2011 State of the DJ Address

[Coldfuzion]

Made my night <3!

[qyzyx]

The fact that anyone here is agreeing with what this joker thinks about DJing and technology on any level is depressing. "He's out of line, but I do think that-" No. Wrong. He's part of a cult of elitism in the DJ industry, and while cult members are usually stupid and gullible, the outside observer should know better. You can't buy into any of this bullshit, otherwise you'll end up in the cult too. Join me on a little satirical journey here...

------------------
Picture yourself in 2030, and between then and now you've picked up some major chops as well as an infallible sense of entitlement and superiority. You learned how to read crowds as a young man, and you were celebrated for it. But now everyone can use the new iPhone 25 to psychically link with everyone around them, using the power of collective consciousness to sooth all emotional wounds, ascend to a higher plane of knowledge and understanding, and tweet about how shitfaced they are. And now, there's DJ software that reads the mind of the crowd and tells you exactly what they subconsciously want to hear. You can use this new tool to make the party even better, which is what you were paid to do, but so can every other wannabe DJ who never learned how to read a crowd. You decide that you'd rather be legit and do it the old fashioned way simply because you can, but realizing that not utilizing current technology puts you at a huge advantage, it's clear that you'll have to label your now worthless talents as a mark of skill. You make up some bullshit about how your way of DJing sounds better even though the results of double blind tests have shown the opposite to be true, and you make hypothetical conjectures and present them as fact with the all-knowing smugness of a professional who doesn't even regard his competition as a threat, even though they're taking your gigs because you're charging stupid prices for the redundant effort you put into your archaic form of DJing.
-------------------------


Doesn't have to take place in the future, this shit is going on today, and it's working. The whole "Auto-sync is satan, controller users aren't real DJs" angle's given digital DJs an inferiority complex, and now we're all obsessed with finding the latest and greatest in obsolete technology in order to prove that we've got chops, despite the fact that said chops can be one-upped in the ass by a machine that can do more calculations in a single second than a person can throughout his entire education. If it's metal, it's professional because the SL 1200 is metal. If it's plastic, it's a toy. We use plastic for nearly everything on earth, from medical tools to plumbing, but when it's a controller for playing music, it's suddenly cheap and unreliable. Shit, you could make a carbon fiber controller and DJTT would still think the metal controller was better made just because it's heavier. See, carbon fiber looks kinda like plastic, so it's therefore toyish, and not fit to use outside of the bedroom. It's like they think "the grown-up DJs will make fun of me at the club." And now we want huge, tight jog wheels because we want to scratch, even though we all spin house and would be exiled to Canada if we tried a scratch routine during a set. People wonder why digital DJs aren't respected; it's because we don't respect ourselves. Vinyl jocks give us shit because they want to be on top again, and now we're trying to regress to their way of thinking because they're the elite, and we want to be the elite as well. But it'll never work, because no matter how precise controllers get, they'll still look down at us because we'll still be looking up to them. They paid their dues, and they don't want to have to pay them again and learn something new in order to be on top. But you know what? Fuck them. Your premium priced vinyls filter out the terrible records you'd otherwise own? Wow, I guess that's pretty effective in a sad way. Personally, I like to avoid that problem by having good taste in music, but I'm still psyched to hear the distilled essence of your shitty taste. You've been practicing your scratching for 10 years? Big fucking deal, I've been practicing my wanking for 10 years. It doesn't mean you want to see me bust a nut and it doesn't mean I want to hear you do the same thing when you're on the decks. Some people say a turntable is an instrument. In that case, should I go grab my guitar and bust out a solo in the middle of a set? No? Then neither should you. When just used for DJing, a turntable is a tool to play music, and we've had much better ones for a long time.

Seriously, why the fuck does this happen in this business and only this business? I mean, imagine:

The calculator-
Bob: "My god, I've invented a machine that performs complex computations in the blink of an eye with the press of a button!"
Tom: "Fuck, now anyone can do math. Oh well, it's only real math if you use an abacus."

The power loom-
Robert: "I've just created a device that will weave thread into cloth by itself! God save the king!"
Thomas: "Damned it, I spent 15 years and lost 3 fingers learning to weave, and now anyone can do it without parting with a single digit. I'm going to the Americas, at least they still respect the weaving scene."

The Wheel-
Rog: "Rog create round rock, round wheel make cart easy to move!"
Tog: "Bullshit, Tog have collection of square wheel in cave that Tog gather since first hunt. Square wheel better. Rog have no taste in wheel."
Rog: "Round wheel go faster, ride smoother, not so heavy..."
Tog: "No matter, square wheel give unique bumpiness to cart. No wheel roll quite like square wheel."

[wrong chris]

The newer people to DJing will never have the perspective that the "old gaurd" have on things. I see a lot of them (rightfully so) getting very offended and calling it an unwillingness to adapt. I agree to some extent. Yes. Gigs have been getting stolen and DJs have been undercutting each other for ages. I think the older guys have a legit gripe though. before the influx of all the great technology we have now, you had to make a serious investment to start DJing. Then you had to practice and make at least an equal serious investment into the music (read records). As I said, there has always been cut throats and undercutters, but due to how incredibly easy it is to get started, there is twice as much competition out there. That's not a bad thing, but it's given people who artistically and talent wise should not be getting paying gigs, more tools than they need to get paying gigs... which in turn hurts us all.
I think the new guys just don't realize that a lot of the old guys don't have problems with the new tools. There is nothing wrong with cue points, sync buttons, and all the other stuff that can help push the music. The problem is the influx of "DJ's" that use it to fast track themselves without learning the basics, and cover an inability to perform the basics.

as far as i can tell the only problem is that the distinction between what constitutes for good and bad djing isn't as obvious anymore -which means that mediocre djs have to step up their game now that nobody is impressed that they dragged a crate of records from their house and can blend two of them together.

i think it's also worth mentioning that anybody who suggests that the only people who were playing out before the advent of DVS had talent or could be considered "artists" is bullshit. i've been to a staggering number of shows where some goofball shoes-in-the-dryer mixed his way through a set of top10 tracks.

[Karlos Santos]

"Computer Jockey" or 'CJ" as he puts it.

Maybe the worst and most misguided term ive ever heard.

[Coldfuzion]

The fact that anyone here is agreeing with what this joker thinks about DJing and technology on any level is depressing. "He's out of line, but I do think that-" No. Wrong. He's part of a cult of elitism in the DJ industry, and while cult members are usually stupid and gullible, the outside observer should know better. You can't buy into any of this bullshit, otherwise you'll end up in the cult too. Join me on a little satirical journey here...

------------------
Picture yourself in 2030, and between then and now you've picked up some major chops as well as an infallible sense of entitlement and superiority. You learned how to read crowds as a young man, and you were celebrated for it. But now everyone can use the new iPhone 25 to psychically link with everyone around them, using the power of collective consciousness to sooth all emotional wounds, ascend to a higher plane of knowledge and understanding, and tweet about how shitfaced they are. And now, there's DJ software that reads the mind of the crowd and tells you exactly what they subconsciously want to hear. You can use this new tool to make the party even better, which is what you were payed to do, but so can every other wannabe DJ who never learned how to read a crowd. You decide that you'd rather be legit and do it the old fashioned way simply because you can, but realizing that not utilizing current technology puts you at a huge advantage, it's clear that you'll have to label your now worthless talents as a mark of skill. You makes up some bullshit about how your way of DJing sounds better even though the results of double blind tests have shown the opposite to be true, and you make hypothetical conjectures and present them as fact with the all-knowing smugness of a professional who doesn't even regard his competition as a threat, even though they're taking your gigs because you're charging stupid prices for the redundant effort you put into your archaic form of DJing.
-------------------------


Doesn't have to take place in the future, this shit is going on today, and it's working. The whole "Auto-sync is satan, controller users aren't real DJs" angle's given digital DJs an inferiority complex, and now we're all obsessed with finding the latest and greatest in obsolete technology in order to prove that we've got chops, despite the fact that said chops can be one-upped in the ass by a machine that can do more calculations in second than a person can throughout his entire education. If it's metal, it's professional because the SL 1200 is metal. If it's plastic, it's a toy. We use plastic for nearly everything on earth, from medical tools to plumbing, but when it's a controller for playing music, it's suddenly cheap and unreliable. Shit, you could make a carbon fiber controller and DJTT would still think the metal controller was better made just because it's heavier. See, carbon fiber looks kinda like plastic, so it's therefore toyish, and not fit to use outside of the bedroom. It's like they think "the grown-up DJs will make fun of me at the club." And now we want huge, tight jog wheels because we want to scratch, even though we all spin house and would be exiled to Canada if we tried a scratch routine during a set. People wonder why digital DJs aren't respected; it's because we don't respect ourselves. Vinyl jocks give us shit because they want to be on top again, and now we're trying to regress to their way of thinking because they're the elite, and we want to be the elite as well. But it'll never work, because no matter how precise controllers get, they'll still look down at us because we'll still be looking up to them. They paid their dues, and they don't want to have to pay them again and learn something new in order to be on top. But you know what? Fuck them. Your premium priced vinyls force filter out the terrible records you'd otherwise own? Wow, I guess that's pretty effective in a sad way. Personally, I like to avoid that problem by having good taste in music, but I'm still psyched to hear the distilled essence of your shitty taste. You've been practicing your scratching for 10 years? Big fucking deal, I've been practicing my wanking for 10 years. It doesn't mean you want to see me bust a nut and it doesn't mean I want to hear you do the same thing when you're on the decks. Some people say a turntable is an instrument. In that case, should I go grab my guitar and bust out a solo in the middle of a set? No? Then neither should you. When just used for DJing, a turntable is a tool to play music, and we've had much better ones for a long time.

Seriously, why the fuck does this happen in this business and only this business? I mean, imagine:

The calculator-
Bob: "My god, I've invented a machine that performs complex computations in the blink of an eye with the press of a button!"
Tom: "Fuck, now anyone can do math. Oh well, it's only real math if you use an abacus."

The power loom-
Robert: "I've just created a device that will weave thread into cloth by itself! God save the king!"
Thomas: "Damned it, I spent 15 years and lost 3 fingers learning to weave, and now anyone can do it without parting with a single digit. I'm going to the Americas, at least they still respect the weaving scene."

The Wheel-
Rog: "Rog create round rock, round wheel make cart easy to move!"
Tog: "Bullshit, Tog have collection of square wheels in cave that Tog gathered since first hunt. Square wheel better. Rog have no taste in wheel."
Rog: "Round wheel go faster, ride smoother, not so heavy..."
Tog: "No matter, square wheel give unique bumpiness to cart. No wheel roll quite like square wheel."

I like you. No sarcasm, no nothing. I'm saving your post.

[WooDz]

I'm voting qyzyx as the ultimate post of the year.
I know it's only February but I cannot believe that a better post will be made this year.

If that doesn't put an end to the Decks vs. Controllerism debate then nothing will.

[Karlos Santos]

I dont agree...

Whats with the finality of 'Decks vs Controllerism' or "us & them'...
I dont look up to anyone. i dont look down on anyone.

Im a vinyl dj that went digital and i do both.

Too many people get wrapped up in the big argument to actualy notice that its only those people that give a crap anyway.

It is simply not true that all or even most vinyl DJs hate on controllerism. Some do and they are the vocal minority just like any haters, they are small in number and loud of voice.

As long as threads like this exist and go in this direction the argument will continue.

The only truth in the the Facebook rant is that 'some of it is right' and 'some of it is wrong' but all of it has been said a million times and will be said a million times more.

Bored of it all.

[WooDz]

Hold ya horses skipper, I'm not making this into a Them vs. Us debate.
Yet these threads exists on every DJ forum, on facebook and youtube.
That a DJ can only be a DJ if they first learnt their 'craft' on vinyl.
It is always started from someone who is not a controllerist and so the controllerism community feel compelled to state their case.
Personally there is no way I'd want to go back to CD or Vinyl because you just cannot control the music like you can with software. I'm not talking about beatmatching or syncing either. Plus I don't have to break my back lugging crates and boxes of CDs around with me.

[Karlos Santos]

I was mainly refering to the post by qyzyx dude. He mentions people looking down or up and elitism quite a lot.
The post seems obsessed with some kind of hierarchy in DJing which, i know is there but i dont think its very relevant these days.

[BigUns]

when you really look at it objectively.... it hasn't even changed that much...

the core of it is pretty much the same...

a bunch of young people gather to get high and dance to electronic music on the weekend. some people are there for the "right reasons" some people are there for the wrong ones. some people "get it", some people don't.

let's not make it out to be something more than it actually is or ever was.

Pretty much agree with this with the bigger clubs. Theres loads of nights around here where its a couple of DJ's put on a night in a small club with mainly people into that scene and its awesome.