MAD MODE: THE DISCO ISSUE

MAD MODE THE DISCO ISSUE

ISSUE I

CONTENTS Editors’ Letter......................................................3 Saturday Night Fever........................................6 Disc-Oh?...............................................................12 The End of Disco..............................................16 Disco Tunes........................................................17 Credits..................................................................20

A LETTER FROM THE EDITORS Welcome to our first issue! We’re Catherine and Kate, the founders and editors in chief of MAD MODE. We began this magazine because we wanted to introduce a creative and fashionable perspective to our community, which you have just become a part of! Since you are already here, reading this, we wanted to thank you for your time and support. But more importantly, why should you keep reading? This issue, The Disco Issue, focuses upon the vibes and style of the 1970’s disco scene. Chosen in honor of Madeira’s upcoming semi-formal we wanted to offer our advice and inspiration for this Saturday Night (Fever).

Articles and photos of our wonderful Madeira student models fill our pages.

Enjoy!

SAT. NIGHT FEVER

AN iconic disco movie released in 1977, Saturday Night Fever is characterized by 70’s fashion, an awesome soundtrack, rockin’ dance moves, and vibrant scenes.

John Travolta’s memorable white suit and Karen Lynn Gorney’s red dress are essentials of the film. A story filled with love, drama, and more importantly, disco, this movie transports audience members to a place of glee and fun.

DISCO-OH? Disco originated from the french word “discotheque,” which literally translates to a library of phonograph records. What set disco apart from club scenes of the past was not only the fashion and liberation of the era, but the fact that instead of a live band, clubs would play songs on records handled by deejays. The leading genre of dance music in the 1970s, disco music had undertones and lyrics revolving around partying and fun. Disco evolved from several subgenres and originated in predominantly Black, Latine, and gay clubs. The Loft and 12 West, underground gay New York clubs in the early 1970s, are well known for sparking the disco scene.

The fashion began in these heavily minority populated clubs and eventually spread to heterosexual and white clubs. As disco became mainstream, much of the credit as to where it began was sadly lost.

The style and fashion of disco focused on liberation, a loosening of guidelines in regard to gender expression, and glamor. When going out to the disco club, people were able to play around androgyny and individualism, both in style at the time. One could never go wrong with bell bottoms, platform shoes, and clothing that shone under club lights or reflected the disco ball.

In 1979, in the middle of the season, the Chicago White Sox were down 35—45. Their games had less than 10,000 people regularly in attendance. They needed to attract fans to the stadium.

Hence, a collaboration between the two parties was planned. Admission to the White Sox was reduced to one fourth of the regular price, 98 cents, as long as fans brought a disco record to burn. They named the event Disco Demolition.

In total, 50,000 people showed up, mostly young white men. Many patrons who brought records did not bring disco music, but instead any music by Black artists. The stadium accepted them.

A large dumpster of records collected at the entrance sat in the middle of the field. Steve Dahl drove on the field in a military Jeep. He blew up the records creating a crater in the middle of the baseball field. The crowd went wild, literally. They overtook the field, attempted to break into the player’s clubhouse, and climbed up foul poles. They smashed any disco records they could get their hands on and stopped only after the Chicago riot police arrived.

This was essentially a gathering of young white men, who were frustrated with the progressive movement, destroying Black and gay art.

Some believed there were other motivations for the event.

As Joe Bisceglia put it, “It was fueled by one simple demographic: white men who, unfortunately, didn’t — or couldn’t — dance.”

Nevertheless, what everyone can agree on is that this event marked the end of the mainstream disco scene.

After this, disco was pushed out of the pop scene by white music producers and returned to the gay, Latine, and Black communities it emerged from.

The End of Disco

In 1979, Steve Dahl was fired from his job as a disc jockey for a radio station that was rebranding as a disco channel. Embittered by this, Steve ran an anti-disco campaign on his new radio show. He snapped disco records, used sound effects to feign blowing up records, and vehemently bad-mouthed the entire genre. Steve obtained a rapidly growing fanbase.

MAD MODE’s Disco Tunes 1 Blame It on the Boogie 14 It’s Raining Men 2 Boogie Oogie Oogie

15 Le Freak

3 Boogie Wonderland

16 Money Money Money

4 Celebration

17 Night Fever

5 Dancing Queen

18 Play That Funky Music

6 Do Ya Think I’m Sexy

19 Shake Your Booty

7 Get Down On It

20 Shake Your Groove Thing

8 Good Times

21 Stayin Alive

9 Got to Be Real

22 Super Freak

10 How Deep Is Your Love 23 That’s the Way (I Like It) 11 I Wanna Dance

Wit’Choo 12 I Will Survive 13 I’m Coming Out

24 Y.M.C.A. 25 You Should Be Dancing

CREDIT WHERE CREDIT IS DUE EDITORS IN CHIEF Kate Eisenreich Catherine Ndumbalo CHIEF CONSULTANT Feli Badji MODELS MIlan Umana Olivia Tse Sarisa “Pear” Kongduang Susanna Hardee Kate Eisenreich THANKS A special thanks to all those that inspired us to start this and helped in the process, you know who you are!

SOURCES

Garofalo, Reebee. “Disco.” Encyclopedia Britannica, 29 Sept. 2014, www.britannica.com/art/disco.

Garofalo, Reebee. “Disco.” Encyclopedia Britannica, 29 Sept. 2014, www.britannica.com/art/disco.

Knott, Rebeka. “1970s Disco Fashion: Bell-Bottoms and Boogie Shoes.”

Groovy History, 25 Jan. 2019, groovyhistory. com/1970s-disco-fashion.

“Letters: Why There Was a Backlash against Disco Music.” Chicago Tribune, 26 Dec. 2020, www.chicagotribune.com/ opinion/letters/ ct-letters-vp-122620-20201226-mwdzwwj3erduzkx2hxfzdcvp2u-story.html.

Mankowski, Diana. “That’s the Way They Liked It: Disco Fashion.” The Ultimate History Project, ultimatehistoryproject.com/disco-fashion.html.

Petridis, Alexis. “Disco Demolition: The Night They Tried to Crush Black Music.”

The Guardian, 19 July 2019, www. theguardian.com/music/2019/jul/19/ disco-demolition-the-night-theytried-to-crush-black-music.

Robinson, Lisa. “Boogie Nights.” Vanity Fair, 6 Jan. 2010, www.vanityfair.com/ culture/2010/02/oral-history-of-disco-201002.

Terry, Josh. “’Disco Demolition Night’ Was a Disgrace, and Celebrating It Is Worse.” Vice, 12 June 2019, www. vice.com/en/article/8xzke5/ disco-demolition-night-was-a-disgrace-and-celebrating-it-is-worse.

Walelk, Gary. “Forty Years Later, Disagreement about Disco Demolition Night.”

WBUR, 12 July 2019, www.wbur.org/ onlyagame/2019/07/12/ disco-demolition-dahl-veeck-chicago-white-sox.

“Where Did Disco Come From?” Cape Symphony, www.capesymphony.org/ blog-news/blog/ 218-where-did-disco-come-from.