tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8054201177771193739.post4686757141849314478..comments2023-10-20T13:37:18.042+01:00Comments on Jack the Cad: Opinion: Why swing dancers shouldn't hate electro-swingAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16467321603084666369noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8054201177771193739.post-13706994039451262692017-09-28T15:47:00.254+01:002017-09-28T15:47:00.254+01:00It might be said that I'm a bit of a provocate...It might be said that I'm a bit of a provocateur as well! Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16467321603084666369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8054201177771193739.post-27173250376366496812017-09-28T02:05:31.149+01:002017-09-28T02:05:31.149+01:00I agree with George, b/c it's fun and new. B/C...I agree with George, b/c it's fun and new. B/C it's brought new, younger (next generation) to the genre through it's newness and accessibility. And, it's so upbeat, happy, and alive feeling. What's not to love?<br /><br />Jessica, I feel you about loving old and original. We can love both. It doesn't have to be an either or. I used to be such a vintage clothing purist, but there's some GREAT retro/new garb that is killer diller and on the beam. :)Tam Francishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18288925164591030505noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8054201177771193739.post-36644114063315215192017-09-28T02:01:41.070+01:002017-09-28T02:01:41.070+01:00Interesting interpretation. I have danced lindy, s...Interesting interpretation. I have danced lindy, shag, balboa, jitterbug, ECS since the early 90s, and I see nothing wrong and un-partnerish about electro-swing. It reminds me so much of the "solo Charleston" competitions. <br /><br />Sometimes, a few of the songs do get repetitive, but then so do many of the weird jazzy songs "swing deejays" dig up. You can find good and bad examples of both genres of music. <br /><br />So the bigger question is: why is this so contentious for swing music lovers? I believe we have this innate sense of "my thing is better than your thing." I made the right choice on my life journey. When something rubs up agasint it, it's human nature to draw lines. With age and time those lines blur. I have tried to capture a bit of that with my vintage swing dance fiction.<br /><br />Case in point, when the resurgence of swing was huge (as talked about in the new documentary Alive and Kicking--and the setting for my Girl in the Jitterbug Dress trilogy), there was this trifecta of cultures bringing swing dance and swing music to the mainstream. But under that glossy umbrella was sub-genres of swing dance styles fighting for dominance. At the time, it was hugely important, but now 20 years later, no one really cares if you dance Savoy style, Hollywood style, Dean Collins Style, Street Swing, DC style, European boogie woogie style, or throw in a little Capoeira or even tango into your lindy. We've seemed to accept it all. <br /><br />I hope that will happen with the electro-swing music and dance styles. The beautiful thing is that it has exposed young people (high school and younger--thanks to some mixes being used for video games) to the complexity of swing music, many re-discovering the originals the electro-swing sampled from. Not to mention the fab originals by many of the electro swing bands.<br /><br />Morgan is old school and has been around the SoCal scene a long time. I also know him to be a bit of a provocateur, (he began a dialogue about a song I choose as a chapter title in one of my books as being racist), so keep that in mind. At any rate, it's opened up an interesting discussion. Tam Francishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18288925164591030505noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8054201177771193739.post-49869068931652554712017-08-08T21:41:06.931+01:002017-08-08T21:41:06.931+01:00I see Electroswing and regular swing under the sam...I see Electroswing and regular swing under the same umbrella, and to everyone else outside of the genre, they're nearly identical. <br />Lindy hop dancers are complaining about it being too fast and not having any breaks, but honestly electroswing follows similar rules to club dancing, whereas social dancing is more organized and better for partners. But keep in mind, electroswing is great if you already follow similar rules of the modern dance floor- you don't have to wait for permission from the music to do what you need to do. <br />As a newbie to swing dancing overall, I do have to say that many Lindyhop/Swing dancers tend to seem a bit Elitist when it comes to subgenres, and honestly it's just them making themselves look bad. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04176844233770567567noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8054201177771193739.post-69649343452095996962017-06-16T12:17:41.812+01:002017-06-16T12:17:41.812+01:00Because it's fun!Because it's fun!Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16467321603084666369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8054201177771193739.post-11151698950642704752017-06-16T12:17:28.584+01:002017-06-16T12:17:28.584+01:00Also, "someone else's culture" - you...Also, "someone else's culture" - you're claiming ownership becuase you dance to it? Do me a favour!Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16467321603084666369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8054201177771193739.post-53957153826833912212017-06-16T12:16:51.085+01:002017-06-16T12:16:51.085+01:00If you want to lindy, go to a lindy night. Doggedl...If you want to lindy, go to a lindy night. Doggedly trying to lindy to electroswing is as stupid as trying to tango to a waltz.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16467321603084666369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8054201177771193739.post-33142233259980802562017-06-15T23:10:05.844+01:002017-06-15T23:10:05.844+01:00I don't hate electro swing - I just think that...I don't hate electro swing - I just think that somethings don't need to be changed and modified since they are already great the way they are. I don't understand why everyone thinks everything needs a modern twist to it. Jessicanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8054201177771193739.post-73065895617668412432017-04-04T01:58:11.260+01:002017-04-04T01:58:11.260+01:00It is interesting to watch you try and tell a bunc...It is interesting to watch you try and tell a bunch of dancers how dancers need a balance of rhythms, or don't want to have the "groove disrupted". Though, there you are, admittedly, talking to a different group of dancers.<br /><br />Your observations about time and dance music is missing something: for partner dances, having a good balance of tempos (that sine wave distribution of tempos) isn't enough. Because, in swing dance, dancers have partners, they also have an obligation: to finish the song. Fundamentally, they need some kind of signal for when to change partners. <br /><br />This is why a swing dancer is going to complain about a lack of breaks in the music. By avoiding ever disrupting the groove, you ensure that there is never a "change partners" signal. This means that you have trapped all the partner dancers, who would like an opportunity to visit the bar, go to the restroom, or change partners, but also don't want to tell their partner "We're done". (Given that, in the EDM world, partner dance is dead, you might not notice. But the moment you start mixing swing, you begin to attract those partner dancers, and they will quickly become annoyed.)<br /><br />Also from a classic jazz perspective, much electro swing (Hip-Hop, EDM, and many other kinds of electronic music) *is* boring. After all, most such songs repeat two or four bars of music more than three times in a row. After the second time, I have it memorized, and want something different; instead, I get a test of how well I memorized it (perfectly, thanks). Now, when the change comes, it's too late, I am already bored. This is one of the fundamental reasons that Jazz settled on AAB (12 bar) or AABA (32 bar) song forms. (I suspect that this has to do with the adoption of step sequencers in electronic music...)<br /><br />That said, we are happy for something somewhat fresh as well as the publicity it is giving some good old recordings. But don't be surprised that when you sample someone else's culture, they want to talk about the parts of it that you are stepping on. (Just like you are annoyed about them not understanding the role of a set in EDM...)Martyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03832831334115121495noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8054201177771193739.post-56333486540493291872016-10-30T01:04:29.237+01:002016-10-30T01:04:29.237+01:00No azahigaki, the original article was not "c...No azahigaki, the original article was not "completely stupid." It was just one side of a coin. And there's nothing wrong with that. I happen to agree with the original article, as the only kind of dancing I like is partner dancing such as lindy hop, jitterbug and the various ballroom forms.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8054201177771193739.post-47633867945564441622016-10-11T19:58:41.832+01:002016-10-11T19:58:41.832+01:00I'm glad I'm not the only one who thought ...I'm glad I'm not the only one who thought that the article that he wrote was completely stupid. So many of his points were just wrong or heavily biased towards his own genre of music. His article gave me the impression that swing dancers are heavily self-entitled.azahigakihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00311675237946838803noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8054201177771193739.post-37356446420603720192015-01-28T16:45:48.312+00:002015-01-28T16:45:48.312+00:00I couldn't agree more, the original article ki...I couldn't agree more, the original article kind of misses the point, especially about the difference between a mix and a playlist.<br /><br />I am producer, of electro-swing amongst other things (http://youtu.be/sU81wVtd0U8) and someone who has done some formal dancing (fortunately no videos of that available). I genuinely get why dancers might get frustrated with electro-swing nights ... DJs will keep things at a fixed tempo and mix the tracks rather than have breaks. That is an expectation of any EDM club though. It is a complaint about the environment, not the genre<br /><br />I don't think that should be a consideration for whether swing dancers should like electo-swing as a genre. It really comes down to whether you could add an electro-swing track to a playlist at a social dance and still do swing dancing to it. The answer is IMHO definitely yesDataphileshttp://www.dataphilesmusic.comnoreply@blogger.com