I was reading this article about the resurgence of dance music in the "New York Times" (did it ever really go away?) and I came across these words:
"Still, dance is eclipsing the pop it has used to infiltrate the mainstream. 'Move,' a track released last year by Adam Port, one of the members of the German label Keinemusik, has over 542 million Spotify streams — more than any one song from releases by Charli XCX, Katy Perry or FKA twigs."
Free link: www.nytimes.com/2025/05/11/arts/music/dance-music-boom-nightlife.html?unlocked_article_code=1.GU8.4oXx.aKEckafsdUrI&smid=url-share
Now wait a second, isn't Charli XCX one of the biggest acts in the world? Didn't she just headline Coachella? Isn't her name splashed across the mainstream media ad infinitum, saying we should pay attention even if we don't care and never will? Wasn't a year ago the beginning of Brat Summer? Didn't people call Kamala Harris BRAT?
Maybe that's one of the reasons she lost. Because most people had no idea what Brat was/meant.
So of course I've got to pull up "Move." And a lot of dance music is...just that, made to dance, not much more. It fades into the woodwork. I mean if you're high at the gig it's fun, but for the casual listener...
So I go over to Spotify to check the numbers and damn if the article isn't right.
And as I'm thinking as to why this should be...
I get hooked on the track.
At first I'm analyzing this as...you know, you put the song on an endless loop because you're dancing to it and that's why it's got so many streams, and this is true, but there's something more about "Move," it's infectious.
Not that there's much there... I mean the lyrics are...the kind of English lyrics you think would be written by Germans:
"Girl, I really like the way you move"
genius.com/Adam-port-stryv-keinemusik-orso-duo-and-malachiii-move-lyrics
Then again so many of the classic rock tracks of yore...the lyrics were not much deeper, then again, it was all about the RIFF!
And that's what makes "Move" so appealing, it might not be played on a guitar, but the repeated "riff" has you nodding your head just like to a hard rock/metal song of yore. But this sounds modern, much more so than the Active Rock dreck purveyed by the tattooed leather-clad laughable men prowling the stages. (Wouldn't it be more revolutionary to NOT get tattoos at this point? To leave the leather aside?)
And unlike Active Rock, and unlike so much hip-hop, so much of what we're told is for everyone, "Move" truly appeals to everyone. It's primal. It's the beat. Not that I expect all the dyed-in-the-wool rockers to admit this.
And whereas today's country music is the rock music of the seventies, "Move" is positively modern, it sounds like today, not like yesterday.
And it's on the German Keinemusik label as opposed to one of the three majors. All the focus is on the majors, but all the action is with the indies (which the majors sometimes distribute). You don't need much to start, it's not like you need the cash of yore, you can make the music on the cheap (even though the oldsters will protest you can't get something good this way).
"Move" is not belabored. And unlike the "hits" it's not wall to wall sound, there's room to breathe in the track.
Meanwhile, everybody doing it the same way keeps bitching about Spotify payments. Believe me, Adam Port made bank on "Move."
Not that Port is unknown, he's played Coachella. Then again, you know if you've been that all the press is about the main stages but all the action takes place in the dance tent.
And "Move" spread via social media, because it's hard to keep a good thing down. The old paradigm of radio/print/TV is broken, you go straight to the fans.
If you don't hear it, you don't know what a hit is.
open.spotify.com/track/1BJJbSX6muJVF2AK7uH1x4?si=7f9204b768d446a1
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