The Temptations: The Emperors of.....Disco?

[soulster]

Of course, what this thread has illustrated is what an emotive term "Disco Music" can be. As a UK resident I have to say I've never understood what the objection is supposed to be ..

Roger

As an American resident, I can tell you exactly what it is. It's several things: racism, sexism, and homophobia. Then, there's the belief among many of disco's critics that it is not real music. Jazz fans say it is simple, and reduces music to it's primal elements. Rock fans claim that there's no real musicianship, or that it's a producer's medium. Religious and conservative types criticize the liberal use of drugs and the alleged promotion of casual sex associated with disco, all while ignoring the prevalence of these things in other types of music. And, what is interesting is how disco's critics are the same as critics of hip-hop, that it's not real music. What comes to my mind when this is mentioned is that both of those forms of music have deep roots in Black American culture.

One of the reasons disco was despised is simply that the record labels exploited it, shoved it in our faces. It was everywhere! To the labels, disco was a quick buck, and it's recklessness and saturation of the market led to the record industry depression on the early 80s.

Was disco derivative? Sure it was! All modern music is derivative of something that came before it.