A dance primer and a reference card on the rating system.

I've been meaning to do something with this blog for a while and have decided it'd be a great place to write music reviews. Specifically dance music reviews. I've always been a fan of dance music, i think the first album i ever owned was Vanilla Ice's To The Extreme... which was huge. I would beg my parents for disco records for my birthday and Christmas, in particular i wanted a Village People album. They decided against it, and got me Queen ones instead.

It wasn't until my mid to late teens that I found myself on the dance floor. At the time Toronto was booming with indie dance music and the city was quickly becoming a hot spot for all things dance. In the past few years the genre has dwindled somewhat, like a cocaine high the kids got bored and moved on to things with more substance.
I still love dance music with all my heart, the primal urge to move our bodies to a beat needs to be tapped.
Dance may be the one true way towards world peace.
Of course, like anything, dance music isn't for everyone but i think that has more to do with people looking down on dance culture rather than the act of dance.
To dance is to be happy, it is letting go, it is letting an intimate part of yourself out into the world, it is expression in its most instinctive form.

My first wave of reviews will be on records that i've been listening to for awhile and have been out for some time. Then slowly it'll become only new stuff.
I've worked out a bit of a visual rating system that works as follows:

BLOODY MESS:
The lowest rating for a record. This album made me want to cut off my feet and throw them at the artist for ruining my dance step.









TWO STAR TWO TONE:
This record had some alright jams sprinkled sparsely throughout but mostly, it's an uncomfortable improper affair.









PUMP ACTION:
This record is pretty fun and you'll wanna strap on something comfortable and get down to most of it. Nothing too impressive.







DISCO QUEEN:
This record makes you wanna hit the floor with some drinks and get your hug on. A good time.









ROMAN GOD:
This record made me hit the floor with the power of some sort of mythic beast. It makes me want to dance with a lion.









Well, let the dancing begin.