# Is there music that cannot be danced to? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** music\ **Created:** [September 30, 2022, 12:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-music-that-cannot-be-danced-to/972504 "2022-09-30T12:49:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2022, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-music-that-cannot-be-danced-to/972504/21 "2022-09-30T15:41:45Z")
Not only can’t you dance to this music, it’s been argued that you can’t even listen to it: > [@](#): > > _ **Metal Machine Music** _ (subtitled \*_ **The Amine β Ring** _) is the fifth [studio album](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Studio_album) by American [rock musician](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rock_music) [Lou Reed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lou_Reed). It was recorded on a three-speed [Uher machine](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uher_(brand)) and was mastered/engineered by [Bob Ludwig](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Ludwig).[[1]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metal_Machine_Music#cite_note-1) It was released as a double album in July 1975 by [RCA Records](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RCA_Records), but taken off the market three weeks later.[[2]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metal_Machine_Music#cite_note-2) A radical departure from the rest of his catalog, the **_Metal Machine Music_ album features no songs or recognizably structured compositions, eschewing [melody](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melody) and [rhythm](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhythm) for modulated [feedback](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feedback) and [noise music](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noise_music) guitar effects, mixed at varying speeds by Reed.** Also in 1975, RCA released a [Quadrophonic](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quadrophonic) version of the _Metal Machine Music_ recording that was produced by playing it back both forward and backward, and by flipping the tape over.[[3]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metal_Machine_Music#cite_note-3) > > The album cost Reed’s reputation in the [music industry](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Music_industry) while simultaneously opening the door for some of his later, more [experimental](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Experimental_music) material and has generally been [panned by critics](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_music_considered_the_worst) since its release. In 2008, Reed, [Ulrich Krieger](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ulrich_Krieger), and [Sarth Calhoun](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarth_Calhoun) collaborated to tour playing [free improvisation](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_improvisation) inspired by the album as [Metal Machine Trio](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metal_Machine_Trio). In 2011, Reed re-released a remaster of _Metal Machine Music._ [[4]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metal_Machine_Music#cite_note-tourremaster-4)[[5]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metal_Machine_Music#cite_note-5) (emphasis mine) > **[Metal Machine Music](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metal_Machine_Music)** > > Metal Machine Music (subtitled \*The Amine β Ring) is the fifth studio album by American rock musician Lou Reed. It was recorded on a three-speed Uher machine and was mastered/engineered by Bob Ludwig. It was released as a double album in July 1975 by RCA Records, but taken off the market three weeks later. A radical departure from the rest of his catalog, the Metal Machine Music album features no songs or recognizably structured compositions, eschewing melody and rhythm for modulated feedba The... ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2022, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-music-that-cannot-be-danced-to/972504/22 "2022-09-30T16:13:28Z")
I was in a bar once listening to a Rush cover band. They started to play ‘YYZ’, and a couple walked out onto the dance floor. The band actually stopped, and the lead singer said, “What are you doing? You can’t dance to this song! Go sit down.” They did. Eagles’ ‘Disco Strangler’ would be very hard ro dance to. I suspect it was intentionally written that way. Because disco. ---
**Author:** ![Mollie\_Magill](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mollie_magill/32/20882_2.png) [@Mollie\_Magill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mollie_Magill)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2022, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-music-that-cannot-be-danced-to/972504/23 "2022-09-30T16:23:32Z")
There was a Classic Rock bar in Raleigh in the early nineties. I used to enjoy watching people _try_ to dance to “Paradise by the Dashboard Lights.” ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2022, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-music-that-cannot-be-danced-to/972504/24 "2022-09-30T17:26:20Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > …a Rush cover band… The thought of this is similtaniously terrifying and intriguing. ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2022, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-music-that-cannot-be-danced-to/972504/25 "2022-09-30T17:33:13Z")
“Skimbleshanks” in _Cats_ alternates between 4/4 and 13/8 (if I recall correctly). And that show does not lack for dancing. Just seconding that an odd time signature is no obstacle if you know what you’re doing. ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2022, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-music-that-cannot-be-danced-to/972504/26 "2022-09-30T17:39:17Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > They started to play ‘YYZ’, I’m thinking about Tom Sawyer and I’m having some real difficulty coming up with a way to dance to it. It’s really more of an ‘air drum kit’ kind of song. ---
**Author:** ![74westy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/74westy/32/3950_2.png) [@74westy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/74westy)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2022, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-music-that-cannot-be-danced-to/972504/27 "2022-09-30T17:40:32Z")
The Crunge isn’t just a song you can’t dance to; it’s a James Brownesque funk song you can’t dance to. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/CWf5FYSK7Yc/maxresdefault.jpg "The Crunge (Remaster)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CWf5FYSK7Yc) ---
**Author:** ![74westy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/74westy/32/3950_2.png) [@74westy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/74westy)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2022, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-music-that-cannot-be-danced-to/972504/28 "2022-09-30T17:48:23Z")
This is one I made up. A work in progress and unrecorded so, alas, performed by my midi robot band, The Gin-Soaked Bar Room Queens. [Sorry, Terpsichore.](https://www.dropbox.com/s/qmtasackrtbc84i/Sorry%2C%20Terpsichore.mp3?dl=0) ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2022, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-music-that-cannot-be-danced-to/972504/29 "2022-09-30T18:27:23Z")
They were actually really good. I can’t remember their name though. It was close to 40 years ago. Tom Sawyer is another one that would be very hard to dance to. Rush had a lot of those, as did a lot of prog bands in the 70’s. Stop time, strange time signatures, lots of changes in tempo and time, etc. Disco was probably the answer to that, given that all she wants to do is dance. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2022, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-music-that-cannot-be-danced-to/972504/30 "2022-09-30T18:34:20Z")
> [@solost](#): > > or anything by the Dave Brubeck quartet. For your viewing pleasure: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/_oYONIQD0IQ/hqdefault.jpg "Unsquare Dance de Dave Brubeck - roupagem 2010's") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_oYONIQD0IQ) [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/yiEqyn7AR9o/hqdefault.jpg "Unsquare Dance at Ft Tryon Park, EGG & Dancers") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yiEqyn7AR9o) ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2022, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-music-that-cannot-be-danced-to/972504/31 "2022-09-30T18:56:10Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > > [@solost](#): > > > > or anything by the Dave Brubeck quartet. > > For your viewing pleasure I stand delightfully corrected 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2022, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-music-that-cannot-be-danced-to/972504/32 "2022-09-30T19:09:00Z")
In the “Mother/Son Wedding Dance” thread I jokingly suggested “Mother” by The Police, and someone asked “Can you even dance to that?” So I guess that song would be my answer. ---
**Author:** ![K364](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k364/32/5_2.png) [@K364](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/K364)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2022, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-music-that-cannot-be-danced-to/972504/33 "2022-09-30T19:09:20Z")
Tchaikovsky’s 6th symphony, second mvmt. is in 5/4, but at first listen sounds like a waltz. I think any couple that attempts to waltz to it will be stepping on each other’s feet by the third bar. ---
**Author:** ![Charlie\_Tan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/charlie_tan/32/12582_2.png) [@Charlie\_Tan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Charlie_Tan)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2022, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-music-that-cannot-be-danced-to/972504/34 "2022-09-30T19:21:09Z")
> [@solost](#): > > This is what came to mind when I was thinking of a reply to this- music with odd time signatures, and not just odd in the sense of strange or unusual, odd in the sense of an odd number, like 7/4 time in the case of Peter Gabriel’s ‘Solsbury Hill’ Looks as if they’re dancing [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/zpePvu3A_UM/maxresdefault.jpg "Peter Gabriel - Solsbury Hill (Live In Athens 1987)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zpePvu3A_UM) ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2022, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-music-that-cannot-be-danced-to/972504/35 "2022-09-30T19:23:53Z")
For example, here’s a Bulgarian kopanitsa in 11/8: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/156dOWT3r80/maxresdefault.jpg ""Копаница"") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=156dOWT3r80) It really hits its stride at about the minute mark. The beats are short-short-long-short-short, or 2+2+3+2+2. Once you catch on to where the “1” is, you can just count it as 1-2-THREE-4-5, with the three elongated. Trying to actually count “1-2-1-2-1-2-3-1-2-1-2” becomes a bit of a pain in the ass at that tempo. But it’s danceable and people learn it within the culture. There’s definitely a learning curve to it, and you do have to internalize the beat, but once you get it down, you can follow it. An odd time signature (by Western standards) alone does not make a song undanceable: you just need to adjust your step to it. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2022, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-music-that-cannot-be-danced-to/972504/36 "2022-09-30T19:26:59Z")
> [@Shoeless](#): > > In the “Mother/Son Wedding Dance” thread I jokingly suggested “Mother” by The Police, and someone asked “Can you even dance to that?” So I guess that song would be my answer. In addition to just being creepy as hell, “Mother” is also in 7/4 time, so it’d be difficult to dance to (though, as @pulykamell has suggested, not _impossible_ if one knew what one was doing). ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2022, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-music-that-cannot-be-danced-to/972504/37 "2022-09-30T19:31:54Z")
**Is there music that cannot be danced to?** How about Gregorian chant? ---
**Author:** ![Jasmine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jasmine/32/2964_2.png) [@Jasmine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasmine)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2022, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-music-that-cannot-be-danced-to/972504/38 "2022-09-30T19:35:53Z")
[**I guarantee that no one is going to dance to this.**](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XXKoooV9ABE) ---
**Author:** ![Kropotkin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kropotkin/32/18045_2.png) [@Kropotkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kropotkin)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2022, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-music-that-cannot-be-danced-to/972504/39 "2022-09-30T19:37:20Z")
Hold it–I’m supposed to coordinate my dance movements with a beat? When did that become a thing? I’m left with either “I can dance to anything” or “whatever I’m doing is not dancing.” ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2022, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-music-that-cannot-be-danced-to/972504/40 "2022-09-30T19:44:06Z")
Yeah, for something like that – and I’m not a dancer, more of a swayer – at that tempo I’d do one step of three count with my left, and one step of four count with my right, and land back one the one with my left foot. It actually has a nice sway to it. Or possibly L-R-hold-L-hold-R-hold (quick-slow-slow-slow). I’m sure an actual dancer would be much more creative. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-music-that-cannot-be-danced-to/972504.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-music-that-cannot-be-danced-to/972504.md?page=3)