Diddy did it!

Let's imagine I pretend to be a cook, get hired by a restaurant (cause I'd do the job for free) and serve microwave food. Most people like microwave food cause they don't know better. So they probably wouldn't bother. Especially if they believe that I actually know what I'm doing. Nowadays a DJ's value on the market is not measured by his skills, but by the way he is able to present and to market himself. Also, nowadays a cheap DJ becomes a valuable DJ, just because he makes his employer save/earn more money. I'm not too much into microwave food and I'm willing to spend appropriate money for a good meal, cooked by someone who can actually call him/herself a cook, based upon craftsmanship, knowledge and experience. Of course there is room. I'm not trying to ban anybody :) I just think it's kinda sad to see that there seem to be less and less people who actually care/know/understand.

Hey man. I think diddy's point is well put, and applies toward all artists, from all disciplines. I grew up in a land where creativity was cherished by all, and appropriately respected by all. But where I am now, I'm afraid to say, the audience crave nothing but the familiar, and the so called artists are happy to churn out as much worthless cliche as you can imagine. Makes me sad. I am totally with you.

True, Pat. I guess we all eat McD's and microwave food from time to time, just out of convenience. And I guess it's ok as long as we're aware that it's bad and fake. Cause it is!! Haha.. 's all about knowledge and awareness. A consumer who knows, is an influential consumer. And he can influence the improvent of the quality of a product in the long run.

Anton, I feel ya. I agree, this applies to all arts. Art should be about unique expression, not about conformation and repetition.

The only kind of DJs we have around here work wedding receptions and Bar-Mitzbahs. Not the kind of DJs you're talking about, huh? :-)

Haha.. It's mainly about the club-industry. But wedding/Bar-Mitzbah DJs should also take their job seriously IMO.

rottendoubt i think what you're comparing is like saying, should you be listening to a Lamb of God CD, or should you be watching Crazimalz play live? apparently they serve two different purposes. if possible, you would listen to the CD on one night and watch Crazimalz play live on a different night. support the established (give them proper credit), while give the newbies a chance. the world is beautiful again..

Pat- You mean on a party/club night?? Well, mixes are usually made for personal, not public use.. I like to listen to a good mix while I'm working on my computer, or on my iPod, or in my car stereo, or on a ghettoblaster (iPod docking station ;) ) while hanging with a few friends. The obvious advantage of having a DJ play live at a party is that he can (in best case) read a crowd and react / interact in realtime. There should be a flow of energy between a DJ and a crowd, a give/take/give/take game, almost some sort of communication. Which sets the bar of the atmosphere at a party/club night. A newbie might not be able to set that bar very high, which doesn't necessarily mean though that he'll never learn to. In best case he'll learn. In worst case though all he cares about is attention and free drinks. Which brings us back to why I started this topic.. Experience is one of the best teachers. Along with passion and motivation for development of skills and personal style. Of course newbies need chances. But they should use them well. And be aware of their responsibility. A "live body" as a DJ becomes pretty useless, when all he does is to play a set which he copied from the average DJ he heard last night who copied the set of the average DJ he heard last night who copied the set of the average DJ he heard last night and so on.

Gotta add this: By communicating, reacting/interacting between crowd and DJ, I actually mean communication through music instead of shouting on the mic.

The kind of musical communication you speak of is actually the backbone of a totally different musical form: flamenco. In flamenco there is constant communication between the musicians and, if there are any, dancers. Everyone agrees on a song type (alegrias, for example) that is going to be performed. No rehearsal, though. The guitarist starts playing his solo to introduce the song. Then the singer sings any of a number of different verses that fit the particular melody that the guitarist has chosen to play, or he shifts gears and introduces a different melody and it is up to the guitarist to recognize what the singer is singing in the first couple of notes (by the words he's singing and the opening tones) and change to what the singer wants to do. (Yeah, it is that "by the seat of your pants".) It goes on like this, back and forth between guitarist and singer for the entire number. At any time, one or the other musician can decided to change the direction of how things are going. Added to this is the audible audience reaction in the form of "jaleo" which are the words and or phrases audience members throw out at appropriate points in a verse to show their appreciation of what the musicians are doing. If things are really cooking, everybody, performers and audience members, begin to breath in unison, pausing and taking a breath in the same place as dictated by the musical phrasing. And it isn't just in small clubs or private venues where this level of communication happens. I've been at shows in a big auditorium, or even outdoor festivals where this sort of thing happened. So yeah, let us hope that the DJ and the audience in a club can share their vibe and communicate with one another. But you have to pay attention to what's going on to get the cues as to how things are going. I've been to some very good tango milongas that had top notch DJs (yeah, even in tango you have to have a DJ). When as a dancer you feel at one not only with your parter and with the music, but with the other couples on the floor, then the magic happens. A bad DJ can create a dead dance floor, even if it is crowded, while a good DJ can energize the floor and the dancers and create some sublime experiences. In the best musical experiences, there is always plenty of room for inspiration to drive improvisation. You just have to be awake and willing to move with the spirit.

Wow.. Thank you for this one. A true eye-opener. I don't really have a clue about tango to be honest, but there seem to be many parallels between tradition and modernity. Only that the modern mainstream world is so watered down, culturally. Music is indeed a universal language, and your post is a great reminder.

I think the last time I listened to anything "mainstream" was about 1976. Then I discovered that there was a whole world of music out there besides American, I was a gonner. Of course, there is bad music everywhere. Even in genres like flamenco and tango, there is the corporate machine, though to lesser extent than in pop music. But what heartens me is that there are musicians in every genre for whom it is all about the music, and not the fame, the money, the adulation. Even Cantopop has had some shining moments, ditto Spanish-language pop, two examples of highly scripted corporate product. I've been delving into "modern flamenco" and "flamenco fusion" in the past couple of weeks in preparation for giving a lecture about same to a class of college students. It has been quite a trip down memory lane to go back to the late 70s and 80s and listen to some really crazy experiments of fusing flamenco with about everything that came down the pike. Some of it worked and some of it was fun for a time but seems really silly now. But the real eye-opener was to look at what has happened to the more progressive straight flamenco artists and how all of this experimentation has changed the way they hear and create what amounts to modern flamenco now. But flamenco does seem to be painting itself into a corner these days. A lot of the music, which wasn't easy to listen to for the uninitiated before, has become akin to modern classical music. You have to understand the trad music like the back of your hand to get what the contemporary permutations mean. In and of itself, a lot of the contemporary work is not easy on the ears with expanded harmonies, dissonance, fragmentation of musical and vocal lines, etc. We all know what a big audience modern classical music has.:-) I'm sure flamenco will soon have some sort of revival of the very visceral non-art type form. Then it will be interesting to see how it gets fused with and is changed, in turn, by the crazy post-modern stuff they are doing these days. Like I said, there is a lot of good music out there, if you know where to look.

I have no concept of the DJ'ing world or party politics... but the core issue your addressing here is really one which is becoming huge in all the creative arts. As the tools needed to create commercializable art (anything that can pay an artist money) are easier and easier to come by - the more hobbyist take it up and put themselves out into the professional world. This happens in print, web, music, d'ing, even movies. Not games yet - but just wait. This is one of those dilemma's for the new paradigm of artists. It used to be how can you get the equipment to do art form? Now it's how can you get paid for it. Supply and Demand doesn't always take into consideration quality and taste.

So true, Marie. All genres have some good and diverse music to offer, you just have to keep your eyes/ears open. Also, mainstream is not necessarily bad, there's always highlights in pop culture, too. The more artists from different genres open their minds to other genres, the more of a positive influence it'll have on each one. Imagine if flamenco's only influence would've been flamenco? How boring and stagnant would that be? I'd even go that far to call it musical incest. And I think this applies to all genres. Mark- Absolutely. Tools are so much more accessible these days that everyone can be an "artist". The good thing about it is, that a true artist has to work hander in order to remain standing out of today's watered-down market. Which is pushing the bar of standards a bit higher. Also, marketing tools are more accessible, too. Getting heard is much easier in 2009 than it used to be in 1999.

"Imagine if flamenco's only influence would've been flamenco? How boring and stagnant would that be?" You're walking a fine here, man, what you say (to the flamenco traditionalists) is heresy, plain and simple. :-) I've been drawn and quartered on just that point (and flamed until there's nothing left but a burnt clinker) on more than one flamenco discussion group. Its why I don't play ball with those folks anymore. A global attitude either makes sense to you, or it doesn't. I happen to think that an awful lot of good has come out of the mixing of cultures, genres and traditions. Some find this the height of decadence and a sign of a failing art form. It all depends on how you look at it. I think there is also a big divide between the purists, who tend to be traditionalist in approach and often are outsiders to that tradition (i.e., foreigners), and the progressives, who often are the more creative artists coming out of the tradition. For progressives, the tradition is flexible enough to accommodate a lot. For the purists, the tradition is fragile and needs to be safeguarded and not allowed to change much at all or it will be lost forever. Flamenco is a bit different from other art forms: it has always represented more than just a style of commercial entertainment (I include dance along with music). For many Gypsy communities in Andalucia, it is a cultural tradition that is a part of their very identity. It is performed live by non-professionals at private family events. Everyone participates as they are able. Performance traditions are passed down through the generations. They perform for one another and have their own aesthetic standards, which often are different from commercial ones. What is most important in that way of performing flamenco is that it be creative, witty and most of all, emotionally engaged and totally honest. Flamenco isn't just a style of music and dance to these people, it is truly a whole way of life and colors everything they do. But the funny thing is, most Gypsies are not rabid purists where flamenco is concerned. They understand that people need to use whatever opportunities at hand to make a living, especially the young people. If they can take flamenco and turn it into top 40 music by mixing it with something else, more power to them is the attitude. The old guard know that the youngsters know what Gypsy flamenco is because they've been born and raised into the tradition. It is the outsiders, specially White foreigners, who have issues with what the young are doing. These people also cannot be reasoned with. Like I said, I've been flamed into a pile of ashes on several occasions when I mistakenly tried to make a case for evolution in flamenco. Flamenco is about passion, if nothing else!

Ooops.. I do get it. I was leaning myself out the window a bit too far, I guess. Even though there's many parallels between Flamenco and contemporary music culture, tradition sometimes is something that has to remain untouched. For purists, as you say. For a culture as young as hip hop and all its subcultures (which include house & techno, too btw), evolution based upon healthy competition (the "battle") has always been essential, and therefore a lot of progress has been happening in the last 30-40 years, forming what we call club culture today. STILL there are purists in this segment too, who like to wallow in nostalgia, not being too happy about how things are today, reminiscing the "better days". It probably depends on each one's point of view.

Nice video, LC. Hip hop has always been about creative bastardization of different cultures in order to come up with fresh and new styles, especially b-boying, since dance culture is one of the oldest ones on this planet. A good DJ shouldn't exactly borrow styles from other DJs IMO. Although it's OK to learn technique by watching other DJs. A good DJ should definitely be open for all kinds of influences and shape his own style by adding his personal filter to it.