I Just Wanna Dance
…is that a crime?
Back in January of 2004, I returned to Los Angeles from my annual holiday visit in New York and discovered that the Party Station on 103.1 FM had turned into an indie rock station. For those of you who regularly listen to this now, just remember who had that slot before.
While I enjoy the occasional guitar riff and slit-my-wrist lyrics from a garage band on the rise (and realize this blog is two years overdue), I like having the option of tuning into a station that will remix Coldplay and have Madonna’s latest dancefloor anthem in its top 10. It’s another alternative to the top 40 formats that play the same hip-hop/angsty teen rock singles every 40 minutes. I was deeply hurt that my "party station" had collapsed. No longer did I have my aural Red Bull to help me get pumped for a night at the bars and clubs. No soundtrack for the montage of costume changes I’d go through in my bedroom (which vintage T-shirt would pair well with my FCUK jeans and white trainers?).
New York has its own party station, KTU, on 103.5 FM. It’s been thriving ever since the late 90s, when dance elbowed its way into pop. How come L.A. can’t catch up? Is the dance culture in Los Angeles dying or did it ever exist at all? What does it say about New York? Do the clubheads over there have easier access to the the latest in house, trance and electronica simply because they share the same ocean with eastern Europe? Even San Francisco has its own dance destination on 92.7 FM, "The Beat of the Bay." What’s up with that?
Every time I go back to New York I tune into the stations I loved when I was in high school. During the first week of this month, the #1 Most Requested song on Z100, the sister station of L.A.’s KIIS, was "And She Said" by Lucas Prata, a disposable Euro-esque house track. I have yet to hear the single on L.A.’s radio waves. Granted, the radio in my car has been dead for months, limiting me to what’s out there, what’s hot, what "the kids are listening to nowadays."
Some of my West Coast native friends haven’t even heard of the songs that were a part of the soundtrack to my high school career back East. Crush’s "Jellyhead" anyone? How about "Coco Jamboo" by Mr. President? No? Hands off my iPod then.
There is a glimmer of hope, however. After 10PM on weeknights, L.A.’s KBIG 104.3 presents Thump Radio, a collection of dance tracks and remixes (domestic and imported) that are on the rise or at the top of their respective charts. Problem though: You’d have to be a night security guard or late-shift 7-Eleven cashier to enjoy these beats.
American pop music is more powerful than ever, but is it progressive? Look at the lists on iTunes and iTunes UK and compare. What’s wrong with a little more dance on our airwaves? Feel the different beats, people.
Mix it up. Shake the booty. Feel the energy.
Thank you.
H.P.M.
