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Maybe Times Change, But In D.C., Go-Go Is Forever
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The story requires you to know that Washington, DC is where, for a brief time, a type of music called "Go-Go" was huge, but just locally. It was a funk variation specific to D.C. and had its own hits and stars, and perhaps the biggest song of the genre, the one you're most likely to have heard if you're not from D.C., was Chuck Brown and the Soul Searchers' "Bustin' Loose (Part 1)," which actually made the Top 40 in 1979 and which is sampled in Nelly's "Hot In Herre." For years, the Washington Nationals have played the song after every home run, but this year, suddenly, they're playing Top 40 hits like from Ariana Grande instead ("Bustin' Loose" is still allegedly in the rotation, but hasn't yet popped up). So, they're moving from something inherently and decidedly local to generic pop, probably to appeal to youth, for whom Go-Go is dad's music, if that. So, where do you come down on this? Local icon or pop? Homage to history or appeal to youth? (Washington Post)
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