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Tuesday, 31 May 2005
Turntablism vs. Mash-ups
Just coming off a weekend of four DJ gigs in four days. Whew! All of them were for parties we were hired out to do, rather than our own clubs that we were promoting, so it was a little less stress. The only pressure really was to spin good sets – which we did.
We were asked to play mash-ups at all of these gigs ... in fact, two of them were miniature Bootie parties. I guess we're turning into the "go-to" mash-up DJs in San Francisco ... which I guess we are. We shared three of these gigs with Party Ben, who is sort of our mash-up DJ brotha. Together, we make a pretty decent team.
Too bad only one of the gigs – Pop Rocks at the DNA Lounge – turned out to be successful. All of the other ones were a bit woefully under-attended. Oh well. We'll be back at DNA for their next one, now called "Pop Roxx," to avoid copyright infringement. We always have a really good time there, and the DNA feels a bit like nightclubbing family. I love the idea of them trying to build a nightlife community by involving all of these different DJs and clubs and putting them together. It makes the club scene seem collaborative, rather than competitive, which I like. I'm so sick of DJs and clubs feeling the need to be cut-throat. I mean, we all just really like music, right?
Turntablism vs. Mash-ups
Like this whole thing about using turntables vs. using computers. What the fuck? DJ Z-Trip and his ilk just go on and on about how great it is that they're using turntables to mix "blends" – yet if you craft a mash-up on a computer, it's somehow "cheating," and that mash-up artists suck and are not really DJs. What they're not getting is that we're not trying to MIMIC what they're doing. What we're doing is actually quite different, cutting up and manipulating tracks in a way that can't possibly be done using turntables. So why all the defensiveness?
While I certainly appreciate the art – hip-hop turntablism "mixturbation," basically – it's simply not what most of us bootleggers are about. It's really a case of "apples and oranges," and we're sick of attitudinal vinyl DJs putting down mash-up artists, simply because we create our art in a different way. Turntablism is not the same thing as crafting a mash-up. (And if any of them ever sat down at a computer and attempted to make one, they would understand that.) Simply mixing a hip-hop beat over some cheesy rock song from the '80s may be really cool – but it's not really a mash-up. (Yes, I'm talking to you, Z-Trip.)
There's a really cool, open-minded, inclusive scene of DJs here in San Francisco who make mash-ups. No, it's not turntablism, and no, it's not done live – but it's music that you can't create simply with two vinyl records. Yet for some reason, other DJs feel the need to dis it, because it's different from what they do and they don't understand the principles behind it.
The funny thing is, no one is the bootleg/mash-up community disses what people like Z-Trip are doing. Yet other turntablists feel the need to trash it, like it's not art. Guess what, dude... you're still just playing other people's records – there's certainly no need for the elitist attitude.
We create this stuff, crafting it meticulously -- and then we play it out, beat-mixing when it's appropriate. And seeing as that we don't have cheap access to an acetate pressing plant, yes, it's on CD and not on vinyl. Big fucking deal. That's basically how the mash-up community works – MP3s and CDs. If these vinyl purists opened up their minds to pay attention and take a look, rather than being DJ snobs, they'd understand that. Instead, many of them come off like attitudinal assholes, talking smack about a different scene they don't even know about.
The truth is, I have nothing but respect for the sort of turntablism these guys do. Maybe they're just being defensive and over-protective, worried they're going to be replaced by technology they don't understand, and clinging on for dear life to their Technics 1200s. But they don't need to worry about them being replaced by computers. It's an artform that not going to go away – just like TV didn't replace movies, radio didn't replace live performance, and turntables didn't replace guitars.
CDs did kill off cassettes though ... and turned vinyl into a niche market only for DJs. But hey, digital music files and iPods will probably eventually kill off CDs and turn THEM into a niche market only for DJs. Our Pioneer CDJ decks will end up becoming the next Technics 1200s. Anyway, I'm rambling now.
My point is, music is still music, no matter what it's played on, and as long as the love is there, that's the important thing. I just wish some of those vinyl-purist DJ snobs would remember that.
11:35 Posted in Music | Permalink | Comments (5) | Email this
Monday, 16 May 2005
Bootie 23 post-party report
Whew, what a night! Ugh ...
Okay, this has totally become my post-Bootie ritual -- throw the party, go to the after-party (which in this case was at our studio apartment) and then, when everyone has left and D has gone to bed, I write a slightly-drunken post-party report.
Well ... it was a good party, but DAMN there was a lot of drama! Some Bootie parties go so smoothly and effortlessly and, well ... this wasn't one of those parties.
The night started off kinda slow ... which was actually good, because a documentary film crew got to the club early, to film ourselves and Party Ben in the back room, pontificating about mashups, the art of bootlegging, and the finer points of copyright law. We're not sure what exactly this documentary is going to be about, but we blah-blah-blah'ed on camera for awhile about ... stuff. Meanwhile, Party Ben filled in for the vacationing DJ Dada in the early set, and sure enough, when I walk out there, he's already started a dance floor at 9:20 PM, with about a half dozen people already getting their groove on. A half-hour later, I kill it off by spinning Aggro1's NIN vs. Vanilla Ice mashup, "Ice Ruiner." I know, I know, but I just had to go there. After all, what's the point of throwing your own mashup club if you can't play whatever the fuck you want, even if you're gonna kill off a dance floor at 10 PM? Besides, the peeps aren't supposed to dance until at least 10:15, and I had a whole bunch of non-dancable bootlegs to spin! But I soon took it to Thumpy-ville, with Agentlovelette's "Burning Bitch" (Ludacris vs. Madonna) getting the biggest reaction. And I was quite happy when our very own Styx vs. Peaches mashup didn't clear the floor (it's going to be a exclusive on Strangely Familiar next month).
So then Ben and D hopped on the decks around 11 PM, and the club started to really fill up -- although it never got quite as insane as last month. Around 300 people or so. Anyway, Matt Hite and DJ Tripp finally get the system in the back room working, and they spun some great stuff back there -- vastly underappreciated, I might add, as there just weren't ever that many people back there, unlike last month.
Our midnight show was Faux Pas, who performed Gordyboy's classic, "A Hidden Forest" (Bjork vs. The Cure) ... the performance started late due to his piercer not being there by midnight (who can't get their ass to a club by midnight?). And yes, he did a live piercing through his cheeks during the number!
Then all hell broke loose. DJ Create from Inhumanz was our guest DJ from Las Vegas, and he brought his laptop and was using Scratch to DJ digital audio tracks from the turntables (the same thing Tripp and Matt Hite were doing in the back room). But it was much HOTTER in the DJ booth in the front room, and his laptop crashed about three times. More DRAMA! Fortunately, Ben was there to play Inhumanz tracks off of CD until the computer could re-boot. There were more technical difficulties with the CD decks and the microphones as well, but I don't even want to nit-pick all the little things. Despite some of the glitches (minor, really, considering it could have been much worse) people danced, and it was one of the most diverse crowds we've had at Bootie in a few months. 
One of the big hits that Mysterious D played toward the end of the night turned out to be Sam Flanagan's Beastie Boys cut-up. And then Party Ben ended the night with a dance mash/remix of "Boulevard of Broken Songs." We gave away a bunch of free CDs, and then packed up and went home -- with about a dozen other people! Ben was feeling a bit peaked, so he went home, while D and I entertained the Inhumanz, among others, at our house.
Seems like I can only relax once the party is over and I'm at the AFTER-party!
Thanks to DJ John for the pix!
10:51 Posted in Blog | Permalink | Comments (1) | Email this
Tuesday, 10 May 2005
I can update my blog whenever the hell I want
You know, if the lead singer of the Dresden Dolls can update her blog only about once a month, then so can I! Although, it seems I'm on about an every other week schedule here. I sorta wish it was more, but hey, when you're busy doing STUFF, it gets hard to take time out just write about it all. And who really cares anyway ... I mean, besides me? But you know ...
I blog, therefore I am!
The Dresden Dolls
Okay, back to the Dresden Dolls, who opened up for Nine Inch Nails here in San Francisco about two weeks ago. Damn, I'm in love! Of course, I'd heard about them before, and was familiar with their song "Coin-Operated Boy." (The video is great. Download it here) But I had no idea they were so ... powerful! While it might seem odd for a vaudevillan "punk cabaret" piano/drums duo to be opening up for a band like Nine Inch Nails, there's a reason Trent invited them on this tour. They were loud, intense, and captivating -- like Tori Amos with balls. Really big balls. And without all the sing-songy crap about goddesses and volcanos.
I can't stop listening to their album. Really good stuff ... and I can't believe it's been out for over a year, and I'm just now catching up with it. Sometimes, I'm so behind. I guess it makes up for when I'm ahead of the curve ... and speaking of, when is that Mylo album getting released over here? And what about Lady Sovereign?
Anyway, Nine Inch Nails were good too. I specifically didn't listen to any NIN before the show, so I could spend half the concert going, "Oh my god, I forgot how much I LOVE this song!" Which I did.
Saw Mindless Self Indulgence last night. Their songs aren't really all that great -- after a few, they all start to sound the same. It's like bizarro electro punk breaks, but all played really fast, almost like speed metal. But with MSI, it's all about the show, and they're simply one of the most amazing bands I've seen live. The first time I saw them, they were headlining for Deadsy. I had never heard of MSI, and was just going to stick around for three songs (my obligatory "let's check them out" limit) and then split. As it turned out, D and I ended up staying for the entire show. We were enthralled. Jimmy Urine is one captivating frontman -- preening, posing, sneering, screaming. You can't take your eyes off him. Great show!
I've had the same job for nearly 10 years
I've just recently done the math and figured this out. Yup, I'm still the Art Director of the Bay Area Reporter -- which will very soon be dragged kicking and screaming into the late-20th century, when we finally get a web site! What kind of newspaper these days doesn't have a web site? Apparently, the kind that has a national reputation as one of the country's best gay/lesbian newsweeklies, yet never got around to getting online. Yup, things sometimes move at a glacial pace at my workplace.
And hey, I'm guilty as well. After all, I haven't really cleaned my office since I started working here in the mid-90s. So I've been trying to do some "spring cleaning," and it's like an excavation of obsolete software and computer gear. Practically a walk down memory lane, back in the days when System 7 was the latest thing, and you couldn't do layers in Photoshop. Seriously, my office has been the B.A.R. dumping ground, where old office equipment goes to die. It's like a computer graveyard. Well, no more! We've got G5s and Mac OS X and everything connects via USB or Firewire, so I guess it's finally time to throw out all those SCSI scanners and Macs shaped like pizza boxes.
It feels good to clear out my workspace. Now if I could only do this with our living space at home! I think it might be time to either get a storage space, or sell it all on eBay. I'd rather do eBay, but you know, just moving it all to a storage area takes so much LESS time.
Made a new mashup!
Spent a few days last week creating a new mashup. D and I were really jonesing to make an M.I.A. mashup, and D came up with the idea of using the music from "An Honest Mistake" by The Bravery, which so dancey, in a Duran Duran sort-of way. It came together rather easily, which is always a good sign. The ones that just fit together seamlessly always seem to be the best. If you have to work on them too much, they sound forced -- and that was definitely the problem with our Kiss vs. Killers mashup, Somebody Told Me I Was Made For Lovin' You. But this new one kicks ass, and we're quite proud. Download it here: An Honest M.I.A.
Now if only D would let me release that Peaches vs. Styx mashup I made!
I don't think I can drink like I used to
So this past weekend was a busy one: saw Pigface at DNA on Thursday, Marcy Meow's birthday party was on Friday, we had the last night of our club Blah Blah Blah on Saturday, and Sunday was Jason's "Mother's Day BBQ Without My Mother." So of course, some drinking was involved. But damn! I was hungover all day on both Friday and Saturday. I almost always drink Hefeweizen, which has never done me wrong -- until now.
And it wasn't like I was binge drinking or anything. Thursday night I had about four beers, which is usually no big deal. Instead, I was at work on Friday, moving computer monitors with a raging headache. And then on Saturday, after Marcy Meow's party, I was WRECKED. Okay, granted, I was at her house until 7 AM. But I wasn't exactly pounding them down, and I drank no hard liquor. I probably had about six or seven beers over the course of 10 hours. And it was a horrific hangover. Am I getting old? I remember Swirly Rat Jr., the bass player in my old band Blue Period, used to complain that he couldn't drink like he used to, because he ALWAYS got hangovers. Of course, it always seemed like he would drink more than I would, but still ... I wonder if the same thing is happening to me?
Or maybe I just need to drink more water before going to bed.
17:35 Posted in Blog | Permalink | Comments (0) | Email this