The Last Drop » dance music

New Issue: Lady Gaga

TopDrop — Thu, 28 May 2009 05:20:00 +0000

Lady Gaga, The Fame – Yeah. You are seeing this correctly. Even I have to give it up for Yonkers. Gaga is taking over the world little by little. And you know what? I don’t actually mind. I mean, she’s not artist-of-the-decade material. But I cherish her showmanship. Plus I can’t wear unitards and admire anyone who chooses to solely wear them.

Is it bad that I thought she was Swedish for the longest? I’ve been known to enjoy Swedish pop and well, who else would spawn a Lady Gaga? And the lyrics ( “Let’s have some fun/This beat is sick/I wanna take a ride on your disco stick”)? Did I mention she only wears unitards? If that doesn’t scream Norse, what does? Even if she is American (and from New Jersey), she definitely has her own aesthetic as an electro/dance siren. Now, this aesthetic gets a bit tired for an entire album. But for those first 5 or 6 songs, it’s entirely listenable. And if you happen to be at the gym or say running 26.2 miles for the fun of it, sometimes you can use a helpful 14 song dose of club reality.

Go ahead, give “Womanizer” a run for its money. But feel free to skip “Just Dance” as we’ve all heard quite enough.

Drop Kick: Beyonce Acting Wild Again

TopDrop — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 02:33:00 +0000

So, she’s actually letting her alter ego get a full album. This is news. Was this not the downfall of a certain “Vision of Love” singer that let her alter ego chase butterflies and bathe in Glitter? Women never learn….At least Sasha Fierce wants to party and dance her butt off. While the song is nothing special (as many have noted, it could easily be a reject from the insanity of B’Day), Beyonce redeems the mediocrity of music by dancing. Dancing so hard and long that you are simply mesmerized by the image. And the leotard. And the random metal sleeve on her arm. I’m thoroughly confused, but in a pleasant way. You be the judge.

New Issue: Moby

TopDrop — Sat, 31 May 2008 20:00:00 +0000

Moby, Last Night – Inspired by the streets of NYC comes the “definitive” dance album of now. Somehow, it just doesn’t seem “now” enough for me.

First, I applaud Moby for trying to get Americans to like dance music. We are are resistent bunch and notably gravitate towards the hip hop realm for booty shaking inspiration. Still, there are a precious few (namely me) who still appreciate a good synthesizer well used to get the masses at least nodding their heads. And most often, Europe is providing the Moog and Casio inspired anthems. Moby’s nod to the New York scene is admirable and I appreciate the effort.

That being said, this is no where near the capability of the current club scene in Europe. Call me spoiled, but I can’t imagine any of these songs being played in any night establishment in London and considered cutting edge. The samples and synths feel very dated (I know there is a late ’80s revival underway, but can you really get away with the C&C Music factory sound again? Is that Taylor Dane I hear?) and just not fun enough. The album tries to replicate the full night experience, complete with somber sobering at the end, but I didn’t get enough of the actual “night out” element. Where is the frantic energy? Where is the “Oh my God, this is MY SONG” moment? It seems chock full of pre and post clubbing middle of the road fare, but I wanted more meat.

Plus it felt pretty stodgy. I wasn’t surprised by any of the songs. His sound didn’t seem to evolve that much for the supposed amount of effort he put in catching up to the latest dance scene. Here’s a tip: if I were to go to a club, it would sound and look a lot more like this