When I first saw the title of this thread, I was thinking that it was talking about where I usually feel like I'm gonna end up after dancing to the song!!
St James Infirmary Blues
Candyman
Both
Neither
Inspired by a recent subthread, and by a conversation I had over here recently.
One song is fast, and it's about my sweet sugar candyman.
The other song is slow, and it's about finding my baby dead in a hospital.
Which is better for dancing "sexy"?
When I first saw the title of this thread, I was thinking that it was talking about where I usually feel like I'm gonna end up after dancing to the song!!
Which version of St James? There are .... many.
[EDIT] And to add to the cheerfulness, in the song, the singer isn't necessarily singing just about the death of his lover, but quite possibly about his own also. There's even a very early version which is pretty explicit in the fact that the singer is mourning his death from VD (courtesy of his 'baby')...
Whole essay about the track here.
[/EDIT]
Last edited by straycat; 10th-April-2008 at 08:30 AM.
is it?
One interpretation could be that the young soldier recruit used Candy to buy favours and illicit underage (illegal) sex.
My opinion is that this song could be autobiographical and that it probably describes the singer's first sexual experience.
If that's the case then it's another example of celebrity setting a poor role model for our youth.
Now, did you really meanin this context?Which is better for dancing "sexy"?
Hmmmm....
Difficult one this, because as a few people have already said, there are different interpretations of "sexy" and different interpretations of the words or meanings of both the songs.
At first, without really knowing or thinking too deeply about the words or meanings of either song, I went for St James Infirmary Blues as being *sexier* due to its blues feel and slow tempo (I listened to Cab Calloway's version). That's because my interpretation of sexy goes better with slower tempoed music like this with a bluesey feel.
BUT
Then, rethinking Candyman and it's risque lyrics - which can be taken on many levels - It's a sexy song too. I love dancing to this and being able to respond to the tempo and feel of it. Depending on who it's being danced with determines how *sexily* it can be interpreted. Some dancers will go for the jive feel of the song and do lots of fun, energetic moves. Others may like interpreting the lyrics more and responding to them....
Having listened to the lyrics of St James Infirmary Blues, I don't find them sexy at all, but if it came on, I would choose to dance to the melody and feel of it, not the words, so would find it sexy.....
Confused? I am!
I think I'll have to tick the *both* box!
For me, it's the music that matters, not the lyrics. Half the time, I have no idea what lyrics I have heard.
Wouldn't dancing with the lyrics in mind become a tad too literal? (anyone remember Pan's People on TOTP?)
Daisy
(An Illiterate Little FLower)
MODERATOR AT YOUR SERVICE
"If you're going to do something tonight, that you know you'll be sorry for in the morning, plan a lie in." Lorraine
Back to the original question though, I don't actually find either track inherently 'sexy'. I find St James more intense, and I love dancing blues to it. Candyman's fun to dance to - upper-mid-tempo (170bpm?) and loads of energy to it - but sexy? Nah.
Me neither!
I just had a peek back at THIS thread, now there's some seriously sexy tracks on there!
MODERATOR AT YOUR SERVICE
"If you're going to do something tonight, that you know you'll be sorry for in the morning, plan a lie in." Lorraine
No denying he's an amazing singer, and I love a lot of his songs (Sixteen Tonnes, for example). Compare him to the likes of Cab & Louis et al, and I personally find that his arrangements tend to be a bit mass-market, and less interesting musically (for a more contemporary example, look at his version of Kiss, compared to Prince's original). All is subjective though.
I was trying to work in a line about his 'enormous talent', but it just didn't come out right
If Candyman is upper-mid tempo, what is upper tempo?
I think Candyman is one of the fastest songs played in Sydney MJ at present (and I know high energy adds to the perception of tempo).
At a recent MJ party a friend asked me if I would dance to Candyman with her if she requested it. I agreed. She then requested both Candyman and Pump It (and we had two great dances), but she told me the DJ was reluctant as "people don't like dancing to such fast songs".
(He was pretty much right, but that just meant that for a couple of fast high energy tracks we had the space to dance fast high energy not necessarily well controlled MJ.)
Those that like the fast tracks really like them. It just takes two of those an evening to get the blood pumping. I believe those faster tracks are what causes dance addicition in some.
I believe that picking tracks to get the maximum number of dancers on the floor for every track tends towards the tolerable rather than towards the desirable.
Mr Zoot Suit (190?) and Big Beat from Touch & Go, to name two that I've danced to at MJ venues.
A while back, I'd have said Candyman was fast, but my perceptions have changed a bit since - now it depends on one's level of skill, and what dance one is doing. If we're talking Lindy, for example, 220 is manageable for me, but very comfortable for many of the better dancers - I think the fastest I've done Lindy to is about 250.... which is a very comfortable speed for Balboa. Fastest I've ever danced would be around 300bpm (balboa again, but some people would still be doing Lindy to that...)
So nowadays, Candyman just doesn't seem hugely fast...
In the end, it comes down to the speed you practice at. If a venue rarely plays anything as fast as Candyman, few people at the venue will be able to dance that fast. If the venue regularly pushes the music faster than that, people will learn to cope with it.... and the same holds true for the slower stuff.
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