Way, Way Back Wednesday: Special Edition

As always, it's all about the music, but today I'm going to take you guys back in time. Way, way back in time. For one reason or the other, whenever I'm getting ready for work, on the train, cleaning on a Sunday, cooking a meal, at the gym, etc. I always have to be surrounded by four to the floor beats.  It never fails.  Half the time, I'm constantly searching for new music I can listen to wether it be on Beatport (top 40, as well as obscure places and sections of the database that I can think of,) YouTube browsing, other music blogs, or on my boyfriend's iTunes (yes, I'm a track thief, and I have no shame in my game.) The other half of the time, however, I choose to feed my nostalgia. More often than I should, I like to tap into the house and techno music of past decades. Although I didn't party to these tunes, I grew up listening to them, and for that reason feel a deep attachment to them. One of my favorite features of old school house and techno tracks are their vocals. Maybe it's just me, but a good vocal always takes things to another level. It has the power to make the body move, the power to inspire, the power to uplift.  Here are some of my favorites.

 Detroit-based techno group Inner City was arguably the first out of Detroit who was responsible for bringing techno to the masses. No one can deny the fact that once they hear the crooning of Paris Gray, "Let me take a place I know you want to go, it's a good life…" clapping your hands and bobbing your head are an absolute must. Not only is this song one of the first techno tracks, but, above all, it's message uplifting.  It's all about leaving your troubles behind for happiness and joy… it is titled, "good life," after all.

This vocal is so damn popular to this day that you will still hear it being spun on dance floors here in New York City. And for good reason. It's another feel good tune that is to put a smile on anyone's face and makes you want to raise your head a little bit higher. "Just be yourself, and no one else." The message that this track provides is something special. It's all about being proud of who you are, and being comfortable in your own skin. It's what the scene was meant to be about. It's about coming as you are, no matter who you are. The dance floor is a sanctuary where anyone and everyone can "be themselves." This vocal embodies that idea for sure.

Before "Bigger Than Prince," there was "Preacher Man." Green Velvet's Chicago classic house classic comes paired with a powerful, spoken vocal that is supposed to sound similar to a preacher's voice. Encased within this vocal is a powerful message coming out of 80s/90s Chicago: problems that were arising within the black church.  Who said vocals were all fluff? Not this track. House is versatile.  The vocal is making a powerful political statement, and encapsulates a valuable piece of Chicago's cultural history.

Okay. Sometimes I'll play this song for people and it creeps them out. Some of my friends have likened the spoken vocals to the devil beckoning someone come with him to the depths of hell every time he bellows, "follow me." But, that's not what this song is about. If you get past the guy's sinister voice, his calls to "so get up, forget the past…" sound a lot more like leaving behind everything that's holding us back and living the one life we have to life to the fullest extent. The tone of the voice and it's message are a contradiction, but it works.

 "Not everyone understands house music; it's a spiritual thing; a body thing; a soul thing…" I think this vocal speaks for itself. This is the classic that everyone knows, and no matter if it's the first time or hundredth time that you've heard it, chills will go down your spine. It's the kind of vocal that justifies why we all love house music so much. It's so much more than just music; it's an entire culture. Moving our feet to the music, being together with friends, coming together to celebrate life through it all, wether it be in a friend's living room, a club, or even a warehouse. Some people may shake their heads at house lovers, and it's okay. Once you spend one night out at a club, you will know what this thing called house music is all about.

Black Box actually was an Italo-house group from the late 80s/ early 90s. Their production is on point, but the vocals shine in this one. They're more than powerful. They command attention. Just the tone and range of the vocalist are so different. With this vocal, it's less about what the vocals are saying, and more about the emotion the vocalist is putting into them as she's singing. Fun fact: the title of this song should have been "Right on Time," but the producers, not knowing English, understood it to be "Ride on Time" instead. Those damn Italians.