...Canadian Indie Dance Music: The battle between the good and the very bad

Most would argue that dance music is one of the easiest genres of music to make. There are many ways to combine all the beats and rhythms to make something which someone somewhere will bob there head to. With the surge of DJ's in todays culture, we see many people coming up with these new hooks. Although there are many doing it, I find that only a select few successfully make dance music which gets me going. Unfortunately, when dance music does not go right for me it goes horribly wrong, to the dulled point that I do not want to listen anymore. Only this type of music gives me this reaction (excluding country). Therefore, I have begun to give more credit to people who make dance music which can survive in my good-books.

The thin line between my enjoyment and thoughts of puke can be described through examples in Canadian music, and an interesting observation can be made. There are old dance staples that immediately switch on the rhythm bones in the body (Holy F*ck). There are newcomers who seem like they are here to stay (Ruby Jean and the Thoughtful Bees and Woodhands). These bands have done well internationally and really represent great Canadian dance music.

In addition to the great dance performers there are those who grab attention which continually puzzles me. Examples of these include You Say Party We Say Die and Shout Out Out Out. I even have been quite attracted by initial sounds from some dance bands and as time passes they fade across the line into unlistenable. These bands include Winter Gloves, Thunderheist and most notably Chromeo. Watching Chromeo hit a button on a keyboard and pretend it was a live show was one of the most disappointing performances Ive ever seen. Some bands go back and forth over the line, with times I cant get enough and times I cant get away (Jimmy Swift Band).

Maybe a distinction can be made between the two sides of the line (puke and love). Seemingly the difference can be found in the bands intentions. Bands who try to focus on getting people to dance instead of just making music tend to come out with a worse sound. I say this because all my favorite dance bands have musicians who can just as easily play in another genre. It must be easier for these artists to realize that they are still making music, not just dance music. It is no surprise then that some of my favorite dance songs are found immersed in non-dance albums (ie. Chad Vangalen- 'TMNT Mask'). These observations make me very excited for Caribous new album. An artist with loads of talent (see Polaris Prize 2008) whose first single, 'Odessa', from his upcoming album, Swim, sounds very dancey.

Sorry for the lengthy post but its my thoughts on a whole genre. Keep tuned this week as I will be posting a couple reviews and some awesome links. In other news, this video I took and posted of Tokyo Police Clubs latest single has garnered over 1000 views (new blog milestone!).