so today I played at my first house party, somewhere around 4-5 hours and it was fun…Anyways I realized that people dance to music that is considered popular or well know moreso than songs that are actually good…
So for example, i played a derezzled remix I found on soundcloud and people were straight thumping to it, but when I play a great house song, everybody went outside to smoke cigarettes!
People are strange, even stranger was that I got requested to play warp 1.9 several times…
Granted I have never played a real DJ gig or anything, but I respectfully disagree with that. Everyones taste in music is different. If someones playing something I don’t know, or don’t enjoy too much - you can bet your ass i’m going to go and go get a drink / smoke some hookah. But on the other hand if he plays something that I know well, even if its not that great of a song i’ll probably be on the dance floor still dancing.
I truly feel that if you play with what the dance floor can enjoy and knows well (regardless of what you think of it, but as long as you stick to a genre you like) you will set the house ablaze.
I would agree with this to some extent. In my club sets, i still tend to play say 2/3 of the music that i want to… i mean how are people going to hear a potentially good track they dont know unless you play stuff they dont know, but to keep the crowd entertained, i still play maybe 1/3 of my set tracks, that people are sure to know and can relate to. I dont tend to enjoy myself as much when playing these tracks because i mean, if they know it, i certainly know it and probably knew it/liked it 6 months before they even heard it… so by that point… im over it. But to some extent, yes it definately helps keep the mood if you throw some stuff in there they know… I tend to play a lot of Bootlegs/remixes of tracks that are fairly well known in the clubs also, because people can still relate to it, but at the same time its something different… and they seem to like it.
But it definately feels good aswel when youve just played a track that you think is awesome that nobody else has really heard, and then you get a few people come up to the DJ booth asking you “what track was that you just played?”
Im keen to see how the crowd reacts in my upcoming gigs, as i have nearly finnished my EP but havent really road tested any of my tracks yet… fuck it would feel AWESOME if someone came up to the DJ booth after playing one of my tracks going “what track was that you just played?”… id be like “MIIINEE MOTHAFUCKAAAAAAA!!!”
not really, but it would definately feel damn good i reckon.
ὁι πολοὶ προβατα εστιν. ← if this doesn’t show up: hoi polloi probata estin.
Back on topic: I’m playing a kegger at the start of next term at the start of next term and my friend who is hosting it asked me to be the designated Dubstep DJ (there’s gonna be like 3 other people spinning too). I’m curious to see how this goes over since about 1/2 the crowd is liable to be like “WTF is this?!” and go out for smokes or such.
Drunk girls (sometimes even guys) just want top40 crap to sing along to
citizen, thats all greek to me. lolol okay that was not even remotely funny. through googly translate i think i got what you mean. it’s a good thing jesus is here to lead us. we’re golden.
I have read this a bunch, especially on the DJTTs blog. When I was in my party days (mid 90s), you can bet your ass DJs didn’t pander to the crowd with recognizable, top 40-like tracks. And likewise, I think the crowds respected DJs in that way and wanted to get their minds blown with tracks they had never heard. Maybe I am turning into an old curmedgeon, but I completely disagree with playing what the audience “thinks” they want to hear, more so now a days when DJ/dance music has been over saturated and commercially exploited.
I like that ratio, the 2/3rds and 1/3rd Filter, but I personally think it should be the other way. As in 2/3rds of shit (<- lol) they wanna hear, and 1/3rd of new music they SHOULD be hearing / listening to.
As for the drunk comment bout people wanting to sing along, people will always always always always have more fun with something they know the lyrics to due to the fact that when theyre intoxicated they probably think they sound like some rock star (take your pick of whoever you think is good).
As for the comment about the people who used to respect Djs, I truly feel that if someone is having a blast they will automatically respect the DJ. The minute they’re standing around like “wtf is this” they will stop, and go somewhere else. Granted that if you play a song you really like that is not well known they may like it, but then again everything like this (music and arts) is all objective. To one person it may be amazing, to another it may be like “wtfs this shit”.
I have yet to DJ a gig (hopefully i’ll be DJing my friends “small” house party [300+ people are coming] on new years but that depends on my girl) but i’m sure that I would be / will be having much much more of an amazing time if people are rocking out to the music whereas people going “wtf” and leaving the dance floor.
This is a really interesting thread none the less, it’s awesome to see what other peoples points of view are - especially since this forum has a lot of smart people posting on it!
Side Note: I giggled at “it’s a good thing jesus is here to lead us. we’re golden.” I may copy it and use it on my signature if you don’t mind , i’ll quote you as well!
Read the crowd.
Play cheesy shit to start it off.
Gradually space said cheezy shit more and more as they get dancing.
Insert actual music in between.
Cookie.
This is actually a good method that I use to not necessarily clear, but loosen the dancefloor to get them to the bar to buy drinks.
Similarly applies to house parties so that they take a break to get drunk, thus increasing your ability to play good music.
I always thought being a good DJ meant making everyone on the dancefloor go crazy!! Whether or not YOU like the song doesn’t mean it’s bad, most DJ’s/music lovers will have heard the song a quintillion times and already be tired of it. I always thought being a DJ meant creating a feeling on the dancefloor that no one forgets! There’ve been times where I was a dancer and was just lost in the music because the DJ played what I liked, whether or not he liked it IDK but I had a damn good time. That’s the whole reason why I got into Djing in the first place lol
, i’ll quote you as well!