365 DAYS PROJECT

2003   JANUARY 31   #031

Myron Floren - Disco Accordion

OK, think about all of the unlikely word pairings you've encountered in your life. Military intelligence? Yeah, sure, we've all heard that one. Jumbo shrimp? Yep, that one makes you wonder, too. Christian Heavy Metal? That's just plain wrong.

Allow me to introduce you to a new one: Disco Polka.

You remember watching the Lawrence Welk show with your parents when you were a kid, right? Remember that guy playing the accordion? That's Myron Floren. He made a disco polka record. Accordion. Disco. Polka.

I stumbled upon a copy of the Myron Floren Disco Polka album in a thrift store in Baton Rouge in 1988, and, thanks to the wonder of the Internet, I am happy to share it with you now.

The album was released by GRT Records (GRT-8026) in 1977 and is a real corker. Mr. Floren and his band deliver an album full of the dank deliciousness of Disco: swirling strings, bombastic bongos, Fender Rhodes, all topped with enough oom-pah-pah to get both your uncle Irwin, Grand Poobah at the Moose Lodge, and your cousin Vinnie, Assistant Manager at the Quick Lube, on the dance floor. The album is surprisingly well-recorded, too – it'll fill your living room with the roar of polyester.

- Gene Hopstetter, Jr., http://www.hopstetter.com

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