Disco Boybands?
Question that applies to the past and the present: were there/are there many disco boybands and disco girl groups? Except I'm meaning "boyband" and "girl group" a bit more narrowly than I normally would: I'm thinking of the music dating back to the gospel quartets that went secular and was taken over by teens and doo-wop and then the late '50s/early '60s girl groups and permutated through the Impressions and Motown into the Jackson 5 and New Edition and then into New Jack Swing. I have huge gaps in my knowledge, but my sense is that this type of group vocal singing (as opposed to other types of group vocal singing?) made it into funk and '80s black pop much more than into disco and freestyle and house. Obviously there are vocal groups there, too, many I wish I knew better; but not ones that I'd put into a line that goes from doo-wop to Bell Biv DeVoe and the Backstreet Boys and ilk.
Or am I all wrong? Did that sort of boyband or girl group appear much in disco? I kinda feel the Bee Gees might belong here, though despite hitting huge, they seem a bit apart from everyone else, not quite in any line of development (but notice Infinite sounding like the Bee Gees below). I probably ought to count Trammps and Tavares too.
As for the present, K-pop draws hugely on the Jacksons and New Jack Swing while keeping disco and freestyle in its living language. I'm thinking especially of the work of writing/producing duo SweeTune (Han Jaeho, Kim Seungsoo), for instance with boyband Infinite and girl group Nine Muses.
"Paradise"
"Figaro"
"Be Mine"
Actually, not sure if Nine Muses are in enough of the "black vocal group" style I have in mind to count, but "Figaro" is a great track. And I barely have anything definite in my mind. Hoping some visitor to this lj will take over the discussion.
Here's a tentative playlist for Infinite, not in any order except how I think the music would flow best. Is kind of a best-of except my knowledge of Infinite is hardly infinite, in fact is barely adequate. And of course not all of it uses disco beats or horn and synth flourishes.
The Chaser
Season 2
Lost Romeo
To-Ra-Wa
Victorious Way (Infinite H)
Without U (Infinite H)
Going To You (너에게 간다)
Rosinante (로시난테)
Paradise
In The Summer
Infinitize
Cover Girl
Inconvenient Truth
Breathe (숨 좀 쉬자)
Over The Top
Be Mine
Back
Shower (소나기)
Be Mine (Remix)
New album (Season 2, repackaged with "Back" as Be Back) is more consistent start to finish than any Infinite album I'd heard previously.
"Back" (by Rphabet, not SweeTune)
(Reason I didn't put "girl groups" in my title is that I do think it's the male groups who've been primarily the ones carrying this style forward. Also, I've been heavily favoring female vocalists in this blog - because they've been clicking for me far better than the guys in almost all the genres and subgenres I've been paying attention to; one of my problems with "Be Mine," even, is that it doesn't quite have the fizz from the singers that it needs, despite being one of the great tracks of the last few years - so decided to give the guys preference here.)
[UPDATE: A bit of discussion on this topic on ILM's K-pop 2014 thread.]
Or am I all wrong? Did that sort of boyband or girl group appear much in disco? I kinda feel the Bee Gees might belong here, though despite hitting huge, they seem a bit apart from everyone else, not quite in any line of development (but notice Infinite sounding like the Bee Gees below). I probably ought to count Trammps and Tavares too.
As for the present, K-pop draws hugely on the Jacksons and New Jack Swing while keeping disco and freestyle in its living language. I'm thinking especially of the work of writing/producing duo SweeTune (Han Jaeho, Kim Seungsoo), for instance with boyband Infinite and girl group Nine Muses.
"Paradise"
Click to view"Figaro"
"Be Mine"
Actually, not sure if Nine Muses are in enough of the "black vocal group" style I have in mind to count, but "Figaro" is a great track. And I barely have anything definite in my mind. Hoping some visitor to this lj will take over the discussion.
Here's a tentative playlist for Infinite, not in any order except how I think the music would flow best. Is kind of a best-of except my knowledge of Infinite is hardly infinite, in fact is barely adequate. And of course not all of it uses disco beats or horn and synth flourishes.
The Chaser
Season 2
Lost Romeo
To-Ra-Wa
Victorious Way (Infinite H)
Without U (Infinite H)
Going To You (너에게 간다)
Rosinante (로시난테)
Paradise
In The Summer
Infinitize
Cover Girl
Inconvenient Truth
Breathe (숨 좀 쉬자)
Over The Top
Be Mine
Back
Shower (소나기)
Be Mine (Remix)
New album (Season 2, repackaged with "Back" as Be Back) is more consistent start to finish than any Infinite album I'd heard previously.
"Back" (by Rphabet, not SweeTune)
(Reason I didn't put "girl groups" in my title is that I do think it's the male groups who've been primarily the ones carrying this style forward. Also, I've been heavily favoring female vocalists in this blog - because they've been clicking for me far better than the guys in almost all the genres and subgenres I've been paying attention to; one of my problems with "Be Mine," even, is that it doesn't quite have the fizz from the singers that it needs, despite being one of the great tracks of the last few years - so decided to give the guys preference here.)
[UPDATE: A bit of discussion on this topic on ILM's K-pop 2014 thread.]