Swing Kids, Swing Music and more

The impitus to write this post came from re-watching the movie "Swing Kids" recently.  While I have adored this movie for decades now, this won't merely be a movie review.

You see, the movie is great but the music that it's about is bigger and better, and has had a greater impact on my life.

But first, the movie.  If you haven't seen it before and enjoy swing music, then it's worth watching for the soundtrack alone.  From Benny Goodman's "Sing Sing Sing" to Count Basie's "Shout and Feel it".  From Slim Gaillard's "Flat Foot Floogie" to the classic "Bei Mir Bist Du Shone".  And that's not even getting into James Horner's background music which is emotional and tells a story all it's own.

The story is fairly simple on the surface... a bunch of pre WWII German kids are into swing music just as the authorities are stepping down on such things.  Underneath that veneer is the story of conflict.  Conflict between wanting to be true to yourself and wanting to fit in.  On side you have Arvid (played  by Frank Whaley) who loves swing music.  He wants to play it, he wants to know it, he wants to be it.  He does so even when it leads to him getting bullied and beaten.  The other side is Thomas Berger (played by a young Christian Bale) who loves swing music because his friends love swing.  When he gets into the Hitler Jugend and finds friends there he turns on his swinging friends.  In the middle is Peter Müller (played by Robert Sean Leonard of 'House M.D.' fame)... he loves swing but is pulled in by the Hitler Jugend.


The ending scene (which I won't ruin by telling you about it here) is one of the first times I cried because of a movie.  It's happened plenty since then and happens fairly often now, but that was the first time.

By no means is this a great movie.  Many of the plot points are predictable and while the acting is solid it's not stellar. But I adored this movie when it came out, foremost for the music.  This was a time in my life that I was getting into music beyond pop, rock and top 40 charts.  I was just out of high school where I was in all the bands (Symphony band, Marching band, and Jazz band), and in college on a music scholarship.  Most of my music tape songs came from my friends CDs and tapes, but no one was into swing so I purchased the soundtrack and listened to it over and over and over.

I'm not sure if Swing Kids had anything to do with it, but Swing Music was making a big comeback around that same time.  Bands were playing the classics, but also making 'new' swing music.  Bands like Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, Squirrel Nut Zippers, and of course the Brian Setzer Orchestra all had hits around that time.  Swing dancing had gained popularity and was seen everywhere.  I collected a portion of them and enjoyed listening to them on the radio.

This time was significant for me personally as well.  Like many post high schoolers I was really coming into my own.  I was no longer Mom and Dad's little boy... I was becoming my own man.  Not only was I branching off from my family, I was branching off from my friends into my own things and Swing music was just one example of that.  I didn't really have anyone to share the experience with so it was mine and mine alone.  While many things at that time of my life have faded off into the past, swing music remains a cherished memory.  If there was a soundtrack to my life, Swing music would be the chapter where I became my own man.

So in a way I find it ironic that Swing music is making a semi-comeback now.  Just as I was going through a change then from boyhood into manhood, I am going through a change again.  This time from a period of struggling to create a successful identity to finding that success.  And here's Electro-Swing to welcome me.

About a year ago on some random gaming message board, someone posted a video of an unusual dance;

Catgroove by Parov Stelar

While most of the discussion was about the dance, I fell in love with the song.  It's part of a movement that has been dubbed Electro Swing.  Taking old swing standards and adding in a Techno or Dance beat and mixing it all together into a new kind of wonderful.

A few months back I was driving to work and heard a short story about the Electro Swing style o n NPR.  That lead me to one of my favorite recent songs:

Dragons by Caravan Palace

Wow.  Just.... Wow.

I highly doubt that Electro Swing will catch the world's attention like the swing movement of the 90s did, but it's certainly caught my attention.  I'm glad to have my old friend back, as it makes me feel like those good times are back... and this time to stay!