As an amateur DJ I make my own mixed CD's, and I also regularly buy commercial CD's. So, in my car I have both kinds of mixes, my own and the ones I bought.

I've discovered that for some reason it's more interesting and exciting for me to listen to other DJ's mixes (i.e., the commercial CDs). And it's not so much because of the quality of mixing or the quality of tracks.

I was wondering why that is, and I came to the conclusion that when you listen to other DJ's mixes, there's that element of "newness" and surprise. But if you're recording your own mix, you practice, you know the tracks so well -- and you know the transitions so well -- that somehow, afterwards as a listener, you lose a bit of interest...

Maybe I'm wrong? Has anyone felt this way? I've decided to try an experiment. For this next mix that I plan to record, I'm buying records and not really listening to them a whole lot. When the time comes to do a mix, I'll just do it "on the fly" and, in the process, discover what the tracks are. That way it'll be an exciting surprise for me to listen to it afterwards...

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well when you listen to the same song alot which you end up doing alot of when you make your own mixes, most people would tend to get tired of the song and thus you would enjoy the "new" mixes by other DJ's more because you aren't "tired" of the songs on them because they are fresh.

wow that was a long run on sentance.

when you listen back to your own mixes, you probably already know whats coming already. therefore the mixes/transitions seem less exciting and surprising (aside from the really tight ones that impresses you a lot).

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I don't really like to listen to my sets anyways, but I do like to hear my transitions. It helps me improve and sometimes when drunk you do interesting mixes that you'd never attempt when sober and they turn out pretty good.

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Originally posted by montie well when you listen to the same song alot which you end up doing alot of when you make your own mixes, most people would tend to get tired of the song and thus you would enjoy the "new" mixes by other DJ's more because you aren't "tired" of the songs on them because they are fresh.

That's pretty much where I stand. I think back on so many of my vinyls about the first time I heard them... At first they were so mind-blowing and I played them over & over again but now they've almost totally lost their meaning. It makes it hard for me to play some songs now cuz I totally forgot how good they really are. Gotta keep thinking about how I felt the first time I heard them...

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Originally posted by jonnycarcinogen That's pretty much where I stand. I think back on so many of my vinyls about the first time I heard them... At first they were so mind-blowing and I played them over & over again but now they've almost totally lost their meaning. It makes it hard for me to play some songs now cuz I totally forgot how good they really are. Gotta keep thinking about how I felt the first time I heard them...

yeah and then you play a really old record that you hammerd before which lost it's energy for you and then your like WHOA Tunage

Eugene: it's basically like you said you know the tracks so well and played them so much that you want to hear maybe some other DJ's style and this does not specificly mean mixing, it could also be tracklist, for example when you listen to someone else spin one of your tracks and you always spin a certain track after that but a dif. DJ will spin something else which makes it quite interesting.

I guess

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I love to listen other dj sets also if they are unknown. In this way it's possible to discover new tracks and listen new mixing skills. IMHO listen other djs for a dj, especially at first steps it's very important and usefull so he can increase his experience and create his own style.
But it's important also listen self-made sets, especially transitions, to understand if tracks selection and order could be better and to understand where it's possible to operate to increase the quality of the sets and to increase own skills.
The listen for a dj isn't less important of the act.

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Originally posted by Arsalan yeah and then you play a really old record that you hammerd before which lost it's energy for you and then your like WHOA Tunage

Yeah I love the feeling!!! What's even better, is listening to a usually-not-listened to mix on a vinyl - a record that you bought for some OTHER mix - and finding that it's on par, if not better, than the mix you bought it for!

For example, on my Binary Finary 1998, I'll never forget when I saw the Matt Darey mix, and was like, "hmm, let's listen to this one" just out of curiosity... and WHAMMO!!! .. massive tuneage... way better than the original on that vinyl.

Another example is when I got Never Look Back... and listened to the mix on the flipside for the first time (incidentally Tiesto's mix).. and I was quite shocked... what a killer! but this is off topic..

EDIT: ooh another example, a little different from the others! I got my Papua New Guinea (by FSOL) vinyl for the Marco V mix. I remember listening to the Satoshi Tomiie mix on the flipside for the first time, and dismissed it as utter crap.

THEN, when I got into prog, I remembered I had that mix, and went back to it, and was like *DROOL*... To think, that I never noticed how good that track was until much later.. lol!

Last edited by Alccode on Feb-24-2003 at 21:21

Eugene, I think it differs from person to person. In my case, for example, the situation is totally opposite from what you've described.

Usually I love listening to my own mixes most of all! Second come the mixes that I'm very familiar with, and love them out of sheer appreciation for their brilliance.

In last place are the newer mixes and compilations, which don't phase me at all.. until I've listened to them for a while. My appreciation for them then grows - if they're good enough, that is.

On the other hand, I never get sick of my own mixes because I always play the records I love the most, that I could listen to anytime. (I incidentally only buy records that I totally adore... so in that way, no matter what I spin, I'll like! ) That way they never become a bore. Plus, it's such a joy listening to one's own transitions. That is, if they're good enough...

i find myself not practicing too much on any paticular mix. i like making mixes so me and my friends can enjoy the trax that and newer to the trance/prog genre. i plan out my mixes enough for a cd a head of time, but not to the extent to where i know exactly what i am doing. i find that i enjoy them a bit more that way too...

also, it has a bit of the live feeling in it, when i play live i dont plan out exactly what i do, i usually just go w/ the flow of the night. only problem, the interraction w/ you and the wall in front of you is a bit harder to read than the crowd you are pleasing.

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Originally posted by Alccode On the other hand, I never get sick of my own mixes because I always play the records I love the most, that I could listen to anytime. (I incidentally only buy records that I totally adore... so in that way, no matter what I spin, I'll like! ) That way they never become a bore. Plus, it's such a joy listening to one's own transitions. That is, if they're good enough...

oo, that's very true too.

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yea u do get bored of them on the fly or practised, just becuase you REMEMBER them, if you listen to a mix you did ages ago, not only will u have a good laugh at it thinking how shit u were then compared to now, you will probably hardly remember it and like listening through and i think you should always record mixes on the fly unless they are for a comp or for a demo cd because they end up much more fun and improve your under-pressure skills so to speak

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