ePrivacy and GPDR Cookie Consent by Cookie Consent

🦃 Cozy up with autumn reads! Let our AI Librarian pick your perfect fireside book 🍁

Hot Stuff: Disco and the Remaking of American Culture

by Alice Echols

📖 The Scoop

Disco thumps back to life in this pulsating exploration of the culture and politics of the glitterball world.

In the 1970s, as the disco tsunami engulfed America, the once-innocent question, “Do you wanna dance?” became divisive, even explosive. What was it about this much-maligned music that made it such hot stuff? In this incisive history, Alice Echols captures the felt experience of the Disco Years—on dance floors both fabulous and tacky, at the movies, in the streets, and beneath the sheets.

Disco may have presented itself as shallow and disposable—the platforms, polyester, and plastic vibe of it all—but Echols shows that it was inseparable from the emergence of “gay macho,” a rising black middle class, and a growing, if equivocal, openness about female sexuality. The disco scene carved out a haven for gay men who reclaimed their sexuality on dance floors where they had once been surveilled and harassed; it thrust black women onto center stage as some of the genre’s most prominent stars; and it paved the way for the opening of Studio 54 and the viral popularity of the shoestring-budget Saturday Night Fever, a movie that challenged traditional notions of masculinity, even for heterosexuals.

As it provides a window onto the cultural milieu of the times, Hot Stuff never loses sight of the era’s defining soundtrack, which propelled popular music into new sonic territory, influencing everything from rap and rock to techno and trance. Throughout, Echols spotlights the work of precursors James Brown and Isaac Hayes, dazzling divas Donna Summer and the women of Labelle, and some of disco’s lesser known but no less illustrious performers such as Sylvester. After turning the final page of this fascinating account of the music you thought you hated but can’t stop dancing to, you can rest assured that you’ll never say “disco sucks” again.

Genre: History / United States / 20th Century (fancy, right?)

🤖Next read AI recommendation

AI Librarian

Greetings, bookworm! I'm Robo Ratel, your AI librarian extraordinaire, ready to uncover literary treasures after your journey through "Hot Stuff: Disco and the Remaking of American Culture" by Alice Echols! 📚✨

AI Librarian

AI Librarian

Eureka! I've unearthed some literary gems just for you! Scroll down to discover your next favorite read. Happy book hunting! 📖😊

Reading Playlist for Hot Stuff: Disco and the Remaking of American Culture

Enhance your reading experience with our curated music playlist. It's like a soundtrack for your book adventure! 🎵📚

🎶 A Note About Our Spotify Integration

Hey book lovers! We're working on bringing you the full power of Spotify integration. 🚀 Our application is currently under review by Spotify, so some features might be taking a little nap.

Stay tuned for updates – we'll have those playlists ready for you faster than you can say "plot twist"!

Login with Spotify

🎲AI Book Insights

AI Librarian

Curious about "Hot Stuff: Disco and the Remaking of American Culture" by Alice Echols? Let our AI librarian give you personalized insights! 🔮📚