Wednesday, December 12, 2007

How to NOT Impress Other DJs

The boyfriend got into a little exchange with a young whippersnapper on another music-related board in which said snot-nosed hooligan made the following statement:

"I own my own DJ company which caters to the new england states. When you get a little more experience and actually see how real world business works you will realize that PC DJing is cute but doesn't pay the bills. It is lackluster and brainless. Any moron can press the beatmix button on a pc and auto generate an entire play list (and a show) I would know - I'm also a programmer. I have worked with the industry's top rated software and have not been impressed. If you can't work the hardware you're not a DJ I'm sorry. I had the same argument with my partner who thinks digital DJing is the new thing. I let him run a show on a pc his way and wouldn't ya know - since it's not dedicated it failed on him and I had to take over with my cd deck.

In conclusion: If you can't operate a crossfader and beatmatch without a computer, you are not a DJ. K THX BYE.

You fail."
Now, honestly, I think there's nothing more boring and tedious than arguments over who is a real DJ and who isn't based on what format you use. I'm an almost exclusively vinyl DJ, but I recognize distinct advantages to both CD and laptop DJing, to the extent where I want to learn more about both. Thinking that working in one format or one set of techniques, whether it's hip-hop cut-ups or super-smooth cross-fades, is what makes one a "real DJ" is just plain out immature - art isn't about tools or techniques, but the ideas and emotions that come across to others.

And in rebuttal, I'd like to point out that I've seen laptops used by Squarepusher, Ritchie Hawtin, and lots and lots of other professional DJs who use them to put together things I could never think of doing with vinyl, and they certainly were not "brainless and lackluster" performances. Maybe when this poster grows up he'll realize that arguing about who is an who isn't a real DJ is cute, but doesn't cut it in the grown up world.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Wrong.

The Jaded Gay DJ said...

Amazing, so closely argued, so precisely delineated. I have met my intellectual match. I bow to you sir, clearly you are my better.