Some of the Things I Wind Up Hearing as I Write (Part One)

If you don't like teh disco, then you need to move on quam celerrime. Go see teh boss? Yeah go there now. Or here.

Ok! Now that those rockin' scolds are all gone, we can have some fun.

It is now no doubt a worn-out obervation that youtube is full of fun stuff. Worn-out but true true true!

There are youtubes of dance numbers that I loved back around 1980 there. I will start with two of these and share some others later. These two and the others show up on my various CDs and on mixed CDs from some big parties that have been happening recently at the club (the Trocadeo Transfer) we all used to go to way back in the day. I own the vinyl for these two myself and may mix them for you in the future once my research is in better shape.

The first is Lisa's Jump Shout. This is an extraordinarily odd song. It is a little country with a whole-lot-a bubblegum--- a whole lot. It features the irrepressible Lisa, who possesses a memorable voice not unlike a powerful rubberband. But she does have presence, steadiness, and sass. I thought the world of this song and I guess it was my favorite--- though it does have competition from Nightlife Unlimited's Just Be Yourself. I am not apologizing for the inexplicable love I have for this song but if you feel I should, chalk it up to the mysteries of one's youthful passions. What can one say? ANYWAY, I saw her live in July of 1982 (in Oakland!) and I so looked forward to it. She was great and I wrote her a fan letter afterwards (like the only one I have ever written). She sent me back her picture, signed. It is framed on the wall in the record room. Anyway, the song is a young gay man's dream from around 1981. She is singing about the various gay clubs in North America (Trocadero Transfer "That Hot Troc", The Saint, The Probe, Badlands, Dreamland, The Lost and Found, etc.):



This next number, the friendly guy on the youtube introduces but I will tell you that it is We've Gotta Dance by Sylvia Mason. As you listen to the song, note the nice orchestration--- the horns! the strings! it is all very very tight--- and this Sylvia is not lacking in presence and indeed possesses a nice top and a fetching slight lisp at times. The "dance" in "we've gotta dance" is deliciously put under the pitch. She knows what she is doing. Her back-ups are guys (like a Rossini Opera). AND, and and and and, AND DON'T YOU MISS the break on this song. It is ICONIC (also check out Sylvia's reentrance after the break-- she is not mailing this in) :



That is all for now. More later.