Coffee - “Casanova” (1980)
why would you watch a record revolving on a turntable (snooz) or a still image of the album cover (boring!) when you could instead enjoy james brown (huh?) performing a completely different song on soul train, complete with fabulous dancers and approximately 15 seconds of silence at the end while the man himself keeps on funkin’?
btw, the phasing that happens at the end of this song is one of my absolute favorite things about disco. yes, i am talking about phasers again.
ethan/a/white
Theo Vaness - “Bad Bad Boy” (1979)
i do enjoy romance, quite a bit, and yet, and yet: this is unfuckwithable. some guy in seattle calls this “steamy sexy disco of the slightly gay kind” and i don’t know what more you cold ever want in a record. or life.
and somehow he has a split 12” with yoko ono??!?!?!!? bootleg city must be a nice place to live.
e/t/h/a/n/a/w/h/i/t/e
Escort - “Starlight” (2006)
y’know, a lot of shit gets talked about “nu-disco” and the resurgence in disco’s popularity, and while i have my reservations (straight white beardo record collector revisionism being one of them), i have to say, I LOVE IT. not only is there some serious value in people spreading around old albums, supporting record stores, and just enjoying some hot jams, i for one am pretty greatful that there’s NEW MUSIC to be had.
to wit: “starlight” by escort, a contemporary group from the dreaded brooklyn. that synth line is like getting funked in the ass by a lazer beam.
also, you cannot fuck with MUPPETS.
—ethan/a/white
The Paper Dolls - “Get Down Boy” (1977)
I know virtually nothing about the Paper Dolls, but I do know that this is a stone classic and it makes me a lil bit light-headed every time I hear it (which might have to do with all the phasing up in there). The interwebs tell me that this was produced by Patrick Adams, who is also responsible for jams like Bumblebee Unlimited’s “Lady Bug,” Musique’s “(Push Push) In The Bush,” and Universal Robot Band’s “Dance and Shake Your Tambourine.” There’s a nice (and long!) Patrick Adams tribute here.
—ethan a white