WTLX Mix Tapes: Side 3, Song 11

Note: This series originally appeared on Facebook in a slightly different form, Aug-Sept 16.

My recollection is that disco and all its agents and purveyors were still pretty darn uncool in 85. There’s been quite a rehabilitation as the years have passed, at least with music that hit the pop charts (listened to the SiriusXM 70s station lately?).

Rightly or wrongly, the Bee Gees stand out in my mind as the primary exemplar of that era. Of course, disco was their second, comeback act; they’d had more than decent success between 67 and 72.

This was the Bee Gees’ first US hit, reaching #14 in 67. I love the fashions on display in the video.

So why is this here? I like it fine, but on the whole it doesn’t really fit overall. The primary reason: its length, just over two minutes. While I wasn’t tracking times, I was watching the tape and figured I would be able to squeeze one more song in, if it was pretty short. I knew what short songs I had with me; the Bee Gees’ Greatest Hits (pre-disco) was among them, so… That’s also more or less why “Cynical Girl” ended side 1.