Roxy Music - Do the Strand
I’m still not sure how to “do the Strand”. I gather that it’s some imaginary dance tied up with teenage rebellion that makes one’s body jerk around spastically yet gracefully to the urbane, glam rock sounds of Roxy Music.
This song might be from 1973 but it’s timeless in its ability to make us all dance like no one’s watching. And feel that we look really, really cool while doing so.
While most dance tracks repeat rehashed mantras like “Oh yeah, get down” over and over as if they offer the key to nirvana, Roxy frontman Bryan Ferry peppers the joyful absurdity of the song with intellectual references like “Mona Lisa” and “Lolita.” It’s like an education during perspiration or something. Most of Roxy Music’s songs are rooted in an avant garde approach to rock music, but this doesn’t make them less accessible.
Their music remains pleasurable on any listening level, and I consider them one of the greatest rock bands ever. Maybe you will (or do) too.
