Out of the kitchen and into the discofinger

Michelin-starred chef and restaurateur Thomas Keller shows that nimble fingers are handy both in the kitchen and on the dance floor.

An anonymous submitter supplied us with this photograph from the French Laundry Christmas party, showing that the man voted the Best American Chef by the James Beard foundation isn't a one trick pony. He can dance!

Discofinger salvation

A shining example of 19th century British discofinger found in London's East End and submitted by discofinger-spotter Casionova.

William Booth (1829 - 1912) was the founder of the Salvation Army. He preached to alcoholics, criminals and prostitutes about the path to salvation, which can clearly be found in the dance move affectionately known as the discofinger.

Estonian discofinger

We were very pleased to hear that our friends in Estonia are active afficiendos of the discofinger. Martin, our correspondent in Tallinn, Estonia, reports the following:

"This move is quite popular, but a very frequent one over here is also the rockers' finger - a combination of regular discofinger and the small finger combined (typical Butthead rock move). A very common one - the moving fist in the air, instead of discofinger.

Discofinger and the clap is often used during a beatless break in a song, as it is climbing back to full beat / climax."

Much has we suspected, the discofinger is truly a global phenomenon. Pictures provided by Martin below.

Croatia discofinger

Thanks to Barry for sending over this video, taken during Electric Elephant in Croatia. We wish all discofingers took place during the day because the video is of stellar quality.

From the discofinger complaints department

We've recently received a letter of complaint from one of our more techno-centric fans, Mike.

"When I first came to discofinger.com, I saw it as a place where people--a community--could join each other in the love of lifting a finger to their favourite tune; be it disco, techno, house or otherwsie.

Recently, however, I have noted that the Disco has fallen from the finger. The website seems to have become a home for the random finger'er, the finger raised with no specific disco being paid homage to......a finger with no meaning.

Is the purpose of discofinger.com, not to witness the finger raised in its natural environment?

A Finger raised in appreciation of a mighty piece of music to which one is giving it the ultimate in kudos. A raised, pumping finger?

I see on the website, a troupe of dancing males, in some sort of act of amateur dance, randomly fingering the air for some sort of convoluted competition, is this what this website was devised for?

I propose we change discofinger for the better, bring it back to the people who saw the finger as so much more. More than a tool to practice mundane manual tasks. Bring it back to the people who saw it as a limb with which one can pump the air in appreciation of a piece of music that has really touched them."


Dear Mike,

We at discofinger.com appreciate your feedback, and have taken a step back to take stock of the current state of discofinger. We think that we agree that a discofinger should be not just an extended digit, but an indicator of musical enthusiasm.

And although we welcome your comments, we must gently request that you reevaluate your judgement of the video in question: 'Mind-blowing double discofinger'

We recognize the flamboyance of the actors on stage, but we ask you to point your eyes at the audience member that appears at 0:12 in the video. You may disagree with his taste, but his movements are nothing but a classic discofinger, fueled by rock-hard esprit de corps.

Mike, we at discofinger.com do our best to capture evidence all types of discofingers. However, we can't do it alone. We'd ask that if you are in the habit of witnessing the type of discofinger that you describe, that you record it and submit it here for the sake of posterity. The future of discofinger.com depends on you.

Love,
Discofinger.com

ps. You may be pleased to see our latest Modeselektor videos which will be posted shortly, as they represent a return to the "classic" bangin' discofinger.

Ask discofinger

"Dear discofinger - I have really long fingers - so I can't disco more than one finger at a time - any suggestions?" Signed, Kev P

The tangled, incestuous web that is discofinger internet presence has expanded, catching many unsuspecting victims in its grasp. The above email is from our new Facebook page. Official response below.

Dear Kev,
We at discofinger.com embrace diversity and value nothing more than our friends who are differently-abled. That said, we see the one-fingered discofinger approach often, and a long, elegant digit is nothing to be ashamed of.

Remember the discofinger motto: There's no wrong way to discofinger.

Go forth and discofinger,
Your pals at discofinger.com

From the Discofinger mail bag

We at discofinger were delighted to get our first submissions. However, we were too lazy to post them until now. Thanks to Barry C. for his artistic contributions to the discofinger empire. [Pic 1] [Pic 2]

We were especially excited to receive Markus' photos, as he is a complete stranger and a German to boot. [Pic 1] [Pic 2] [Pic 3] What is perhaps most thrilling is his claim that discofinger is taking Deutschland by storm.

"That Discofinger.com-idea is great! I googled "disco finger" just for fun and found your page. I'm happy to tell you that the discofinger became a tradition during the last three years. And this trend is growing bigger with each party."

More discofinger photos here.