Well… I guess you know by now that I am an eclectic fuck when it comes to music. If you were expecting that monotonous four-on-the-floor repetitive kick and hi-hat, you MUST BE JOKING ! ! ! If you look at this chart, pay attention to all the genres that are representin’ !
To all DJs out there- STOP PLAYING REPETITIVE SOUNDING SETS ! ! ! Make that your New Year’s Resolution. YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE ! ! ! Try to use this top ten as a map to open your mind up to a different world that lurks right under your nose.
And to all those biased clubgoers- A CHANGE OF PACE IN YOUR LOCKED GROOVE MAY HELP YOUR SOUL, AND OPEN YOUR MIND TO SOME NEW AND BRILLIANT MUSIC. TRUST ME !
LET US REFLECT ON SOME DJ POLITICS
I hope 2013 will be a better year for dance music. We need to stop with the Paris Hilton DJ sets; kickin’ off DJ Shadow from the DJ booth for being too underground or futuristic for the club’s profile; these faux headliner DJs that are not truly mixing their sets with the crown to blind to see. DJing has turned into a false commodity of live performance rather than a cherished and respected artform. As patrons, you must understand that the person highlighted in that DJ booth is NOT just playing tracks, but is receiving recognition for all the hard work and studio time he or she spent in creating some of the tunes you spend your life listening and dancing to. Anybody can just play tracks, but it takes an artist to have it all mesh together to create a unique listening experience. Any hard working DJ will actually care about their quality of mixing when doing live sets, and the fear of screwing up a blend…
As much as packed concert-like settings may have popularized DJing to the masses, it is slowly becoming the thorn in its side. I hope to see less of this over hyped arena crap and more of less-crowded smaller venues with mild mannered educated patrons that have refined the art of listening and appreciating amazing rhythmic music. Smaller places and better crowds-please! Clubs and bars are the last bastion of social inter-mingling where people can come together and share in the music, so please heighten the listening experience by paying attention to what’s really going on with the music.
I would also like to see more DJs open up to computer based digital DJing rather than remaining on the conservative front of turntables or CDJs. If you think you can fake a DJ set on a laptop computer, how is a 74 minute CD any different? hmmmmmm???? Just because you spin with turntables or CDJs does not make you any more talented than a laptop DJ with four channels playing simultaneously with loops, effects, and cutaways that create a live remix experience. It can be just as tough as “mixing for real.” I come from the old school of DJing, and I am here to tell you that just matching beats with the aid of a pitch control is not the entire picture with what technology has to offer in today’s market, and it may make you experienced, but is NOT the only means for defining your talent in the DJ booth, so stop criticizing laptop DJs who believe in what they do and are changing the game. You look like old bags of shit with your CDs and records!
It’s funny, but people will pay top ticket dollars to watch performers like Chemical Brothers, Daft Punk, and DeadMau5 do the same thing that DJs are starting to do with all the latest hardware and software technology in the booth. Go figure…
I always believe in taking it to the next level, so wake the fuck up and push the envelope- its OK…
Oh, and HAPPY NEW YEAR.
djrioblog 