People call triple Taurus Giorgio Moroder the ‘Godfather of Disco’, mostly because of his iconic compositions like Donna Summer’s I Feel Love and Love to Love You Baby, Call Me (Blondie), Together in Electric Dreams…His influence infused the golden era of disco – Neptune in Sagittarius – that it is difficult to imagine it without Moroder.
But ‘shaman of synthwave’ feels even more appropriate. Moroder bought the synthesizer into music and that style seeped into all aspects of culture, particularly for Gen X people.
The aesthetic and mood of Flashdance, Miami Vice, Scarface, Cat People, Top Gun – Take My Breath Away and the Metropolis reboot permeated the psyche of many a Pluto in Virgo person.
Regardless of your chronological generation or connection to Moroder’s music, he is remarkable for his career longevity and genius ability to consistently generate ‘cool.’ So what is his secret?
Well, his Taurean array is great for raw stamina: With the Sun, Saturn and Uranus in Taurus, he is still dj-ing, songwriting and created an NFT in early 2022. His Uranus Return will be in 2023, btw.
As he is Aquarius Rising, this means his ancient and modern ruler are both in the same sign as his Sun. So he is capable of a singular focus on a particularly potent life ‘theme’ or even mission, if you like.
His Moon in the 10th house is a classic “love of the public” position. People with this Moon placement can flow through any number of career identities and brand images without losing their fan base or relevance. You see it in a lot of perma-popular actors and people simply famous for being themselves.
Transit-wise, it is interesting that he enjoyed a significant resurgence of popular awareness in May 2013, when Daft Punk released Random Access Memory, featuring a cool monologue from Moroder.
That was Jupiter on his Mars-Venus in Gemini and – most significantly – Uranus conjunct his Mercury in Aries. The first transit occurs every 12 years but Uranus-Mercury is once in a lifetime.
It makes so much sense that a Taurus wrote “I feel Love”.
…gently meandering through the site – happened on this. I love Moroder, (Donna Summer’s I Feel Love is beyond); asked for and received Disco Nights (and yes, it was a K-Tel compilation) for a juvenile birthday…and my natal moon is in the 10th House. So that explains a lot!
Grew up this, unashamed disco queen, white tight pants, farrah hair, gold shiny tops and bags, blue eyeshadow -the works and had a ball. Stil put it on now just to clean the house or for a lift.
I love this image! Go Groover!
very Leo innit 😀
Scorcese, who directed, has
Sun, Mercury, Venus, Mars conj in SCORPIO!
Leo Rising of course 😉 .
Not my style of course but I LOVED Casino, Sharon Stone and of course Scorcese!!
Scrubbed the house to this album yesterday..boogied my way through the seemingly endless chores. Parts, or I should clarify and say sounds/frequencies really reminded me of K&D. Thanks to the dark moon for that musical reminiscence!
Love psytrance, hard house, disco… even went through a hardcore techno phase. Lol
That youtube vid you posted on the Aqua disco queen had me tripping down memory lane of early 90’s dance parties 😀
Glad we could share a ‘natsukashii’ moment!
I have space dust memories something shocking re that track.
I miss those dancing days!
I loved techno too, even got a little jungle/detroit at one point. .
I have a bit of an obsession with all things Detroit – birthplace of techno, a decaying city and all that. Urban decay is one of my fave things to photograph.
Went there in 1998. Was incredible. All the Americans i met on my trip in U.S were dismayed when I told them my next stop was Detroit. “why on earth would you go there?” … but you know… a Sagg moon has to see things for herself.
omg Scorpbot – I need to know…..what is it in our charts that makes us love urban decay?
I’ve got a bit of an urban decay love thing going on too…
😀 Not surprised
Venus in libra – highly tuned sense of aesthetics. Appreciating beauty in all forms.
Maybe Scorp sun – Phoenix rising from the ashes/transformation. Looking beyond the superficial… Being aware that everything has a cycle and its just a part of life…
Need more time to think about it, its hard for me to articulate.
I think the Japanese wabi-sabi aesthetic describes it best:
“The aesthetic is sometimes described as one of beauty that is “imperfect, impermanent, and incomplete”
Urban grunge aesthetic seems really to go hand in hand with graffiti in my mind. My SN in Gem/Scorp Moon appreciate that style.
I am surrounded by surburban shabby chic, greige, distressed wood & union jack pillows in the shops near me.
Help!
ewww shabby chic and union jack pillows 😯 You poor thing.
Nothing worse than something that’s contrived.
It’s ok, 1st world probs.
My NN in Sagg, Venus in Cancer finds deciding on an aesthetic so tricky.
I guess boho & indigenous fabrics appeal.
I can’t decide on an aesthetic either. Gem NN in 6th. Moon in Sagg 😀
omg I am so happy with this conversation I cannot tell you 🙂 Now, what do you think….is the appeal of the abandoned or decayed about the acceptance of transience or some deep longing for permanence?
and ps. loved and thank you for the introduction to the concept of wabi-sabi. It’s not the same thing, I know, but probably it’s descendent and speaks to your declaration on this thread about not being able to settle on an aesthetic. My favourite aesthetic is Modern Japanese design.
wallah, good stuff 😀
It’s a bittersweet melancholy feeling of appreciating what once was… catching a fleeting glimpse of history / time. So yeah, you could say the appeal is the acceptance of transience with maybe a dash of longing for permanence.
A quote from one of my fave movies springs to mind:
“All those moments will be lost in time, like tears in rain. Time to die”
Recognise it? 😀
Check out this photographer’s work of abandoned buildings and theatres in Detroit.
His statement pretty much sums up the appeal.
Hauntingly beautiful.
I love that site, thanks! And you won;t believe it, but although I love the photographs from Detroit – and I love the everydayones like the dentists chair the most – my thesis is about resurrected picture palaces, so the theatres strand really spoke to me 🙂 Had a thought today that it could be a strong Neptunian thing?
Here’s something for you 🙂
http://blogof.francescomugnai.com/2013/01/30-of-the-most-beautiful-abandoned-places-and-modern-ruins-ive-ever-seen/
Blade Runner
or Plutonian – do you have strong Pluto?
Oh Calypso 😀 Thank you so much for that link!!!! I actually have that first image of the railway tracks in the tunnel of greenery in my folder of inspirational images. Some of those in the link are so Plutonian /Neptunian. Moss growing on the inside of dilapidated buildings *sigh*, abandoned pianos, ivy covered cathedrals, vegetation taking over, ruined theme parks, cog wheels and engine rooms… *swoon* 😛 xx
you’re welcome Scorpbot – it’s so beautiful that overgrown railway track.and thank you forhelpingme come to the realisationsre the OPs x
Oh fantastic re the theatres and your thesis!! How’s that for synchronicity! 😀
Saw your comment somewhere about your thesis and thought “no wonder she’s fascinated by urban decay”
Will have a look at link when I’m on ‘puter, chilling out with my phone now.
Strong Neptune?… Ah YEAH! My Neptune conjuncts Sun (10th) and Pluto in 8th sextiles sun & Neptune, trines Jupiter, squares Uranus & Moon, quintile Merc,
Is that Pluto enough? 😀
I think it’s Plutoenough :0 and I think Pluto is the thing. Minetrines Asc, Moon, Neptuneand Mars, conjunt Uranus. SoPlutonian, plusour Scorp Suns. Lovingthe fall of civilizations 😉
maybe that’smy FME realisation and i am freedfrom my PhD now, I have the naswer! 🙂
For me dialing up those days would Professional Widow – Tori Amos…calling collect.
I feel so ashamed! I wouldn’t know Tori Amos if she assaulted my ear drums with a 12 string guitar! (Would she do that? I don’t even know that).
What’s your fave track of hers?
Personally I dont think youre missing anything there – Tori Amos killed “Strange Little Girl” for me 🙁
That was moi…
Well I had five mins free so I listened to the Strangler version.. and yeah two secs of theTori version. Nice discovery re the Stranglers for me. Xx.
Well I would suggest it would be on piano and her sans undies.
Andromeda it would be Professional Widow when remixes by Arand
Van Helden under the name Armand’s Star Trunk Funkin Mix.
Armand…sorry iPhone and chick with trainer wheels
Soz me!
Bit of trivia on this song: The eponymous “professional widow” is widely rumoured to be Courtney Love, former wife of Kurt Cobain, whom Trent Reznor credits with destroying the ‘friendship’ (whatever its extent) between himself and Tori.[1] In 1999, Reznor’s band Nine Inch Nails released a single called “Starfuckers, Inc.”, with “Starfucker” being a word that appears in “Professional Widow”.
Lyrically the song borrows directly from the short story “The Sphinx” by Edgar Allan Poe. Specifically the lyric “what is termed a landslide of principal proportion” is taken from the line “what is termed a land-slide, of the principal portion of its trees”; and the lyric “prism perfect” from the line “in shape a perfect prism.”
That’s reallyinteresting! LOooove Trent, smallspaces!
The Toro’s seem to do great slow grinding bass.
Music and I make love almost every other day
Isn’t his MC on that fixed star 13 degrees sagg that Fi mentioned?
😯
Where’s Venus a-go-go!? Another fine example of a Taurean who has an amazing aptitude for music!
Right here *blush*
Moroder is a musical hero of mine. Without him you would not have had most of your experimental musical artists. People like Cabaret Voltaire, the Human League and Eno were deeply influenced by his strong aesthetic, his ability to layer complex synth work and create deep/immersive/artful soundscapes.
No, he is not a guitar-based artists, but he is a master of early electronic music.
Having said this, I should really love the new Daft Punk album, but i haven’t found a way into it yet. A Cap friend was very reproachful about this as I said I liked the concept, but the music seemed a bit samey in places (mostly the first single) and I got a serve of ‘There are all CONCEPT… They transcend music, man…’
Maybe I need more time with it, but i still think a concept needs a follow through.
😯
See!
Venus a-go-go you’re exceellent!
… But quite grammatically incorrect in the above comment >.<
Loved the Midnight Express soundtrack. Won the Oscar for Best Original Soundtrack in the late 70’s.
AMAZING! I just got this album last night and this song made me cry! I was very moved. But I’m an electronica kinda gal 🙂
LOVE THIS QUOTE…
“Once you free your mind about the concept of harmony and of music being correct you can do whatever you want. So nobody told me what to do and there was no preconception of what to do.” – Giorgio Moroder.
Just to clarify, they were tears of joy 🙂
Yay for Random Access Memories. Daft Punk, je t’aime!
Most hilar zz moment courtesy of justin beiber:
“im a artist n I should be taken seriously!”
LOL o rly?!
What a way to wreak a morning.
My views of Justin Beiber is that he is Damien (from The Omen series). His hair is that way to cover the mark on his forehead.
Being an in-car DJ in my scuba car, I have the power to skip to the next track if I am just not feelin it. Embrace the smorgasbord of sound!
I think ur on to something w/ the beib. Scary. My dog has a little beaver squeaky toy that I call justin beaver. I don’t kno which was funnier, that he considers himself an artist or that he’s entitled to not be boo’d. Why was he being boo’d? Don’t kno don’t care. Skip skip shufffle skip 😉
I thought you named your dog: Justin Beaver. You know he has a singing toothbrush too. Talk about dodgy one dimensional talent. I dream of him and LILO hooking up and boom adios Damien.
too funny – my daughter just asked me if I know Jackson Beaver 🙂
I knew there was a reason I named my cat Fender!
My friend was a motorhead and he named his cat Ducati.
What made you decide on Fender?
As a Taurus, I disavow this alleged music “Disco.” This noise incited a generation to abandon musical instruments and eschew skilled performances. Why learn to perform music when you can just poke some buttons and sit back and watch it play itself?
So I will offer you another Taurus, the one that inspired me to learn guitar: Pete Townshend.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pxZ77w9bnm8
I love the understatement of that: “this is a Fender (sorry didn’t get the name of the guitar). It’s supposed to sound like this: ”
excellent understated opening line…
Wow this is soooo not what we do, I cannot tell u how much energy sweat and and tears go into making these things learning how to create them. Getting a artist on them, collaboration production.
Then making an appropriate set on the fly some people do 16 hour sets, building it. Knowing your crowd, being told by management to play a certian way. Being in hole in the wall spaces. Being in spaces that want u to play Top 40 when you dont carry that… Carrying your equipment to venu storage. Its far more than press and play. Its a spirtual experience really.
learning to have a ear to make people go on a journey the music never mixes its self and never will. Some people will not know how to select tracks other people will hear. Some of the best moments come out of the bringing 2,3 or even 4 pieces of music together.
The universe is so amazing, it doesnt play by your rules of insturment. or your definitions really. Every one has there frequency just like every planet. Many EDM fans would find a night with this guy to lackadasical… But to call it noise is just your opnion. Its a universal expression.
Music is making sounds that people like to listen to. Maybe not all people, but that’s not the point.
Also I have tried to make electro and failed miserably—it really does take a lot of skill, musical talent and knowledge!
I find guitars and folk instruments easier.
It’s may be worth noting that Townshend was performing electronic music in concert back when Moroder was still singing Italo Disco pop tunes like “Looky Looky.” My older sister is an uber-hipster and she fanatically collects obscure Italo Disco, but she only likes it because everyone hates it. If it ever became popular, she’d drop it like a hot potato.
What is your sister’s sign?
srry for the double post
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pVC7dSHlNk4
Some people just don’t get into certain aural palettes so the electronic vs non electronic music is a bit of a moot point.
For instance, I am not a big fan of the color orange, so an artist that works exclusively in that color will present an issue with me as I will have difficulty in connecting with the medium to begin with.
It doesn’t make the artist a bad artists, I am just not going to live for their jive, so to speak.
Moroder and Townsend are both amazing, but they tackle their art differently and comparison would be odious.
I’m sure Moroder feels terrible about his past and the fact that PT has so much more credibility to you Charles….notsure how he sleeps at night.
I live for disco, electro, black metal, baroque, billy joel, thrash, iconic 70s rock, hair metal, and everything in between. What I listen to is just a matter of mood. Music fills the spaces between the cells and molecules in my existence. How can I possibly judge? life without music (any music) would not be worth living. imo.
and yes even dubstep.
Oh yes tres Piscean: music is like water we must swim in but sometimes it’s a dirty puddle and sometimes it’s an ocean; and then there’s the music of just listening to life. Music and art are the base of the Piscean pyramid of basic requirements 🙂
or anyone with strong Neptune.
Music + Art = life
Neptune conjunct Sun 🙂
Music + Art= Life
yes, but I am very particular about what music and art I like. I don’t often share pop cultures tastes at all.
Almost every Scorpio I knew had electic but particular tastes and wasn’t trendy.
ok, I take that back I remembered two trendwhores with Double Scorpio. Never-mind. 😉
🙂
Me too Scorprising!
I’m a bit of music snob 😀
Yes agree to all of the above. Having been walking along the beach I love your ocean analogy. There is a magic at play when the sky and the ocean touch the same colour palette.
What sign are you S?
I’m sure you’ve mentioned it before but it hasn’t stuck in my brain
A Sun Crab with Cap Moon and a pinch of Aqua rising.
O shizzz, just checked out this daft punk yesterday. Didn’t like. luv donna summer, but not most disco. Like I dig cline n cash, but not most country. & mitchell n dylan, but not much folk. The astro deets for this white panted man r cool tho 😀 interesting how arrangements make whole!
Spinnin a tribe called quest joint “low end theory” from 2008 when my latest astro trip made land fall. My tug boat ha!
do you seriously not like the new daft punk album? ….i dont even know how that is possible. sorry.
signed,
a taurus discoteque freak
Ditto on Daft Punk, way too outdated disco for me.
Do Scorpios like disco I wonder? I never met one yet.
As soon as I typed this I do recall a Scorpio who does…never mind the bollocks.
I love the shiny disco stuff, the I Feel Love vibe….that stuff can lift you up into another stratosphere (which is, you know, where I prefer to be 🙂 )
Yeah I love disco too but the original 70’s stuff.
I can’t stand Daft Punk!!
Whenever I hear “Around the world” and “One more time” my blood starts to boil and my eyes start popping out of my head (like Ren from Ren & Stimpy) 😯 LOL
I’m sure someone’s gonna tell me their less commercial stuff is better or whatever but I couldn’t be arsed finding out. Not interested in being convinced or converted. I just hate them. Too gimicky. Don’t like Cut Copy or The Presets either. I do love electronica though. I’m just fussy