Turn The Beat Around: The Secret History Of Disco (2005)

Book Info

Author

Peter Shapiro

Genre

Fantasy

Rating

4.02 of 5 Votes: 3

Your rating

ISBN

0571211941 (ISBN13: 9780571211944)

Language

English

Publisher

faber & faber

Shops

Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble

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About book Turn The Beat Around: The Secret History Of Disco (2005)

(First reading, 2012) Probably one of the best books about music out there. A little much for me to read every word of - it's quite long, and goes deep into the workings of a lot of names, songs, bands, even movements that I've never heard of. This is bad for the overall accessibility but it shines through that this guy really knows his disco, and that doesn't stop at the music. Shapiro's not afraid to tell the complete story of the modem western world as if it revolved around a mirrorball instead of the sun. I can't wait to sit in front of YouTube and look up a handful of the obscure songs and artists he casually drops references to. There's a whole world to be discovered in here.(Second reading, 2015) It's three years later and now Spotify is a thing. I went through this again and put together a monster playlist of some 521 songs in the order they are referred to here. I can't imagine how much time this man must have spent listening to disco. Last time I read this I overlooked just how funny it is, especially through the constant name drops of long-forgotten bands that sound made up but are all too real-- Bumblebee Unlimited, The Universal Robot Band, Skipworth & Turner etc etc. Shapiro's quasi-sarcastic trains of thought through the history of music are fascinating. I have much digging to do. Here's the playlist, use it wisely: http://open.spotify.com/user/artseidl...

Do You like book Turn The Beat Around: The Secret History Of Disco (2005)?

Though mandatory that the reader be an audiophile/music junkie, this is the holy grail (thus far) of disco history. An amazing retrospective that begins in WWII Germany and circuitously traverses the UK, Italy, and the States. Shapiro obsessively pursues the rise of Motown and Philly soul as it mutated into fledgling forms of disco and then exploded into the pop world with such stigmatizing shlock as the Village People. He fixates on details of every significant gay, black, or punk club, roller-disco, or bathhouse, and each DJ that shaped the movement. It is both technical and insightful, sociological and musicological, and he deftly handles the subject matter throughout with utter adoration and intrigue. My only impossible wish is that it would have a compendium audio disc, so keep your youtube-hand ready!
—Tav