999,795: Hues Corporation - Rock the Boat

I went out on a date with a young rocker dude recently and our high school music tastes where discussed. He brought up liking Tool. "Fair enough!" was my reaction to THAT. However, his response to my two-year-long disco phase was a bit knee jerk. "Disco!" exclaimed the grubby chap. He paused, and then continued "well, I'm glad that's not your bag now. I associate disco with shallow-minded people." First of all, I don't equate musical genres with personality defects (though individual bands- different story!). Secondly, he must have gotten this disco-mean-you're-shallow theory second hand. The boy was around my age, born in the early 80s. He was not cognizant for the Bee Gees record burnings. Nor did he attend key parties where disco music was played while everyone contracted AIDS. One of the greatest things about appreciating the music of a different era from ones own is that you don't have environmental history attached to the music. I'll never be able to hear "I Swear" by All-4-One without having PTSD attacks associated with the anxiety (or excitement? no, ANXIETY) of my first middle school dance. John Mayer's "Your Body is a Wonderland" assaulted me aurally at every turn freshman year of college. It was like it was played on repeat for a solid 6 months in every girl's dorm.

I wasn't around for the advent of disco music. Disco was a genre I chose to become obsessed with for a couple years (and appreciate to this day). It wasn't foisted upon me. Furthermore, quality disco music ain't shallow at all. It's got more soul than it knows what to do with. 1974's single "Rock the Boat" is often credited as the first disco song to top the Billboard charts and is it pumping with real heart. The horn section alone could give someone the will to live! Yes, it's a catchy and infectious pop song, but that doesn't mean it's simple. The thumping drum is actually kind of complex, especially when paired with the horn and piano licks. More importantly, this jam packs an emotionally climactic pre-chorus crescendo that causes my heart to beat faster TO THIS DAY (it's the part where they repeat for final time "so I'd like to know where you got the notion").

Also: how can a pop song cater to the shallow-minded when there is such a commitment to metaphor? "Rock the Boat" adheres to its poetic theme so strictly, there are at least five nautical-based similes.