The FAWM Blog

One of the most interesting things to come out of the FAWM 2007 challenge last year was a “genre” called Strangle Disco. It originated as a challenge in an anagram-themed thread of the forums, and accidentally grew into a phenomenon within the community, generating 52 songs by the end of the month. Additionally, websites were launched, a mythology developed, and several of the tracks were later compiled into a ten-minute “dance megamix” featured as a bonus track on this year’s fawmpilation CD (which is definitely worth hearing).

Will Strangle Disco continue to be of interest in FAWM 2008? Who knows, but we thought we’d post a primer here for any new and confused fawmers by way of explanation. (The whole thing can seem a bit strange and inaccessible… and we try to avoid being too insular.)

First, the time line above summarizes how things unfolded last year. Second, the hallmark of Strangle Disco music is the fusion of classical samples (Beethoven preferred) with disco/dance/hip-hop beats. And finally, wordplay often features prominently in any lyrics (particularly anagrams and palindromes). Thematically, songs hover around sinister lyrics and references to Beethoven, bass guitars, and (naturally) discotheques.

To learn more, visit myspace.com/strangledisco to listen to a few of last year’s compositions, or strangledisco.com/history for an archive of the collaborative “mythology” (i.e., tongue-in-cheek history) that was begun. In addition, fawmer Jenna wrote an article that details three sub-genres: Experimental Strangle Disco, Post Strangle Disco, and Post-Apocalyptic Strangle Disco. (A work of true scholarship.)