One of the many things disco did to the pop mainstream was to help sharpen its body-consciousness. Take the above video clip for Miquel Brown’s “So Many Men, So Little Time,” a 1983 hit that, according to the voluminous notes provided by the song’s producer, Ian Levine (who has his own extensively curated YouTube hub), was “The first pioneering record of the whole High Energy scene.” The song was a huge European hit, but the video is striking for its glimpse into muscle-man culture. Not that this was altogether new in pop. Below, we present a selective history of bodybuilding in pop video from the period.
Perhaps you’ve heard about the brouhaha over Beyonce’s new video for “Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It),” the choreography of which is a leeeeetle too close to the steps from Bob Fosse’s “Mexican Breakfast”–a viral video fave thanks to a dub-over of DJ Unk’s “Walk It Out”–for some folks’ comfort. Apparently putting a song over existing video is creative, while remaking the video’s particulars for a new song isn’t, or something, though I am grateful that one blogger was moved to accuse B of “straight up pull[ing] a Kenley” (A+).
One of the great things about LCD Soundsystem is the hay they make with stuff we already know, or think we do. So it stands to reason that “Big Ideas,” LCD’s new single from the soundtrack of the Vegas movie 21, is something of an homage to a well-known dance classic by a group LCD can’t seem to stop making reference to. Still, we couldn’t help thinking the video’s set reminded us of a different, yet equally classic, dance-music video, as you can see below.
The Village People are the latest artists to team up with the Web Sheriff, the exceedingly polite antipiracy company that roams the plains of the Internet, looking for people who are violating copyrights. And it’s not for reasons related to sheriff-themed costumes! Instead, the suited-up disco group is planning on joining Prince’s lawsuit against the overly self-impressed Swedish BitTerrorist haven The Pirate Bay. More »
Yes, the spokesperson for Victor Willis–the cop in the Village People–really said the words “straight fun” when she was talking about the lyrics to “Y.M.C.A.” Just who is Willis hoping to attract to his Vegas comeback show later this month, anyway? More »
