EDM is a dirty acronym that covers everything that is considered bad about where dance music and DJing are right now, in particular the phenomenon of the superstar DJ. And when news breaks of Will Ferrell making an EDM film, and SNL in the US decides to parody superstar DJs, you know things are bad. Or should that be good? Read on.
In this skit, SNL works its magic to portray “Davvincii” (a brilliant portmanteau that’s not hard to work out) as… well you should watch so as not to spoil the surprise. But essentially the crowd is lost in hero worship, and Davvincii takes the piss to keep the disciples waiting with build after build after build until…
Now it’s incredibly easy to get dragged into yet more dissections of what’s bad about how the DJ has become a rock star with all the trappings and excesses of such a lifestyle. Indeed, @DJsComplaining take delight in highlighting DJs who used social media to complain about the most trifling of travel-based issues when they should be eternally grateful for what they have instead of chucking Twitter tantrums. But that’s been done to death and won’t change a damned thing.
Hate or Jealousy?
Instead, I’d like for you to ponder a single point that I keep coming back to — while many actively engage in hating on superstar DJs, don’t you secretly wish that you were headlining huge events, put up in penthouses, tripping over piles of money, drugs, and freebies, with the only thing you had to worry about was playing music? If your DJ career suddenly appeared to be on the stereotypical EDM DJ trajectory, would you honestly put the brakes on, “keep it real”, and play to much smaller crowds for a more intimate vibe? I cannot help but think that a lot of the time, hating really means jealousy, and people would swap a regular small club gig for the lifestyle of the superstar DJ.
To answer this question, it’ll take a lot of introspective soul searching and a huge amount of honesty. Are you up for it?
You are right but some people/artists still do live composition/creative performance instead “fake” showcase. These deserve respect (from HipHop to Glitch throught Dub Science true rooted and culturized musicians) and that’s the deep point from complaining comes because it feels “just not fair” from crowd to crowd.
It is not about “keep it real” as a cliché from the old school, it is about “keep it honest with oneself” with the knowledge of these roots.
The problem is with the lack of knowledge and lazy people who hate/argue but also lacks in self-criticism. Then becomes ego drived by envy (because I feel it is not fair but I can’t understand why and the things aren’t as the Gospeltruthoftheoldschool said it must be)
People should start being live instead of argue about what should be living. Then show their best and let crowd decide if they deserve support or not.
Amanda Palmer got the point and made a wonderful ted talk about it.
http://www.ted.com/talks/amanda_palmer_the_art_of_asking
I will openly admit to hating on certain EDM superstar DJs in the past (now I try to instead just share/promote stuff I think is quality), and of course most DJs would love to be headlining huge events and living that lifestyle, but I don’t think the hate comes from jealously of this lifestyle.
For me personally it comes down to ‘pressing play’ – I just can’t co-sign that in any situation for any reason. If you’re not comfortable or not good enough to play live… practice more! If you need to have a light show and pyro synced up to a set… with the tools available today, there’s no reason you can’t have a set planned and prepared down to the second, but still mix live.
As far as EDM DJs who I respect: Laidback Luke and Carl Cox are up there with the best, and A-Trak is a perfect example of ‘real’ DJing combined with showmanship suitable for any festival type event – no fakery required!
For anyone who hasn’t read A-Trak’s article ‘Don’t Push My Buttons’ on The Huffington Post, I think he nails this subject! http://www.huffingtonpost.com/atrak/dont-push-my-buttons_b_1694719.html
I wouldn’t say Carl Cox is EDM. He tends to play Tech House and Techno!
I guess that depends on what genres you consider to be electronic dance music. Regardless, Carl Cox is a dope DJ!
Carl Cox a dope DJ? its just a commercial name..he aint doing shit on stage besides pressing on a bunch of Pioneer buttons..never will i pay for that
Yes, Carl Cox is dope as far as house DJs go – and I find a lot of house DJs very boring. Now he’s no Jazzy Jeff, but the music he plays doesn’t require him to be. I’d rather pay to see Carl Cox ‘pressing Pioneer buttons’ over any of these EDM clowns who think throwing cake is a DJing skill.
house in general became a very boring genre, just as hiphop became crap after 97 (most of it)…i doubt Carl Cox plays anything original nowadays..the EDM scene will fade away just as fast D&B died out (thank god). Staying true to the roots of Djing and funky music is what i am about no matter what DJ device or genre becomes popular.
To say Carl Cox just presses buttons is like saying Qbert just wiggles the crossfader a lot. Carl Cox is a legend for global respect and for very good reason.
Thank you Mark!
sorry but Carl Cox is far from a legend, he’s just a fat man playing simple dance beats, its like a commercial brand..ppl pay for the name, not the talent.
I was for quite a while pissed by DJs playing prerecorded sets on big events for tons of money. But then I realized that many people going to see those DJs are not really there for the music and they could not care less about what’s going on in the booth. That’s a fact and got to live with it. EDM is not really about the quality of the music anyway. I just know that whatever happens in my DJ career, I will always be mixing and will never show up with a prerecorded set, I would feel too sick of myself by doing so!
I want to add that companies are also responsible for providing tools for this change on the DJ culture and some encouraging the wrong use of them, just see what is on VDJ.com kind of mission statement page:
“At VirtualDJ, we believe that nobody cares if you know how to beatmatch tracks in 1 second or 1 minute, that is not what makes you a better DJ. Your audience will never notice anyway. But what you play and how you play it, is what is important. Based on that, we don’t mind relegating the technical side of the mix to the machine, and help you focus on the creative and artistic side of your skills.”
“Because the entire DJ industry is moving. Technics stopped to manufacture turntables at all. Pioneer and all the big DJ brands are only making digital DJ controllers that plug into a computer, and nobody makes CD players anymore.”
“Because DJ software are to vinyl and CDs what word processors are to typewriters, and you’re not still using a typewriter, are you?”
http://www.virtualdj.com/products/virtualdj/why.html
“stereotypical EDM DJ trajectory” To me EDM has nothing to do with what I understand as DJ-ing. These no-skills having clowns like to decorate themselves with the title DJ IMO. But to each his own subjective point-of-view.
I don’t think the general public are jealous or hate on “EDM” DJs. That’s mainly in our little corner of the internet. There seems to be some fatigue for the same sound being used over and over. It’ll swing back.
the thing is you don’t have to do this. These guys are doing this sheerly for money, No one can be forced to look like a douche throwing cakes and play crappy songs, you choose too. I would think the majority of all younger djs do want this, since its all you/they know, but at any level, its going to suck if thats all it is.
When you talk about jealousy, because a generation has grown up with the ideal of ‘haterz’, its such a LCD argument. There is hating and negative criticism. To say, these guys look really stupid on stage throwing cakes and occasionally not even mixing, while playing technically simple and unimaginative music, that a legit criticism. Doesn’t mean they’re bad guys/girls, and it doesn’t meant you don’t wanna listen to their bad music, its just the truth. Its like saying, jerry springer is awful and exploits people for money, but i still enjoy it because its funny. This is just the same thing as the trance scene of the late 90s, which eventually led to the pop classic/mash up phase that Z-trip/DJ AM/etc popularized mid 00s. Another comparison is the Hair Metal Phase of the lated 80s that seemed unstoppable and in an instant Nirvana knocked them out in 91. This too will be a trend, whose meteoric rise guarantees a massive crash.
I’m not surprised this happened to EDM. Anytime you have corporate entities and big sponsorship money being put on the table, you’ll ALWAYS have people willing to do whatever it takes to steal the spotlight – hence these “DJs” – Playing a pre-recorded set is called cheating, regardless of what you want to call it. Track selection, carefully preparing your set and having an idea of you’re trying to convey is called programming. Performance on the other hand…performance is LIVING IN THE MOMENT and if you can’t do that…your set is DEAD *pun well intended* , so are the music and the overall experience.
Yes, I wish it was me. Stupid people reveling in their own ignorance, and throwing money at you to compensate for their inability to know what to enjoy unless they see a crowd doing it already.
HEY ! That bass button is an IDJ Live II !
he looks dike david guetta lol
i was thinking about the Elephant Man seeing that image, as if he is surrendering being caught by the zookeepers.
Truthfully, I’d love to have their life BUT to a smaller scale. I’d love to travel and get paid good money, but I’d be okay playing clubs and staying in Motel 6’s. I don’t need to headline festivals and stay in 5 star hotels.
In five years the cycle will move again, like it always does, and the masses won’t want dance music, but will be craving singer song writer stuff, or grunge, or gangsta rap, or whatever the next trend will be. This always happens, and has since music has been a thing.
These guys are making a killing, and while it isn’t for me I don’t begrudge them their success. It will collapse, as it always does, because that’s how it always goes.
hahahaha
Using the X1 with the Serato Overlay – and we thought nobody uses that!
I find the lack of 20`years old in tank tops disturbing
I don’t wish that was me. I can say that with total honesty. (The money would be great, of course).
I do wish, however, that people who are legitimately masters of the craft of DJing were respected (and compensated) in something remotely close to proportion with what the lucky .001% of these “pantomimers” get.
This is a very old story, though, in many ways: the pioneers of a form struggle to pay rent, while those who dumb the form down and make it marketable buy mansions.
rs
The SNL skit was funny and I enjoyed it because it holds some truth. Back in the day(yes I am one of those guys). To be a DJ rather in a club, house party or whatever was a select group of people because the price and avaliability of pro gear and music in addition to djing skills . The DJ was the one to introduce the underground , hard to find, what was that song? for the masses. The Dj introduce new ways to mix, blend and scratch. Now, with the advent of internet, file sharing, torrents , pools, and newsgroups, Any hack can obtain the latest and greatest. Also, the controller movement(I use them too) has revolutionized djing and EDM as a whole, but with a cost. Sync( I use also), quantize, auto beat loops etc are very helpful , but can be used by hacks to fake the funk. You see them at that local bar syncing kicks over claps. Becuause of this, people who don’t understand the art of djing, frequently assumes that its “easy”. That you can just press a few buttons and instantly transform into A-Trak. Finally the DJs with great skills do not get the exposure like the “usual electro house suspects” which further distort the public perceptions of Djs hence this SNL skit
The thing is we in a way wish it was us… to be able to play at several events, have high profile residencies, and constant bookings. It would essentially pay off many of our “Plan A” goals in becoming a professional producer/DJ, not having to worry about making ends meet with “ah, I’m just working” type of job. The sell out aspects, maybe not. But being able to put out music we want to produce, or work on records year round and have the financial leverage or freedom to do it, hell yeah we want that.