BOOGIE - a discussion

B

Buick6

too punk to drunk
People talk about the pleasures of muisc in various terms. To 'rock', 'swing' 'shake' etc...

Personally I like stuff that BOOGIES. People here don't talk about the BOOGIE. Maybe it's not intellectual enough since it implies a basic physicality. Here's a definition from the InterNerd dictionary:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boogie

By Boogie I mean starting at yr basic JL Hooker/Howling Wolf/BO didley, thru to yr Pebbles Garage Bands, the Stones, Velvets, T-Rex, Gary Glitter, AC/DC, Rose Tattoo, bits of the Pistols, Kraftwerk - nothing in the 80s really 'boogied' maybe a few Rick Rubin productions, early Black Flag and Prince and maybe Cameo. The 90s defintely had ALOT of Boogie action, mainly via House music of all genres (yes House is essentially boogie shakey) and the odd Marilyn Manson/NiN single and elements of grind-metal like Sepultura or Pantera. Now it's nadir the whole Timbaland/Booty hiphop which never seems to stop...

I find Goldfrapp to be excellent practioners of BOOGIE in their singles, but not much else (so I don't buy their albmus nor am a big fan). As long as the music has BOOGIE-tude it's alright, but none of this blurry fucken post-modernist hippy-shit. BOOGIE always moves forward as it looks over it's shoulder.
 
B

blissblogger

Well-known member
don't forget ZZ Top and Lynyrd!

the Dazed and Confused soundtrack is a nice little lode of boogie (foghat 'slowride'!)

neo-boogie: Raging Slab, erm, some others i can't remember right now. Butthole Surfers, at moments?

profound musico-philosophical question: what's the difference between boogie and raunch?

royal trux is neo-raunch i think, as is Black Crowes, as is primal scream circa 'rocks off' (except it's tepid)
 
C

carlos

manos de piedra
blissblogger said:
profound musico-philosophical question: what's the difference between boogie and raunch?
Click to expand...

never heard "raunch" used as a genre name...

i think i understand what Buick6 is talking about when he says BOOGIE but i'm not too sure still

but pretty much all american 70s rock has some of what i consider boogie- Canned Heat, James Gang, Cactus, Nugent, Blue Oyster Cult, pretty much all the southern rock bands...

i guess also any rock song with the word "boogie" in the title?
 
H

henry s

Street Fighting Man
most songs with "boogie" in the title must surely boogie...

band names, though?

boogie down productions?...not boogie

boogie times tribe?...most assuredly not boogie

intelligent boogie: captain beefheart

none more boogie: "black betty", by ram jam
 
D

DigitalDjigit

Honky Tonk Woman
What about boogie woogie, the precursor to rock and roll, the black party music of early 50's with a walking piano bassline that came out of jazz.
 
C

carlos

manos de piedra
boogie woogie- check the wiki link above

none more boogie: Blue Oyster Cult's "The Red and The Black"
 
Last edited:
B

Buick6

too punk to drunk
blissblogger said:
don't forget ZZ Top and Lynyrd!



profound musico-philosophical question: what's the difference between boogie and raunch?

royal trux is neo-raunch i think, as is Black Crowes, as is primal scream circa 'rocks off' (except it's tepid)
Click to expand...

New York Dolls, Raunch Hands, devil dogs, Nashville Pussy etc - all bands that go no-where after 1 record unfortunately!...

though the best were of course MOTORHEAD, derived from HAWKWIND, who were psychadelic Boogie!

But alas you identified the ultimate problem especially with the English bands - Primal Scream - constantly tried to 'rock' and never could. Oasis filled in the blanks and the rest was some sort of history.

But Goldfrapp...she got boogie (for about 4 songs, heh!)

I'm talking about boogie as a 'sound' and a 'feeling' you know make you wanna go fuck, then fuck things up! anything but sit on yr arse and talk about post-structularism and cyborgs! ;)
 
Last edited:
B

blissblogger

Well-known member
raunch isn't a genre but it's definitely a feel, as is boogie -- but boogie, i suspect, also could be musically defined probably. anyone with experience of being in a band care to give it a go?

i don't think james gang were boogie, they were funky more than they boogied (subtle difference)

what about little feat? 'rock'n'roll doctor' is archetypal sophisto-boogie, when i saw the old footage of them doing that on old grey whistle test, i thought they must be the greatest thing, but there's precious little in the rest of their discog that's as good -- way too tasteful

beefheart as intelligent boogie -- maybe avant-boogie's more like it, cos it's a bit more primal/abrasive than 'intelligent' suggests... yeah 'clear spot' and 'gonna booglarise ya baby' are boogietastic

ac/dc aren't really boogie but what are they then..
 
B

boomnoise

♫
i'm currently working with a guy who's dad co-wrote don't blame it on the boogie. i don't think we should.
 
Last edited:
C

carlos

manos de piedra
Buick6 said:
New York Dolls, Raunch Hands, devil dogs, Nashville Pussy etc - all bands that go no-where after 1 record unfortunately!...
Click to expand...

dolls maybe don't belong on that list- 2nd lp has some great songs- chatterbox, puss'n'boots, mystery girls, human being... i listen to both LPs just as much- "human being" is perfect boogie no?

i saw the raunch hands live once- they were ok

Sepultura (saw them live once) and Pantera (never cared for them too much) had "groove" but not too much "boogie"- at least not to my way of boogie thinking...

Blackfoot's "Train, Train"- now that's boogie...
 
C

childrentalking

Well-known member
obv finest modern practioners of the genre = ENDLESS BOOGIE!

NYC-based hobby band, apparently w a phenomenal live show. sadly, I've not seen it -- only one show in the UK, Slint's ATP, fuck that shit. the two records are surprisingly great, two of the best albums I've heard this year. fantastic insert too, biker stroke human hybrid w gratuitous genitalia. yeah!

brief review here: http://www.citypaper.com/music/print_recordreview.asp?id=9462. although obv it's not a CD, and I don't think either volume is officially OOP. www.fusetronsound.com still had copies last I looked.
 
H

henry s

Street Fighting Man
not that this will get us any closer to that elusive musical definition of "boogie", but:

top hat = boogie

Leon Russell > Guns N' Roses > Kid Rock > Big And Rich
 
D

Diggedy Derek

Stray Dog
I saw Endless Boogie at ATP, and they were rubbish. It's basically Bo Diddley riffs for 20 minutes with some scuzy psychedelic residues.
 
D

Diggedy Derek

Stray Dog
Ha, now you've got me there.

Has anyone mentioned Boogie as a term for the post-disco, fat-synth basslined club dance music? Like disco, but slightly more slowed down- something like Never Too Much by Luther Vandross is kind of Boogie. In fact the existence of boogie more or less proves the resilience of disco, which mutated slightly and was still going strong throughou the 80s...
 
H

henry s

Street Fighting Man
Go-Go (Chuck Brown, Trouble Funk, etc.) was pretty much a bass-happy boogie-laden post-disco dance music...
 
D

dHarry

Well-known member
boogie-woogie bugle boy of company b

If you wanted to get a little technical you could maybe define boogie as a swung, triplet approach - instead of rigidly equidistant hi-hat beats:

[rat -a- tat -a- tat -a- tat -a]
[ 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 - 7 - 8]

you get:

[rat a-tat a-tat a-tat a-tat a-] (with a silent but counted beat in between each)
[1-2-3 1-2-3 1-2-3 1-2-3 1-2-3 ]

So T-Rex's I Love To Boogie would be boogie, but Baccara's Yes Sir, I Can Boogie wouldn't :p It's like the roll in rock and roll, that jazz ride cymbal tss-tss-t-tss-tss-t-

But if you're including all sorts of non-swingy stuff like ZZ Top, Kraftwerk, Sex Pistols, then why not AC/DC? Is it just a syncopated riff thing? And what's the difference between funk, boogie and rock when it comes down to it? We all know how rock beats serve as hip hop breaks - Led Zep's When The Levee Breaks etc. So is boom-boom-bap all it takes to be funk and/or rock and/or boogie? :confused:
 
C

Canada J Soup

Monkey Man
Boogie / boogie-woogie are (technically speaking) typified by a repetitive walking bassline using a blues chord progression and a shuffle beat. I'm trying to think of examples, but every time I do the song comes into my head is that one by the 5, 6, 7, 8s that they play in Kill Bill (which wouldn't really be considered a proper boogie tune due to the beat).

Wikipedia has a pretty in depth technical definition that manages to shed almost no light whatsoever: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boogie

It's like music that is funky or has swing I guess...semi-technical terminology that correspond to a more loosely defined feel.


Total aside: I used to really want a "Mesa Boogie" amp just 'cause of the name...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top