Country West Coast Swing

At recent Faster Polkas and Friday Night Waltzes, Bob and Richard have played some fun west coast swings, reminding me how much I like country songs for west coast.  My family listened to a lot of country music when I was younger, so I may like it more than most people, but even country western skeptics should enjoy dancing to these songs. Unlike my earlier list of west coast swing songs, which was more pop heavy, these songs are generally less bouncy and more slinky.

• Reba McEntire : Why Haven't I Heard From You? (111 bpm) - Amazon MP3, Last.fm
  This one has a great swingy beat; a no brainer for dancing.
• Mary Chapin Carpenter : I Feel Lucky (121 bpm) - Amazon MP3, Last.fm; and Shut Up and Kiss Me (120 bpm)- Amazon MP3, Last.fm
  Great voice, great lyrics. Both of these are faster and longer; mostly they're fine as is, but I did cut off about 20 seconds of the latter when I played it at Friday Night Waltz

• Collin Raye : My Kind of Girl (115 bpm) - Amazon MP3, Last.fm
  At just shy of 3 minutes long, this one is a perfect tempo and length.
• Kathy Mattea : 455 Rocket (122 bpm) Amazon MP3, Last.fm
  I've never heard this one played, but it's one of my mother's favourite songs. The title refers to the 455 cubic-inch rocket V8 engine found in 1970s Oldsmobiles.
  

Want more? StreetSwing has a great list.

West Coast Swing Favorites

Speaking of the Stanford Dance Weekend, I made a point of taking all of Michelle Kinkaid's West Coast Swing classes there. I didn't pick up any specific new songs to dance to, but it's as good an excuse as any to post a few of my favorites I've had waiting around for a while in a draft. These are all ones I first encountered when I took some WCS classes at the Dance Spectrum several years ago.

• Robben Ford & the Blue Line - Start It Up (126 bpm) - Amazon
  I remember Richard Kear teaching a whole class on different things to do to the breaks in this song. (Previously seen on Rowyn's Leap Day set list.) Update: Here's a video of Richard dancing to this song. Well worth watching, in addition to letting you hear the whole thing.
  
• Cake - Short Skirt, Long Jacket (122 bpm) - Amazon
  This one is interesting because the timing of the "short skirt and a long jacket" line is different every time around. Really keeps you on your toes.
• Chris Anderson and DJ Robbie - Last Night (122 bpm) - Yahoo, Amazon, video
  If you like wacky, unintelligible vocals -- and I do -- this song has 'em. (At least on DJ Robbie's portion of it.)

West Coast Swing

i5 : Ladidi Ladida (116 bpm)
I first heard this song at the Decadance spring show 2004. It made an impression on me both because Decadance does compelling choreographies and because it's a catchy song. The lyrics aren't particularly interesting, but the song has a good beat -- clear triple steps -- and some interesting background instrumentation, which I can't identify.

Rachel Stevens : Sweet Dreams My LA Ex (130 bpm)
Another catchy pop song. It's bouncier than "Ladidi Ladida," but also has nice percussion. Having never danced to the version I have, I only just realized that it's too fast for a comfortable west coast swing dance, especially given that it's 3:30 minutes long. I'd recommend slowing it down by at least 6% and cutting the second verse-chorus pair, which is about a minute of music. The resulting length is around 2:40, which is a good length for the still-fast adjusted tempo (120-123 bpm depending how much you slow it down)

J. Geils Band : Centerfold (114 bpm)
Also bouncy, but a much more comfortable tempo for dancing. My edited version is almost a minute shorter than the original, but I forget what I cut. It took me a while to find this song after I first heard and liked it. I originally mis-heard the word "centerfold" as "semaphore" (multi-threading on the brain, perhaps?) and couldn't figure out what the song was about. The actual lyrics are cute, though.

Lisa Ekdahl : Vem Vet (126 bpm)
Hmm this song is on the fast side as well. It's the most mellow of this lot, with a jazzy feel; the trumpet at the beginning and end are particularly nice. In fact, it might be better as just a regular triple-count swing (lindy hop). I've never heard it played anywhere, but presumably it has been danced to because I got it from someone else's dance music collection. Anyway, it's a lovely little Swedish swing.

Joss Stone : Tell Me 'Bout It (110 bpm)
I think it's fun to have a bit of fresh, popular music in a dance set, and this song was a big hit on the radio last year. Not only do the tempo and beat seem like a natural fit for west coast swing, but it also has an attitude that works well in my mind for this style of dance. Dancing as a follow, it makes me want to almost strut the two forward steps of a sugar push :).