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Mirrorballs and
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by JACK OATMON Nothing says devout romance and sincere, intimate appreciation like a thudding, sweat-slicked dancefloor trampled by high-cut boots, strewn with glitter and glowing in gaudy spotlighting. Yes indeed, when we think of that special someone, it’s difficult to suppress images of matted chest-hair adorned with gold-plated chains and swarthy men wearing shoulder-padded blouses. That’s why classic disco is the most romantic music ever created. So for this Valentine’s Day, we turned to two unparalleled disco DJs and funk connoisseurs, Andy Butler of Hercules & Love Affair and Pat Mahoney of LCD Soundsystem, for their advice on wooing and winning hearts. Andy’s first bit of solid advice is to get into the spirit of the day. “Lots of people badmouth Christmas and Thanksgiving and all these days,” says Butler. “But I put the original significance of these sorts of days aside and get into the idea of theme-ing the day. I love that idea. I’m a huge fan of holiday music and I love people decorating and getting dressed up and getting into the spirit of something. I’m fond of that in general. Valentine’s falls into that for me. It’s one of those days where you get to walk around with a theme in your head.” Pat Mahoney, though less of a sucker for institutional festivities, says this one is still set to be a big event for him. “I’ve never been a huge fan of the event,” admits Mahoney, “but my girlfriend happens to live in Montreal, so it’s going to be a special one for me. I think the night before, we’re gonna go to Au Pied de Cochon and pig out. That place is amazing. So it’s gonna be a three-day Valentine’s. I mean business this time around. “It sounds like a silly platitude, but just make sure to love your Valentine that night.” Have your cake and eat it tooAndy Butler says the sweet lovin’ memories go all the way back to his childhood. “In third grade, there was this contest. On Valentine’s Day, there was a big cake at school. And there was a little candy heart that was in the cake. If you were the one who got the piece of cake with the heart in it, you won something. I don’t even remember what you won. I remember that whenever those kinds of things happened, I rarely won anything. But I won something because I got the piece of cake with the heart.” Baking a cake, he says, is one example of a good Valentine’s treat. “In years past, when I’ve had a romantic interest, I usually go all out. There was one year I wrote a song for somebody and baked a cake. I’ve bought all sorts of little gifts. I love to do that kind of thing.” Inevitably, however, some Valentine’s Days have been less than romantic for both guys. “I feel like I’ve managed to be single for many of the last 30 or so Valentine’s Days,” says Mahoney. “I’ve never had a huge cause to celebrate it. Or it’s right around when you’re breaking up with someone. It always comes at an inconvenient time. That’s kind of a downer, but it’s true.” “Of course there’s the handful of sour ones,” says Butler. “They probably gave me really shitty Valentine’s Day gifts. It can be depressing. Like this year, my Valentine will be my best friend. But I think that’s a great Valentine.” We also asked the two to use their expert ears to recommend some especially steamy numbers to play for your love victim this year. Butler recommends Chas Jankel’s “Boy,” “Love Thang” by First Choice, Donna Summer’s “Love to Love You Baby,” Chaka Khan’s “Too Much Love” and Melba Moore’s “You Stepped Into My Life.” Mahoney’s suggestions are Ashford & Simpson’s “Tried, Tested and Found True” and “You Plus Me Equals Love” by the Undisputed Truth. “But,” says Mahoney, “I have a ton of very lovey-dovey songs in my arsenal, so people don’t even need to worry about what love songs to play that night because I’ll take care of it.” WITH DUVALL AT CABARET ON |
