I left Washington DC at the wrong time.
I grew up in the immediate suburbs of DC. So immediate that many of my peers and myself would say that we were from DC, or the DC area, as a form of geographic shorthand. Most people don’t get it. Bigger city folk see it as cultural re-appropriation. Part of it is. Doesn’t change the connection I have to the area at large. It’s my de facto home city, seeing as my burb wouldn’t exist without it.
So the musical acculturation of the city is a bittersweet thing for me. Used to be that any contemporary music culture was imported. Go-go had been DC’s main musical contribution to the rest of the world. Most people don’t know what the hell go-go is. But now! Now things are absolutely popping off, thanks in part to electronic music’s growth in popularity over the past few years. And I’m not there to enjoy it!
Ah well. Thanks to this miraculous arrangement of cables, fiberoptics, servers, and chips we know as the internet, I can still enjoy the audio products of the city. Like this remix of BenZel’s Fallin’ Love by DC native Alex Young. Alas, DC can’t claim either Umi Takashi or Yoko Watanabe, the principals that comprise BenZel.
Ah well. Can’t win ’em all. Besides, this song is a notch in the W column of life. It starts out sunny and funky before Young takes the reins. Then it turns into a straight clapper. This is the kind of song that puts its charms front and center. The hip-hop heart inspires syncopated head nodding. The bright synths and major key melody gives the one the feeling that your turned towards the sky and your hands are extended upwards, palms outstretched. Chill and uplifting. Not a bad way to be.