31–40 of 48 posts
I have a question for DJs: Why do so many DJs play the same songs over and over and over again from night to night? I've been to so many clubs that very rarely play new music, and very often stick to the same playlist night after night. It's so incredibly boring to hear the same songs over and over and over again, and saps my will to go out at all, because I know I'm rarely going to hear anything new. There's only so…
What does this mean? (Honest question.)
> we were suddenly being booked and questioned our "realness."
well...
> Tobias has used his know-how to make an online platform called ...
Oh I see the article is an ad. Just like her whole career.
You know you live in postmodern times when someone can write an "honest" article about how their career is phony in order to sell a product. Just, wow.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
As someone who DJ'd on a whim for a few years to pay some bills in college, I think that takes away from the thrust of it. In other fields we expect the luminaries of a craft to have achieved that level with some significant effort/insight/accomplishments, and I don't know about you, but 6 months is NOT enough time to truly master a craft. (I say as someone who has spent multiple decades spent in multiple instruments…
I find it really weird that the unique openness, positivity and lack of pretentiousness among EDM fans/dancers is being perceived as something negative. I instead find it hugely refreshing - EDM is all about going with the blissful flow and feeling/sharing in positive emotions with the people around you. As long as the music contributes to a great vibe it's fantastic music as far as I'm concerned, I don't care one bi…
I have a question for DJs: Why do so many DJs play the same songs over and over and over again from night to night? I've been to so many clubs that very rarely play new music, and very often stick to the same playlist night after night. It's so incredibly boring to hear the same songs over and over and over again, and saps my will to go out at all, because I know I'm rarely going to hear anything new. There's only so…
I started an audiovisual services company a few years ago, and so I've worked as a DJ off-and-on for a few years (mostly for fun, as it doesn't pay as well as software). The reality is that DJs play what people want to hear. The average club-goer goes out once or twice a week; while the DJ may be playing the same shit over and over, the people in the club at that moment probably haven't heard that track that week, an…
The thing is, after a while, you can get a sense of what kinds of music is danceable and catchy, and know that there's a high chance you'll fill the dance floor with it, even (or especially) if it's new.
About popular oldies: each of these was new once, and some DJ had to take a risk to play it for the first time somewhere before it was popular. I'll be showing my age here, but I've seen on multiple occasions cases where a new danceable, catchy song will come out, and would have been perfect for a club, but it doesn't actually get played in clubs for a decade or two. Then I'll finally hear it played in a club, and by then it's already stale, and has lost a lot of the energy and excitement it would have had were it played when it was fresh.
Also, even if a DJ lacked confidence in their own ability to pick danceable new music, and felt that they had to stick to the tried and true oldies: there are so many great oldies out there! Why should they stick to the same exact 10 oldies every night when there are hundreds if not thousands of them to pick from?
Then, in my experience, most DJs don't stick to just the popular club hits. They play obscure music all the time. Even music that is virtualy undanceable, and clears the dance floor as soon as they play it. So they're taking risks, and sometimes even paying for it by the audience clearly not liking what they played. But they play those very same obscure songs night after night. It's obvious that no one's requesting these songs, and the DJs don't give a shit that people don't like them, but they play them anyway. So catering to what the audience likes is not an excuse in that case.. and that happens all the time. All the time.
So my questions are:
1 - If DJs are brave enough to play obscure songs, why do they have to be the same obscure songs all the time?
2 - If they feel the need to play old hits a lot, why play the same old hits over and over again?
I don't see this as an "art project" as much as a fun experiment. This just shows that good producers and promoters, and having an "in" can often get you on the same level as legitimately talented musicians.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
I find it really weird that the unique openness, positivity and lack of pretentiousness among EDM fans/dancers is being perceived as something negative. I instead find it hugely refreshing - EDM is all about going with the blissful flow and feeling/sharing in positive emotions with the people around you. As long as the music contributes to a great vibe it's fantastic music as far as I'm concerned, I don't care one bi…
Musicians and more sophisticated listeners see simple music as boring and vapid, not blissful. Liking it doesn't make you stupid, but it may well mean you're ignorant. I would bet the likes of Tiesto will be much less interesting to you in a few years' time.
You don't get to compose for the Olympics while being a simple hack.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
I find it really weird that the unique openness, positivity and lack of pretentiousness among EDM fans/dancers is being perceived as something negative. I instead find it hugely refreshing - EDM is all about going with the blissful flow and feeling/sharing in positive emotions with the people around you. As long as the music contributes to a great vibe it's fantastic music as far as I'm concerned, I don't care one bi…
Musicians and more sophisticated listeners see simple music as boring and vapid, not blissful. Liking it doesn't make you stupid, but it may well mean you're ignorant. I would bet the likes of Tiesto will be much less interesting to you in a few years' time.
There's layers of sophistication. Sometimes becoming a better musician means learning to put more into a song, and sometimes it means less.
A good example of this: Ahmad Jamal, Surrey With The Fringe On Top, particularly the section 50 seconds in - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tM7PDwzY9LA
More mainstream is the drumming in "Seven Nation Army" by the White Stripes.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
I started an audiovisual services company a few years ago, and so I've worked as a DJ off-and-on for a few years (mostly for fun, as it doesn't pay as well as software). The reality is that DJs play what people want to hear. The average club-goer goes out once or twice a week; while the DJ may be playing the same shit over and over, the people in the club at that moment probably haven't heard that track that week, an…
"I have a list of tracks that I know will start a dance floor, every DJ worth anything does. They aren't effective because they're new or innovative, but because they connect with a large percentage of people." The thing is, after a while, you can get a sense of what kinds of music is danceable and catchy, and know that there's a high chance you'll fill the dance floor with it, even (or especially) if it's new. About…
Regardless of my preference for variety, the people hiring DJs generally don't care about that metric. My favorite DJs in the market where I've worked were playing really obscure stuff for their whole set...but weren't making a lot of money doing it. But, it was clear that they loved the genres and artists they were playing.