DJ's - second rate jukeboxes or musical know alls?

[hibee]

Probably, yeah.

It's your money.

I know.

And i almost certainly don't earn as much as you

 

[pk]

I know.

And i almost certainly don't earn as much as you

Shhh! Chuck's reading this!

 

[hibee]

I play the kind of thing I'd like to hear in a club - chances are if I like it so will the punters, and they do, nine times out of ten.

So you just do what you do, and if anyone likes it it's a bonus?

 

[Chuck Wilson]

So PK what tunes /mixes would you reccomend if I wanted to set my stall out with young pretenders like yourself say at a non club venue like Hibees wedding?

 

[pk]

So you just do what you do, and if anyone likes it it's a bonus?

No complaints yet.

 

[Paulie Tandoori]

As for myself, for me part of DJ-ing is actually mixing properly as well, i.e. with very long blend mixes which bring certain aspects of the music to the fore, which effectively creates new music anyway. imo&e people may not notice that you're doing it, but the richness and density of sound thus created affects the energy on the dancefloor on an instinctive level. This sort of mixing is a driving force in inspiring other people to create stylistically new tunes, thus keeping the scene fresh. Also you can structure sets, which you don't get by just putting random tunes on.

Blimey, and there was me thinking that you were just waggling your willy...

I think all DJs are failed/untalented musicians who are need of a good smack up the hooter. Remember Mozza, "Hang the Dj etc etc", rock on, hang tough, keep it real.

Actually, rereading the original post, its clear that Chuck has missed the obvious point i.e. the reason you need a dj is so that yoy can have a dance on the dance floor, and a real person can respond to requests such as "Have you got that bon jovi tune" or "can you play that tune that goes ner ner ner ner nah nah ner ner nah woh" in the appropriate manner ("no fuck off" and "i'll try to dig it out")....

 

[pk]

So PK what tunes /mixes would you reccomend if I wanted to set my stall out with young pretenders like yourself say at a non club venue like Hibees wedding?

Bit of Kajagoogoo, greatest hits of A-Ha, then hit them with some MC Hammer just as they're getting into the swing of things.

Can't touch this.

 

[pk]

I think all DJs are failed/untalented musicians who are need of a good smack up the hooter.

Except when they're not failed musicians, and they earn more from composing and licencing their music than DJ'ing.

I don't know anyone these days who actually makes a profit from DJ'ing.

£100 on records for each major set - lucky to get a £20 note and a free beer for actually playing them.

 

[Dubversion]

Except when they're not failed musicians, and they earn more from composing and licencing their music than DJ'ing.

pk - he was being ironic

 

[MysteryGuest]

Blimey, and there was me thinking that you were just waggling your willy...

I don't need to waggle my willy when I've got somebody to suck it behind the decks every time I play out.

 

[Blagsta]

A good DJ isn't necessarily about the mixing (although of course it depends on what music is being played) and I think that some DJ's get too hung up on a perfect beat mix while ignoring passion, taking risks, juxtaposition and narrative. The order you play songs in can change the way you see them regardless of whether you mix or not. A few months ago at Offline I had a complete stranger come up to me after I played The Clash after some hip hop and go "I like it! Different style, same message!" (which I was rather chuffed about as it was exactly the effect I was hoping for). That, for me, is what a good DJ should be able to do - create a narrative, a flow, juxtapose seemingly different things and draw the dots between them. Its what I aim for anyway and only occasionally achieve...

 

[hibee]

how do our superstar djs here deal with rejections? Do you have a stock of withering putdowns if someone comes up and asks for Come on Eileen?

 

[pk]

pk - he was being ironic

Hard to tell with some chaps these days - sorry Paulie.

 

[pk]

how do our superstar djs here deal with rejections? Do you have a stock of withering putdowns if someone comes up and asks for Come on Eileen?

I find the knowing stare would usually suffice.

Or "buy us a drink and I'll think about it" two minutes before I hand over to another DJ.

Or "that bloke Dubversion's got it. He'll play it if you ask him enough times".

 

[Paulie Tandoori]

pk - he was being ironic

well spotted mate

 

[girasol]

I've got nothing against DJs. Some of my best friends are DJs!

 

[Paulie Tandoori]

I don't need to waggle my willy when I've got somebody to suck it behind the decks every time I play out.

So thats why you've got a smile on your face all night long then

 

[Paulie Tandoori]

how do our superstar djs here deal with rejections? Do you have a stock of withering putdowns if someone comes up and asks for Come on Eileen?

Is Eileen that certain somebody who Mystery Guest says he has underneath his decks then?

 

[pk]

Is Eileen that certain somebody who Mystery Guest says he has underneath his decks then?

The one with the hair matted with "manfat", yeah...



You sick little monkey...

 

[brokenyolk]

I don't need to waggle my willy when I've got somebody to suck it behind the decks every time I play out.

the things old tramps will do for the price of a pint these days .... but do you find their beards a bit tickly?

 

[Paulie Tandoori]

The one with the hair matted with "manfat", yeah...



You sick little monkey...

god, told me to do it....

 

[magneze]

Superstar DJs become superstars because of their uncanny ability to know what people want to hear before they do, by becoming a brand, a cast-iron guarantee of a good selection of music. Some can get away with playing the same old stuff, but they're the exception and have to do something really special (like Norman Cook). Even fewer can just play what they like, the only person I know of who managed to consistently do whatever he liked was peely. The overwhelming majority of DJs are jukeboxes, just as the overwhelming majority of amateur (and a hell of a lot of pro) photographers are artless snapshooters - it's very easy to stand behind a pair of decks or pick up a camera without giving consideration to artistic thinking. In artforms with a higher bar of entry, it's very difficult to develop the level of skill required without developing some sort of artistic identity. The same thing can be seen with drummers - drumming is so easy to get into compared to most other musical skills that it's dead easy for the talentless to blag it. You can teach someone to drum as well as the majority of rock drummers in a week or so given the right methods, but it's well known that (with almost no exceptions) it takes about ten years of dedicated study to become a serious artist in any medium. Computer programming is another great example - you don't even know what programming really is for the first fifteen years, once you can fluently solve any task in a number of languages with just a stream-of-consciousness at 70wpm, once you start dreaming in C, once you're more comfortable solving problems in a programming language than in english, that's when you realise that 99% of people whose business cards say programmer are just students, are just playing at writing software.

Good post.

 

[pk]

....once you start dreaming in C, once you're more comfortable solving problems in a programming language than in english...

It's time to get a new career, surely!!

 

[MysteryGuest]

once you start dreaming in C,

My dreams tend to be in a variety of different keys, ho ho ho, eh, eh?

 

[top_biller]

Look, DJing isn't alchemy. It's essentially having a record collection and being able to play those records in a way that appeals to the audience. Different audiences, different requirements. A perfectly selected rocksteady set won't cut it at the DMC finals. Seamlessly mixed epic house won't go down that well in a chilled bar on a Wednesday night. An envelope-pushing scratch set will clear the floor at (most) weddings (I'd be all for it at mine). No one likes a clattering mix or a shit tune, but who cares about the theory behind it, its about playing music and creating enjoyment. I love buying records, I love DJing to myself and I love playing out. And the problem is?

 

[pk]

I love DJing to myself and I love playing out. And the problem is?

There is no problem - just a couple of twats trying to get a rise out of me and a few others over something quite unrelated - because I DJ a bit they think it's some kind of insult to me to slag off the culture.

Shame it ain't going to plan...

 

[editor]

Do we need DJs with personality/egos or should they remain in the shadows just putting on requests?

There's definitely a knack to DJing - a good DJ can really make a night, get the dance floor jumping and bring a smile to people's faces, whereas a duff one can just be an annoying noise in the background.

I'm still struggling to learn the craft and already know that I'm unlikely to progress past 'cheerful dabbler', although I'll modestly say that my slots seems to have gone down well enough.

There is definitely a knack and a skill to 'proper' DJing though and anyone thinks that it's as simple as slapping on any old records in a busy club clearly hasn't done it themselves.

Mind you, I'm not into this 'cult of the DJ' bollocks and as far as I'm concerned most of them should be banished to the shadows (that's definitely where I like to lurk) and not stuck on some spinning pedestal, or whatever.

(I hope this thread isn't just a continuation of that fucking disgraceful thead at the other place, btw. That would be very disappointing).

 

[editor]

You can teach someone to drum as well as the majority of rock drummers in a week or so given the right methods

That is utter rubbish, by the way.

 

[pk]

(I hope this thread isn't just a continuation of that fucking disgraceful thead at the other place, btw. That would be very disappointing).

Naaa... they haven't the guts to discuss it openly - that's why they hid it away on the "clique only" forums...

Sad really.

 

[clandestino]

haven't got much to add to this, apart from to say that the best nights at my club are when i'm a glorified jukebox, putting on a string of brilliant requests for the regulars. i love it - the night heads off in unexpected directions, and it's almost like the club's dj-ing itself. as pk says, it's all about the party. and on those nights, it's like i'm a punter there too. i certainly dance as much as the regulars. or try to.

i'm lucky that i play to a dedicated and knowledgable crowd who understand the point of the club. and i've managed to build that up, by and large, by being quite strict about what i will and won't play. people come up and complain that i'm not playing the latest indie smash, but it won't change my music policy. there's plenty of other clubs playing that stuff after all. it took a while for people to get it, and a while for the crowd to build up, but now we're there and it's all working very nicely.

so, in many ways, i'm a second rate jukebox and a musical knowitall. still can't mix to save my life though.