for the record

Author: Emily Temple

I'm going to break a tenet of journalism right off the bat and start with a disclaimer: I am no disc jockey. Okay, yes, I DJ for WRMC, but that's not what I'm talking about. And yes, sure, at home I pick all the music for my friends and myself when we're sitting around my living room waiting for my mother to bring us apple slices and cheddar. I also demand the iPod on car rides, often to the dismay of my less musically adventurous friends whom I have relegated to the backseat. But I would never claim to be a party DJ - and neither should just anyone else who happens to have (dare I brag publicly) a stellar music collection and a love for the over-share. DJs who work parties have to actually learn how to DJ - it takes technique and skill that go far beyond knowing the new M.I.A album.

In today's music scene, DJs hold the questionable position of being performers and artists without actually creating their own product. Actually, that's not fair - they do make their own product, but a more appropriate word than 'create' might be 'build'. DJs - at least, good DJs - mix songs recorded by other artists in ways that can form a whole new sonic experience, or at least make for some really good dancing. In fact, the battle rages continuously between live bands and DJs - which is better for a party? Live music has traditionally been held on a pedestal, as it should be. There's a certain quality to live music that can't be captured by a recording. Maybe it's the uneven performance or the personality of the musicians, not to mention the elation at seeing a band you idolize live. But the world of late-nights, when all the kids want to do is dance, belongs to the DJs. Perhaps this is due to the versatility of sound that one DJ can spit out - no band can transition as rapidly from genre to genre and instrument to instrument as a DJ - or perhaps it has something to do with the crafted, do-it-yourself aesthetic so attractive these days.

But regardless, and unlike more traditional musicians, even if the DJ is mostly uncreative and unadventurous, if he can get the flow and the cross-fade right between songs he can produce not only a four-hour-long piece of coherent music, but also can spin a good time out of nothing. Well, not exactly nothing. But that's what makes a good DJ - someone with the ability to make the crowd dance.

To accomplish this feat, more or less difficult depending on venue, time of night and general level of inebriation, a DJ needs more than just a hard drive full of sick tracks. First, the ability to read the crowd - the tracks that get a cheer at The Mill might just clear the dance floor in Tavern. Not only that, but a DJ has to gauge the mood and mentality of the crowd, in order to answer correctly the eternal question, 'what do they want next?' Second, a DJ must have a remarkably deep, or at least comprehensive, understanding of the music on their playlist or in their collection. They must know exactly what's going to come on when they hit 'play'. Third, a DJ has to use his knowledge of his music and his audience to successfully blend one song into another - choosing not only the right song for a smooth transition, but also the right song for a new dance.

So, really, a good DJ has to know everything about everything, or at least everything about what he's doing and where he is. It's a stiff bill. In fact, I haven't seen too many examples of good DJing on this campus. Student DJs often fail at the number one rule of good DJing - so basic and obvious that I merely alluded to it above - seamless transitions between songs. DJs - we hate it when you stop a song and switch to another one on your iTunes and we're left hanging mid-grind for an agonizingly long two seconds. It's awkward. And, if you scratch, do it in a place that makes sense, so we can enjoy that cool 'remix' sound rather than wondering what's wrong with the sound system. We appreciate your volunteer hours in the booth at our parties, saving us from the horror of a simple mix-CD, but if your DJing is to be anything more than social masturbation, learn from the masters and clean up your act.