Friday, April 25, 2008

Warning: Pointless musical rant ahead!

Ok. So. We've got some serious business to discuss, today. I'm gonna lay it all out for you guys...

I love live internet radio shows. Some of the most amazing mixsets I've heard have been off-the-cuff, thrown together at the last minute, not archived live gems at sites like Netmusique and Bassdrive. And maybe all these years I've just been spoiled by the quality of DJs that both NM and Bassdrive have been able to attract. Spoiled by ridiculously good music and mixing skills that speak for themselves without a lot of needless chatter over top. That's the way mixsets should be. If the DJ is truly talented, he or she should be able to communicate via the music. (right, Kasper?)

Well, earlier today, I tuned into my new fave show on Bassdrive called Aperture Radio, which is usually hosted by a cool bloke named Dan Marshall. I love Dan's style...super chill, but every now and then, he throws in an unexpected track that sounds like it doesn't quite fit, but is somehow perfect. Big up, Dan! You kill it every time you spin!

But, darlings, whoever filled in for Dan today was an unholy MESS. Not only could this guy not spin, but he NEVER SHUT UP! Like seriously. He must have jibber-jabbered for the entire two hour show over every, single track. Every other minute was "BIG UP!" this and "EZ!" that and, honestly dude, do you need to shout out your "mum"? Is it too much to ask to be able to just listen to the tunes? And, please just post a tracklist after the show. I don't need to hear you announce every single track ID.

I mentioned this to DJC earlier and he said that sometimes DJs have to talk over promos or tracks that are unreleased so that people don't rip them off. Which I can totally understand. But I hardly believe that one can locate two whole hours' worth of unreleased or promo tracks. Maybe I'm wrong.

Funny thing is this is not an isolated incident. Its becoming more and more common for DJs and MCs to feel like every second of music has to be filled with some sort of chatter. I honestly loathe MCs. True, there are a few decent ones out there, but when they're bad or even just mediocre...man, they can really change the mood of a whole mixset...and not for the better.

DJs like Netmusique's co-founder Hali have the right idea. Just play the tracks. Mix them together expertly. Create a mood. Don't fuck it up with too much talk. Let the music speak for you.

Ok, that's it. I'm all ranted out for today. The sun is shining and its Friday. Go out and enjoy your weekend and be safe. Catch ya'll back here soon. =)

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