Tuesday, January 25, 2011

The New Music Dilemma



Samantha aka Hotlipps said:
As a patron (as in someone who attends parties, not the drink lol) or civilian as Mishigan likes to call me, one of the things that I notice, is how long it takes certain songs, and riddims to buss in dance, and parties here.  Back in the day I could understand, because we lacked the technology we have now.  But I feel like now there should be no excuse.  With the advent of Youtube and various social networking sites like Myspace, Twitter and Facebook, artistes, and producers are so accessible and make their music readily available.  I know I am not the average chick, but I am ALWAYS on the hunt for new music.  I change CDs in my car almost every other week.  I get bored with hearing the same music over and over.  So it annoys me when I go to a party in November, or December, and “Bicycle” by Vybz Kartel buss di place *side eye*.  Everybody knows Kartel drop tune almost weekly.  Not to say “Bicycle” isn’t a wicked song, but there are so many equally hot songs that have come out since then.  It amazed me that when for example the Split Personality riddim came on, people were standing up like statues, which leads to a chicken or egg argument.  You have selectors that will attempt to introduce new music to their patrons, and you have selectors who are afraid to play new tunes.    Some patrons will never hear a new song unless it is played in a party.  So shouldn’t it be the role of the selector to introduce music to their audience? But instead, it’s like you have everyone rushing to play the same set of songs that everyone knows and is guaranteed to get a hype.   Also on the other hand, maybe the patrons should take some initiative.  I have realized that no matter how bad a song is, if people don’t know it, it’s like they are afraid to even bob their heads.  Then 3-4 months later everybody is jumping up and down, and hype while I am twiddling my thumbs like *yawn* I’m over it lol.  Who’s to blame??  Smooches from Hotlipps


Mishigan from RBZ said:


Ok... This topic touches a few key points that my Civilian Pawdie brings up.
First thing is first. The way music is played nowadays is BOOORING as hell!!! With the exception of the very few Real Selectors out there, everyone is recycling the same set a chunes that get a hype, often times in the same dance. When Sounds had to carry records, playing back chunes was unheard of. But now when we can carry more music, whether on CD or Laptops... People are playing back chunes like its the thing to do... And sometimes even whole segments. The imagination that made dances nice back in the day is almost completely gone. The reason for this is the influx of these new "So Called DJ's or Selectors" who started playing once music became free. The new "Mp3Jay" (as I like to call them) gets a hard drive, and either a cd book &/or a Laptop and is now ready to touch the road. They get their bookings by friending up promoters and charging next to nothing. Promoters, like everyone else, love cheap labor, and therein lies the on set of the dilemma.
Playing music as a DJ/Selector is not a gimmick. Its a Skill & a Craft. Like all Skills & Crafts, it must be developed through years of training and practice. Everyone wants to Be Matterhorn, Steelie or Links but refuse to go through the training that all these Selectors went through on Inner City then Addies, Afrique & Bodyguard.
Part of the proper training is the introduction of new music in a dance. Real DJ's/Selectas can give you a list of Songs, Riddims & Artists that they are responsible for introducing during their time playing music. By The Way... Introducing a chune doesn't mean playing it and saying "a mi fuss play dis chune" just because you are the first one for the night to play it, while its playing all over the place everywhere else. It means taking a risk on a song, riddim, artist that you think has the potential to buss in dance in the future. This risk assessment comes from years of playing music, reading crowds & understanding how music is played... Again... Training! The Mp3Jay doesn't have this grooming. So they are afraid to introduce new chune. Which leads to mi fren Hotlipps's Dilemma.
What Hotlipps needs to remember is that any nice dance usually consists 85% old/Known Chunes... & 15% new chune. This is because New Chune is New & takes time to catch on to the people. People are most likely not going to dance to a song they don't know... Which is fine. You cannot blame them for that. This doesn't mean it nuh fi play. It simply means it needs to be introduced the right way. Because the Mp3Jay wasn't groomed... They have no idea how to do this so they stay away from them and just go for the "forward" juggling. And when you have a dance full of Mp3jays, you can expect that for the entire night.


Rrrr  from Mishigan

4 comments:

  1. yea i got 2 agree wit Mishugan , cause 1 r 2 ppl like hotz might know the new stuff alot of other ppl dont let them selfs take in the music so they can get us 2 it

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  2. The problem is huge. It involves everything from the limited time span of New York dances to the lack of real selectors/dj's.

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  3. Red Star the vibes machineJanuary 25, 2011 at 3:27 PM

    I agree with Mishigan to an extent. The problem of the current state of music is the new wave of cheap labor djs who have the internet and blank cds or can afford serato. Back when i started playing music you couldnt just get songs while laying in your bed drinking milo. You had to get up on a saturday morning go to VP records leave from their go to original records get some 45's then tavel to brroklyn to hit super power for what ever you couldnt find at origanl Then hit moodys in the bx. As a selector you put in money and work to get your music. And you organized how you were going to play from begining to end of the dance. So even if someone took a segment you wanted to play you had backup so you wouldnt repeat. Now its no preperation and no work so no one takes it seriously or does it for the love of the music. If we took it back to the days where we had to pay for music you would see alot of these djs drop out. However selectors are only half to blame. Iknow many people are going to disagree with me but dancehall on a whole sucks right now. Music is being put out but none are classics. In my opinion Nothing is coming out that you want to hear past the first couple of weeks of being released. Back when i took dancehall seriously riddims dropped that as soon as heard it you knew it was a hit. Now you have these mass produced riddims that all sound the same and lack imagination. Think real hard about 2010 and count all the riddims that really impressed you. Producers need to make riddims so people (not just professional dancers) can dance too. There is music you listen and vibe to and theres music that makes you want to move. Nothing really makes people want to move . instead we have music which seems like it just came off an assembly line of riddims. Mass produced for a quick sale. On a whole we as the people who benifit finacially from dance hall (like selectors, artist, producers, promters, dancers) need to stop treating the music as simply a way to make cash and start dealing with it from a prospective love for the art. if not we will keep getting mass produced garbage from our beloved dancehall.

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  4. Both of you make some valid points but the thing that´s crossed my mind is that there is a lot of guus( cuz most girls who dj know what they are doing)that desperatly want to become dj:s but dont have the guts. They lack the ear for what sounds good together and they have way to much respect for the dancefloor. For me, beeing a dj is about knowing your audince better then they know themselfs, and that takes years of skills and the development has made it easier for everybody to give it a shoot, and thats why we end up with these mp3jays, as you say.

    But then it´s also a question about how long you can regard a tune as a new one or and old one. For me, a riddim becomes old in maybe a month, then I get bored. But in I club I have to accept to hear it for another 3 months, and thats not in just one club, we are talkin every club.
    Another problem is that a lot of selectas are lazy or underestimate their audience. They assume they are not there for the music primarly, but to drink and hook up, and thats when u end up with djs who play more or less the same set week after week. Very sad.

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