Butt Spread: Andy Butler of Hercules and Love Affair and His Bedside Interview

When Greg Burgett, one of my music writers, mentioned he wanted to write about the [song of summer,] I immediately told him it had to belong to [Hercules and Love Affair.](http://www.herculesandloveaffair.com/) The group's debut LP is one single after another, strange enough with Antony's vocals and upbeat enough to get me dancing anytime I put it on (which is a lot, and I've had interns and other editors wonder aloud when I'd tire of listening to the tracks). Of course, I'm a sucker for "Blind" and think "Raise Me Up" is amazing. But I seem to find something different to love about every track (for example, Athene reminds me of 80s Spanish pop star Alaska and tracks that appeared in old Amoldovar films). Greg made a strong case that Gnarls Barkley changed the summer song landscape with 2006's "Crazy", and now Hercules and Love Affair is set to open for [Gnarls in August](http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/news/51560-hercules-prep-new-single-open-for-gnarls-barkley) (unfortunately in D.C.)

Thing is, I also know that disco is a little too much for most music fans to stomach: too gay, too black and too much fun. But hopefully a few more will find their way to some of the most danceable music of the summer. Also, if you're looking for a more authentic read concerning Andy Butler, the guy behind Hercules, beyond the [mainstream press], check out the latest issue of [Butt magazine](http://buttmagazine.com/). In it, he strips down and tells (nearly) all, including his fun NYC club days, the tons of K he took while out clubbing and that he was never interested in Michael Alig and the whole Disco 2000/Limelight crowd. As well as posing for this triptych...

But it all seems to come down to the music for him. As he explains in the interview, "As much as drugs or glitz or sex has driven me to places, nothing has ever driven me like music." And that folks, is what should drive you to listen to this, not if it's been anointed by the fashionable set as cool enough to listen to. Just follow the beat.