Here’s just another brief glimpse into my life and how I run my mouth (see previous example here).
I work in an office. I’ll sit in a meeting listening quietly — perhaps engaged fully, perhaps at half-speed, because not everything is pertinent to my job. But then someone refers to KC & The Sunshine Band as “that one-hit wonder.” My brain instantly switches into high gear.
That’s not true, I protest. They’re not some favorite band of mine, even if I have defended disco music once or twice in the past.
KC & The Sunshine Band had huge success with “Get Down Tonight” (featured in a memorable episode of Homicide: Life on the Street), ” That’s The Way (I Like It)” and “(Shake, Shake, Shake) Shake Your Booty.” In particular, “I’m Your Boogie Man” and “Boogie Shoes” have excellent grooves as their foundation. Yeah, they’re no Elvis Costello & The Attractions, but they’ve got more memorable tunes than most bands.
Then there’s Chris Bliss, the guy who juggles to the Beatles. That video really made the rounds; people love it. But I’ve seen a fair amount of jugglers in my time and I’ve always thought this routine is just okay. He juggles, but it’s not really impressive juggling. I think it’s because he does it to a great Beatles song and because he was the first guy to hit the Internet doing something like this that made it so popular.
Jason Garfield does the same routine with five balls. He explains why he did it: because Bliss is basically doing three moves repeatedly, moves that are not particularly difficult and aren’t really choreographed all that well. This video from Garfield does an even better job of explaining this, as it takes footage of Bliss’ routine and throws random music behind him, showing that it looks like he’s moving to the music even when he’s clearly not.
And yet it’s amazing how ridiculous you can look to other adults when you argue about KC & The Sunshine Band or juggling. Welcome to my world.
Tags: KC & The Sunshine Band, juggling, Chris Bliss, Jason Garfield
2 Responses
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Bill Higgins-- Beam Jockey Says:
He explains why he did it: because Bliss is basically doing three moves repeatedly, moves that are not particularly difficult and aren’t really choreographed all that well.
I just rented the movie The Prestige; one difference between the two antagonists, both stage magicians, is that one guy is technically better at magic but the other guy has more showmanship and stage presence.
(Swell film.)
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The Pop View Says:
By the way, let me go on the record as stating that the Evolution of Dance video is equally lame and also equally popular, based largely on emotional appeal. I get it — it spoke to you, you love it. But it’s not very good.