Cristina - Cristina
#73
1980 Housekeeping
Cristina
Cristina
Genre: Uninteresting Disco
2 out of 5
How many times did Cristina and her team listen to Bow Wow Wow? Has to be more than a couple, right? “Jungle Love” is straight up discoization of BWW’s sound without the punky wails of Lwin or the terrific Barbarossa drumming.
It’s basically a disco record which means that each song goes on for at least 25% longer than it needs to because they wanna keep you on the dance floor but the four on the floor isn’t pulsating enough to even get me tapping my feet.
Something I learned from a DJ about dance music: It really works when it’s a series of eight measures of 4/4. At the end of that measure the next 8 incorporate some change and the next 8, and the next 8. You can count them down “4-3-2-1” during the final measure. That’s so DJs don’t really have to pay attention to the song and can just count the beats so they can change the lighting on the floor in time with the hit of the next four measures.
This works especially well with Apollo 440’s “Stop the Rock”. That’s how I learned this. It’s a perfect example and it’s why that song works so well. It also acts like a hook in Disco. You look forward to the changes. And it’s cathartic when they happen.
I don’t believe this technique had been developed fully at the time this record was made. I mean, it’s almost there on “Mamma Mia” but Cristina’s fighting it with a melody and that isn’t helping.
I feel bad for her. If you search her on Apple Music you get a ton of hits and they are all Christina Aguilera, despite the spelling.
Cristina will do better and be redeemed by embracing New Wave.
