Straight outta Holland, muthafucka…
Turn out the lights, the weekend’s over. Sorry, Buster, no birthday party for you today (and probably no cards as well)… we have prior commitments with our equine musical staff on Mondays to present another memory and ear jostling edition of the Dusty Vinyl Archive. It’s the finale of The Nest’s three part retrospective on the small, but curious imprint of bands from The Netherlands on the US pop charts. DJ Scratchy’s got the jump ropes and the Sponkies are ready to play a little double dutch today to that hip hop sound that instantly makes you think of the land of windmills and tulips…
So assuming you actually pay attention to this series, you’ve probably been wondering for a while what that sixth and final Dutch song was to make the Top 40 of the US Billboard charts. Can it possibly be more unexpected than a rock group combining guitars and drums with yodeling, or a classic California road trip song sung by guys who grew up 6,000 miles away from the golden coast? Yes it can, because our final Dutch one hit wonder is a quintet by the name of Urban Dance Squad…
What, were you expecting suits and mop tops?
UDS, as they like to frequently refer to themselves in their lone US hit, began its existence as a jam session comprised of musicians from both rock (guitarist, bassist and drummer) and hip hop (rapper and DJ). They apparently played so damn well together that they actually formed a band and released a whole string of albums that made them big in Europe. They did cross the Atlantic with one hit off their debut album Mental Floss For The Globe in 1990… a song which made it up to #21 before being promptly forgotten about by a US audience that cared more about genuine hip hop acts like Vanilla Ice and Kris Kross. That lone Dutch masterpiece was “Deeper Shade of Soul”…
The video for this song is practically a living time capsule of that strange era that connected the colorful, laid back 80’s with the darker, edgier 90’s. It also presents us with a veritable melting pot of demographics and cultures that goes perfectly with not only the message of the song, but the multitude of genres UDS successfully combines together in its music. Yes, America got schooled by none other than the Dutch on how to coexist peacefully in this diverse world of ours…
Just call us your homeys, Mr. Valentine!
I hope you enjoyed this look back at some of the long lost classics from the forgotten world power in rock and roll. Next week, it’ll be back to just whatever random lost songs I plan on digging up out of the tampon box in the back of Scratchy’s vault… unless maybe there were any one hit wonders that came out of Luxembourg I might want to reminisce about…
Join us in June for the DVA’s tribute to the pan flute!
Evil Squirrel's Nest 
The guy on the front row in that photo of UDS – on the left there – yeah…that one….looks a lot like Edward Scissorhands……….just sayin’……
Pam
Yes he does! That’s the guitarist… and I’d imagine ol’ Edward probably gave that up after the 10th box of replacement strings he had to buy…
great that you brought back the guys of UDS :o) I remember that their Demagogue became famous in the 90’s although it was a completely different style than before… maybe that was the reason that DJ DNA left the gang?
I’m not sure, I didn’t realize how big they became until I looked them up. Most Americans don’t even remember this song let alone the group…
That one guy does look like Edward Scissorhands!
They say we’ve all got a twin somewhere in the world… I guess he drew Edward!
Okay. Holland complete. What part of the world comes next? This is interesting stuff. I am pop culture challenged. This is making me no less challenged, but I’m picking up GREAT trivia to wow by equally challenged friends 🙂
I was quite awed by this piece of trivia when I learned it because who knew they even had pop music in Holland? I really don’t think there’s another country in the world that could come up with a list as small and truly unique as the Dutch can of US one hit wonders.
ody & biskit….we iz jammin heer ~~~~~~~~~~~ 🙂
Woohoo! Get down, get down!
This poor little guy could pose for a Picasso..http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/canada-vet-squirrel-trapped-bottle-springhill-amherst-1.3583313
Thanks for another post idea! And keep those Canadians being kind to squirrels stories coming…
I do enjoy your posts!!! Keep up the great work!!!
Thanks!
I remember this one bc my sister loved it. Oh the memories. 🙂
It’s hard to believe it’s over 25 years old. Where does the time go…
LOVED IT! Happy Music! Right on the button about the distinct sound of this window in time. Brilliant! ❤
Not my thing in music 😦 I want the yodellers back!
I wonder if anyone has tried yodeling in hip hop before? Kanye?