Rock the House...

In every decade of musical history, there has been some sort of prevalent dance music both underground and mainstream. Take the 20^th century for instance. The 1920’s, 30’s, and 40’s saw the rise of swing, bigband and bebop music. Bebop was considered a musical abomination at the time of its inception. Great artists such as Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie Parker were being disdained as much as they were being praised. The 1950’s brought Rock & Roll and Motown music into the mix while jazz moved into its “cool” phase. The 1960’s saw the continuation of Rock’s popularity and the British Invasion which later shifted into the psychedelic sounds of Jimi Hendrix, Pink Floyd, Beatles, The Byrds, Jefferson Airplane and The Grateful Dead. The 1970’s saw the birth of the foundation of modern day dance music, Disco. Towards the end of the decade, Disco became extensively materialized and commercialized and the listening communal got tired and moved on. At the same time Disco was going out the door, funk, punk, and hip hop started to gain cult followings in the underground circuits of major cities. At about the same time Disco was starting to fall from its climax in popularity (and worth), and DJs were assembling the sounds to recapture the true, original essence of the dance music before it was tainted by the mainstream. These DJs created what we call house music. The 1990’s saw the expansion of the genre with a new presence from artists overseas influenced by the sounds of early house pioneers such as Mr. Fingers, Frankie Knuckles, Larry Levan, and David Mancuso. From there house has taken on many different sounds and subgenres such as deep house, electro (house), hard house, and acid house.

 

From my knowledge, the origin of house stems from two separate epicenters, Chicago and New York. House music was created in Chicago and naturally, quickly found its way to what once was the Disco capital of the world, New York.  Each city had its own pioneers but it seemed that the patrons of groundbreaking house clubs like the Garage, Loft, and the Gallery were all the same, young Black, Hispanic, and/or gay men.  Indeed, the connection between house music and the LGBT community is one that is commonly known by the general public. At the time, openly gay people were, like other “counter-cultures” of the era such as punks and b-boys, despised by the general population. African-Americans were obviously being discriminated against as well even after the monumental civil rights movement. Combine this with the demise of Disco and you have a large group of stressed, angry, young men, that were being told by society that they were objects of hate, needing an affordable outlet to vent whether they were gay or straight, black or white. Enter house, the musical savior of countless youth.

 

The stance people took on the mixing of sexual orientations in the house scene was not uniform across the board. At some clubs, there was tension between the straight and gay clientele. At others, such as The Loft, these tensions did not exist. Some clubs were practically if not designed to be all LGBT and some clubs were the exact opposite. The idea that all people, no matter what their orientation or race, partying together to the soulful house sound was not shared by everyone in the house music scene during its early days.  It seems to me that the general public feels that most house listeners some how must connect with the LGBT community by default especially if they listen to and enjoy classic house. This can be frustrating at times for me when I discuss house music with friends or family. I’m not gay in any way, nor is house music, so that generalization supported by many is asinine.

 

At the end of the day, when you throw out the sexuality, exclusivity, and politics of the music, house is really just about losing yourself in the music. Connecting your soul to the beat and having your heart move your body and not your brain. My love for house music stems from this idea of love for all. Every house listener is different house we accepts them all. Republican or Democrat, foreign or domestic, right handed or left handed, brown eyes and blue. House accepts them all with open arms with no hate between them. Mr. Finger’s “Can You Feel It” sums this up through song.

 

“I am, you see,

I am the creator, and this is my house!

And, in my house there is only house music. But, I am not so

selfish because once you enter my house it then becomes OUR house and

OUR house music!" And, you see, no one can own house because

house music is a universal language, spoken and understood by all.

 

You see, house is a feeling that no one can understand really unless

you're deep into the vibe of house. House is an uncontrollable

desire to jack your body. And, as I told you before, this is

our house and our house music."

Like any musical genre that you truly enjoy and love, your knowledge about that genre grows over time effortlessly. This knowledge includes exposure to subgenres. My favorite genre of house right now is electro but I enjoy it all. It’s the feeling that I get when I hear it that really captivates me. It is also the dedication and the love that the DJs and artists put into their craft, for us, the listener to enjoy, that makes me love house that much more.  As time marched on and the 80's and 90's came and went people tried to move house in different directions but every movement had its roots deep in the original sounds of pioneers like Levan and Knuckles. The house community has kept the music going through the decades since its inception and will continue to do so. House is the greatest dance music on the planet and it will live forever.

Below I have a nine-part documentary (only have eight parts though) about the early days of the house DJ and scene that primarily focuses on Larry Levan and the gay house going community but covers other aspects as well. Youtube is full with docs like these that cover the genre from all different aspects. Enjoy the Docs and look out for a “You Should Listen” post house style in the near future (and that DOOM part II is still being worked on!).

Parts 5-8

Sorry can't find part nine! I'll try to find it ASAP.