SwingDJs

Ann Fleming, one of those competent West Coast dancers, really likes "Sometimes" by B-Tribe off their CD "Sensual Sensual". That's really interesting! I bet she would also like "Busenfreund" off Tosca by Suzuki (or is it Suzuki by Tosca - the album cover is so minimalist I can't tell.) That's also the music that Jason Christodoulu used in a hiphop class. This is a very interesting direction for West Coast swing music, I think, because it's neither pop-schlock nor hard-driving blues. Has anyone else found/used other similar stuff, and if so, what?

Isn't that a little slow even for west coast? I think the westies around here at least would tend to do nightclub two-step to that instead of WCS.

Not really tooooo slow. Sometimes is around 92 bpm and Busenfreund around 120. Ann makes good use of every microsecond!

kbuxton wrote:Isn't that a little slow even for west coast? I think the westies around here at least would tend to do nightclub two-step to that instead of WCS.

They always surprise me - stuff in the low 90's that I'm sure HAS to be NC2 music still ends up being wcs music.. I've decided that being awful is actually an important trait in NC2 music. :)

Being awful, with strings.

that could be an addendum to kenneth koch's On Aesthetics


Aesthetics of Night Club Two-Step

to dance to the truly awful
with strings

I realize this qualifies as a "fluff" message but I can't resist. The Bob Rivers "White Trash Christmas" CD song "Me and Mrs. Claus" (a sraightforward parody of Me and Mrs. Jones, 72 bpm) is a great NC2 tune, but you have to have attitude to dance it - i.e. do your best to keep a straight face and not double over. Complete with strings.

"one by one" by Cher; it's got a beautifull acustic guitar intro like "sometimes" does. Overall, it is not quite as 'spacey' as "sometimes".

Technically, I consider it a westie song but I used it for the NC-2 demo that Sylvia and Buddy did at ALHC.

"Guest" is me: Greg

I've found the NC2S needs a "pulse" of "Lift +a Lift" and to be around 68-74 Bpm to be CLEAR to the dancers.

examples of this "pulse":
Madonna's "Take a Bow"
Chris DeBurgh's "Lady in Red"
Rod Stewart's "Have I told you lately"


Dj G

KevinSchaper wrote:[They always surprise me - stuff in the low 90's that I'm sure HAS to be NC2 music still ends up being wcs music.. I've decided that being awful is actually an important trait in NC2 music.

I've been noticing here in NYC that, the lindy dancers are slowing up too

The westies out in CA are regularly below 100 Bpm.

So maybe, those from the westie world who wish for a solid beat and interesting songs will xover to the rhythms of slower lindy Dj's (just a thought)

Dj G

What I would really LOVE to see on this thread - maybe after the holidaze are over - would be a list of everyone's best crossover music, the stuff that will make both "coasts" equally happy. I don't have time to post a list just now, and you probably don't either. It would be swell if someone with the programming ability would set up playlist tables we could add to! (Yes, I'm gonna keep nagging about this until it happens!)

Downeastdancer wrote:What I would really LOVE to see on this thread - maybe after the holidaze are over - would be a list of everyone's best crossover music, the stuff that will make both "coasts" equally happy

That would be a good project. From my point of view, the list of songs that fit nicely into both camps is going to be small. One song that seems to be equally appreciated in both camps is Eva Cassidy's Wade in the Water. One of everybody's favorite overplayed songs.

The main thing is that when that song comes on, few people think the DJ is playing a Westie song.

Dj G wrote:So maybe, those from the westie world who wish for a solid beat and interesting songs will xover to the rhythms of slower lindy Dj's (just a thought) :lol:

Last time I was DJing for westies I got a request for less pop/funk stuff and more blues/smooth.. since it's as close as I had, I put in a lot of the blues stuff that we dance to in the lindy scene (Rawls, Anderson, Gene Harris even) and it worked pretty well.. I know a lot of it was what they danced to at one point, but just like a lot of newer lindy hoppers aren't comfortable with Swing, I think a lot of westies have a hard time relating to stuff without a huge beat.

Jr. Walker usually works for me.