He's So Unusual Mix

Hi all,

Back again for a second week in a row with a new live set.

This is the 2nd mix I'm uploading here.I have been piecing it together for several hours a day over the past few days. Please bear in mind that this is a live DJ set. I rehearsed it a couple times through, recorded the next take, amplified it a tad, and sent it out the door to you all. One take, no edits, just like the last one... the definition of a live set.

I'm pretty proud of this mini-mix as I feel it incorporates a lot of unpredictable (dare I say unusual) components in a pretty successful way. A few risks were taken, I feel they paid off, and I was certainly very busy behind the decks.If you don't understand the title, go back to the 80's and buy that gem of a Lauper album :).

Your feedback is always appreciated. I'm still new around here, so don't force me to run away crying just yet. I'm at work right now, so a track list can be provided a bit later.

Keep truckin,
Ω

I listened to your mix this morning while checking my email and stuff. Here's my feedback.

- Your mixing was pretty decent and your track progression, as you said, somewhat daring and/or exciting. A lot of mixes I listen to, the mixing blends into the background, in this case it was more front and center.

- I didn't particularly care for your track selection. I even am a pretty big fan of "time after time" by CL, but really do not personally need to hear two CL tracks, or really any two mainstream 80s hits, in a DJ mix in 2011, with some dubsteppy stuff thrown in.

- I don't understand 15 minute DJ mixes of 5-10 tracks as a DJ mix style, but this one was among the better 15 minute DJ mixes I've heard in terms of coherent mood.

- The tone of your post suggests under-confidence. It's good to be humble and aware of your actual skill level, but if you qualify your mixes too much, people will be less likely to check them out. Just the fact that you are planning out and rehearsing your live recorded mixes puts you above many, many DJs. Own it.

Thanks for posting, and keep at it! :)

Thanks Awesomer!

-The selection of the CL tracks was driven by a challenge that a friend posed to me the week prior. 'Girls Just Want To Have Fun' played as his iPod was shuffling and he told me "I would love to see you work this into a mix somehow." There and then I was set on it. I then decided I would center the mix on Cyndi Lauper and added in remixes of both tracks as a result. Several of my future mixes will be derived from similar challenges... the reason being because I want to build my arsenal and my skill set. If I can successfully mix completely dissimilar songs/genres/time signatures then I can mix anything (same thing with my Zeppelin 'Black Dog' remix from the week prior). These challenges are no more than an exercise to increase my skill and far less an example of things I would play out at a club... but I am certainly not writing off playing 'Time After Time' in the midst of a banger set:).

- I have always been a proponent of a short mix. 1+ hour mixes are great in that they are a true representation of what an artist will play out at a club. To me, a 15 minute mix is (again) an exercise. Mixing back, forth, and through tracks of all genres and never letting a song play for more than a minute or so is a great way of thinking on the fly, getting blends tight and near perfect, and preparing yourself to deal with any amount adversity in real time. Think of it as a logic puzzle for a DJ and less of a true representation of what a full hour would be like... almost like a highlight reel showcasing mixing styles and ear-catching track selection (for better or worse).

-Your last point is very well-stated and valuable. I think it was indeed my attempt to be humble but I understand (and agree) that it reads as under-confidence and can therefore turn off a potential listener. I'll be sure to get behind my mixes on this forum as much as I do in my day to day offline.

As a side note, I love how you tell everyone where you are and what you are doing when you listen to their mixes. I think it adds a lot of personality and allows us to be there with you.

Thank you for all of your feedback. I really respect your input based on what I have seen throughout this forum in the past. I hope some of my responses helped to tie up any loose ends.

Always appreciated,
Ω

- re: track selection and challenge. Definitely appreciated. In fact I did an entire CD of (studio/multitrack/premix) micro-mega-mixes based on the premise that track selection was irrelevant to the craft of DJing. I agree that crossing genres creates technical challenges that will build your ear and library of abilities.

- re: short mixes - my preference is towards a mix which is shorter than an hour and longer than 15 minutes. Probably 30 minutes. Unless you are mixing very quickly, I just don't feel like you can get "enough" story or progression into a 15 minute mix. It ends up seeming a bit more like "a series of blends" than a "mix" to me? Which, if these sorts of mixes are "exercises" for you, makes sense.. :D

I'm glad to hear that you appreciate the small personal details regarding my listening. I think it matters because a mix can work in some contexts and not others, and also because I want to make sure that the amount of attention I was or wasn't able to pay is clear. :D