Just bust a move.

Found an “Eighties and beyond” radio station the other day (100.3 on your FM dial), liked what I heard, programmed it into my radio.

Was parked on the northbound Tristate, surfing my pre-sets with little satisfaction this morning, when I heard it.

Young MC’s Bust a Move.

I derived far more pleasure from it than I would have expected.

You want it? You got it! You want it, baby you got it! (just bust a move)

Pure poetry.

I’ll rate it an 87, Dick. It’s got a great beat, and you can car dance to it.

Since I was sitting in traffic with nothing better to do, I drifted back to late winter /early spring of 1990.

We had just let the word out that we were planning a big house party, I believe our last one in the old, haunted (yep), house four of us rented in Lansing.

I was talking to friends, Chris and Verna. They complained that house parties thrown at guys houses never had good dance music. They said they wanted to shake it, basically, and put me on notice, musically speaking.

Hmm…. Girls wanted to dance a lot, at my house.
Yeah, I could work on making that happen.

But what did guys know about dancing? We were all about standing in circles, playing air guitar, throwing our fists in the air above our heads.

You gotta fight. For your right. To Paaaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrtee!

Kick it.

And while I WAS working for the college radio station, and my tastes were more eclectic than many guys, I realized I didn’t have “Shake it “ music lying around the house.

Apparently, while awesome party songs in their own right, I wanna Be Sedated by the Ramones, So Alive by Love and Rockets, and Personal Jesus by Depeche Mode did not exactly meet the required criteria.

So, I brought in a pro, a ringer, demographically speaking.

I hooked up with a female friend of mine, Tracy, and explained the problem. We got a hold of various acquaintances, did a lot of borrowing, and viola!

Approximately 80 people jammed in my house, with Joy and Pain by Rob Base and DJ E-Z Rock, the aforementioned Bust a Move, and other music to “shake it” by, blasting through my roommate’s speakers on a cold Saturday night.

I still have the mix tape, in a cupboard in my basement. I no longer have any equipment I’d feel confident playing it on, but it’s still there.
As I recall, there’s a cigarette burn on the case, and the ink’s faded a bit.

Back to the present, traffic was starting to move, albeit very slowly. Bust A Move faded out, replaced by a news and traffic update.
Seems traffic was heavy on the toll roads.

The hell you say!