<![CDATA[The Freemasons, Beyonce, And The Thrill Of The Histrionic Diva House Anthem - Idolator Comments]]> http://cache.gawker.com/assets/base/img/thumbs140x140/idolator.com.png <![CDATA[The Freemasons, Beyonce, And The Thrill Of The Histrionic Diva House Anthem - Idolator Comments]]> http://idolator.com Thu, 13 Mar 2008 11:13:19 EDT Thu, 13 Mar 2008 11:13:19 EDT http://idolator.com/366856/the-freemasons-beyonce-and-the-thrill-of-the-histrionic-diva-house-anthem <![CDATA[The Freemasons, Beyonce, And The Thrill Of The Histrionic Diva House Anthem]]> http://idolator.com/366856/the-freemasons-beyonce-and-the-thrill-of-the-histrionic-diva-house-anthem#c4680341 Basically what Matos said: it's my stand-in term for "the stuff I hear in gay clubs". it's not only villalobos who doesn't get played there - even much closer stuff like US deep house just doesn't fit the vibe most of the time. And while The Freemasons get play elsewhere, it's only been at gay clubs (rather than straight commercial house clubs) where I've heard DJs play what were almost Freemasons tribute sets.

(while I was witnessing one of these a few weeks back, a friend of mine was on the receiving end of the pick-up line, "Hey, you're one of the guys from The Freemasons, aren't you?" - as pick-up lines went this didn't work so well, and I was drafted in to translate. It was awkward for all concerned)

The stuff on 'Unmixed' in particular is practically archetypal for the scene, whereas in my experience the kinds of straight clubs that do play The Freemasons tend to mix this stuff up with R&B, electro-house etc. I'm not crusading for the term though!

Ned: I really like the album and would love to run an evolutionary argument along the lines you're suggesting but there's nothing to hang it on - if anything, the appeal of this album is its blatant refusal of the obvious incrementalist options (the most prominent being electro-house-ification), unless you count "back to 2000!"

Space didn't permit a further run-down but the other key tracks on the album to investigate are "Nothing But A Heartache", "Love On My Mind" and "Watchin". And the cover of "Love Don't Live Here Anymore" is better than I expected. Also, tip: look for the original and superior version of "Rain Down Love", better than the album version and perhaps anything else on there.

Tim Finney

]]> 33:366856:c4680341 Thu, 13 Mar 2008 11:13:19 EDT <![CDATA[The Freemasons, Beyonce, And The Thrill Of The Histrionic Diva House Anthem]]> http://idolator.com/366856/the-freemasons-beyonce-and-the-thrill-of-the-histrionic-diva-house-anthem#c4677483 On a side note, what the hell's up with that cover? Who rides a bike in that outfit? Is that why she's pushing it home?

rich36

]]> 33:366856:c4677483 Thu, 13 Mar 2008 08:18:50 EDT <![CDATA[The Freemasons, Beyonce, And The Thrill Of The Histrionic Diva House Anthem]]> http://idolator.com/366856/the-freemasons-beyonce-and-the-thrill-of-the-histrionic-diva-house-anthem#c4670682 "love on my mind" anybody? holy jeebus. scorching track. it never fails to get people up when i drop it. i don't see why everyone is all: "hey! house sure goes great with r & b, right? all in the roots: gospel, soul, funk, disco, latin...

anyway, the freemasons are pretty generic in their productions--very late 90s stuff. i think most club music now has been given the dirty synth rub and sci-fi bleeps courtesy of timbaland, basement jaxx, and the neptunes. funny how the club, seen as underground and progressive, now takes its cues more from pop.

you people need to get more kenny dope and masters at work in your lives if you love the late 90s ish.

brooklynradio

]]> 33:366856:c4670682 Wed, 12 Mar 2008 18:26:00 EDT <![CDATA[The Freemasons, Beyonce, And The Thrill Of The Histrionic Diva House Anthem]]> http://idolator.com/366856/the-freemasons-beyonce-and-the-thrill-of-the-histrionic-diva-house-anthem#c4670482 Without presuming to speak for Tim, what I got when I read him call it "gay house" was that it was the stuff really popular specifically in gay clubs, as opposed to in the club world more generally.

Michaelangelo Matos

]]> 33:366856:c4670482 Wed, 12 Mar 2008 18:17:08 EDT <![CDATA[The Freemasons, Beyonce, And The Thrill Of The Histrionic Diva House Anthem]]> http://idolator.com/366856/the-freemasons-beyonce-and-the-thrill-of-the-histrionic-diva-house-anthem#c4669369 I think this is the history Richfourfour touched on in his comment, but, I may be wrong, isn't it called "house" because a DJ (DJ Knuckles?) sort of created it in the Warehouse, a gay club in Chicago? Thereby further reducing the need to call it "gay house"?

Also, I normally hate it when remixes slow down the vocals, because it literally makes the song drag, but that "Ring the Alarm" remix is pretty great in its straightfoward way.

DJDeeJay

]]> 33:366856:c4669369 Wed, 12 Mar 2008 17:26:58 EDT <![CDATA[The Freemasons, Beyonce, And The Thrill Of The Histrionic Diva House Anthem]]> http://idolator.com/366856/the-freemasons-beyonce-and-the-thrill-of-the-histrionic-diva-house-anthem#c4667006 I do feel the Freemason's are the producer/remixers of the moment. Not that it is a bad thing, but eventually their sound will grow tiresome and the hating will begin. I like a few of their mixes (see "Greenlight" and their redo of "Uninvited"), but I am a bigger fan of crunchier electronic stuff.

In the end I do have some of their stuff on my ipod for working out too :D

rainmkr

]]> 33:366856:c4667006 Wed, 12 Mar 2008 16:04:31 EDT <![CDATA[The Freemasons, Beyonce, And The Thrill Of The Histrionic Diva House Anthem]]> http://idolator.com/366856/the-freemasons-beyonce-and-the-thrill-of-the-histrionic-diva-house-anthem#c4666679 I'm hopelessly addicted to the Freemason "Work" edit, so the knowledge of more of their work is most welcome.

cassidy2099

]]> 33:366856:c4666679 Wed, 12 Mar 2008 15:54:56 EDT <![CDATA[The Freemasons, Beyonce, And The Thrill Of The Histrionic Diva House Anthem]]> http://idolator.com/366856/the-freemasons-beyonce-and-the-thrill-of-the-histrionic-diva-house-anthem#c4664995 You should check out the first Freemasons album, "Shakedown". It is the same songs as "Unmixed" but they are all mixed together. I think they make more sense as a whole when mixed.

If you need further proof of the blending of R&B and house, go listen to the recently leaked Ne-Yo song "Closer".

nardo78

]]> 33:366856:c4664995 Wed, 12 Mar 2008 15:04:46 EDT <![CDATA[The Freemasons, Beyonce, And The Thrill Of The Histrionic Diva House Anthem]]> http://idolator.com/366856/the-freemasons-beyonce-and-the-thrill-of-the-histrionic-diva-house-anthem#c4664344 Because I love IDOLATOR so much, I'm just going to take the liberty of pointing out how many fun references you can make by trying to rhyme the word "gayness".

Make of it what you wish....

HONEYBFLY

]]> 33:366856:c4664344 Wed, 12 Mar 2008 14:42:55 EDT <![CDATA[The Freemasons, Beyonce, And The Thrill Of The Histrionic Diva House Anthem]]> http://idolator.com/366856/the-freemasons-beyonce-and-the-thrill-of-the-histrionic-diva-house-anthem#c4663656 I only know any of this in the context of an actual club, so... chicken or egg: Freemasons or Rockamerica?

Also, on the Whitney tip: my personal experience was that "It's Not Right, But It's Okay" marked the last huge confluence of charting R&B and house. Every thing after was for the most part remixes of artists who weren't getting serious mainstream success (see: Rockamerica), or simple remixes of rap hits.

Halfwit

]]> 33:366856:c4663656 Wed, 12 Mar 2008 14:18:56 EDT <![CDATA[The Freemasons, Beyonce, And The Thrill Of The Histrionic Diva House Anthem]]> http://idolator.com/366856/the-freemasons-beyonce-and-the-thrill-of-the-histrionic-diva-house-anthem#c4663257 i mean questions about gayness. not like in the junior high way. oh, you know what i mean.

Jess Harvell

]]> 33:366856:c4663257 Wed, 12 Mar 2008 14:04:44 EDT <![CDATA[The Freemasons, Beyonce, And The Thrill Of The Histrionic Diva House Anthem]]> http://idolator.com/366856/the-freemasons-beyonce-and-the-thrill-of-the-histrionic-diva-house-anthem#c4663240 you know, i'm not sure if tim even has an idolator commenter account yet! i will remedy this so he can attend to all these gay questions.

Jess Harvell

]]> 33:366856:c4663240 Wed, 12 Mar 2008 14:04:19 EDT <![CDATA[The Freemasons, Beyonce, And The Thrill Of The Histrionic Diva House Anthem]]> http://idolator.com/366856/the-freemasons-beyonce-and-the-thrill-of-the-histrionic-diva-house-anthem#c4662291 @Richfourfour: I agree, Rich. There are so many types of house music: tech, electro, deep, vocal...I can't fathom to call any of it "gay." And not everyone who likes house music is gay.

rad_matter

]]> 33:366856:c4662291 Wed, 12 Mar 2008 13:29:41 EDT <![CDATA[The Freemasons, Beyonce, And The Thrill Of The Histrionic Diva House Anthem]]> http://idolator.com/366856/the-freemasons-beyonce-and-the-thrill-of-the-histrionic-diva-house-anthem#c4662073 The Freemasons have been such a breath of fresh air in the electronic world, a return to form, of sorts.

In recent years, many of the more prominent DJ's had been returning to a modernized version of 80's synth pop in an attempt to continuously reinvent the sound of the current dance floor.

But this sort of electronica/'gay dance' that is represented here is a reminder of what people really want to hear, and that the main purpose of this is to make your gay ass MOVE!!

Glad they've made a name for themselves by simply making solid tracks that don't overthink themselves...

HONEYBFLY

]]> 33:366856:c4662073 Wed, 12 Mar 2008 13:23:08 EDT <![CDATA[The Freemasons, Beyonce, And The Thrill Of The Histrionic Diva House Anthem]]> http://idolator.com/366856/the-freemasons-beyonce-and-the-thrill-of-the-histrionic-diva-house-anthem#c4662064 This is a welcome column. I've personally grown weary of diva house, so I eagerly look forward to the next edition.

Also, I know about 3,000 queens who will scratch your eyes out for calling Peter Rauhofer "forgotten."

extracrispy

]]> 33:366856:c4662064 Wed, 12 Mar 2008 13:22:58 EDT <![CDATA[The Freemasons, Beyonce, And The Thrill Of The Histrionic Diva House Anthem]]> http://idolator.com/366856/the-freemasons-beyonce-and-the-thrill-of-the-histrionic-diva-house-anthem#c4661929 I like the idea of the Freemasons being quaint, but I do have a semantic issue with the "gay house" label. How is house music not inherently gay? I understand that there is a divide between this stuff and the sexlessness of Villalobos and the Germans, but considering the history and the fact that straight guidos in Jersey seem to love this shit as much as homos, saying "gay house" is like saying "black hip-hop."

Richfourfour

]]> 33:366856:c4661929 Wed, 12 Mar 2008 13:18:43 EDT <![CDATA[The Freemasons, Beyonce, And The Thrill Of The Histrionic Diva House Anthem]]> http://idolator.com/366856/the-freemasons-beyonce-and-the-thrill-of-the-histrionic-diva-house-anthem#c4661910 I'd think Beyonce would have tapped the Freemasons simply out of sibling rivalry with Kelly R. But yeah, "going Euro" is something a lot of R&B artists seem to be doing of late, especially given the proliferation of Stargate.

Michaelangelo Matos

]]> 33:366856:c4661910 Wed, 12 Mar 2008 13:18:19 EDT <![CDATA[The Freemasons, Beyonce, And The Thrill Of The Histrionic Diva House Anthem]]> http://idolator.com/366856/the-freemasons-beyonce-and-the-thrill-of-the-histrionic-diva-house-anthem#c4661416 Tim F roolz OK. Quick question:

just another functionally appropriate trick from their toolbox

Thinking on past conversations (perhaps misremembered) you've often tended to celebrate not so much the functional (or hyper-generic) but the incremental in terms of how songs and sounds play out in larger contexts. So might the album be more of an incremental step for them?

Ned Raggett

]]> 33:366856:c4661416 Wed, 12 Mar 2008 13:03:01 EDT