Nearly all of the people who listen to your music can not, and will not, appreciate the fine details of your work. I understand that it isn’t their job to understand what we, as DJs and producers, are doing, but it’s frustrating to me at times.
People will skip through mixes aimlessly. People don’t appreciate smooth mixing until it’s noticeably bad. No one cares how much time you spent finding a way to transition out of a certain song. I guess they don’t have to, because that’s your job as a DJ.
As a producer, 99% of the people listening to my songs don’t care how great of a synth setting I’ve created, or how much time I put into creating a varied amount of drum loops. No one cares. No one wants to hear about how much time I spent tediously changing EQ levels and and compression ratios so that it sounded just right. It’s safe to say that I spend just as much time, if not more time, on these “technical” aspects of my work as I do on the “musical” aspects. People don’t understand that without these boring, technical adjustments, the music they hear wouldn’t sound half as good.
Does this drive anyone else as insane as it drives me!?
I suppose this applies to many, many fields of work, both creative and non-creative. For example, very few people can appreciate the time a painter devotes to choosing just the right color and using precise strokes. Lots of people will take a look at the painting for 3 seconds, go “meh,” and walk away. Likewise, no one walks into a building and says “Man, look at this drywall work, and the insulation is phenomenal!”
That, ladies and gentlemen, is the end of my mindless rant. But that’s what happens when you work the overnight shift five days in a row!
yeah i totally understand what you’re getting at.
I don’t produce but I myself am guilty of listening to a track once or twice and giving it the thumbs up or thumbs down. There’s just too much out there to give everything a thorough look. This applies to mixes aswell. I’m almost to the point that i never feel like mixing, because so many people i know mix aswell and constantly throw mix cds at me.
I envy any of you that havn’t yet become so deep into a local scene (that may not even exist for your genre) that you are actually sick of your favourite genre.
I strongly agree with both your points.
I sometime dis pare when i get a comment on youtube saying “this is shit!” from someone who has no actual content, I feel like screaming in their face “Stop Listening and Fuck Off to you cretin! what was the last creative thing you did? wipe your arse and smear it on the walls of your padded cell!” be a bit more constructive if your gonna criticize i say, If you really love music enough you learn to deconstruct the tune in your head picking out sections which catch your attention, synths drum’s etc, alot of people don’t make music for other people! they make it for themselves, If and when i Mix i mix for myself recording mixes to listen at work, bouncing around an empty kitchen baking bread, i only put my mixes up if i enjoy them, knowing the people who do tune in to my mixes will enjoy them too.
Lambox I have downloaded your lam mix III of your soundcloud that will definatly get me moving in the morning, its just plain sick! keep up the good work and the rants.
I think you are asking for too much, guys, you must do your job to ensure everything sounds great if you produce and mix well and do great transitions when djing ONLY FOR THE CROWD TO ENJOY THE MUSIC AND THE NIGHT, when someone goes out or listen to music just want to have a good time not to get into technical aspects or find out how it was done or what it took, unless is a fucking music freak like us that enjoys with all that techy shit. It’s just simply not their business, it’s only yours and you do it cause you love it, so don’t complain. Your reward is that no one complains about your performance because everything runs smooth and professional, in my case, if they dance to the music I play I’m more than happy, all my efforts are well paid.
yeah… this is a very common problem. Think about it. You go to a pretty big bar, and there is some well known local band playing there. The sound is awesome! their songs are well written, and you can hear every vocal line cut through straight to you, layered over the tops of all their other lines. They have a tip jar up on stage, so you toss in 5 bucks after having a couple of drink, then go home.
None of the things you heard could have happened without the sound guy, who, depending on the night/who is playing/how experienced the band is at checking levels, may very well be fight ALL night to get their instruments right where they will sound best. No one tips him.
I guess I’m adding this to the discussion becaues I recently started running live sound with 2-3 live bands in my area, and Its been a great experience getting them in the sweet spot, and watching the crowd/people at the bar going from still to heads bobbin with just a couple minute adjustments of the eq and levels.
That being said, its still TOUGH as hell to get them in good.
I feel like in all creative fields, or actually in ALL fields, anyone who is not in that field will not appreciate how much work is put into it. Perhaps simply just because they don’t know, or just don’t care. They may still respect you, but not have a clue as to what you’re doing.
Then again, imo its also not your job to care about if they appreciate it. As long as you do right? Thats kinda what art is.
unless you’re doing work that competes with the real movers and shakers in the industry, it’s a very unrealistic expectation of people to show an interest in your creative process deeper than the surface.
Yeah… I know… but I think of it kind of like I think of not being allowed into bars/clubs that are 21+. I completely understand where they are coming from, from a marketing perspective. I’m still gonna complain like a mofo though hahaha.
i disagree - if people see what i’m doing as a DJ, i consider myself a failure.
Wanting people to recognize your musical genius is what leads to BS wankers like dave matthews…and we all know what bro jazz does…it promotes bro rape.
Woahhhh… I think that the point I was making was misinterpreted by a few people.
I don’t think I’m asking for too much. Actually I’m not asking for anything at all. The only thing I’m saying is that, like many other things, much of what you do isn’t appreciated because it isn’t immediately obvious.
Again, I’m not saying that I want people to come up to me and ask about specific, technical details.
I don’t want people to recognize me as a music genius, I’m just venting my frustration.
And I agree, you don’t want people to be able to tell how you do what you do.
I suppose, in a strange way, I wish that people would understand that the less they can tell about what you are doing, the better you are at it… if that makes any sense?
i dunno… just seems like an odd thing to be a martyr about.
it’s not rocket science, it’s not charity work in a 3rd world country, it’s not research for the cure for cancer… it’s the entertainment business.
people will do this type of work their whole lives, many will never pay the bills with it - yet they still do it because the process is fun for them.
enjoy the process, it’s yours to enjoy - be grateful that there is also communities like DJTT where you can share your thoughts about the process with other like minds. the desire for recognition from peers is natural, but it isn’t necessary and all it does is feed the ego-monster.
Someone once asked a famous painter how long it took to complete a painting. His response was “25 years.” It is not just the amount of time it takes to actually build a piece, it is also the years of work needed to attain the necessary skills and tools.
All I’m really trying to say, I guess, is this: Not only specifically to DJs, not to producers, musicians, artists, not to anyone specific. But that, in general, those people who are not familiar with what you do, can not appreciate the effort that goes into it. For example, some people are huge into restoring old cars. Some guy might spend ten years restoring a car that he’s wanted his whole life. When he’s finally ready to show it off and I see him drive down the street, I say “hey, wow look at that car” and move on with my life, and the event may never even make it into my long-term memory.
(On a side note, a lot of people pay more attention to the entertainment business than they do 3rd world countries, medical advances… ever have the misfortune of seeing TMZ? I don’t agree with it, I’m just saying)
I think it’s all about levels of appreciation with this, I think its a bit general to say that you have everyone else that isn’t into something in the same way you are as being frustrating as they don’t realise the skill going into it?!
Some people after hearing what you do may start to become genuinely interested in the process, for example, I had a mate who was totally into Metal and guitar bands and although he liked to think of himself as “eclectic” with music, every time i would put on some new EDM that I liked he would turn his nose up a bit and change it after that. Even after explaining why i liked the track he still wouldn’t be that receptive. It came to his birthday where we all went out and the only good clubs where I live are EDM so after a bit of convincing we got him to go to a night with a good techno DJ playing. After a few drinks he got dancing and didn’t stop until the club shut at 4am(no drugs involved) and upon asking him at the end if he enjoyed himself he said it was all about how good the DJ was a putting stuff together. I have since chucked a couple of my favourite mix cd’s his way and he is now a convert and comes round to mix on my VCI all the time.
You may not always get through to everyone in the same way but if one person does hear me mix and likes something that I do then I feel happy that maybe the next time they’re out they may take more of an interest.
I think my point is that most people move on after hearing it as they genuinely don’t understand, just like i don’t understand what technique goes into a Gordon Ramsey bit of cooking but I know it would taste good and I still understand that time/ skill went into it, if he sat there and showed me what he did then I would be glad of it and maybe want to have a go myself?
