THE END OF DJING

[volumen]

This is basically old news. Everybody is a DJ and more and more they depend on technology to do the work for them. But it doesn't mean DJing is dead or will die. You can't confuse the consumerist product of DJing with the art of DJing.





As long as someone has a passion for it and does it with heart DJing will be alive. Hell it may even go away and then 50 years down the road some kid finds an old video of real DJing and starts a resurgence. That's the history of the world in general. Folk music never died but it went way off the radar, was kept alive by real heads and now it's coming back even if it is garbage rip offs like Mumford and sons.





One of my great memories is my son asking me "Have you ever heard of Iron Maiden?" Good stuff will always come back around get kids attention.





Billy Crystal made a good point in an interview that you have to do what is true to you, as son as you start pandering to an audience you suck. I've seen this with DJ's doing the blast through 5 songs a minute because they think that's DJing. They think the crowd is impressed but really the crowd just gets annoyed because right as they get into the song you change it. I also saw it recently with DJ's opening for Snoop Dog. When they were playing 90's hip hop with solid mixing, everyone was partying and as soon as they moved into the slow sparse early 2000's stuff the party died. The thought they should play some "gangster" stuff since it was Snoop but it killed the vibe.





Hell people thought black and white silent films were dead then The Artist took everyone by storm.

 

[LaserWolf]

Hey, it's KVH!


:hi:

 

[LaserWolf]

Question (again)


Are there any good djs (famous or not) under 30yo?





Are there any good djs playing new music?

 

[batmon]

volumen said:Hell people thought black and white silent films were dead then The Artist took everyone by storm.




Frank Millers Sin City and The Spirit was B&W and that style along w The Artist didnt return filmaking back to a B&W trend.

 

[DOR]

batmon said:volumen said:Hell people thought black and white silent films were dead then The Artist took everyone by storm.




The Artist didnt return filmaking back to a B&W trend.




True. But it did show the world you could still win 5 Oscars and make a hell of a lot of money with a format that most of the industry considered dead for about 80 years.

 

[batmon]

DOR said:batmon said:volumen said:Hell people thought black and white silent films were dead then The Artist took everyone by storm.




The Artist didnt return filmaking back to a B&W trend.




True. But it did show the world you could still win 5 Oscars and make a hell of a lot of money with a format that most of the industry considered dead for about 80 years.




Oscars dont really change culture like that.





Sin City, Rumblefish....... whatever was B&W already. The Artist's "HOOK" was the silent steez.





The B&W didnt cause any ripples. And just like the Bollywood jacking w/ Slumdog, the Oscars didnt do shit.





Its old people clapping they hands and giving gold stars to what their club deems cool.

 

[DOR]

batmon saidOR said:batmon said:volumen said:Hell people thought black and white silent films were dead then The Artist took everyone by storm.




The Artist didnt return filmaking back to a B&W trend.




True. But it did show the world you could still win 5 Oscars and make a hell of a lot of money with a format that most of the industry considered dead for about 80 years.




Oscars dont really change culture like that.





Sin City, Rumblefish....... whatever was B&W already. The Artist's "HOOK" was the silent steez.





The B&W didnt cause any ripples. And just like the Bollywood jacking w/ Slumdog, the Oscars didnt do shit.





Its old people clapping they hands and giving gold stars to what their club deems cool.







I don't think Bollywood is a good example for what you're trying to say. Bollywood is one of the largest film industries in the world. Slumdog wasn't needed to shine any light on it. The industry is massive already. Many of the main theater chains in my city show Bollywood films on the regular.





And once again. I agreed with what you first stated. But I was pointing out that it's still possible to be massively successful with perceived dead formats.

 

[volumen]

batmon saidOR said:batmon said:volumen said:Hell people thought black and white silent films were dead then The Artist took everyone by storm.




The Artist didnt return filmaking back to a B&W trend.




True. But it did show the world you could still win 5 Oscars and make a hell of a lot of money with a format that most of the industry considered dead for about 80 years.




Oscars dont really change culture like that.





Sin City, Rumblefish....... whatever was B&W already. The Artist's "HOOK" was the silent steez.





The B&W didnt cause any ripples. And just like the Bollywood jacking w/ Slumdog, the Oscars didnt do shit.





Its old people clapping they hands and giving gold stars to what their club deems cool.




Your doing the gold star cool not cool thing yourself right now. Films that are black and white from start to finish are not that common. Films like Sin City already have an audience that want to see stuff like that. The general public is not interested in any form of black and white and they definitely don't want any silent films. The Aritist didn't have to start a trend, it got people realizing that it was still a good art form which was my point. People who I bet never saw a silent film went and gave this one a chance. Regular people, not just the evil lizard old guy club





Now let's get back to flo riders bullshit lazer tag theremin.

 

[Mjukis]

Okem saidude has some valid points, especially about the advancements in technology lowering the bar for who gets to be a DJ and all that, but some of the rest of it came across as the familiar grumblings of an older man in a young mans game.





Sounded like he'd once made some very good money playing bourgie mainstream clubs back when the money was good and the mainstream masses were happy to listen to the music he liked and valued. Now that's no longer the case he's suddenly realised that the money side of this game sucks and the masses don't care about this shit in the same way the passionate few do. Well no shit Sherlock.


Some DJs get too high off their own shit. They think that because they have good taste in THIER taste in music, that that shit is eternal. Guess what? It isn't. Music is subject to whims of trends and fashion just like other part of popular culture. And when it comes to playing mainstream clubs you have never been anything more than a human jukebox, it just happened that in the past the music you loved was also a dominant force in the mainstream. I guarantee you that 10, 20 years ago there were djs bemoaning the fact that they had to play the same records you loved.





If you can't, or don't want to accept this and then adapt and change with the times you have two choices; count your blessings, fall the fuck back and reminisce about the good ol days. Or, join the ever growing list of ageing djs bemoaning the fact that 'things ain't what they used to be' and 'the music kids want to listen to these days is rubbish'. It's a long list that's been running since shortly after this shit got started.







This, basically. I read most of it, not all of it, I admit - and yeah, he's good a few good points. But I think some of this is down to the fact that if you are an older DJ with a long history of searching out music and you're playing mainstream gigs, you're own taste in music is pretty refined by this point, and your audience's isn't. I can't imagine being in my mid 30s or 40s and playing the latest top 40 hits for 21 year olds week after week.





I think the big thing is that people more and more become accustomed to being able to hear their favorite songs wherever they go. It wasn't that long ago you'd have to be satisfied with the host's music collection if you went to a party, but it already seems like ancient history. So your attention span for something you don't recognize is shorter and shorter, but most people want to hear songs they know and like. Everyone's a DJ, so why is the DJ special?





This article could just as easily had been about the start of the disco era - how you can't go out to hear a "real" band anymore, and how no talent hacks who just play someone elses records are supposed to be the entertainment these days. And now technology's ruining everything etc etc... I mean, why is someone DJ:ing off an Ipad a bad thing?

 

[volumen]

Mjukis said:Okem saidude has some valid points, especially about the advancements in technology lowering the bar for who gets to be a DJ and all that, but some of the rest of it came across as the familiar grumblings of an older man in a young mans game.





Sounded like he'd once made some very good money playing bourgie mainstream clubs back when the money was good and the mainstream masses were happy to listen to the music he liked and valued. Now that's no longer the case he's suddenly realised that the money side of this game sucks and the masses don't care about this shit in the same way the passionate few do. Well no shit Sherlock.


Some DJs get too high off their own shit. They think that because they have good taste in THIER taste in music, that that shit is eternal. Guess what? It isn't. Music is subject to whims of trends and fashion just like other part of popular culture. And when it comes to playing mainstream clubs you have never been anything more than a human jukebox, it just happened that in the past the music you loved was also a dominant force in the mainstream. I guarantee you that 10, 20 years ago there were djs bemoaning the fact that they had to play the same records you loved.





If you can't, or don't want to accept this and then adapt and change with the times you have two choices; count your blessings, fall the fuck back and reminisce about the good ol days. Or, join the ever growing list of ageing djs bemoaning the fact that 'things ain't what they used to be' and 'the music kids want to listen to these days is rubbish'. It's a long list that's been running since shortly after this shit got started.







This, basically. I read most of it, not all of it, I admit - and yeah, he's good a few good points. But I think some of this is down to the fact that if you are an older DJ with a long history of searching out music and you're playing mainstream gigs, you're own taste in music is pretty refined by this point, and your audience's isn't. I can't imagine being in my mid 30s or 40s and playing the latest top 40 hits for 21 year olds week after week.





I think the big thing is that people more and more become accustomed to being able to hear their favorite songs wherever they go. It wasn't that long ago you'd have to be satisfied with the host's music collection if you went to a party, but it already seems like ancient history. So your attention span for something you don't recognize is shorter and shorter, but most people want to hear songs they know and like. Everyone's a DJ, so why is the DJ special?





This article could just as easily had been about the start of the disco era - how you can't go out to hear a "real" band anymore, and how no talent hacks who just play someone elses records are supposed to be the entertainment these days. And now technology's ruining everything etc etc... I mean, why is someone DJ:ing off an Ipad a bad thing?




I don't think most of this has changed as much as people think. Generally clubs have always wanted to hear the tops hits no matter what time period your talking about. Also there have always been underground clubs playing specialized music. Funk and soul used to be the underground music just like hip hop was for a time. I agree that the rare digger DJ had it's spotlight for a while but now it's fading and people are mad but you just can't think like that. It's like being a 40 year old mad about the Star Wars prequels when in reality kids loved those movies and that who they were made for. (enter Batmon to rip me again). If some 60 year old disco DJ was bitching nobody would even care even if he was the pioneer of edits and mixing.

 

[volumen]

Let's be honest too, whether you like it or not a DJ's job is to entertain the crowd and if you don't want to switch styles and the crowd has changed you can always go back to your record store job.





Look at the Death documentary. Those guys are still working regular jobs to feed the family while they pursue their passion in music. They are more annoyed at their band mate for not changing the name then they are the system or the audience.

 

[Beatnicholas]

lol. Enjoyable rant but speaking as someone who djs regularly i dont think his experience matches much with mine. Club land thrives and prospers, and its down to where you are playing, what party it is and how engaged the audience is. If you aspire to playing weekly bar gigs and regular club nights at shitty clubs well this is what your experience is going to be. He sounds disconnected from whatever underground scene is actually playing good music in his area.





Having said that - he's based in the states and I'm aware that the US is quite a different ball game to europe.





also all the talk of scratching and stuff and "real djing" sounded very out of touch. no one wants to hear scratching in the club anymore, its 2013. no one cares if you are playing vinyl or not. its not for the better or for the worse, its a different time and the fashions are different





Also the technology debate always confuses things. There are new tools now and some people have mastered them, whilst others sound awful using them. Personally i've found a balance where I can satisfy that vinyl-playing side of me AND use some of the newer tools in the set, which is what I think the point should be - not be such a luddite purist that you refuse to embrace technology, but seeing that parts of it can expand your repetoire and make the job easier.

 

[matamatic]

Ulysses31nicholas said:lol. Enjoyable rant but speaking as someone who djs regularly i dont think his experience matches much with mine. Club land thrives and prospers, and its down to where you are playing, what party it is and how engaged the audience is. If you aspire to playing weekly bar gigs and regular club nights at shitty clubs well this is what your experience is going to be. He sounds disconnected from whatever underground scene is actually playing good music in his area.





Having said that - he's based in the states and I'm aware that the US is quite a different ball game to europe.





also all the talk of scratching and stuff and "real djing" sounded very out of touch. no one wants to hear scratching in the club anymore, its 2013. no one cares if you are playing vinyl or not. its not for the better or for the worse, its a different time and the fashions are different





Also the technology debate always confuses things. There are new tools now and some people have mastered them, whilst others sound awful using them. Personally i've found a balance where I can satisfy that vinyl-playing side of me AND use some of the newer tools in the set, which is what I think the point should be - not be such a luddite purist that you refuse to embrace technology, but seeing that parts of it can expand your repetoire and make the job easier..





You have any mixes online?

 

[Frank]

I guess part of what he's saying is sort of specific for NYC which has a totally shitty club scene as far as mid-sized venues offering "eclectic" dance music. However, most of what he seems to be talking about just doesn't make much sense. He's complaining about celebrity djs playing large concert venues and megaclubs on Ibiza and then next thing you know he's raging about some bar dj in Portland (or was it elsewhere, too lazy to go back and check) who's lowered the going rate for a Wednesday gig from $150 to $100... For someone who claims to have grown up in the 90s he sure sounds incredibly old and unmotivated. What's the bit about the demise of APT, that place was ok (but not much more) at its peak and pretty much an embarrassment with shot to shit sound system and asshole staff for the past few years it's been around. With dj-ing more as with many other potentially money generating activities you can still make a good buck if you know what you're doing and enjoy doing it. All you need is the right venue and the creativity, passion and stamina to promote your shit in order to get the right sort and size of crowd. If you can't do that, blame yourself for not doing enough but don't blame other djs, technology or the times.

 

[Sobriety Won]

Commercial DJ moans because he is no longer commercial enough.





:WHYMUSTICRY:

 

[frenzie]

^ this

 

[francois parker]

Sobriety Won said:Commercial DJ moans because he is no longer commercial enough.







Djing is alive and well its just in sweaty/dark basement somewhere not in those huge clubs Im sure this guy would like to play.

 

[rootlesscosmo]

The 10 Most Depressing Parts of The New Yorker's E.D.M. Article Ranked





http://gawker.com/the-10-most-depressing-parts-of-the-new-yorkers-e-d-m-1379714380

 

[LaserWolf]

Sounds like successful djs play music that sends people to the bar, not music that fills the dance floor.

 

[DustedDon]

spinning music off a laptop or a controller is boring as shit, im suprised anyone even does it just because of that reason. i guess they dont know any better. turntables are fun and ill never stop.