Oooooh, the 80s! I wish I were more aware of what was going on back then and able to enjoy the music and artists first-hand. The great thing about technology these days is that I still can enjoy those times even though it’s almost 30 years later (Holy shit, I bet I just made a bunch of you feel old!).
One of these fun songs is “Dancing with Myself” by Billy Idol. But did you know that he isn’t really the original artist? Well, he is … Kind of. The song was originally released by the band he was in, Generation X. I’ve provided the link below of the entire band performing it but aside from a couple of screeches and a teensy bit more emphasis on the guitars and bass, I don’t hear anything much different from the song that gave Billy Idol a hit single off of his debut solo album.
According to Wikipedia, the song is likely about a show that Gen X played in Japan where the concert goers were watching themselves dance in space enhancing mirrors, and not about masturbation (sorry, you freaks).
The song starts off with that little guitar melody and bass line that are still pretty rock-influenced, along with Idol’s voice. The beat is definitely dance-able, making it more radio friendly but still has a rock aspect about it that keeps Idol’s badassness on a high level.
The song can be pretty repetitive so that may be a problem for some people. But honestly, this song is so fun that you can’t help to dance to it and sing along to the oh-oh-uh-oh’s and the sweat! sweat! sweat! sweat! sweat-sweat-sweat’s! There’s nothing more I can say about it other than this is just a kick ass song!
The year was 1997 when Blink 182 got ahold of this track and in my opinion, they did a great job! Mark Hoppus, Tom Delonge and Scott Raynor (the band’s original drummer) did a fantastic job of keeping with the original version’s musicality but adding just a smidgin’ of their own style and personality to let you know it’s them.
Delonge took the reign in the vocals department so his nasally and whiny voice is definitely a taste of Blink 182. Hoppus limits himself to back up vocals and the “sweat” part during the bridge. I’ve always loved how their voices compliment each other and this song is a good example of that, although more of Mark is never a bad thing in my opinion! He also provides one of those potty-mouthed, perverted and borderline gay spoken words at the end that are found everywhere on Blink 182’s earlier albums. This just goes to show that they can insert that childish humor they’re known for anywhere and still make it work.
“Dancing with Myself” by Billy Idol
“Dancing with Myself” by Blink 182
Bonus: “Dancing with Myself” by Gen X
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