dj stuff - adventures of a red-headed stepchild in the house of love

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			dj stuff - adventures of a red-headed stepchild in the house of love mermaid on the mic




			04:44 pm March 24th, 2009

djmermaid


	dj stuff
	I am working on a new mix/demo and my head is far into discolandia right now, and into dj stuff in general. I've got to find some sort of mac app that lets me catalog my CDs by sticking them into the computer, there's NO WAY I will ever manage to do it otherwise! while spinning today I had a great im conversation with a fellow DJ friend. we talked about all the deep DJ stuff, like who are you really spinning for and how do you decide what style to play. it was some good stuff, juicy. spinning can be such a solitary thing and I relish the opportunity to talk about this stuff with someone who knows what it's about from the inside. I went through a whole lot of questioning myself as I got more and more into disco. I mean, sure I love it, and it goes over like crazy at Pink Saturday, but am I ever really gonna get DJ gigs spinning thirty year old music that STILL gets mocked as "sucking" as an entire category?! but, unless I am happy spending the rest of my life spinning pretty downtempo for cocktail parties and art openings, I'm going to have to find out. and there is only one way to do that. there IS something of a disco scene in SF so I have some ideas as to where to take my mix once it's done. in the meantime, work work work. Tags: disco, dj, si se puede

11 smooches or Gimme Some Love!


	Comments




			Thread started by The Angelus

	From: the_angelus	Date: March 25th, 2009 12:39 am (UTC)		(Link)

Si se puede.

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	From: djmermaid	Date: March 25th, 2009 02:40 am (UTC)		(Link)

SI!!!

BTW we are going to be down in LA again before long, we need to do a supply run. hopefully we'll get to see you! (it'll probably be a much shorter trip than last time.)

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			Thread started by Let The Law Be Obeyed

From: constructchris	Date: March 25th, 2009 12:59 am (UTC)		(Link)

Who cares about getting DJ gigs? That's like saying you should join an emo band 'cause that's the only way to get gigs. Play what you love and do it well 'cause I know you can. :-) People will listen.

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	From: djmermaid	Date: March 25th, 2009 02:43 am (UTC)		(Link)

actually there is something different about spinning *for people* than spinning in your living room... and it isn't just that you can't stop whenever you like and do stuff over. the whole *energy* is different. it's different like having partner sex is different than masturbating. I think it was Duchamp who first put forward the idea that the work of art was actually completed in the mind of the viewer. or in other words, if a DJ spins in the woods and no one is there to hear it... ;-)

but, yeah - I have to do what moves *me* first, and then look for an audience. thanks for the kind words!

Edited at 2009-03-25 03:03 am (UTC)

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From: constructchris	Date: March 25th, 2009 03:12 am (UTC)		(Link)

my point is that if you're not feeling it, no audience will feel it either. i don't listen to a lot of jazz, but i've seen jazz musicians live that made me practically drop my jaw and sit there stupidly for an hour. djs / musicians need to stop ignoring the humanity in the dancefloor and stop treating the people like consumers. don't give them what they want, make them realize what they need.

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	From: djmermaid	Date: March 25th, 2009 08:48 am (UTC)		(Link)

I think it is a question of balancing between "what they want" and what they "need" - if you don't give 'em enough of what they want there won't be anyone around to *hear* the rest of it!

but you are certainly right that the first order of business as a DJ is to play what you feel.

thanks for responding!

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From: constructchris	Date: March 25th, 2009 09:36 am (UTC)		(Link)

i think everyone secretly loves disco in some way. and look at the recent interest in italo - being one of the sole faces of a "dead" genre is a good way to get attention.

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From: constructchris	Date: March 25th, 2009 03:14 am (UTC)		(Link)

also, i should note that djing is just like quantum physics. you can't separate out your own observation of the music from that of a larger audience - either way, the waveform's collapsing on the side of good or bad. an audience just gives a bigger payoff.

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	From: djmermaid	Date: March 25th, 2009 08:52 am (UTC)		(Link)

I totally get what you are saying here.

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			Thread started by M.W.Wonka

	From: svashtar	Date: March 25th, 2009 05:42 pm (UTC)		(Link)

I know I'm just a Second Life DJ, but I find that listeners respond more when you play the stuff you love, and you *feel* good about what you're playing.

I played an all goth set for four hours last Saturday, which is my first love in music, and the people were loving it. Not only were they packing into the place, but I was getting some great requests for some amazing old school goth.

It was a heck of a lot of fun. Granted, I would probably feel vastly different out on a real club floor, but there's a reason I don't play the jazz, country, or rap clubs. I play what I love where others share the enthusiasm.

Just a thought.

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	From: djmermaid	Date: March 25th, 2009 09:04 pm (UTC)		(Link)

actually that is pretty much exactly what we were saying too - you have to do what *you* feel, and find the people who want to hear that kind of music. otherwise it just isn't really gratifying enough to be worth the trouble! and I love taking (and playing) requests when they are in a similar vein to what I am spinning.

BTW your little lizard is ADORABLE!

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	11 smooches or Gimme Some Love!