I want to be a MACHO!

Since I'm not off to the running start I'd prefer to be at, I'm reposting some older entries of mine related to Disco. Here is one of them now!

I am what I am

Of special note on my turntable for the last few days is (gasp) the Village People. Not only that, but "Macho Man". Could I get any less underground? Has Telefox finally lost his marbles? Please hold all queries and comments until the end of the presentation. The Management thanks you....

So let me back pedal / spin the story a bit....

Sometimes I don't think people believe me that I've been collecting records since about the age of 5 but it's absolutely the truth. My father was a musician and avid vinyl collector, and was more than happy to share his love of sound with me as a young one. By the age of 3 he had me behind a drum set with headphones on, learning to play along with beats, something I most definately feel affected my love of dance music and djing and all that goes with the world of rythm. Around 5 years old, I was spending a good deal of time listening to my father's records, my favorites of the day being Steve Miller's "fly like an eagle" (the LP version with the 'space intro', let's be real), Alan Parsons Project "I robot", Gerry Rafferty "baker street", and absolutely the whole of the Beatles "Magical Mystery Tour". I would play these records over and over, driving my mother insane on a daily basis. I quickly moved on to a love for KISS and Cheap Trick, and between my parents and grandparents, started my collecting at this time. Also at this time were my first DISCO records, the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack, the first couple Village People records, and perhaps the most 'unbelievable' for my naysayers, Kraftwerk's "Trans Europe Express" which I must have picked up from television, but I LOVED the whole album and listened to it relentlessly.

Many of the records I loved at 5, I still love today. So it is not odd that I do still pull out my Village People records every so often, not for the love of disco or for any hipster gay notions, but for the fact that I've been listening to these damn records for over 30 years now. So anyways....I pulled out the "Macho Man" LP the other night as it had been some time, and I really wanted to hear the 'macho man / I am what I am' medley. I still think these 2 tracks are just essential in disco terms, more so now as my disco knowledge continually grows. I feel so fortunate that even at such a young age, I became accustomed to the medley or "mix" format. And it wasn't just me, I remember playing with friends at 6, 7, 8 years old, we would listen to records all the time. I remember us all being keenly aware of the excellent percussive segue between the two tracks, and I also remember us dropping the needle towards the end of "I am what I am" several times in one listening so we could enjoy the rush of flanged and phased goodness that occurs near the end of the track. I remember us all doing this often with Meco's version of "Close Encounters if the 3rd Kind" disco record back then as well, sadly I still don't own the Meco record (I have every other freakin one!!).

I look back at these things, and the similar effect of 'trans Europe Express / metal on metal', of the endless days of Saturday Night Fever (especially the MFSB and Walter Murphy tracks, yes I swear these were the ones I was drawn to early), and a year or 2 later being enraptured by Amii Stewart, Sylvester, Giorgio and Donna etc. When anyone questions my undying love for disco and dance, I realize this has been my LIFE. I've always been into this, it just took me til almost 37 years old to recognize that I keep coming back to square one. All the more reason that next time I run into Felipe Rose (the Indian from the Village People) around Asbury Park, I am definately going to ask for an interview with him, and I will have him sign any number of VP souveniers in my arsenal. And ask him the REAL questions that we want to know...same goes for Shep Pettibone, it kills me sometimes that I have access to these people, legends really, and I don't utilize the gift.

Anyhow, I suggest you take a listen to "Macho Man / I am what I am", especially if all you've know is a 3 minute single played awkwardly at sports events or on commercials. You should hear the extended goodness I've known and loved since 1978. If you are gay you should definately pay it some respect because both tracks are landmarks in that world. Try to hear it with un-informed ears, release notions of comedy, and just hear the tremendous Jacques Morali wall of disco sound.