Posted: Thu Sep 25, 2003 5:53 am
Before posting here I had to go back and listen to a few Glenn Miller tunes to remind myself afresh of how much I like some of his stuff. Now I can breathe a big refreshing "ahhh" and start my day by posting here.
Squirrel Nut Zippers! I leave them out. I actually bought their CD a century or so ago and used to play it around the era of the Gap swing commercial. For anyone who was DJing back then you might remember all of the teen-aged posers who were showing up at dances (and paying u$ good money to $upport our habit). Well, gosh, even though they couldn't dance I just had to play stuff for them, cuz, gee, they were helping us to buy better sound equipment and build our CD collections. Well, now they're gone, in search of another 'fad'. So I retired my Squirrel Nut Zippers CD (and a few other neo-swing CDs). Once in a while a few of them drop by the dances again, and I can usually find something in my collection to satisfy their neo-desire (but it's getting harder and harder to find that stuff in my cases anymore)
Now, back to Glenn for a minute. I was recently approached by two dancers at Hop Swing & A Jump in NYC after I played a swingin' cut of "Little Brown Jug". They thought the tune was really cool and wanted to know who/what it was. I think that was the only time I played a Miller tune this year except in classes. One of the things I like about his tunes is that they are easy for beginner dancers to hear the beat. So I use them in beginner swing classes (usually to introduce new dancers to a little faster [160+] tempo).
And one thing I do not exclude is 50's R&R and 60's Motown. There's some really good, swingin' 50's & 60's music that people love and really respond to in all of the scenes where I DJ. I used to be surprised at how Jackie Wilson's "Higher And Higher" and "Lonely Teardrops" or Martha Reeves & The Vandellas "Jimmy Mack" would fill the floor. (I started taking chances with them late last year when I was preparing for a 50's R&R New Year's Eve party that I had been hired for.) People definitely love and respond to that music (and it's not just us ole fellas).
Squirrel Nut Zippers! I leave them out. I actually bought their CD a century or so ago and used to play it around the era of the Gap swing commercial. For anyone who was DJing back then you might remember all of the teen-aged posers who were showing up at dances (and paying u$ good money to $upport our habit). Well, gosh, even though they couldn't dance I just had to play stuff for them, cuz, gee, they were helping us to buy better sound equipment and build our CD collections. Well, now they're gone, in search of another 'fad'. So I retired my Squirrel Nut Zippers CD (and a few other neo-swing CDs). Once in a while a few of them drop by the dances again, and I can usually find something in my collection to satisfy their neo-desire (but it's getting harder and harder to find that stuff in my cases anymore)
Now, back to Glenn for a minute. I was recently approached by two dancers at Hop Swing & A Jump in NYC after I played a swingin' cut of "Little Brown Jug". They thought the tune was really cool and wanted to know who/what it was. I think that was the only time I played a Miller tune this year except in classes. One of the things I like about his tunes is that they are easy for beginner dancers to hear the beat. So I use them in beginner swing classes (usually to introduce new dancers to a little faster [160+] tempo).
And one thing I do not exclude is 50's R&R and 60's Motown. There's some really good, swingin' 50's & 60's music that people love and really respond to in all of the scenes where I DJ. I used to be surprised at how Jackie Wilson's "Higher And Higher" and "Lonely Teardrops" or Martha Reeves & The Vandellas "Jimmy Mack" would fill the floor. (I started taking chances with them late last year when I was preparing for a 50's R&R New Year's Eve party that I had been hired for.) People definitely love and respond to that music (and it's not just us ole fellas).