The Cowl

by Ian Gualtiere ’27 on April 23, 2026

It Just Took A Nap

There is a saying that tends to unite generations with varying degrees of success: “What’s old is
new again.” Obviously, gone are the days of actual disco venues where one could spend their
weekends trying to look as effortless as John Travolta in Saturday Night Fever (1977).
Nonetheless, certain forms of art tend to cycle after many years; every moment in the chronology
is given a new moment to shine, which every generation tries to add in its own special flair,
resulting in a culmination of eclectic and unique art that somehow pays homage to its origins
while remaining accessible into the future. Generation Z’s use of disco has had a wide array of
results, spanning from new TikTok dance trends to Instagram story ambiance.

These modern-day uses continue the legacy of a musical genre once considered on the outskirts
of musical acceptance; thus, the notion was that it only attracted those who were also
marginalized. Individuals who resided in the subcultures of New York City, San Francisco, and
Philadelphia—African-American, Italian-American, Latinx, and LGBTQ+—supported a series
of nightclubs and artists who employed this newly emerging form of music. Disco was seen as a
revival of the communal dance of the 1940s, but instead of the big bands, there was a solo band
with a funky beat. It was also a reaction against the 1960s counterculture movement, the acoustic
folk music that defined the hippie generation, and the mainstream acceptance of rock as the only
form of music. Nightclubs such as Le Club, Studio 54, The Loft, and Paradise Garage only
fueled the emerging culture of nightlife that seemed like an endless supply of dancing, drinking,
and drugs. This was all very much to the frustration of parents whose kids snuck out to the disco
and city officials who had to deal with the nights that never ended. Bands like KC and the
Sunshine Band, ABBA, The O’Jays, The Commodores, Village People, and Bee Gees
capitalized on this frustration with early 1970s stagnant music and sought to revolutionize a
genre of music that had yet to find its identity.

Various factors eventually drove the acceptance of disco to the edge of mainstream and tried to
erase it from history. With the popularity of disco defining the sound of mid to late 1970s music, its oversaturation and constant parodies drove many people away from the trend. The most
famous movement against disco came in the United States by the ardent supporters of rock,
which resulted in many fans wearing “Disco Sucks” shirts and accusing rock artists of selling out
if they incorporated disco. The most famous event that validated the anti-disco movement was
“The Day Disco Died;” July 12, 1979. Disco Demolition Night was a promotional event held by
the Chicago White Sox during an evening game, where a collection of disco records and albums
was brought to center field and blown up.

But, as the aforementioned saying goes: “What’s old is new.” In the past 47 years, disco has been
validated and accepted as a stable form of dance music; it is sometimes played as a reaction
against the recent emergence of house and trap music. Proponents claim that the cleanness of
disco makes it a unifying form of music that people can all dance to, without the use of explicit
lyrics.

Interestingly enough, there are frequent instances of “Lay All Your Love On Me” blasting out of
the windows of Eaton Street houses; the basements of club formals singing along to “Don’t Go
Breaking My Heart;” and student bands who try to play “September” onstage at McPhail’s.
What’s old will always be new; it is with the cyclical qualities of music that genres that were
widely hated, misunderstood, and rejected during their eras are always justified by the groove of
time.

Maybe this is a larger reflection on how the 2020s can be seen as a parallel to the 1970s:
stagflation concerns, social polarization, bellbottom jeans in vogue, geopolitical instability,
people on the moon, energy dependence, distrust in government, consumer exhaustion, and a
new Star Wars movie being released in May. Who knows how our history will be told. If there is
any incentive for a better decade, we only have four more years to come up with a dance that can
rival The Watergate.