This thread is silly.

DJing (aside from turntablism) is simply mixing tunes so that people can dance to a continuous flow of music. When you're up in front of a crowd, what you're mixing on shouldn't really matter, it's your set that counts. No matter what kind of spin you try to put on it, CDJs are useful DJ tools, and more and more quality/big name DJs are using them. I can make a dozen tracks and edits, burn them, and play them in a club that same day. Up and coming producers can send burn endless copies of their new tune and send them to all the DJs they want for a minimal postage fee. And no, that's not "opening the floodgate of shit." Part of being a DJ is sifting through the shit and finding the good tracks that you want. I buy maybe 1-3% of the records I browse.

Until I can buy a vinyl presser for $60, and blank plates for $0.10 a pop, then CDs will have a useful and well deserved spot in our record bags, plain and simple.

___________________
NEW MIX [Feb/March 2008]

dj lithium is a n00b and an imbecile, plain and simple.

quote:

Originally posted by djlithium You are still using the same short sighted argument that justifies your easy of access and use but you have no clue as to where this will all lead. Right into silence. No more tunes, no more clubs, no more parties. How? because the crap you think you have such great access to is going to not be filtered out by any form of "taste" in music that one would have to naturally find in order to not waste money on worthless records.... Now you find it will be the same thing over again but even easier... with CDs, digital... yah hoo. A quicker way to get more crap on the dancefloor and push an already alienated audience further away. I will not "STFU".

OMG SHUT UP. PLEASE.

___________________
Looking forward to:
Ian Holing - Blue Wave
Dogzilla - Frozen (Dub)
Sassot - Whatever (Aly & Fila Remix)

quote:

Originally posted by djlithium You are still using the same short sighted argument that justifies your easy of access and use but you have no clue as to where this will all lead. Right into silence. No more tunes, no more clubs, no more parties. How? because the crap you think you have such great access to is going to not be filtered out by any form of "taste" in music that one would have to naturally find in order to not waste money on worthless records.... Now you find it will be the same thing over again but even easier... with CDs, digital... yah hoo. A quicker way to get more crap on the dancefloor and push an already alienated audience further away. I will not "STFU".

Bullshit. Part of being a DJ is picking the good tunes out of the pack. So suck it in and get over it. People have a right to publish and release their music, no matter how terrible you or I may feel it is. Music, no matter what it is, is meant to be shared, and any true music lover would embrace any technology that let other music lovers get their tracks out easier. If that means you might have to work harder to separate the good tracks from the bad, then tough shit.

Good music will always stand out from mediocre music. Good artists will get recognition and shitty ones won't.

___________________
NEW MIX [Feb/March 2008]

quote:

Originally posted by nrjizer Bullshit. Part of being a DJ is picking the good tunes out of the pack. So suck it in and get over it. People have a right to publish and release their music, no matter how terrible you or I may feel it is. Music, no matter what it is, is meant to be shared, and any true music lover would embrace any technology that let other music lovers get their tracks out easier. If that means you might have to work harder to separate the good tracks from the bad, then tough shit. Good music will always stand out from mediocre music. Good artists will get recognition and shitty ones won't.

YAH! IM DRUNK!

___________________
Looking forward to:
Ian Holing - Blue Wave
Dogzilla - Frozen (Dub)
Sassot - Whatever (Aly & Fila Remix)

Still the same old BS arguments from the cd/digital types. "the rights, my rights, their rights" blah blah blah...
At no time has anyone here even tried to understand what I am getting at. What difference are anyones rights going to make in the end when no one is listening to the stuff anymore and no one is getting gigs because things go down hill further? No more clubs to play at, no more parties because people won't go or at least at the price tags promoters want to have people pay for seeing people play of cds or laptops. The crowd isn't stupid. Don't take them for granted. While you continue to state that all people care about is "having a good time and a good beat to go with it" you are GRAVELY mistaken. I have had countless emails off this list from people who have read my statements here and elsewhere who completely agree with me and are a bit pissed on the assumtion of the likes of the digital mixing crowd that they get ANY milage with them just for "having a good tune" in their sets.

___________________
DJ Lithium
Black Tiger Recordings | NKME Ltd.
www.djlithium.com | www.blacktigerrecordings.com

Parties used to just be a bunch of individuals who shared a taste for obscure, glitchy, repetitive computer music coming together in warehouses or fields or wherever they could, and dancing through the night. That's all that mattered. The people who made and spun this music were paid peanuts, if anything at all. They funded their equipment and records out of their own pockets because it was music that they loved. The people who went to these parties all threw in and made it happen together. The promoters (if there were any) rarely took in a decent profit. I don't think these people gave a rats ass if the music was coming from vinyl or CDs or a laptop or $10,000 worth of synths and samplers.

And no, I don't understand what you're getting at. Before you were apparantly trying to convince us that digital mixing makes it easier for anyone with a copy of Reason to spread his tracks to the world, and that the saturation of ameture tracks would destroy dance music. And now you're apparantly trying to tell us that people will get bored seeing DJs use CD players and laptops... perhaps, but it's what you do with the technology that counts. Guys like Hawtin and Zabiela know what's up.

Lets face it, digital is here to stay. Suck it up.

___________________
NEW MIX [Feb/March 2008]

quote:

Originally posted by nrjizer Parties used to just be a bunch of individuals who shared a taste for obscure, glitchy, repetitive computer music coming together in warehouses or fields or wherever they could, and dancing through the night. That's all that mattered. The people who made and spun this music were paid peanuts, if anything at all. They funded their equipment and records out of their own pockets because it was music that they loved. The people who went to these parties all threw in and made it happen together. The promoters (if there were any) rarely took in a decent profit. I don't think these people gave a rats ass if the music was coming from vinyl or CDs or a laptop or $10,000 worth of synths and samplers. And no, I don't understand what you're getting at. Before you were apparantly trying to convince us that digital mixing makes it easier for anyone with a copy of Reason to spread his tracks to the world, and that the saturation of ameture tracks would destroy dance music. And now you're apparantly trying to tell us that people will get bored seeing DJs use CD players and laptops... perhaps, but it's what you do with the technology that counts. Guys like Hawtin and Zabiela know what's up. Lets face it, digital is here to stay. Suck it up.

I don't care what kind of excuses you guys make up now. I am already well on the way with pushing this stuff forward (not like a lot of other people don't already have a burning desire to push the leeches out into the fire anyway - that mean digital mixing scum, including hawtin... btw, the guy is a dick in person and I doubt he would play on FS (which has failed on him MANY MANY TIMES!) unless stanton was giving him a kick back and free product.

___________________
DJ Lithium
Black Tiger Recordings | NKME Ltd.
www.djlithium.com | www.blacktigerrecordings.com

I'm not talking about Hawtin and FS (I personally think FS and it's ilk aren't very useful, and that CDs do a much better job). I'm talking about Hawtin and the Ableton/custom Xone midi controlling shit. That kind of stuff is badass.

I've still yet to hear a compelling argument as to why digital formats will be the death of us all.

___________________
NEW MIX [Feb/March 2008]

quote:

Originally posted by djlithium I don't care what kind of excuses you guys make up now. I am already well on the way with pushing this stuff forward (not like a lot of other people don't already have a burning desire to push the leeches out into the fire anyway - that mean digital mixing scum, including hawtin... btw, the guy is a dick in person and I doubt he would play on FS (which has failed on him MANY MANY TIMES!) unless stanton was giving him a kick back and free product.

i must say, you have quite some balls to talk shit about one of the father's of minimal techno as we know it, one of the most talented producers out there, one of the most innovative DJs, a man who has created a new type of live act, and has a better perspective on the embrace of technology that you could ever have.

plus, WHAT THE FUCK are you talking about Hawtin? you ever seen him live? he plays as much off FS as he does normal vinyl (says me, who say him less than a month ago). go do some research before you begin to talk out of your ass.

your hate for digital still amazes me. do you also hate live acts like Infusion because they use a laptop, sequencers, synths for their show?

"no more parties because people won't go or at least at the price tags promoters want to have people pay for seeing people play of cds or laptops."

do you actually expect us to entertain the notion that a DJ would charge differently if he is playing on FS, CD or vinyl?

furthermore, you have yet to answer the most simple question. if the tracks are being sold, the money is getting into the producer's pockets, the shop, and the clubs, how exactly is dance music going to die, regardless of how it's being played?

___________________
check out my guest mix for OndaSonora Podcast (aug.2009)

Digital performance tools like ableton with a mix of outboard gear and VST's is completely acceptable. What I don't agree with is the use of digital mixing technology for DJ performance.

___________________
DJ Lithium
Black Tiger Recordings | NKME Ltd.
www.djlithium.com | www.blacktigerrecordings.com

quote:

Originally posted by Inertia i must say, you have quite some balls to talk shit about one of the father's of minimal techno as we know it, one of the most talented producers out there, one of the most innovative DJs, a man who has created a new type of live act, and has a better perspective on the embrace of technology that you could ever have. plus, WHAT THE FUCK are you talking about Hawtin? you ever seen him live? he plays as much off FS as he does normal vinyl (says me, who say him less than a month ago). go do some research before you begin to talk out of your ass. your hate for digital still amazes me. do you also hate live acts like Infusion because they use a laptop, sequencers, synths for their show? "no more parties because people won't go or at least at the price tags promoters want to have people pay for seeing people play of cds or laptops." do you actually expect us to entertain the notion that a DJ would charge differently if he is playing on FS, CD or vinyl? furthermore, you have yet to answer the most simple question. if the tracks are being sold, the money is getting into the producer's pockets, the shop, and the clubs, how exactly is dance music going to die, regardless of how it's being played?

In several cities where I have played and have visited over the past year I have discussed this with fans and other DJs and they feel the same way I do. They are tired of getting geared up for a show, pay XX sometimes XXX dollars for a performance with a major headliner and getting button push playback performances for their dollar to the point where they have hit the reset switch on their scenes - forcing digital mixer types out and going back to 300-500 person events where everyone strictly plays off vinyl. I have played and have been to many of these shows and nights throughout western canada (not exactly known for having a major clubbing scene outside of toronto and montreal as a whole) but these have been some of the best events I have been too in a long time with a crowd that is completely pumped to hear and WATCH you play your heart out. That makes for some compeling reasons to play of vinyl as a performance and playback platform. The crowd knows that when they walk in and see a simple (clean and untainted) set up with a set of decks a good mixer backed with serious sound (but not stupid for the size of the room/venue) with excellent visuals and lights - they know they are in the underground. When they walk into a place and see CD decks among a bunch of laptops and other gack many cringe as they know with that comes the inevitable mixed set of doom from some wanker who can't mix even if the guy there behind such gear can. the crowd has it in their heads that its going to blow and you know what... more often than not they are right!!
A few "trance addicts" here locally spun at a club last night early before another pair of vinyl DJs stepped up and they blew every single mix and you could hear the mp3 compression from their obviously ripped off tracks.And when I say these guys sucked and blew, I MEAN CHUNKS. I sat back and let them play, trying to keep an open mind, hey, perhaps they were just starting out and only needed a bit of guidance if I can use that word here at this time without coming off "godlike" in your minds at this point and only project ego, but with a club quickly filling up and no one on the dance floor that is not something you would want to see as a promoter or club owner. Thankfully the vinyl kats stepped in and with in 2 tracks people recognized the twinkies were off to the side blethering to themselves in a corner holding nothing more than a small CD pack. The crowd literally saw what was going on and heard the difference as they caught on to what had changed. they became locked, dancing and watching the vinyl DJs pull out records and throw down. Big big change of atmosphere.

BTW, I have done visuals for ritchie hawtin in the past and every time since that I have seen him just being in a club hanging out I have been very unimpressed.

___________________
DJ Lithium
Black Tiger Recordings | NKME Ltd.
www.djlithium.com | www.blacktigerrecordings.com