if christmas is “the most wonderful time of the year” then saint valentine’s day is surely the most thoughtful time of the year, no? even if you don’t love anyone you still get forced to think about love, often to the point of bringing up a little bit of sick. it’s great.
one way of coping with this, i found, was to start a disco (dirtyconverse) and channel every available ounce of love into it – much better than getting angry with the world for giving me rubbish girlfriends (in the past).
this is why dirtyconverse is and has always been all about ‘pure disco love’ and so much of the music that gets played is selected for its dancefloor amour-inducing qualities (in a clean and wholesome way, of course). and it works – whether it’s faith-restoring lyrics, drums that beat-up angst or synth that simply makes you smile – there is a lot of love at our disco.
naturally this means the february party is extra pure special – being a chance to celebrate the love of music, dancing and everything else that comes with a good disco…so whether you’re hugging your friends, humping your other half or doing a robyn (that’s dancing on your own, not knobbing a hot blonde), you should find a place at our Second Ever Lovers’ Disco.
with that in mind here are ten carefully selected disco love songs, which ensnare every dimension of love and will likely make you sing, shiver and sick a little bit – hopefully, all at the same time. messy.
1. ‘dancing on my own’ by robyn. life-affirming synth for the unloved.
2. ‘feels like i’m in love’ – by kelly marie. giddy pop proof that even ginger-haired ladies with a touch of the troll about them can fall in love. if kelly can wear a bin liner One-Piece while looking like someone’s nan doing the robot on tv, AND still feel like she’s in love, then there is hope for anyone. provided you can do ninja kicks and unsubtle arse-slap dance moves, that is. that’s asda price!
[better videos here and here and also here in what looks suspiciously like it could be original video for this belting song, the embedding for all sadly disabled]
3. ‘everlasting love’ – by the love affair. something to aspire to.
4. ‘true blue’ – by madonna. even if you don’t appreciate “true love, oh baby” you can still enjoy the cute faux-innocent close-ups of the backing dancers well-toned asses. an american apparel-inspiring treat.
5. ‘young adult friction’ – by the pains of being pure at heart. sex in public libraries? (almost) better than love.
6. ‘your ex-lover is dead’ – by stars. not for the light-hearted, this one. cellos and duets and no end of sarcasm from a fresh wound. very raw, that one.
7. ‘put a little love in your heart’ – by jackie deshannon. do what jackie says and the world will be a better place, for you, and me, you just wait and see…
8. ‘heartache’ by pepsi and shirlie (and their ra-ra skirts). well, thanks to sony bmg preventing ANY wham embeds, sadly ‘wake me up before you go go’ and ‘careless whisper’ could not be included in this disco love-in. THANKFULLY, one-time wham backing (imagine if they were boys?!) singers and all-time disco princesses pepsi and shirlie, said ‘yes’. “remember we met and the room was crowded, i can’t forget the way that i found it…” if you’re listening, ‘hi shirlie!’
9. ‘fading like a flower’ – by roxette. belting break-up song channelling pain through power guitars. just let it go, go on…such a cold town.
10. ‘neighbourhood #1 (tunnels) by arcade fire. attention to the finer details of falling in love and forgetting everything that happened before. impossible not to love.
and finally, the voice of one angry young lady who has clearly been turned into a super-creepy she-devil by love. let this be a warning to you:
ballad of a disco 