In A Moment With You
I’ve been struggling to write every day recently because I’ve just been astoundingly busy. I still will write about seeing No Doubt at the Sphere in Las Vegas last week, but I have two more concerts to attend this week: Paul Simon on Wednesday, and a double-header of Paul Oakenfold and The Crystal Method on Saturday. Lots going on!
For tonight, I’ll write about a song I, like many others, discovered from the spectacular finale of Hacks on May 28: “About Work the Dancefloor” by English singer and producer Georgia, released in 2019 on her album Seeking Thrills. Hacks was just about the perfect dark comedy and it deserves its spot in the all-time greats. If you’ve been watching, you know that the finale was flawless. It was so good that it’s still sinking in several days later how good it was. I won’t give away any of the plot, but the finale features a scene where Deborah and Ava, played by Jean Smart and Hannah Einbinder respectively, are dancing in a nightclub in Paris. It’s a gorgeous scene, one of several nightclub scenes throughout the series. I can’t post the clip because of copyright issues, but if you have HBO Max, it starts at 31:50 of Season 5, Episode 10. I didn’t even notice how emotional the scene was the first watch, as I’m crying right now rewatching it, because I was busy prepping Shazam to identify the song they were dancing to. And here we are!
Fuck! This song is so good. It’s one of those eternal, timeless dance songs, made significantly more eternal and timeless by its use in the finale of one of the best TV shows ever. Georgia’s voice is breathy and hits wonderful high notes, singing about a pure love, as expressed by the pureness of being together on a dance floor. Thematically, it’s similar to Kylie Minogue’s “Dancing” or Kiesza’s “Hideaway,” both of which are similarly memorable dance songs.
The production on this song, however, is what shines the most. It has a classic four-on-the-floor structure, with these high-note arpeggiated synth riffs throughout the chorus, which is just “I was just thinking about work the dancefloor” four times. It makes the chorus feel almost mystical. Any fan of dance music will like this one. It’s the type of song where it has several remixes, which are good, especially the Blessed Madonna remix (oomph, she’s good), but none will be better than the original, because the original is flawless.
It’s odd to me that a song that isn’t actually very original, in its lyrics, its structure, or its sound, can be so instantly iconic on a first listen. There is some special formula at play here that I will continue to think about. I mentioned it already, but it does remind me of the first time I heard Kiesza’s “Hideaway,” in its specialness, its stickiness, its uninhibited freedom. I’ll post that song, from 2014, below “About Work the Dancefloor.”
This summer, starting Saturday, will be a summer of dance for me. I get to see The Crystal Method and Paul Oakenfold this weekend in San Francisco, Faithless and Kosheen in Bristol, Tove Lo in Paris, Slayyyter in Oakland, and Robyn in Mexico City. My goal is to be uninhibited and free in a way that I haven’t in many years. My time dancing as a young adult was usually colored with heavy drug and alcohol use and I associated dancing with that practice, but I’m at a place where I can healthily dance again without abusing myself. Dance is sacred, especially for us queer folks. I’m sobbing just thinking about it. Back in 2024, I spent a week at the Esalen Institute in Big Sur, and I led a spiritual entrée into sacred dance for the Summer Solstice; it’s one of my favorite memories. This post started off my summer, and my summer is off to a good start.