Favorite music NOT to dance to

*gasp* Yes, I said NOT to dance to.

Some of my favorites are way slow romantic songs, way too slow even for bolero. You can't dance to them (unless you count the old grope and sway as dancing, which I don't :lol: ) I'll give some titles later in this thread.

What about you? Do you have favorite non-dancing songs?

I can't get enough of the Gotan project. Yes, you can dance to it, but I especially like to listen to it.

Merengue. When I hear it, I can't wait to turn it off. And I don't even like to hear a few seconds of it as a cortina at a milonga. It annoys me so much, I cannot stand it.

Acid Jazz. I just love chillin out with it playing in the background.

This is a tough one! I've found a way to dance to just about anything...as I learn more about Ballroom and Latin music...all of my ear training takes over as I feel more than hear what's being played.

I guess my non-danceable music would be punk rock. That is reserved for driving on busy freeways or when I get one of those old songs stuck in my head every now and then. As those crazy tunes cause me to reminisce on my teenage years that I'm glad are far behind me, I can't keep it on too long...just enough to get that energy out of my system, and then it's back to the good stuff.

For sheer listening joy?

Got a few hours? :lol:

Depends on my mood;

Raucous: a Motorhead mix CD I concocted (metal at its most hilariosly over-the-top, how can you go wrong with tunes like "Ace of Spades", "Bomber" and the like), Blue Oyster Cult, Cream, Hendrix, Black Sabbath, John Mayall Bluesbreakers, Albert King, Freddie King, Allman Bros.

Raucous and Cerebral: Chick Corea/Return to Forever, Tony Williams Lifetime, Weather Report, Allan Holdsworth (guitarist) John McLaughlin and lots of progressive rock stuff like King Crimson, 70's Yes, 70's Genesis (w/ Peter Gabriel, I HATED the Phil Collins stuff!), Anglagard, Magma, Deus Ex Machina, Happy The Man, Anekdoten, French TV, Frank Zappa (the clean stuff) and a ton more.

Soulful: Ray Charles, James Brown, Seal, Aretha, Tower of Power, Jimmy Smith, Tyrone Davis, Johnnie Taylor and lots of blues. Also love Flamenco and even some contry (Johnny Cash, Patsy Cline)

Soulful and Cerebral: Miles Davis, Gil Evans, Ellington, Brubeck, Monk, Wes Montgomery and lots of classical music.

And definitely agree with will35 about Meringue, GRRRRRRRR!!! Reggae, Rap and cheesy pop music make me want to hit the off switch!

youngsta said:

Acid Jazz. I just love chillin out with it playing in the background.

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Can you recommend some CD's in this realm?

I think I was just in the mood to be a heel when I responded with the merengue. But it reminds me of when I used to drive through certain places in the U.S. There were radio stations with a latin hour, and every song sounded like the one before it, no matter what group or lyric. I also used to drive through Canada occasionally, and I heard the two step French songs. They also sounded one like the other, but they were more interesting than the merengue, even though I understood fewer lyrics. I went to see one of those French Canadian bands play once, and they were really disappointed that nobody knew how or wanted to dance to their music. They could not understand why anybody would just sit and listen to their music. I guess that explained it to me.

I went to a UB40 concert several years ago, and at somepoint, they switched from reggae to European techno-pop. You should have seen the audience stop dancing, in unison. It was comical!

And about merengue -- it has its uses. Newbies can do it. And it's a great type of music to practice your Latin motion to. Although if you don't like it, you don't like it. *shrug*

Phil Owl said:

Can you recommend some CD's in this realm?

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A couple of nice compilatons are the mushroom jazz sessions and Om Lounge.

ummm...

hmmm... good question.
hint: never, ever try to tap dance to something without a break, or anything like "Jenny From the Block" it works just about as well trying to eat rotten, dancing bananas and breath at the same time. (believe me, i've tried)
also don't tap to a slow song in double time. it works, but it sounds like cr*p unless u know what u r doing, wich most people don't. :roll:

hip hop, r n b, alternative and old classic rock

Bascially... everything!

Favorite is classical by far. Fav. composer is Taichovsky, then Stravinsky...

Then alternative- radiohead, bjork, smashing pumpkins, bright eyes

Then stuff that has no genre, like Postal Service or Eels

Then anything with incredible ingenuity or lyircs. Even rap has it's gems. I haven't found a single Gem in country though.. yet. And bluegrass doesn't count!

Merengue I like only 'cause I grew up with it. Images of my family all dancing in a circle and clapping is merengue for me. But it is all the same... awful stuff. Almost as bad as a cumbia.

pygmalion said:

*gasp* Yes, I said NOT to dance to.

Some of my favorites are way slow romantic songs, way too slow even for bolero. You can't dance to them (unless you count the old grope and sway as dancing, which I don't :lol: ) I'll give some titles later in this thread.

What about you? Do you have favorite non-dancing songs?

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Metallica, Acid jazz (as youngsta said), Space Oydessy 2001 and 2010, long-hair classical (even though I listen to it).

Jenn, would you teach me that dance you mentioned. I don't know it . . . the "old groupe and sway???" :roll:

I truly think THAT dance is instinctive. But I'll see you in Reno! :lol: