Songs like "Got to Give it Up" and "Blurred Lines"

I'm sure you know of how "Blurred Lines" was inspired by (or blatantly ripped off) "Got to Give it Up." But I'm not here to talk about that.

What I'm really wondering, being an aficionado of disco, is how both of those songs are classified as "disco". If they're really disco, they're certainly a very atypical kind of disco. The kind of disco I'm familiar with has an 8-beat groove with a distinctive bass-cymbal-snare-cymbal beat and a lot of guitar strumming and strings, and those two songs aren't like that. Are there any other songs of that kind?

Well, there's post-disco, which set out to be more synthesized while keeping the funky groove that disco had.

Example:

You mean songs about rape? There's plenty of those. I don't know any neo-disco songs about rape, though.

edited 6th Mar '14 1:05:21 PM by Smasher

That's pretty much what I thought when I saw the thread title.

When I think neo-disco, I think "Treasure" and Random Access Memories, not "Blurred Lines". "Blurred Lines" is just a typical club song.

"Rock Your Baby" by George Mc Crae? Or other early "KC" Casey productions (i.e.: early KC & the Sunshine Band)? His stuff tended to be more stripped down than the work of other early disco producers (for example: Van Mc Coy).

@Smasher: Is "Got to Give it Up" a song about rape? Because I can't hear it, and after looking at the lyrics transcript, I can't see it either.

By the way, Pharrell's album Girl seems to be full of songs like the two songs mentioned in the title. They all seem to be the kind of songs that "Blurred Lines" was trying to imitate but sounding mediocre in the process.

He was talking about Blurred Lines (of course).

Unless you were being sarcastic.

He ignored half the title. That's why I said that.

"Blurred Lines" is about as disco as early Talking Heads. Which is to say, musically speaking, disco-inspired, but minimalist and synthesized. The only difference really is that Talking Heads covered way different subject matter in their music.

edited 24th Jul '14 11:36:12 AM by Odd1

Everything that has the word "neo" attached is never an improvement on the original. In some cases, it might even be harmful to the thing it originally came from.

I dunno, my You Tube channel has "NEO" at the end of it, and it's arguably better than my old, copyright-stricken account.

Then you're the exception to the rule.

Neo-whatever isn't supposed to imply an improved version of the original. It just means a newer version.

I think I'll just put a controversial opinion here:

I think "Got to Give it Up"... kinda sucks. It sucks for all the same reasons "Blurred Lines" sucks musically: it sounds like it was cheaply made with random rhythmic drumming and bass playing.

Pharrell has been using the template of "Got to Give it Up" in all his 70's R&B throwback tracks that he's been producing lately, and all of them actually improve on the original template. Yes, even "Blurred Lines" (the most blatant imitation of "Got to Give it Up"); despite its disgusting lyrics and awful rap section, at least it fills up the track with some harmonies.

I think the lyrics alone make Got to Give it Up better by Blurred Lines by default.

Also Pharrell needs to stop aping it whenever he feels like making something retro. It's just lazy. And coming from me, that's saying something.

edited 11th Aug '14 6:54:26 PM by PhysicalStamina

"Got to Give it Up" is so boring though. And not in a Seinfeld Is Unfunny way either; Marvin has had much better songs like "What's Going On", "I Want You", and "Sexual Healing".

"Blurred Lines" may be many things, but it's not that boring.

I don't have an aversion to Got to Give It Up, though, so...

I don't even know those songs.

Then why are you posting in a discussion about them?