Why is there so much push back here for DJ’s that play Top 40/open format. Every time someone asks about something not dealing with house, electro, tech, etc. there’s always a snide remark.
I tell you I started out playing hip hop. Fell in love with house music and wild times at clubs like Space here in Miami, and now I play open format full time and enjoy it much more than playing strictly a house music set. Maybe you guys associate open format with a wedding DJ?(nothing wrong with that either) Well going from genre to genre seamlessly, especially in a city like miami that is rich and diverse in so many different cultures is fucking art, and those who do it well kill it down here.
I went to Louis at the Gansevoort a while back and Joe Maz from DiscoTech was playing, and his set was one of the best sets I’ve ever heard (and I’ve heard a ton of people play down here from Richi Hawtin to Roger Sanchez). In a matter of minutes that dude had us on a musical ride. Awesome night.
top 40 is normally associated with non mixed doing, many of the songs can be mixed, especially the remix’s of songs, and the remixes of remixes. However most top 40 djs you see around don’t really put any effort into mixing if at all, but most get regular gigs and decent money.
now the man that loves his electro and goes out of his way to find the greatest new underground track, produces his own remixes, spends hours practicing his mixing get hardly any gigs cuz its not mainstream and less nights play that music, promoters will try and get them to play for free (same does happen with top 40), they look at top 40 ppl with jealousy in some ways cuz there getting paid and they are not.
also its a snobbery thing, its like asking for help in a linux or programming forum, ppl just look down on you cuz they think they know something that you don’t.
One question for OP are you really passionate about top 40 music
I dont know where you guys live, but there’s probably 5 to 1 top 40 mainstream venues here in IL/MO compared to a place that plays EDM. And the MAJORITY of those djs mix just fine
I feel like the people who don’t like playing top 40 might not understand HOW to play top 40. djing music that is/has been on the radio is all about familiarity for the crowd. For instance. Everyone and their mom has heard the original party rock anthem a bajillion times. but when that song comes on everyone goes nuts because they know it and they get to share it with their friends. Same with older stuff. Every time I play Biggy Hypnotize people lose it eventhough they’ve heard it before. Same goes with top 40 remixes.
Since people are more accepting of house music, if you play the Ne-Yo Pitbull Give Me Everything but play a remix they will still sing along and dance evnthough its coming out different than what theyve heard. NO different than when Daft Punk remixes their songs when they play live.
Music is so personal and for kids who like the radio pop or hip, playing their songs that they love and cant wait for (or even better dont expect, havent heard in a while, but still love) really gets them going. Sure you don’t have to be the most technical Dj to do top 40, but for the ones that ARE, like DJ AM was, you can really make it a special night.
And not to start an argument but I could make a case say you have to be a better crowd reader to play top 40 because you dont know if the crowd wants to hear pop, pop remixes, dirty basslines, old school hip hop, rock, ect ect.
my 2 cents
btw OP, where in Miami do you play I might be visiting Miami soon (im from Orlando).
Thinking outside of one’s comfort zone is always something to strive for… but that doesn’t seem to be the case with the majority of the chart topping tunes… seems the only thing in the mind of those artists and their A/R team is $$$.. and that isn’t what music is supposed to be about.
That said, I agree that mixing seamlessly between genres is an art that few DJs have mastered… in any city.
I think perhaps it’s different depending on where you live. I never really listened to the radio in the US, but I’m told it’s just mostly top 40/gangster rap that gets played. In England, we have radio stations like Radio 1, Radio 1 Xtra, KISS, Rinse, who all play alternative types of music. E.g. Drum & Bass, Dubstep, House, Trance, all on what would be considered to be mainstream radio hours.
But yes, mainstream clubs also do very well here. However, many chains have gone bankrupt and I constantly see new alternative music promoters popping up and doing very well which is great for people like me as I get to see the DJs I very much admire and aspire to have as much skill as. Sign of the times maybe, I don’t know…
I wouldn’t say I am “passionate” about top 40 only — I am passionate about putting on a good night for the crowd and playing a set that goes from all ranges of BPMS from 65 to 135 and every number in between is a skill. I think “mixing” house music at 128 all night is much easier. The crowd is easier to play for too — they are there to listen to house music. In one night I’ll play
Avicci
Roger Sanchez
Alex Kenji
Pitbull
LMFAO
2Live Crew
Biggy
Kanye
Jay-Z
Celia Cruz (salsa spanish music)
Omega (reggaeton)
Buju Banton (reggae)
Beastie Boys
Guns R Roses
The Police
etc.
and construct a smooth set, with clean transitions navigating thru BPM ranges. Those that do it well are awesome. Hell I even dropped a moombahton track on them the other day. However I will say that even though there are MORE places like this to play in Miami — the really big places play house music — Space, LIV and now Amnesia.
I just hate to see the negativity towards music or DJ’s that play anything that is not house, tech, electro, etc. just cause folks don’t like that kind of music.
bmar - hit me up anytime you are thinking about coming to Miami. I play at nice bar in Brickell (downtown area).
I definintely feel like I’m in a minority mining the reggae/soul/funk/nufunk/ghettofunk breakbeat line of things (and I do smile when people post conversations implying a “big change” in tempo is a couple of bpm over an hour …)
Subjective opinion:
Top 40 is not a genre. It is the just the most popular music around at the time. It’s the weekly chart show. I prefer to listen to DJ’s who are passionate about the music they play, rather than DJ’s who play whatever is popular this week.
Nobody says ‘top 40’ when you ask them what their favourite sort of music is.
A lot of Top 40 music is way better than a lot of crud i hear on Beatport etc.
Bashing Top 40 and Top 40 DJs (and lumping them into one) is as stupid as hating on controllers. Its pathetic and its childish.
When i say Top40 im referring to High Street clubs that cater for a mass audience that can include pop/R&B/indie/Dubstep/Hiphop/Dance all in one night. That what my Top40 gigs are.
I do 5 hours and its all mixed. Either beatmatched or cut up and scratched but never just played like an iTunes playlist. Thats total misnomer of a Top 40 DJ.
It takes a lot more skill for a DJ to play 5 hours and to keep 300 people on a dancefloor all night in a 400 capacity club playing a varied, genre hopping set than it does to keep a like-minded crowd who came to hear one genre played when the DJ only play 2 hours then another plays 2 hours or less.
2 hours is piece of piss.
Yeah there are a lot of Top 40 DJs ruining it for the rest by using shit software and playing the same tired “Summer Of 69, Bon Jovi” set every week in some crappy club. But, where do you people think the majority of people are going on a daily/weekly basis. They arent going to super-cool underground clubs. They are going the High Street and thus the standard is/has got a lot better.
Throw me in a club and tell me to do 2 hours of electro or dubstep or whatever and ill piss it. I get a lot of music i dont ever play and it only takes a few hours to get the music together to do a set like that. I know cus ive done it recently.
Throw someone to the lions in a top40 club and most will get eaten alive by the demand of the people that go there.
Anyone who thinks DJing at a decent Top40 club is easy is a moron.
Also I think it’s fair to say that “Top 40” isn’t a great term to use for some songs. There are some great songs that are more say Electro House that happen to be a remix of a Top 40 Hit. Take R3hab’s remix of Rhianna We Found Love. It’s a great track and I understand how some people will call it Top 40 and some Electro House or whatever it is you want to call it, it doesn’t matter it’s all music if it sounds great then who cares.
But I do agree that at least on this forum there seems to be a negative view of “Top 40”. But then again maybe this isn’t the best place to go looking for advice or critiques of your Top 40 set as this isn’t necessarily the crowd with the best view of your preferred style of music.
I play everything I like, and down here it’s not referred to as Top 40. When someone asks what do you play - the response is “Open Format”.
I’ve hit them from old school tracks like Me So Horny to Enter the Sandman and they are all songs I would jam to. In the same set I’ve also played Laidback Luke and Chris Lake. I’m a fan of both as well.
Thing is there’s lots of great Traktor DJ’s that are not strictly house/tech/electro DJ’s - Craze, Shiftee, Skribble, etc and this IS a predominantly pro-Traktor site. So why not support the DJs that try to play a similar style.
All very subjective opinions in here!! Very similar to the whole Traktor vs Serato debate, Controller vs vinyl/CDJ’s and Sync vs non-sync. Depends who you are and what you do!
Whenever i hear the mention of ‘top40’ i instantly think of the top40 chart played by Radio 1 every Sunday or our local Liquid night club, and to be completely honest I don’t care how good you can mix it. You can mix it backwards for all i care. IMO its utter toss and i can’t think of anything worse than being in a club that plays it!! - like i said though very subjective. one mans shit is another mans gold! :eek:
Top 40 is a crap term i agree. The thing is that the larger percentage of the music played (at my monday gig and most high street clubs) is in, or has recently been in the Top 40 so its just a convenient term of reference.
I do 2 Top 4o gigs.
Monday: Student based. Top40 pop/r&b/dance but i include 90s Dance/90s hiphop. A bit of obvious D&B and Dubstep.
Saturday: More locally based clubbers/less students because students go out in the week more. The music is again Top 40 based but i play a lot more house/Classic house and i replace the D&B/Dubstep with funk/soul/motown. Nothing to obscure but not wedding stuff.
Both nites are good fun. I can be quite creative with the performance but i do not Beatmasher the fuck out of the music cus people dont want to hear that. I mix the majority of it and Im know for being that guy that plays lots of genres in a way that isnt so obvious. Key to a good Top 40 gig is knowing pivotal/crossover tunes that lead from one genre to another (or a couple of songs) so that one minute everyones dancing to R&B the next minute its House but the same people are on the floor because the change in musical direction has been subtle.
Weve all heard those Top 40 club DJs that play Lady Gaga then Queen then Chris Brown then The Killers. They are criminals.
Some of the best sets ive ever played have been Top 40 (im starting to hate that phrase) when ive gone all over the musical spectrum but held the floor all night… People notice it as well. A good Top 40 set stands out and you get compliments because people are given a shitty deal by mant DJs in high street clubs.
How much of the music do i like..? Hard to say. The more you do these gigs the more the music gets under your skin. The R&B stuff is the stuff i dislike the most, especially the slower Jason Derulo type shite.
R&B is very much in the 120bpm range these days so its easy to mix with dance. Much of it is very formulaic and i dont like it.
But, i might not like tune but i will know if its gonna go down well with my crowd cus you get to know what they like.
Take the Maroon Five tune. Its just a pop song. Its MASSIVE, its got a 4/4 beat that makes it easy to play in a Dance set. Its got crossover appeal. These are the kinds of bread and butter tunes that i love. I dont actually like the song but i dont hate it. Its one of those tunes that instantly massive and so its instantly hated by people who dont like Top 40 music.
It makes me laugh that people that dont like or listen to Top 40 always hate the most popular songs the most.
There are much worse songs that deserve people derision than Maroon fucking five.
:eek: