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| quote: | Originally posted by cryophonik
You just described me to a T. I despise the long and boring do-nothing/go-nowhere intros, particularly when it's just a kick and/or kick/off-beat bass. The irony here is that EDM producers are notorious for complaining about how unoriginal the genre has become and the lack of creativity, yet the majority still cling to 32 bars of a 4/floor kick drum, at the same tempo, for every song ......snoooooooze.....
What's the reason for doing this? Because the DJs need it that way or they won't play your song, right? F#$% that - I say make your music interesting enough that people want to hear it and let the DJs figure out how to fit it into a mix (it can't be that hard to do, not even for a DJ  ). And, if they can't figure out how to fit it into their set in real-time, then (gasp!) they might actually have a brief pause while they cue it up! During that brief pause, the club will empty out, oil prices will rise, puppies will die, etc. - just ask anybody who has ever played in a live dance band. 
I don't think it's as simple as that - you can't blame the listener's attention span for not wanting to hear what has become very boring and cliche style (i.e., long kick drum intros). People will pay attention to the most seemingly mundane pieces if there is something different than they're accustomed to going on. People can only hear so many bars of 4/floor kick so many times before seeing it as boring, uninspired, lacking creativity/interest, etc. In many cases, they've probably come to (semi-consciously, at least) expect that the 32 bars of do-nothing intro is possibly a predecessor to 8 minutes of not much more. |
I strongly disagree with this for a couple of reasons.
First, for me, dance music is best when played in the context of a mix. It is not designed to be played as a stand alone, and in many cases I feel like this actually detracts from the overall feel of a track. There is nothing quite like having a good mix. Simple elements from the new track slowly begin taking over the previous track, then the bass of the next track comes in right when the previous track drops it out, etc. Its really cool when its done right. I feel like each track should be a puzzle piece that can be used intelligently by a good DJ to create a "journey".
There is nothing stopping you from creating an intro or outro that still remains interesting and keeps the track mixable. Lots of tracks do this both now and in the past. Intro's and outros are designed so that the next track actually becomes a part of the previous track, thereby creating something unique in the process. For me, a lot of the magic gets lost when you hear a track outside the context of a mix because its kind of like trying to decipher the picture on a half-assembled jigsaw puzzle. It becomes incomplete. There was a time where no one ever considered playing a dance track outside of a mix, because that is where it belonged. The mix is part of the experience, part of the journey. Its one of the things that separates dance music from other forms of music.
Second, if your goal is to get your track played out in a club, on a radio mixshow, podcast or wherever, the last thing you want to do is make your track difficult to mix by eliminating the intro or outro. I know a lot of DJ's over the years who would not play a track if there wasn't a mixable intro or outro, even if it was good. Its annoying as hell if you are a DJ, especially if you are the type of DJ who likes long mixes. The only acceptable exception, IMO, is when you have an beatless intro, and thats only so you can start off a mix with that track.
Maybe its because I was a DJ before I was a producer, or maybe its just because I remember a time when it was all about the mix and there was never a time when you heard this type of stuff on the radio outside of mix shows. I feel like this is why we have radio edits for tracks. If you want to make a track thats going to play well when listened to outside a mix, then kill the intro/outro and make a 3 or 4 minute version for that purpose. Otherwise, leave the intros and outros and play the track in the context it was intended for. IN a mix.
Last edited by Eric J on Jan-14-2010 at 04:19
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