the juke/bmore/bloghouse frankenstein dance music they play at clubs

i know this should be played out to even talk about at this point, except that this stuff is still everywhere, and has been sorta mutating into this gross, largely un-fun monster that gets played at a bunch of different places, at least in chicago, and tons of djs play this stuff. heres what i said on rolling ringtone:

its weird none of this shit seems particularly fun to dance to -- im used to old-ilx-style debates about dance music where everybody talks in reductive terms about a black-white polarity between funkless trance and groovin disco-house or whatever, and although i reject the simple and wrongheaded binary opposition there i have to admit it has sorta subconsciously informed the way i look at a lot of dance, even if in the most general, so-many-exceptions-to-the-rule terms.

this stuff though has really done a service to this sort of offensive race-informed discourse by removing it -- so many shitty djs of all races in this scene, and it is a genuinely diverse scene .... and sometimes it'll have good ideas and sometimes it will have shitty ones, but the worst is this BMORE BREAK x BORING GRATING SYNTH MELODY thing. and this isnt some lol im old bullshit i dont think -- this feels different, like i 'get' whats fun to dance to when listening to a bmore mix, i 'get' house music (obviously) but this stuff seems sheerly irritating when its all thrown together, like there's no vibe, no attempt to really make anything happen, just to signify 'progress' by with this cobbled together frankenstein dance music

― deej, Wednesday, December 3, 2008 1:07 AM (3 hours ago) Bookmark

like the 'problem' doesnt seem like a lack of 'funk,' but just a lack of quality -- unless im just unaware of all the classic blogmore remix classics. Is this stuff gonna be repackaged and sold in ten years and canonized and all that

This is something i noticed when working on a club night which went from late electroclash to bloghouse/global dance eclecticism (we had kid sister, buraka etc) and all these disparate musics were getting so similar it had been mixed into a sort of orrible brown paste. theres no chance of this toss coming back. all the cheap external hard drives this music lives on will have perished and all the DJs hearing will have gone from all the jacked up 192kps serato harshness. its all just middle class indie kids with broadband trying to outdo each other with how many obscure black peoples musics from all over the world they can play semi ironically

the sad thing about this shit is now a lot of the o.g. Baltimore club producers/labels are starting to cater to that scene more overtly, whether by signing or endorsing more out-of-town new jacks or making more synthy Euro-style tracks, and sometimes it sounds cool but mostly it's depressing. at least that's the sense I'm getting, I try to avoid the post-Hollertronix miasma as much as possible.

Hey deej could you post some youtubes of specific tracks? I have a general idea of what you're talking about, but give me a handful of the worst of this stuff.

^^ this

rolling soft serve hipster house youtubes thread

aka lollertronix pt. 3249325

also wtf is 'bloghouse'

dudes/dudettes who jam this are hateable but theyre easy targets, politically naive, musically sort of clueless, clique-y and trendy and all that shit... ultimately no one i really know gets down to this and they dont really play it at places i go, except for the chromeo concert i went to, so, you know, i cant spend all that much time hating it, especially since there are way more valuable and important social and musical faux pas to get indignant about, like people thinking phil collins sucks

lol its an epidemic - good luck alex good luck deej good luck stragolloii - youll never escape it yr all gonna diiiieeeeee !!!!!

http://www.portfolio.com/images/feeds/blogs/harvardend.jpg

this is a chart abt the harvard endowment btw

$40 BILLION FOR FLOSSTRADAMUS

http://i33.tinypic.com/900tab.gif

<3 <3 frankenstein dance music

i heard a couple djs playing this stuff the other weekend, it seemed just on the edge of being really corny (like "hmm this is pretty corny, but i guess that sort-of baltimore beat is okay") and there wasn't much dancing.

srsly tho i bet lots sexy girls love it too

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/6/6d/Monster_Mash_cover.jpg

srsly tho i bet lots sexy girls love it too

can greenzo get real here for a minute, lots of sexy girls love all kinds of music, basically, the same way lots of dbags love all kinds of music and speak all kinds of languages, so this is not saying much of anything

i bet no sexy girls love rush for instance max

RIP uppers.wav

http://i33.tinypic.com/900tab.gif

Jordan you're in milwaukee right? i think a crew from mpls that does this kind of thing was there recently...

yeah it's ok but only just ok

o wait it's back nm

http://www.collegecolosseumcontent.com/m_pictures/thumbs/girl-candy-apple.jpg

world's #1 rush fan

http://www.tripplanier.com/blog_files/page6_blog_entry37_1.jpg
stop right there max

madison, actually

was it the moon goons?

dudes/dudettes who jam this are hateable but theyre easy targets, politically naive, musically sort of clueless, clique-y and trendy and all that shit... ultimately no one i really know gets down to this and they dont really play it at places i go, except for the chromeo concert i went to, so, you know, i cant spend all that much time hating it, especially since there are way more valuable and important social and musical faux pas to get indignant about, like people thinking phil collins sucks

― :) Mrs Edward Cullen XD (max), Wednesday, December 3, 2008 11:34 AM (3 hours ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

hay icecraem and max im not trynna make a thread for complaining sorry if u got the wrong idea altho i do appreciate your keepin it positive in the face of "i do hate those frat boys!" potential of this thread!!

that said im asking a real serious question about what the the deal is w/ this stuff musically, or what its trying to go for and whether its actually going to be 'remembered' u know what i mean?? and while i dont know anyone personally who is real real into this stuff but i seem to run into it pretty often anyway -- it seems like the kind of thing DJs are just 'into' and theres nothing that can be done. i tend to avoid clubs that play stuff like this but it still gets slipped in, even DJs who start off playing rap music end the night w/ this kind of shit.

honestly i have no idea what songs are 'worst' or 'best' and honestly its not about it being too abrasive -- there's much more abrasive dance music out there -- its just about it being not fun to dance to

^^^Heres one of the songs as we were talking about it on rolling ringtone

^^^heres a lol (bad) remix of a song some of u might know

that trainer has a cd in it mate

nah it was some local dudes (who started off with a nice rap set btw)

Umm, well, I guess I technically DJ this stuff.

In my sets its a lot less Baltimore and Juke and a lot more abrasive electrohouse, but same difference.

Artists I like in this style.

Santiago and Bushido (technically fidget)
every fifth Crookers track (definitely bloghouse)
some James Amato stuff, basically a lot of stuff on Potty Mouth

And I've been mixing it with LA style electro-noize, like LA Riots.

I play this, because it works.

It seems to be very big in Madison (in a limited mostly college kid way).

do you project the accompanying videos at your nights? that's how it's done at this one night here (DC) and it doesn't help matters imo. i'll dance to this stuff (abrasive electrohouse, the black kids (great name!!!!!), basically everything on here) because the whole room gets dancing and there's an open bar and, well, i like dancing...but it's not even beatmatched?! do you beatmatch?? please tell me you beatmatch.

I beatmatch pretty well, and I tend to mix in a lot of older electro-house as well. Stuff like Black Strobe in 2004, older Zombie Nation, Tiga, even some High NRG. Whatever I can get away with basically.

I've been mostly playing at house parties, so no screens.

There's a pretty regular night here called Indie Queer. Its not bad, wouldn't mind playing there.

you're in madison?

Yeah, no one's ever heard of me though.

I'll play any party for beer basically.

yeah the idea of, admit it, big beat, with taylor dayne and rap choruses that everybody knows on top, with some lol90s pop dance thrown in every now and again, sounds great to me. but it's all centered on that justice sound which i don't really like at all. and i'm old.

i would KILL to hear the abwehr disco out

cool. my friends were dj'ing at Alchemy btw, which isn't a very dancey place anyway (unless you're a hippie band).

They should try for the Montmartre, its definitely the sort of thing that goes over well there.

A lot of the people who play Indie Queer have things going in Milwaukee too, I don't really know the venues though.

I think I first decided to play this stuff when I was up in the Twin Cities at the First Avenue. I went there to see Paco Osuna play on the same night as one of the Too Much Love parties. Paco was fine, but the party downstairs had about 5 times as many people there.

I'm like note to self: indie electro/bloghouse/whatever more likely to bring people to venue than Euro DJ.

I saw Jesse Rose play the Smartbar to like 50 people, so even fidget doesn't really have that big a following around here. I like deep house a lot, but it doesn't interest 99% of the people I hang out with.

i appreciate the honest answers esp since folks were clowning this stuff & the ppl who listen to it upthread --

but does this mean the appeal to you is pretty much audience-based, you dont really like to listen to it much? Have you noticed when you do a party or whatever that if you play traditional house people just arent feeling it?

I've tried mixing in some other stuff, I got people dancing to some UK Funky house and some Kerri Chandler at one point. But I don't even try that sort of thing unless its after 1:30 or 2 am, the people who actually like dancing will usually stick around for stuff thats a little outside their comfort zone.

I'm kind of torn about the first question, I actually find myself liking this music the more I play it.

I would have considered it hellish to have a Chromeo song stuck in my head even a year ago.

Now its not that bad, I'm basically just trying to find a midway point between my tastes and the audiences.

(I do get sick of the constant requests for Daft Punk songs though).

http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendID=100522816&blogID=453220995

Check out this chart: Soviet Panda of the Too Much Love night.

Its actually about 50% stuff that I like whole heartedly.

I think middle school dances condition Americans to only dance to songs they recognize--so they won't get down to house unless there's a jayz acappella on top

I am a fan of that Crookers Day & Night remix

no max normals dont dance to house because of theyre not gay - this is changing w/the release of the film "milk" now

those kids who do Indie Queer are the WORST perpetrators of this.

haha i forgot about gay/straight binary in my o.p.

the usual thesis being america hates the gays

like i would say this stuff doesnt sound gay enough except apparently its real big at queer nites around here too. well im stumped -- how can i work identity politics into my fundamental dislike of this stuff???

I used to definitely ride for this shit but I agree it's gotten embarassignly bad. the barrier to entry is way too low (logic+serato+blog friends)..the genre has given us a couple dope tracks though...

^^^when ppl post like this they make me want to go vahid on a motherfucker

the only point at which this makes sense to me is the actual sound quality of the traxx that are created - i dont get why tracks sounding like shit, from an engineering standpoint, can ever be seen as a 'good thing'

im into the idea of music called blouse - dont think bloghouse is quite the right sound tho

only thing that bugs me about the cudi/crookers joint is the way crookers won't let the vocal lines end naturally and does that really wanky, arhythmic cutup shit with them

this is a classic thread. i like how it balances the tensions of the keepin it positive jocular humor i <3 cricket crew w/ the serious dance musics discussion crew, input from the jackoff sesh regs, the dance nerd posse & an explosive interruption from pipecock

plus,

wow, ban me. that sure would be too bad. how could i ever live? i guess it would be slighly less fun not being able to terrorize you pussies, but i think i'd be able to get over it.

― pipecock, Monday, December 15, 2008 1:18 AM (9 months ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

in fact i just voted to ban myself. let's do it you fucking pussies, put your money where your mouth is. prove you've got something between your legs you bad motherfuckers. don't let me come in here and do as i please.

― pipecock, Monday, December 15, 2008 1:20 AM (9 months ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

You didn't quote "unlike how i terrorize your mom's pussy"

keepin it positive jocular humor i <3 cricket crew w/ the serious dance musics discussion crew, input from the jackoff sesh regs, the dance nerd posse

breakdown of who is in each clique, pls

or at least just tell me which one i fall into

keepin it positive jocular humor i <3 cricket crew

max
ice cream
lamp

the serious dance musics discussion crew

vahid
tim f
matt dc
rtc
lex
blueski

(? basically the funky house crew)

input from the jackoff sesh regs

me
rev
deej
surfboard dudes totally (?)

the dance nerd posse

not sure how this is different than the other group? i guess ppl i've never heard of

j@cob
w i l l
siah alan
display name

(?)

poll

Dance nerd reporting in, how do you all feel about the Salem remixes of Gucci Mane?

http://www.thefader.com/2009/10/01/salem-remix-gucci-mane/

Yes, I know its the Fader, I'm sorry OK?

i dunno if he's on this thread (i'm not gonna look) but surely ronan is a dance nerd

or srs dance musics discussion crew

ronan is serious dance musics discussion crew

those remixes of gucci were awful

"why yes, i am a climber-- we should go back to my place and climb into my hot tub while i tell you about it."

― ♪☺♫☻ (gr8080), Wednesday, December 10, 2008 10:10 PM (2 years ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

i'm into these dudes

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CjBc7o8qPgA

http://thump.vice.com/words/how-diplo-and-the-hollerboard-changed-everything

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/2082673896/bloghouse-the-book/description

Man, kind of a trip to read back through this thread

can one donate to an anti-kickstarter to prevent this book from being written

DIE DIE DIE DIE DIE

https://scontent-lax3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/25660369_10155952627702008_5003479507287019891_n.jpg

haha oops

https://scontent-lax3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/25660369_10155952627702008_5003479507287019891_n.jpg?oh=2d18209751fd927e3b8282e518874027&oe=5B1F79B7

ok not *entirely* the same thing but incredible to me that people are still riding for 2008

ahahahaha

TLG : is that a current night out, or an old flyer ?

looks like the kickstarter already met its goal

wow just realized this is the tenth anniversary of frankendance

oh god it's (half) by meaghan garvey
she's probably not responsible for the absolute worst of what pitchfork's written, but she is the worst in critically questionable self-awareness lacking white-gazey stuff from there that i can attach to a name off the top of my head

xxxp current night out

you can tell its current bc the web address is fb and not mypace

lol

aaron aamnesiaa must have forgotten the last 10 years happened

you can tell its current bc the web address is fb and not mypace
― Listen to my homeboy Fantano (D-40), Thursday, 8 February 2018 20:27 (five minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
lol

i had this exact same thought after i posted actually.
and you know what, if i lived in a town with a scene and was in the mood for going out i would totally go to a night that played that stuff.
i loved it them (as a bystander due to life), and still do.
this mixed in with some electroclash would totally hit my sweet spot.

hood pass revoked

cant believe this formulation is a decade old:

My theory is that 2008 breaks down like this:

1) Too much of what is good and popular is not populist (nu-deep-minimal; space disco/balearic for the most part; upmarket dubstep)
2) Too much of what is good and populist is not popular (UK funky house)
3) Too much of what is popular and populist is not good (blog-house/frankendance; downmarket dubstep)

― Tim F, Thursday, December 11, 2008 10:17 PM (nine years ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

extremely curious how Tim thinks the following ten years played out, if it veered away from this concern or back to it or what have you

TLG : yeah yeah, give an old(er) man a nu-electro-distorted-compressed-to-fuck break.

Here's another little time capsule from upthread:

If anything this stuff is probably the North American version of grime. It has a lot of the same weaknesses and will probably have about the same longevity as a genre. I can't really get upset about this stuff because it is going to go away as quickly as it came.

https://soundcloud.com/firemarshalmeaghan/bloghouse-mix-2018

lol this is cheating

extremely curious how Tim thinks the following ten years played out, if it veered away from this concern or back to it or what have you

― Listen to my homeboy Fantano (D-40), Thursday, 8 February 2018 20:54 (one week ago) Permalink

I don't think the formulation really applies anymore because the whole notion of scene allegiance within dance music has broken down further since 2008. At least as far as I can tell (and note I am now 35 so perhaps am not the best person to ask) less people than ever are really invested in organising themselves into distinct audiences around particular sub-genres. This was already going on of course and really you could say that dance music has simply followed rock music's lead - rock music was already in this state a decade ago.

There will always be exceptions of hardcore faithfuls, of course. But the difference I discern now is that a lot of the long tails from what was about ten years ago have basically converged into a kind of broad, stable disco-house-techno continuum where most people are into bits of everything along that spectrum and all that is really left to judge is the thoughtfulness or charisma with which particular stylistic narratives are executed.

The other big intervening development obviously was EDM, but I think people miss some of the nuances of EDM's impact: it was and is so obviously crass that I feel like it has had the perverse effect of pushing a lot of people who might otherwise be (and historically were) into relatively-crass material like blog-house or etc. towards more tasteful material.

In respect of this frankendance specifically I just don't hear much that really sounds like it now, which is probably a function of the above: I feel like much of the audience for it has basically split three ways between EDM, hip hop and techno, i.e. they've chosen to go with whichever frankenstein bodypart they liked most rather than stick with the whole corpse.

they've chosen to go with whichever frankenstein bodypart they liked most rather than stick with the whole corpse

😂😂😂

meghan garvey mix is like 70% not remotely bloghouse

EDM ... had the perverse effect of pushing a lot of people who might otherwise be (and historically were) into relatively-crass material like blog-house or etc. towards more tasteful material

great point

all str8 hipster afterhours parties i've been to in the last 2 yrs are either disco -> house -> techno or disco <-> house. last time i heard any electro or r&b or rap at one was like, 2014? there's still a lot of juke/club influenced stuff in queer dance parties imo, but doesn't feel like there's a straight line from bloghouse to that

Yeah don't discount the regional/global/deconstructed/post-deconstructed club thing.

To me that's always seemed separate from the bloghouse thing, even if there was some mingling at the time this thread was started?

meghan garvey mix is like 70% not remotely bloghouse

― flopson, Monday, February 19, 2018 10:33 PM (twenty-eight minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

lol im saying ... maybe even higher

all str8 hipster afterhours parties i've been to in the last 2 yrs are either disco -> house -> techno or disco <-> house. last time i heard any electro or r&b or rap at one was like, 2014? there's still a lot of juke/club influenced stuff in queer dance parties imo, but doesn't feel like there's a straight line from bloghouse to that

― flopson, Tuesday, February 20, 2018 4:37 AM (one hour ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

This feels spot on to me except that hipsters seem to still love rap when it plays at festivals (whether via an actual act or as interstitial music)

in north america festivals are mostly for norms or hippies. hipsters will forever like rap i meant more hearing rap in club context å la frankendance

This is a useful cross-cultural exchange

lol :)

EDM ... had the perverse effect of pushing a lot of people who might otherwise be (and historically were) into relatively-crass material like blog-house or etc. towards more tasteful material

TBH I think this would have happened anyway with a sizeable proportion of them. I guess the main difference between now and then is that structurallly there just isn't a *need* for a gateway drug from rock music into dance music proper - at least not in the UK and Europe where there are plenty of kids now young enough to have been played house music in the womb. In the US there might be but the gateway needs to be from another direction, I guess this is where EDM comes in.

A tempting but probably not entirely accurate narrative centres around the moment when the Justice Fabriclive 37 mix was shitcanned, Caspa & Rusko were drafted in at short notice and the rest, as far as cartoonish mid-range blare goes, is history. Somewhere there's a parallel universe where that never happened and the evolution of EDM took a slightly different course.

(In addition to just getting into house/techno/disco a lot of the newly grown-up fanbase drifted towards post-dubstep, particularly the jukier more rhythmic side of Hessle Audio, bits of Night Slugs etc.)

It's also significant that 'electro' as a catch-all term for dance music as used by indie kids has virtually disappeared over the last decade, anything termed electro now is more likely to mean DJ Stingray or Helena Hauff or something. By which I mean it veers a lot closer to 'classic' electro with techno elements thrown in, rather than electroclash or frankenhouse or anything similar, and it's not really dilettante-friendly music in the same way.

This has been the best song of every year since 2008

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=__TY_86stXw