On May 17, our community lost another of our divas: Donna Summer. Facebook and Twitter blew up immediately with love, sorrow, tributes and a few negative comments regarding her stance on gays. I was, at one time, one of those boycotting Summer for her comments as a born-again Christian, stating that AIDS was punishment and that old Adam-and-Steve chestnut. Eventually Summer retracted her comments, and we all moved on ... sorta. Some of us still feel the sting, but one thing in my mind rises above her highs and lowsthe everlasting musical legacy of the first techno dance song, "I Feel Love."
"I Feel Love," from Donna's 1977 album I Remember Yesterday, was to represent the future of dance music as the album was conceived as a concept of dance music decade by decade. What she and Giorgio Moroder created was certainly the future of dance music, to say the least. At the time, disco was largely an offshoot of soul music, being played live by musicians with little synthetics. Partially inspired by German electronic pioneers Kraftwerk, Moroder crafted a slinky, somewhat monotonous dance drone whose beat varied very little, as opposed to the traditional song structure that didn't endorse long-term dance floor nirvana. From there, disco became what we know today as dance music. David Bowie said of I Feel Love, "One day in Berlin ... ( Producer Brian ) Eno came running in and said, 'I have heard the sound of the future.' ... he puts on 'I Feel Love', by Donna Summer. ... He said, 'This is it, look no further. This single is going to change the sound of club music for the next fifteen years.' Which was more or less right."
Since that moment, acts as diverse as Bronski Beat, Messiah, Kylie Minogue and Red Hot Chili Peppers have covered it and countless dance producers have ripped off its signature sound ( Madonna on "Future Lovers;" Faithless; WaWa's remix of Cazwell's "Unzip It" ) . Keep your ears open in the clubs. Chances are that before the night's over you'll hear some reference to "I Feel Love's" lasting legacy.
Time will ultimately tell what Donna Summer's lasting overall legacy is, but the impact of "I Feel Love" has never let up. It continues to influence and change the face of music to new generations every year, and respect should be paid to the artist that gave birth to one of the finest moments in dance history.
Moose and his pal Voxbox will be feeling the love as the office DJs at Hyatt Big Bar every night of IML.