Man, I always tell folks that there's nothing pure about being black. Turns out the Electric Slide was created by a white guy. But hey, there's no Stax without Duck Dunn and Steve Cropper, no Run-DMC without Rick Rubin. Marvin Gaye didn't write the national anthem, but he owns it all the same. All your anthems are belonging to us. Know what I'm saying? We don't write the music that makes the country, we just make the music funky. Anyway, with that in mind it's worth watching the video below, especially the middle to the end. So much beautiful to be said about race in all that. But I'll leave that to my lovely commenters.
« From the department of "Oh my people..." | Main | More watermelon in front of white people (The Malcolm X/Marcus Garvey edition) » Some Friday Fun: Race and the Electric Slide11 Jul 2008 06:25 pm Comments (12)Comments on this entry have been closed. |
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I have never understood how the 1983 NBA All Star game was even played - and how the East went out and scored 41 points in the first quarter. By the time Marvin was done with the National Anthem, I think the players had something on their mind other than basketball. And they were wearing tight shorts back then. Imagine the National Anthem Sam Cooke could have delivered if he had not died so young.
Apperently, this Ric Silver guy is suing folk for posting videos of folk doing the Electric Slide.
No Run DMC without Rick Rubin? wow. I'm sure Larry Smith would have something to say about that.
Although I know what you are trying to say.
No disrespect to Rubin though.
I don't know if someone has brought this up already or not, but the other major group whose identity is intertwined with the electric slide are American Jews. Seriously, there are few non-Orthodox Bas Mitzvahs where the Slide ain't danced.
Yet another reason why Jews and Blacks hating on each other is insane.
I'm white so pardon my confusion. Please provide a list of the stereotypes that are socially acceptable to exploit.
Hey - love your writing. BTW, the link to Marvin Gaye national anthem seems to be broken and seems to contain your email address.
Doh, fixt.
Oh my. I've been that guy. I didn't give up so quickly but never mastered that dance, which is really just like the Hustle, right?
Great stuff. If I saw this unrelated to the post I'm not sure I would have realized it was the electric slide. In my world the dance always goes along w/ the terrible song. "It's Electric!" Awful.
I couldn't watch it all. The guy bouncing in there and trying to what? organize? the Electric Slide?! Just stop it man, you're embarrassing yerself. Practice quietly in a corner for a while, goddamnit!
I only met the Electric Slide once.
I worked as banquet server staff in a couple of places for a while. Once I wandered into the wrong room and pretty much the entire population was doing the electric slide. The music wasn't loud, people weren't counting etc... Just this basically quiet room with everyone in it sliding around in unison. Very wonderful and to my eyes almost surreal.
I sorry, but Whitney put a stamp on the national anthem in 1991.
The song should have been immediately retired after this performance.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q5GSxSmYvME