Fiona Scott Norman - Disco : The Vinyl Solution :
Melbourne International Comedy Festival 2011
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Fiona Scott Norman
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By
Lisa Dib
In her show, Disco : The Vinyl Solution, columnist and DJ Fiona
Scott-Norman sings a tune we can all tap our feet to: that young people
are farked up. Those are my words, obviously.
A musical well
of knowledge, Norman is putting on a show that appeals to everyone and
anyone who has ever felt old and hagged in a nightclub; anyone that
doesn’t understand why women need to debase themselves because the man
with the mic is Big in LA; anyone who digs music and a dash of
cynicism.
I chatted to Norman about her show, disco and urinary mating rituals... eew.
“No
one walks into a nightclub past the age of twenty-five without wanting
to stab themselves in the eye with a glow-stick” Norman states in her
familiar oft-surly speech . “There’s no nourishment in it” So what can
expect from the show?
“It’s mainly stand-up, I write a lot of comedy
and satire columns, it’s like an hour-long version of one of my
columns…arguing in my erudite and hilarious fashion”.
“The
thesis of the show is that street violence is caused by bad electronic
dance music and a decline in partner dancing…the history of electronic
music, the power of disco, swing dancing, the decline of touching on
the dance floor. The word ‘inappropriate’ comes to mind”.
“I was
talking to a DJ last night; there seems to be this new trend of men
urinating on women on the dance floor. That’s not healthy or
respectful…it’s really unpleasant. That feeds into porn and its
availability, and the type of music that’s available. I know that
‘grinding’ is popular in clubs…that kind of stuff is…worrying. I just
don’t think that there is anything anyone that can do”.
With a
breadth of musical and cultural knowledge at her disposal, what does
the comic herself chuck on the stereo after a long day, or before
drinks with mates, or when doing the dishes? (Actually, I find the BBC
World Service quite soothing when undertaking mindless chores…but
that’s me).
“I like most kinds of music; I’ve been DJ-ing for a
long time now. I like soul and Motown a lot. It’s really hard to go
past disco; it’s the only genre of music that you can play utterly
across generationally…any age will dance to it, doesn’t matter how old
you are or how cool you think you are, you will dance to Jackson 5.
Blame it on the Boogie or I Want You Back are gold standard, perfect
pop songs”.
With her nostalgic manner of stand-up and vitriol
coursing through her veins and speech, Norman is unpredictably buoyant
regarding the digital age.
“For myself, through iTunes and
downloading, I have managed to find and access things really quickly in
a way that I wouldn’t have been able to before; it promotes a much
broader musical knowledge. I do think, at heart, people have a hunger
for artefacts, they like to own things….the quality is also not as
good. The argument is spurious; the next thing that comes along is
always seen to kill what came before but it never does”.
“We
just make room for the new way of doing things. We are the most mutable
and adaptable form of being on the planet; you look at people who live
all over the world in different circumstances- we just adapt. We’re
fucking incredible”
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