The Dance Music Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio serves as a museum that commemorates and preserves dance history.
The museum specializes in Rhythm & Blues, Jazz, Gospel and Hip-Hop music as well as featuring rare photos and original documents relating to it. Additionally, they have a studio space available to dance students who would like to attend classes there.
Joy Division
Joy Division were one of the most influential bands to emerge from UK punk in the 1970s. Their music often dealt with themes related to suicide and depression. Influenced by early disco, their music can still be found today used for various forms of dance music.
Oblivious of their melancholic aesthetic, they nevertheless achieved immense popularity and success during their tenure, releasing two albums: Unknown Pleasures (1979) and Closer (1980). Their music had an outsized influence on post-punk, emo genres as well as electronic dance music development.
“Love Will Tear Us Apart,” was one of the most successful debut singles ever released in rock history. A powerful statement of anguish and despair, its melody has since been covered by numerous artists including Nine Inch Nails.
Joy Division have become one of the world’s most-beloved bands due to reissues and a recent biopic, becoming beloved icons like Kate Moss have covered their music.
In 1980, after only two albums had been released by New Order, lead vocalist Ian Curtis committed suicide and they split. From these remains emerged New Order which went on to create some of the most influential music of its era.
As Joy Division and New Order became more well-known, their image as an intense, melancholic band was strengthened thanks to artist Peter Saville who created album sleeves for them that helped fans shape their perception of them as groups.
He found his inspiration from the band’s melancholic sound and themes of death, introspection and reflection that were prevalent within their songs and designs. These designs helped maintain the group’s dark aesthetic, remaining influential even after its dissolution.
As well as designing the band’s album sleeves, he also created their logo and promotional materials. One of the foremost artists in British punk, his work has had an immense influence on their image for decades and provided inspiration to many other artists such as Nine Inch Nails.
New Order
Joy Division, who disbanded after frontman Ian Curtis died in May 1980, remains one of the most influential rock groups of all time and have had an enormous effect on New Order, one of the post-punk bands that remains amongst the most popular post-punk acts today. While their influence can still be felt today, New Order have moved away from Joy Division’s darkly gloomy sound in favor of more upbeat guitar-driven albums like Movement (1980) and Get Ready (2001), as evidenced on later works such as Waiting for Sirens’ Call (1995).
New Order’s music has always been judged against Joy Division; their songs often being judged against Joy Division by comparisons between themselves and them. One song like “Isolation”, featuring Bowie-influenced synths and dark vocals could easily have become their signature sound; yet this track doesn’t feature Bowie at all – rather, it conveys the feeling of being trapped in an unpredictable world that makes no sense at all – something few bands have managed to capture successfully on their own.
Unknown Pleasures (2003) is widely considered the pinnacle of New Order’s career; its collection of songs showcase their ability to compose emotively beautiful music. Packed full of brilliant ideas and meticulously constructed, Unknown Pleasures stands as a stunning piece of work – surely the masterpiece.
Yet despite that, they haven’t been recognized with induction into the Dance Music Hall of Fame. Although eligible and an internet poll favorite for years now, they never made the ballot.
At its heart, the dance music hall of fame presents an unusual difficulty: It can be difficult for a group that has made an impactful contribution but doesn’t fit within its traditional definition to gain entry into its ranks. That is because voters generally prefer electing established acts within specific stylistic subgenres rather than welcoming in new styles that might offer similar profiles but are unfamiliar.
EDM
EDM (Electronic Dance Music) is an electronic genre of music which utilizes electronic instruments and equipment to produce sounds. This wide-ranging genre offers various styles and subgenres for fans to enjoy and innovates constantly to remain fresh for them.
Music that falls under this genre is typically associated with nightclubs and raves; however, its popularity is growing on radio stations as well. Genres that fall within this umbrella include techno, drum ‘n bass, disco, pop and trance genres.
Music is typically created using computer software or tech-based equipment like an 808 Drum Machine or 303 Bass Synthesizer. These machines produce an array of sounds that allow musicians to easily compose songs.
Another key aspect of this type of music is that it often serves to help listeners lose consciousness, offering an excellent way to relax and have fun.
Music therapy can also help you fall asleep easily, as its instrumental nature provides a soothing environment to ease you to slumber. It offers an alternative to loud and distracting genres like hip hop or rock that may otherwise interfere with sleep.
Skrillex, Diplo, Major Lazer, and Tiesto are among the best-known artists in this genre of electronic dance music production. Each has had an impactful presence within dance music culture.
Hip hop-influenced music, but with an increased beat per minute (bpm). While hard to distinguish, its repetitive rhythm helps get into the groove faster.
Another popular genre of EDM, dubstep draws its inspiration from Jamaican sound system culture and features an extremely low bass line derived from drumming sounds from Jamaica.
Genre of music that has gained immense popularity throughout the UK and globally is drum and bass, though with faster beats per minute (bpm). However, another genre, known as bass music is becoming more widely recognized: UK Garage.
EDM also contains numerous subgenres, such as trap. Trap is a subgenre that blends EDM solutions with hip-hop and other rap sounds.
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio is a museum that recognizes artists and bands that have contributed significantly to shaping the music industry. Opened in 1995 near Lake Erie near Downtown Cleveland, this facility opened its doors for business.
Artists seeking induction must meet certain criteria, such as influence, sales, critic ratings and concert attendance; this can be especially difficult for rock acts who have struggled with building an audience such as Patti Smith.
Smith earned high praise from critics and peers alike despite her modest album sales; Rolling Stone magazine even named her the ”godmother of punk.” Later she would finally be honored with induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Not only was Smith an influential member of dance history, she earned special distinction for her groundbreaking album and video, “Hands to the People,” a precursor of dance music that features catchy melodies and danceable rhythms that made it one of the most beloved tracks ever.
Her work has inspired many other musicians, such as Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen. Additionally, she serves as an inspirational figure for women working in music industry; garnering much love from female fans.
Unfortunately, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame lacks a dedicated dance music category; however, this doesn’t prevent dance music from still being recognized and represented properly within its ranks. Furthermore, some changes should be implemented so as to better represent dance music as part of its representational strategy.
Foundation Rock & Roll: The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame should induct more bands that contributed to the founding of rock and roll music, such as Johnny Burnette Trio’s 1956 song Train Kept A-Rollin’ which had an immense influence on numerous forms of rock bands.
Short-Lived but Influential: The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame would do itself a disservice by not honoring more bands from this era. Many, like Ritchie Valens, died prematurely without having an extensive career.