Records, and other labels achieving worldwide success, creating the world's first gay-owned, gay-produced music for a dancing audience. This music reflected a new way of life, a world apart and a culture of sexual liberation for gay men especially.With Menergy, author Louis Niebur offers a project of reconstruction in order to restore these lost figures to their rightful place in the legacy of 20th-century popular music. Menergy is the product of years of research, with dozens of personal interviews, archival research drawing upon hundreds of contemporary journals, photographs, bar rags, diaries, nightclub ephemera, and, most importantly, the recordings of the San Francisco artists themselves. With its combination of popular music theory, cultural analysis, queer theory and gender studies, and traditional musical analysis, the book will appeal to readers in queer history, popular music history, and electronic dance music.
For most of the US, disco died in 1979. Triggered by the infamous "Disco Demolition" night at Comiskey Park in Chicago on July 12, 1979, a backlash made the word "disco" an overnight punchline. Major labels dropped disco artists and producers, and those mainstream musicians who had jumped on the bandwagon just as quickly threw themselves off. Gay men, however, continued to dance, and in the gay enclave of the Castro District in San Francisco, enterprising gay DJs, record producers, and musicians started their own small dance music record labels to make up for the lack of new, danceable music. Almost immediately this music reached far beyond the Bay, with Megatone Records, Moby Dick Records, and other labels achieving worldwide success, creating the world's first gay-owned, gay-produced music for a dancing audience. This music reflected a new way of life, a world apart and a culture of sexual liberation for gay men especially.
With Menergy, author Louis Niebur offers a project of reconstruction in order to restore these lost figures to their rightful place in the legacy of 20th-century popular music. Menergy is the product of years of research, with dozens of personal interviews, archival research drawing upon hundreds of contemporary journals, photographs, bar rags, diaries, nightclub ephemera, and, most importantly, the recordings of the San Francisco artists themselves. With its combination of popular music theory, cultural analysis, queer theory and gender studies, and traditional musical analysis, the book will appeal to readers in queer history, popular music history, and electronic dance music.
I'm about halfway through this book. Highly recommended if you are familiar with the source material.
― skip, Saturday, 9 December 2023 02:50 (four months ago) link
I really think that “Disco Demolition” night had nothing to do with the decline of disco. It was a baseball promotion where you could go to a double header for free if you brought a record (and it didn’t have to be a disco record. No one was checking at the gate) That’s it. It wasn’t the catalyst for a zeitgeist change.
Bad Girls by Donna Summer was the number one Single on Disco Demolition night and remained so afterwards. Until it was replaced by Chic’s Good Times. Off The Wall came out the next month and had 2 number one “disco” singles. It’s such a lazy Forrest Gump style reference for a writer to make.
― bbq, Sunday, 10 December 2023 05:41 (four months ago) link
But that rant aside, I have always liked that Patrick Crowley made soundtracks for porn. Some of his stuff is on this mix of late 70’s/early 80s gay porn soundtracks
https://m.soundcloud.com/carparkrecords/montag-porn-archives-lo-fi
― bbq, Sunday, 10 December 2023 05:53 (four months ago) link
Ehh, it was a tipping point and a cultural touchstone. I don’t think the writer—or anyone—is saying it “caused” disco to die. But it was almost certainly big enough news that it made it okay to hate on it.I would also venture a guess that there were a bunch of DJs—from bigots to rockists—who felt vindicated and empowered that this trend was getting its just desserts and thrilled they didn’t have to play it anymore.
― Naive Teen Idol, Monday, 18 December 2023 13:36 (four months ago) link
i think at this point it's become said so much that it's become true in that sense where we access and construct history through everything that's happened between then and now. but also i think that it's useful and compelling shorthand for a fracturing point that broke along patriarchal lines to pretty strong degree, patriarchy that's always been in the music industry and always will be but has been on an interesting journey.
― ꙮ (map), Monday, 18 December 2023 13:59 (four months ago) link
white supremacist lines too it should be said.
― ꙮ (map), Monday, 18 December 2023 14:01 (four months ago) link
i think because it came from a sort of grassroots space, too what degree "actually" and "for real" i'm not exactly sure, but certainly as part of the story, it had some extra oomph.
― ꙮ (map), Monday, 18 December 2023 14:03 (four months ago) link
also i think the rise of hip-hop plays into it. that's probably also been said a bunch.
i'm generally pro "electronic disco history being reclaimed and valorized by queers today" and absolutely love the music all-around but also feel like it can tip a little bit over into the monoculture of the mustachioed men of the time but transplanted into today. a minor gripe as i mime the poppers fueled buttsex crescendo in the soulwax remix of "you make me feel (mighty real)" for the hundredth time.
― ꙮ (map), Monday, 18 December 2023 14:18 (four months ago) link
thanking u for my new screename
― stuffing your suit pockets with cold, stale chicken tende (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Monday, 18 December 2023 14:23 (four months ago) link
happy to help
― ꙮ (map), Monday, 18 December 2023 14:31 (four months ago) link
Several vanguard NYC dance DJs interviewed by Tim Lawrence for Love Saves The Day: A History Of American Dance Music Culture 1970-1979 express lingering disgust for what the word disco came to stand for, as record labels big and small flooded the market with inferior product, and clubs new and old got shittier---one guy even says he agrees (20-odd years later) that disco sucks.Nicky Siano didn't want Soul Jazz Records to put "Disco" in the title of his pre-fad comp, which is still worth checking out---I described it briefly in the Voice:
Siano the TimesMercury rising as disco evolves out of prior knowledge x convictionsby Don AllredJanuary 11th, 2005 2:14 PM Issue 02Blissed-out, but not always totallyphoto: Courtesy of Nicky SianoNicky Siano's Legendary the Gallery: New York's Original Disco 1973-1977Soul Jazz importIn the early '70s, a teenage DJ named Nicky Siano traveled the space-wisedancefloor of David Mancuso's Loft---officially DM's lowercase residence, via invitation-only rent parties---before launching his own Gallery.Despite acid, balloons, and the food bar, the Gallery wasn't alwaystotally blissed-out. As described in his and Tim Lawrence's CD notes,Siano's Mancuso-influenced (though more commercial) sound design for living was also logicallybased on and changing with the rooms and scenes he mixed in,as the feast moved around NYC, not always voluntarily.(Galleryite Larry Levan later levitated Paradise Garage; he and Sianoalso worked with disco mystic Arthur Russell.)The Gallery first materialized in the summer of '73.Post-Woodstock couch-potato arena rock ruled. There and elsewhere,DIY DJs and dancers (especially blacks, Latinos, gays) were among those,at times closely observed,who chose to carve their own solar systems from the vinyl beast.Spinning out of this disc, the Gallery is mercury still rising, throughcrosstown funk, soul, roots rock, and one gospel song, personalized:Gloria Spencer proclaims,"I got it! I don't understand it! I got it!" A jet blasts (like, "Amen!") outof Exuma's "Obeah Man." The Temptations lay down the "Law of the Land":"You might not like who you are, but you better start. 'Cause you sure can't benobody else." Yet the music rumbles and clatters like a roulette wheel.Meanwhile, turns out that Bonnie Bramlett's "Crazy 'Bout MyBaby" is crazy like a tambourine and a fox, shaking in wait for that slowhanddobro.Loleatta Holloway, Bobby Womack, Bill Withers, the Isleys,and Undisputed Truth also make the most of prior knowledge and surprise.Without waiting for the remix: These are original (full-length) LP tracks andseven-inch singles, with built-in dynamics. Breaks burst out of (and roll through)good grooves, good songs. Often.See http://www.nickysiano.com/ and http://www.timlawrence.info/.
Blissed-out, but not always totallyphoto: Courtesy of Nicky SianoNicky Siano's Legendary the Gallery: New York's Original Disco 1973-1977Soul Jazz import
In the early '70s, a teenage DJ named Nicky Siano traveled the space-wisedancefloor of David Mancuso's Loft---officially DM's lowercase residence, via invitation-only rent parties---before launching his own Gallery.Despite acid, balloons, and the food bar, the Gallery wasn't alwaystotally blissed-out. As described in his and Tim Lawrence's CD notes,Siano's Mancuso-influenced (though more commercial) sound design for living was also logicallybased on and changing with the rooms and scenes he mixed in,as the feast moved around NYC, not always voluntarily.
(Galleryite Larry Levan later levitated Paradise Garage; he and Sianoalso worked with disco mystic Arthur Russell.)
The Gallery first materialized in the summer of '73.Post-Woodstock couch-potato arena rock ruled. There and elsewhere,DIY DJs and dancers (especially blacks, Latinos, gays) were among those,at times closely observed,who chose to carve their own solar systems from the vinyl beast.Spinning out of this disc, the Gallery is mercury still rising, throughcrosstown funk, soul, roots rock, and one gospel song, personalized:Gloria Spencer proclaims,"I got it! I don't understand it! I got it!" A jet blasts (like, "Amen!") outof Exuma's "Obeah Man." The Temptations lay down the "Law of the Land":"You might not like who you are, but you better start. 'Cause you sure can't benobody else." Yet the music rumbles and clatters like a roulette wheel.Meanwhile, turns out that Bonnie Bramlett's "Crazy 'Bout MyBaby" is crazy like a tambourine and a fox, shaking in wait for that slowhanddobro.
Loleatta Holloway, Bobby Womack, Bill Withers, the Isleys,and Undisputed Truth also make the most of prior knowledge and surprise.Without waiting for the remix: These are original (full-length) LP tracks andseven-inch singles, with built-in dynamics. Breaks burst out of (and roll through)good grooves, good songs. Often.See http://www.nickysiano.com/ and http://www.timlawrence.info/.
also (listening companion to TL's book): https://reappearingrecords.bandcamp.com/album/love-saves-the-day-a-history-of-american-dance-music-culture-1970-1979-part-1 (pts 1 & 2 have sep bandcamp pages; 2-CD incl. both pts.)
.
― dow, Tuesday, 19 December 2023 03:00 (four months ago) link
Siano did mix, and chose some records later that did sound like what we typically think of as "disco"---hell, he even worked Studio 54 for a while, when the owners were running it from jail cells for the US Gov, I think---but this is where he came from, and wanted it known, Revolta and the Bee Gees aside.
― dow, Tuesday, 19 December 2023 03:10 (four months ago) link
― ꙮ (map)
idk. i had some resentment for the guys with their BDE cavorting on the dancefloor in jockstraps four years ago, i admit. i felt like "menergy" didn't leave a lot of room for... like, there's femmes and there's women. all the backlash against the stereotype that "gay = femme" left me feeling a little bit out of place as someone who's a woman (but not particularly femme) who was, at the time, far more interested in femmes.
fuck it. i'm past carrying grudges. we're all in this together, is how i feel. also, while i still prefer femmes, goddamn some mascs are fucking hot. the dancefloor isn't the same without 'em.
― Kate (rushomancy), Tuesday, 19 December 2023 04:45 (four months ago) link
fuck it. i'm past carrying grudges. we're all in this together, is how i feel.
yep. absolutely. i feel this way more and more. still have some remnants of grudge but it sure does feel great to shed them. meanwhile i'm in a relationship with a younger man who is generally very open-minded on these topics and has already been exposed to a wide variety of opinions, as is the case with young people today it seems. but the other day expressed some reservations about kids being exposed to kink in the context of pride. which, i wasn't prepared to respond in a constructive way, so i just let it slide. i do hope i can radicalize him a little bit. but without a particular agenda other than love. he's close to his family, who are decent but conservative. it's tricky. i feel like i'm always stretching myself when it comes to trying to find more gentleness and patience these days. but sometimes it's like, here i am, orphaned from my owm family of origin and on my own out here at sea making what feels like a wild and desperate voyage, just trying to survive and land occasionally on a beautiful island that always turns out to be hostile in some critical way, and the people i find along the way are always separated from all of that to a degree. part of that is living in a conservative, patriarchal place and wanting to connect anyway. part of it is being attracted to masc. i often feel like i'm in a riddle that deepens with each passing year. at this point i don't think there's a solution, and i'm not sure if i need or want one.
― ꙮ (map), Tuesday, 19 December 2023 20:54 (four months ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KzjIKdMvPkY
― boxedjoy, Tuesday, 19 December 2023 21:19 (four months ago) link
xp but anyway, 'menergy'. i always feel like it does that impossible thing so well, trying to outline and appreciate masc. i think about the phrase "laughing it up" a lot. there's a bit of menace to it. the real, honest laughing i do is silly, goofy, flip, sometimes acidic, doesn't have that gendered edge. i want to try to imagine what masc gendered laughing looks like and the faint trace of it i can conjure is unlikely, laughable, a tom of finland cartoon. does it even exist? i spent yesterday evening with two men who are very close to me. one sketched my portrait while we were listening to a scratchy record of 'court and spark' by joni mitchell. the me he drew was stately and masculine but gentle and lonely somehow. we shared a dinner of rigatoni and meatballs made by my partner of 5 years. the mode of conversation we had reflected that of brothers, fathers and sons, but also mothers and sisters. i think it's true that masc can't be real without all of non-masc. it feels really good for gender to be real, for the gender you want in your life to color and flesh out your relationships, to not be frightened of gender and all of its ingredients and complications.
― ꙮ (map), Tuesday, 19 December 2023 21:30 (four months ago) link
really great posts map
― karl...arlk...rlka...lkar..., Wednesday, 20 December 2023 19:46 (four months ago) link
<3
― ꙮ (map), Wednesday, 20 December 2023 20:08 (four months ago) link