Here Comes The Night - Greatest Disco recording of all time

[JanBerryFarm]

Do you hate disco? Sure you do, that's why you hate the Beach Boys reworking of the beloved track 'Here Comes The Night'.

And of course, you also buy into the myth that they created this monstrosity in an ill-conceived effort to 'cash in' on the disco scene.

I have a different interpretation of that event.

The Beach Boys hated disco just as much as the rest of us. Their motivation in reworking 'Here Comes the Night' was to prove to the world that the Beach Boys could do it better.

Sort of a 'Let's show'em how it's done' thing.

Did disco suck? Sure it did. But, as in any rogue music trend, there's always some glimmer of brilliance. In this case, it's the Beach Boys.

There's really only one song that might possibly not have been outstripped by 'Here Comes The Night' and that's 'Disco Inferno'.

If you disagree, say so... I don't mind. I expect it. I encourage it.

[Justin]

Well I don't hate disco, I dig it.  It doesn't take itself seriously and it does its job effectively considering what it's designed to do. 

With that said, "Here Comes The Night" hardly makes a blip on my radar as the best or worst of all time.  It just wasn't a great "Beach Boys" song (or redo) for it to garner a double take from fans and non-fans alike.  Disco was doing pretty well without it (whether you like the genre or not) and this tune hardly made a dent in the grand scheme of things.  It would have been interesting if they (Brian mostly) buckled down and wrote a great song that happened to be disco but "Here Comes The NIght" comes off rather half-assed and I think everyone noticed it.

[EgoHanger1966]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hRYnbuUwOYk

[JanBerryFarm]

Make no mistake..... I am NOT saying it's the Beach Boys greatest recording. (not saying it's their worst either)

Also not claiming it was commercially successful. I'm merely addressing what I imagine their motivation MIGHT have been, contrary to popular notion.

[Chocolate Shake Man]

Did disco suck? Sure it did.

No it didn't. "Disco Sucks" was a racist movement that caught on in the public imagination.

[JanBerryFarm]

Did disco suck? Sure it did.

No it didn't. "Disco Sucks" was a racist movement that caught on in the public imagination.

*LOL* .... sure, like 'All in the Family' or body art. 

[Chocolate Shake Man]

Did disco suck? Sure it did.

No it didn't. "Disco Sucks" was a racist movement that caught on in the public imagination.

*LOL* .... sure, like 'All in the Family' or body art. 

Actually, in the words of the British National Party at the height of the Disco Sucks movement: "Disco and its melting pot pseudo-philosophy must be fought or Britain's streets will be full of black-worshipping soul boys."

[drbeachboy]

Did disco suck? Sure it did.

No it didn't. "Disco Sucks" was a racist movement that caught on in the public imagination.

Wow! That came out of left field. I know I shouldn't ask , but please explain your rationale.

I see your explanation above.

[drbeachboy]

Did disco suck? Sure it did.

No it didn't. "Disco Sucks" was a racist movement that caught on in the public imagination.

*LOL* .... sure, like 'All in the Family' or body art. 

Actually, in the words of the British National Party at the height of the Disco Sucks movement: "Disco and its melting pot pseudo-philosophy must be fought or Britain's streets will be full of black-worshipping soul boys."

See that, and I always just thought it was a play on words of "Disco Duck".

[Chocolate Shake Man]

I should also add that the Disco Sucks movement was accompanied by a lot of homophobic rhetoric, much of it emanating from the slogan's creator Steve Dahl.

[LostArt]

"Disco Sucks" was a racist movement that caught on in the public imagination.

Racist?  Naw, not from my perspective.  I was among the 'Disco Sucks' crowd back then, but it had nothing to do with race.  I was going to college in the mid '70s, and also playing guitar in a rock band on the side.  When my favorite clubs started to tear out their stages to make room for disco dance floors, it was much more difficult to see bands play, or to get jobs playing.  I saw it as a threat to live music in my area.  Thus, Disco Sucks.  In the very many years since then, I've learned to appreciate the genre for what it was.  As for The Beach Boys, I think Bruce Johnston and Curt Boetcher thought it would be a good idea to do a disco tune in order to keep up with the trends of the day.  I don't believe they were trying to show anybody that they could do it better (although the arrangement, especially the vocals, is quite good).  It was simply a failed experiment to see if they could get a song on the radio and in the clubs.

[Chocolate Shake Man]

"Disco Sucks" was a racist movement that caught on in the public imagination.

Racist?  Naw, not from my perspective.  

I said the movement itself was racist. I'm sure there were plenty of individuals within the movement who came to their opinion for different reasons. That doesn't change the fact that the sentiments behind the movement were staggeringly racist and homophobic.

[LostArt]

"Disco Sucks" was a racist movement that caught on in the public imagination.

Racist?  Naw, not from my perspective.  

I said the movement itself was racist. I'm sure there were plenty of individuals within the movement who came to their opinion for different reasons. That doesn't change the fact that the sentiments behind the movement were staggeringly racist and homophobic.

Not trying to be argumentative, but what is your evidence for such a claim?  Curious minds want to know.

[Chocolate Shake Man]

"Disco Sucks" was a racist movement that caught on in the public imagination.

Racist?  Naw, not from my perspective.  

I said the movement itself was racist. I'm sure there were plenty of individuals within the movement who came to their opinion for different reasons. That doesn't change the fact that the sentiments behind the movement were staggeringly racist and homophobic.

Not trying to be argumentative, but what is your evidence for such a claim?  Curious minds want to know.

That it was racist should be uncontroversial. As already noted, disco was held as a threat to white hegemony by nationalist organizations who spearheaded anti-disco movements during the time of Disco Sucks. As Lester Bangs noted at the time, leading rock journalists and critics were even prone to referring to music by Otis Redding as "n----r disco sh!t." The movement itself gathered steam as a racist movement too. Rolling Stone magazine is on record as noting that when they devoted part of an issue to disco, they were inundated with racist letters.

Steve Dahl who coined the term Disco Sucks admitted that he had more of a problem with the culture than the music. Disco, for Dahl, was "intimidating" and he wrote a parody of Do You Think I'm Sexy called Do You Think I'm Disco which suggested that men could "re-masculinize" themselves by abandoning disco music.

[Aegir]

I bet Hitler hated having wet socks as much as the next guy, that doesn't make that dislike evil! It's a genre of music, and anyone can feel free to like it or dislike for whatever reason they choose.

[Chocolate Shake Man]

I bet Hitler hated having wet socks as much as the next guy, that doesn't make that dislike evil! It's a genre of music, and anyone can feel free to like it or dislike for whatever reason they choose.

True. Fortunately no one here is suggesting otherwise.

[J.G. Dev]

Every time I hear the begining of this song I envision Ponch & Jon roaring down the freeways of LA on their motorcycles.

[JanBerryFarm]

NOW, I understand why I've always been bigoted toward, and afraid of,  those black queers, the Bee Gees.

 

[SloopJohnnyB]

I can't blame the Beach Boys and Bruce for trying. I think L.A. The Light Album was the last great Beach Boys album before TWGMTR appeared. The attempt at a disco hit was nothing new at that time. This was one song on one album.

Wasn't Elton John's "Victim of Love" a failed attempt at Disco?

Rod Stewart's "Do ya think I'm sexy?" was a huge hit.

Blondies "Heart of Glass" was good.

How many others have traveled down the disco road? How many more can you come up with?

[Chocolate Shake Man]

NOW, I understand why I've always been bigoted toward, and afraid of,  those black queers, the Bee Gees.

 

http://www.afterelton.com/content/2012/05/bee-gees-9-gayest-songwriting-contributions

Also, look for the blog article online titled "Bee Gees: Reunited and it Feels so Gay" which contains this gem: "The Bee Gees! Remember when they were cool? Neither do we. We’re not that old and we have never been that gay."

[SBonilla]

 

Don't laugh, Fanny, it's not funny. You should be dancing.

[JanBerryFarm]

 

Don't laugh, Fanny, it's not funny. You should be dancing.

I am. I am. The Mexicorn Hat Dance. Join in.

[Jukka]

How many others have traveled down the disco road? How many more can you come up with?

Don't forget Kiss and "I Was Made For Loving You", the ultimate fusion of disco and rock!

[SMiLE Brian]

Not a big fan of disco, but the production is great on some tracks.

[Jukka]

Not a big fan of disco, but the production is great on some tracks.

Oh yeah, and musicianship too. Those disco violins and basslines. I'd like to have a stack-o-tracks disco collection concentrating on those.