Who was the guy who played at the plug last night..

[defstef]

They were very good as were the other band on the bill (sunshine underground I think)

 

Yeah...unfortunately I missed 'em. Heard they were pretty good, though.

 

Yeah, I get what you mean... same with a lot of DJ's, their ego's their worst enemy...

 

I think this is much more true for radio DJs though (though not universally nor exclusively). I think the lack of selector/listener interaction through the medium engenders a culture where success is measured by ratings, rather than how the punters are engaged by the music. A 'good' radio DJ need not necessarily have an aptitude for making people dance (just as it is a mistake to automatically infer that a dance music producer is a good club DJ - a mistake which has been made many times over). A good comparison of the 2 different jobs is made in Tim Lawrence's book "Love Saves the Day: A history of American dance music culture 1970-1979":

Radio Jocks [are] determined generalists who play familiar records [to] increase ratings, whereas discotheque DJs [are] flexible specialists who...sift through a spiralling quantity of musical information to satisfy a niche group of dancers.

 

Sorry that got all serious then. I guess what I'm trying to say is that the pre-ordained selection within a certain genre or loose style, ego-driven, inane patter and belief in 'good product' might sit nicely on the airwaves but isn't very likely to get a room rocking.

[bingowings]

I must admit that before the night kicked off I was sceptical about the dj skills of Zane and Eddy, however I was chuffed to be proved absolutely wrong.

 

Zane in particular was amazing - he was a scratch DJ in New Zealand for about 8 years before coming over to England. I haven't had such good night in ages.

[JPMiddleton]

4. There are loads of DJs around who could play an equally broad (and more rounded) spectrum of sounds, with more astute discernment and panache. If you think this guy was good, you need to get out more.

 

Oh, is that cynical?

 

 

No, pal. That is just plain arrogant.

 

What is a shame is that for someone who seems to have a relatively decent knowledge of dance music, you are in danger of having the very same attitude as the DJs you are criticising.

 

Also, to say that Faithless, Moby and The Prodigy is for people who dont like dance music stinks of contradictions. Ok so they are more accessible to a broader mainstream public, i can appreciate that, but you ask anyone that was clubbing in the 90s what their fondest memories were and favourite tunes, i will bet my house on Go, Insomnia and several Prodigy tracks being mentioned.

 

And before you blurt on again about this, my favourite DJs are Scratch Perverts, DJ Yoda and Shadow.