This one is for my beautiful wife Mary who loves musicals, especially the Sound of Music.

“Groovie Movie” is the most life-affirming nine minutes of video I have ever seen. This is a short flim that takes hilarious look at the hot dance of the time, the Jitterbug. I had the benefit of seeing it on TCM in higher resolution. It’s harder to see the humorous facial expressions in this YouTube clip, but most the vibe comes through. It really gets going after the five minute mark, but watch the whole thing. Satisfaction guaranteed or your money back.

My favorite dancer is the brunette because of her willingness to be completely silly. Check out those funny faces she makes and those wacky-jerky moves she throws in there. And that jumper dress she’s wearing is the business! Please ladies, consider running that look today.  Other highlights the below-the-glass-floor footage so you can see those flying feet, and the frequent use of one of my favorite jive terms, “solid.”

“Solid, Papa!”

The latest Plastilina Mosh record came out just in time for my birthday a few weeks ago. After the first full listen of All U Need is Mosh I was stunned that is wasn’t the greatest record ever made, because I’m huge, huge fan. I guess it’s bound to happen, but it’s always a downer when a band seems to take a step backward. I know, it’s all in my head. After several more complete listens I do love more than at first. There are a large number of great tunes and the whole world should buy it. My favorites in general are the more electronic stuff, but the punk-pop single “Let U Know” is totally fun. Other standouts include the slow electro-funk “Paso Fino” and the pretty “Pervert Pop Song.”

This record is at the literal end of the line on the shelf. So, I’m always staring at it, but it’s been a long time since I’ve heard it. That’s too bad because Bird Wood Cage by The Wolfgang Press is a great album. Someone reviewed it on Amazon with the title “Industrial-Strength Bootie Quake.” In addition to being funny that’s also accurate. Sure, it’s late ’80s alt music on 4A.D., the record label synonymous with “gothic” music, and no self-respecting art school student at the time would be without it. But these songs are also a lot of fun, and dance-able! My favorite is probably the last one, “Shut That Door.”

Great period interview on Youtube:

Welcome to the singles club. At least that’s what I think I’ll be posting all week. This one is a 12 inch of “Stop This Crazy Thing” (1988) by Coldcut. It’s probably the best dance single ever recorded. If you disagree with that I’d love to hear what you think is better.

Junior Reid (Black Uhuru) provides the perfect vocal complement to this jungle music which is replete with all sorts of hoots and hollers, including Tarzan’s signature wail. The sounds and samples are themselves what’s crazy here and I definitely do not want to stop them.

This is one of the most played records in our collection. Long live Coldcut!

(I found this video of “Stop This Crazy Thing.” The record cover appears to be for a 12 inch (different edition than mine), but the record itself looks like a 7 inch, and the music is shorter. The original 12 inch is seven and a half minutes of jumping.)

Coldcut’s MySpace
Coldcut Wikipedia article