So here are some videos I shot during Justice's set to close out Coachella 2008. Enjoy.
The Sahara Tent singing Neil Diamond's "Sweet Caroline"
Justice- Intro
We are your friends
Phantom
The fallen (justice remix)
Stress
D.V.N.O
Don't let the man (Justice remix)
D.A.N.C.E.
Skitzo Dancer (Justice remix)
I have a ton more videos of other DJs and bands I saw, I'll post those later.
Saturday, May 3, 2008
Thursday, May 1, 2008
never meet your idols? fuck that!
So it's the first day of Coachella, and my tentmate Sean and I head in kind of early to "look at the art" because Sean thinks that kind of thing is awesome. Around noon we head over to the Sahara tent to check out DJ Medhi's set to kick-off Coachella, and guess who I run into?



Fucking Justice and Kavinsky. Justice closed out the festival with a headlining set (a video of it is availible here, and I'll upload more tomorrow), and Kavinsky played during the day on Saturday. Very cool guys. They hung out for about a half an hour during Mehdi's set, and Busy P, SebastiAn, and So-Me were all there as well, although Busy P and SebastiAn disappeared so I couldn't get pics with them.
Here is Kavinsky's song "Wayfarer" and if you look closely at the pics, Kavinsky, Gaspard Augé of Justice, and I are all wearing the same sunglasses: Rayban Wayfarers. What can I say? Great DJs think alike...
Kavinsky- Wayfarer <--full song
And if you were wonder what else me and Kavinsky both had in common...
And a Justice remix of a Fatboy Slim song, who also played Coachella.
Fatboy Slim- Don't let the man get you down (Justice remix) <--full song
Kavinsky on Myspace.
Justice on myspace.



Fucking Justice and Kavinsky. Justice closed out the festival with a headlining set (a video of it is availible here, and I'll upload more tomorrow), and Kavinsky played during the day on Saturday. Very cool guys. They hung out for about a half an hour during Mehdi's set, and Busy P, SebastiAn, and So-Me were all there as well, although Busy P and SebastiAn disappeared so I couldn't get pics with them.
Here is Kavinsky's song "Wayfarer" and if you look closely at the pics, Kavinsky, Gaspard Augé of Justice, and I are all wearing the same sunglasses: Rayban Wayfarers. What can I say? Great DJs think alike...
Kavinsky- Wayfarer <--full song
And if you were wonder what else me and Kavinsky both had in common...
And a Justice remix of a Fatboy Slim song, who also played Coachella.
Fatboy Slim- Don't let the man get you down (Justice remix) <--full song
Kavinsky on Myspace.
Justice on myspace.
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
back once again (it's djdrsaith)
Just got back from Coachella, and it was the most fucking amazing thing I have ever been to. I'll post tons of video and photos I took while I was there later, but for now, here is a video of Justice (whom I met at Coachella, I'll explain later) killing the Sahara tent to close off the festival. Gives you a good idea of how fucking sick this place was.
The song in the video: Scenario Rock- Skitzo Dancer (Justice remix) <--full song
The song in the video: Scenario Rock- Skitzo Dancer (Justice remix) <--full song
Thursday, April 24, 2008
california, here we commmmmme

And I'm finally off to Coachella. For a list of the acts I'm going to see, check out this post. So I won't be able to post until monday night, but I'll return with some videos and pictures of the event.
Phantom Planet- California <--full song
Bon Voyage!
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
drsaith discovers blogs

The past two years or so I have gotten most of my music from either Soulseek (I pay the $5 a month "privilege" fee so I don't have to wait in line) or through Bittorrent and sites like btjunkie.com. I've always heard about and read about people downloading tracks though blogs, but never got into because it is very hard to find complete things, as they usually only publish the single and a few remixes, or because Soulseek was working out just fine. But I've recently gotten into downloading tracks off blogs, as not only is it a great way to discover new music (I am amazed at how many blogs there are that cater to my tastes), but there are also a lot of remixes and things of that sort that you can't really find anywhere else. Over the weekend alone, I went through two blogs, Missingtoof and The Sexy Result, and downloaded 742 files, which is 7.34gb of 'choons. It takes a while (Missingtoof alone probably took me about 6 hours to go through their archives), but I found a lot new stuff and rare remixes that I would have otherwise never seen. I'm not reading these blogs because I care about what the authors have to say (who reads blogs anyways?), I'm visiting these sites so I can download all the mp3's their hosting. Thanks blogs!
Other music blogs I like:
Discodust
Flou Kids
Kidz by Colette
lindsey lohan: very weird

I have no idea what is going on in this video, but I imagine it has something to do with pictures like this, or maybe more like this, from the lyrics. I actually saw Lindsey DJing for the Gap in the street in the meatpacking district in New York City when I lived there. Very weird. And appearently, according to this article, she may have been romantically involved with Mark Ronson's sister, Samantha Ronson, who is a lesbian DJ. Very weird.
Pase Rock- Lindsey Lohan's Revenge <--full song
my coachella lineup

So this is the list of acts I'm seeing this weekend at Coachella by day.
FRIDAY
Fatboy Slim
Spank Rock
the Verve
Aphex Twin
Diplo
Cut Copy
Busy P
Sebastian
Midnight Juggernauts
DJ Mehdi
SATURDAY
Prince
Calvin Harris
Portishead
Mark Ronson
Kraftwerk
Hot Chip
Erol Alkan
Boys Noize
James Zabiela
Kavinsky
Uffie
Institubes
SUNDAY
Justice
Roger Waters
Danny Tenaglia
Booka Shade
Dimitri from Paris
Institubes
And the acts that I'm missing due to conflicts with other acts:
simian mobile disco (possibly, if roger waters is boring ill prob leave) (conflicts roger waters)
does it offend you yeah? (booka shade)
kid sister w a-trak (danny tenaglia)
chromeo (roger waters)
bonde do role (boys noize)
junkie xl (kraftwerk)
yelle (portishead)
adam freeland (cut copy) **toss-up**
goldfrapp (diplo) **toss-up**
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
soulwax / part of the weekend never dies
I fucking love soulwax. If you were to ask me who my favorite DJs are, all time, I would easily say that soulwax / 2manydjs takes the cake (as heard on radio soulwax vol. 2 is one of my favorite mix cd's of all time). They are one of the reasons I loved DJ mixes in the first place. Just fucking awesome, and the trailer for their new documentary "Part of the Weekend Never Dies" (a lyric from their single "e-talking," which was mentioned in my fabric post) was emailed to me today. Not only does it look like the friggin' biggest party ever, but the music in the trailer is AMAZING (Annie Mac ;) as well. Check it out.
Soulwax- E-talking <--full song
Soulwax on myspace.
Monday, April 21, 2008
tiga: you look like a gay

It probably doesn't help that Tiga is on my "guys that I would go gay for list" in my facebook profile. But according to Homotronic's "U Look Like a Gay," Tiga looks like a big 'ole homosexual. At first they name a bunch of guys who could possibly be gay, like DJ HELL (who I'm guessing isn't gay), Richie Hawtin, and Sven Vath (who are gay together, see this video). Then it goes into a bunch of cities (Paris, Berlin, Barcelona) all who might be gay. But the third verse is all about, you guessed it, Tiga. Tiga, Tiga, Tiga, Tiga, YOU LOOK LIKE A GAY! Yes, he is a very attractive man. A very, very, attractive sexy man. But Tiga isn't actually a homosexual. He just looks that way.
Homotronic- U Look Like a Gay <--full song
Tiga excerpt from U Look Like a Gay
I mean come on, look at this video, and judge for yourself:
So, so not gay.
because you need to drink out of something

May I suggest the Simian Mobile Disco shot glass? I'm going to see these guys this Sunday at Coachella. Look out for their fabriclive mix this August.
And a minimix for a minidrink: Simian Mobile Disco's minimix for Annie Mac.
Check out Simian Mobile Disco on myspace here.
Sunday, April 20, 2008
fabric: the #1 club in the world
I love fabric. I've never been there, but if I could have one experience in my life, or do anything, I would go see 2manydjs live at room one in fabric and take ecstasy. I'm serious. If I could do anything in the world (within reason), I would go to fabric. It has this mythical status with me, almost as if a place that perfect could never exist, or if it did, it would have to be in the one place in the world where I can't go (England). It's my favorite nightclub in the world, my favorite club night in the world (fabriclive), and my favorite DJ mix series (fabriclive). One of my favorite music videos was even shot inside the club (Soulwax's E-talking, see above). I mean, the friggin' floor in room one is a subwoofer, the legendary body-sonic floor. Anyone who is serious about electronic music respects the fabric title, as they don't pimp themselves for any commercial endeavors (see Ministry of Sound, Gatecrasher). Fabric was DJmag's #1 club in the world in 2006, and then #2 in 2007, and is again the #1 club in the world for 2008. It has the best lineup of any club in the world no question. The diversity of their nights and the nights they host are amazing. Everything from electro to dubstep to minimal to drum'n'bass is covered on a monthly basis, although they never seen to have any trance acts (I personally don't care for trance, but you can't be all encompassing without having one of the most popular sounds in all of dance). However, that is one of the reasons why fabric is so amazing. They don't book DJs because they are popular or in the top 10 in the world. You won't find PVD, Armin, or Tiesto ever in fabric. It is a club where where you go to find out what is next, not what happened when, which seems to be Ministry of Sound's problem. And that is one of many reasons why I love fabric, and I could not think of a more deserving club to christen the pinnacle of nightclubs.
Original article available here.
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
pepsi dj division

I'm sure you've all heard of the Pepsi DJ Division. No? No shit. I have no fucking clue what the hell this is, and I've never heard of any of these guys. Obviously it's not electronic music DJs, as they are all hip-hop, but couldn't they get someone I've heard of? Kay-Slay, DJ Clue, DJ Spinbad, Green Lantern, even Michael 5000 Watts would have been a major improvement. I am not saying none of these guys have talent. I am sure they are all talented DJs (they do this for a living, and in a way have dedicated their lives to DJing), definitely more talented than me. But what are they doing in a Pepsi ad exactly? The last Pepsi ads I remembered were the ones with Britney Spears during the Super Bowl, or the one with Britney, Pink, and Beyonce, but these are world famous celebrities. The only guy remotely noticeable in this lineup is Clinton Sparks, and the only reason I've ever heard of him is because he was in an Adidas ad in Complex Magazine last month. Not to mention why the fuck Pepsi needs a DJ division. Does Pepsi have a club? The best part though is that nothing on the website works. There is no content. So its pretty much a bunch of lame-ass print ads showing off the Pepsi DJ team. Man, Club Pepsi sounds like shit. I hear the drinks are cheap as least...
Saturday, April 12, 2008
Leigh Lezark: can I get with you?

Click that picture to the left. Look at how fucking fit that chic is. Now imagine that she is part of one of the hippest DJ collectives in the world, the Misshapes, out of New York City. Seriously, this girl has got it all. She is (1) fit, (2) a DJ, (3) out of NYC, (4) she's 23 (and you know how me like them older women. Not girls, women.), and (5) she goes to Hunter College in NYC, which is a public school that I considered at one time (not another NYU girl!). Just gawk at how fit she is, especially in the top right and bottom right photos. In the top one she has got her bitch-face on, and is dressed all high fashion, and I like that. And in the bottom pic she has her smirk on, just letting it all hang out in full party mode, and I like that too. I think I'm in love. "Oh Leigh, I love it when you mix two records like that. It reminds of when I mix my [inaudible] with your [inaudible]..." "Shivan! (giggles) I can't right now! I'm mixing!" [slapping and giggle noises are heard coming from the DJ booth]. But her myspace says that she is already in a relationship. With who? We could have been the next Feadz & Uffie, the next Diplo & M.I.A. Now that might never happen. I is sad...
(PS- I've never heard them DJ in my life.)
Monday, April 7, 2008
drsaith's essential dj programs
This is a topic I wrote back in June of 2007 (the original forum topic is available here), and a few of the programs have changed, but most have stayed the same. Obviously you don't need any of these things to DJ, you can do it with two turntables, a mixer, and a solid record source, but I can't go without them, and you might find something you like here. In no particular order:
1. iTunes (www.itunes.com)
Obviously the program I keep all my music in here, very fast to search, organize, rate, and edit. I couldn't imagine using anything else, plus once you find the song you want, you can just drag and drop it into the DJ program you're using. Download it for free from the above website if you don't already have it.
2. Mixmeister BPM Analyzer (http://www.mixmeister.com/download_freestuff.html)
This will go over your song and tell you how many beats per minute there are. You can drag 400 songs from iTunes, leave it running, and then just come back to iTunes, hit (ctrl+i) and it will auto-copy over its data into iTunes, so you don't have to manually enter in all its responses. A great free program, and a very quick way to organize or arrange your mp3's by their BPMs. Also on the website above for free.
3. Virtual DJ (http://www.virtualdj.com/)
I don't actually use this for DJing, but the record feature in it is so wonderful that it is great for creating samples, plus it has a semi-awesome effect that works some of the time that removes vocals from songs or instrumentals from songs, but it works best for rock songs. Very simple program to use in order to make some quick samples, and you can do some basic DJing in it. A bootleg version is available at www.btjunkie.com if you party like that.
4. Record Anything (http://www.iburn.net/recorder-mp3.html)
This program runs in the mini-icons in the bottom right corner of your screen by the clock. You click the mini-icon once, it starts recording anything that is coming out of your speakers. It pretty much records what you hear directly from the source. You click it again, it stops and asks you to name the mp3 and where to save it. Another handy tool for creating samples, especially from divx, dvd'x, youtube, whatever. Also bootlegged on btjunkie.com for the pirates.
5. Audacity (http://audacity.sourceforge.net/)
This is a simple, free, audio editing program. Since I have things like Sony Acid and such, which are more advanced, I don't use it that much except to record source audio similar to Record Anything above.
6. Ableton Live 7 (www.ableton.com)
7 is the latest version, and you can download a free demo version at their site. If you haven't tried this program, test the demo and see what all the fuss is about. Great program, and very simple to get into. You can do anything from actual DJing to remixing to making tracks to just jamming in Live, and pretty much everyone in electronic music either has or has used this at some point. Naughty people can find their version at btjunkie.com again.
7. Soulseek (http://www.slsknet.org/)
My go to program for looking for rare mp3's. It can keep lists of what your looking for, and inform you of when someone has it, very nice, and loads of rare dance mp3's especially, all well organized. This program takes up way too much of my time as I am always looking for new choons, but it is the best. I pay for privileges in the program, which means for $5 a month you don't have to wait in line for downloads. Don't download illegal stuff with it though, the FBI/British-BI will come looking for you.
7. Bittorrent (www.bittorrent.com)
I use the original, I'm sure you guys have something better, but this gets the job done. Tons of great music and programs to download quick and easy, remember, no illegal stuff. Keep it legal boys. Also used at tmb.dj, where I get most of my DJ mixes off of and the site that got me so into electronic music.
8. Limewire (www.limewire.com)
The fastest for single songs, and easiest to use, but don't expect too many rare songs to be popping up. Commercial shit only.
10. Sony Acid 5.0 Pro (http://www.sonycreativesoftware.com/products/acidfamily.asp)
I have this running great on my old computer, but since I've upgraded to Vista it has been giving me install problems. But this is great to cutting clips (which i used Ableton now but it is a slower process). I also hear some people make their mixes in this, but how, i have no idea.
And these are some programs that I have installed but don't really use all that much:
1. M-Audio Torq (http://www.torq-dj.com/)
It's like Serato for poor people. You use your normal CDJs or turntables with the included CDs and vinyl, and through your computer, you can mix mp3's like regular records. It's back at home, but I am never there so I don't get to use it all that much. A lot more features than Serato Scratch (which is sort of the standard), but people have complained about its stability.
2. Deckadance / Traktor Studio 3 (http://www.deckadance.com/, http://www.native-instruments.com/index.php?id=traktor3_us)
Two DJing programs to mix mp3s on your computer, and they both work with various MIDI controllers. I mostly play around with them, and have never made an actual mix in either. Available at your local bootleg torrent site.
3. Reason 4.0 (http://www.propellerheads.se/)
I spent hundreds of dollars on this program (I have 3.0), and I still have no idea how to use it, but I hear its the standard for making your own dance records, although everyone has their personal preference (Logic, Cubase, etc.). It seems pretty easy to use, but my interest is in DJing and not producing. Another great thing is that everything you need to make your own tunes in included with the program, although it kind of sucks that it doesn't work with VSTs and can't record outside audio itself.
4. Cool Edit Pro 2.1 (now Adobe Audition, http://www.adobe.com/special/products/audition/syntrillium.html)
I haven't used the Adobe version, but this is what Party Ben uses to make his mash-ups, and I'm just starting to get into producing mash-ups, so this is apparently the program to use, although I have no clue how to use it again.
One of the favorite things that I have read was that Mylo made his album Destroy Rock & Roll on his Mac in his bedroom after dropping out of school using bootleg copies of Logic and Cubase (I think, I know he used bootleg copies of whatever software he used, although I always forget which software he used). It was a huge hit and very very good album, and although it is great to support the companies when you can (I have bought some programs and bootlegged others), the important thing here is making music. And when your shit goes commercial and you're a huge super-star, you can go back and buy the software with your millions.
1. iTunes (www.itunes.com)
Obviously the program I keep all my music in here, very fast to search, organize, rate, and edit. I couldn't imagine using anything else, plus once you find the song you want, you can just drag and drop it into the DJ program you're using. Download it for free from the above website if you don't already have it.
2. Mixmeister BPM Analyzer (http://www.mixmeister.com/download_freestuff.html)
This will go over your song and tell you how many beats per minute there are. You can drag 400 songs from iTunes, leave it running, and then just come back to iTunes, hit (ctrl+i) and it will auto-copy over its data into iTunes, so you don't have to manually enter in all its responses. A great free program, and a very quick way to organize or arrange your mp3's by their BPMs. Also on the website above for free.
3. Virtual DJ (http://www.virtualdj.com/)
I don't actually use this for DJing, but the record feature in it is so wonderful that it is great for creating samples, plus it has a semi-awesome effect that works some of the time that removes vocals from songs or instrumentals from songs, but it works best for rock songs. Very simple program to use in order to make some quick samples, and you can do some basic DJing in it. A bootleg version is available at www.btjunkie.com if you party like that.
4. Record Anything (http://www.iburn.net/recorder-mp3.html)
This program runs in the mini-icons in the bottom right corner of your screen by the clock. You click the mini-icon once, it starts recording anything that is coming out of your speakers. It pretty much records what you hear directly from the source. You click it again, it stops and asks you to name the mp3 and where to save it. Another handy tool for creating samples, especially from divx, dvd'x, youtube, whatever. Also bootlegged on btjunkie.com for the pirates.
5. Audacity (http://audacity.sourceforge.net/)
This is a simple, free, audio editing program. Since I have things like Sony Acid and such, which are more advanced, I don't use it that much except to record source audio similar to Record Anything above.
6. Ableton Live 7 (www.ableton.com)
7 is the latest version, and you can download a free demo version at their site. If you haven't tried this program, test the demo and see what all the fuss is about. Great program, and very simple to get into. You can do anything from actual DJing to remixing to making tracks to just jamming in Live, and pretty much everyone in electronic music either has or has used this at some point. Naughty people can find their version at btjunkie.com again.
7. Soulseek (http://www.slsknet.org/)
My go to program for looking for rare mp3's. It can keep lists of what your looking for, and inform you of when someone has it, very nice, and loads of rare dance mp3's especially, all well organized. This program takes up way too much of my time as I am always looking for new choons, but it is the best. I pay for privileges in the program, which means for $5 a month you don't have to wait in line for downloads. Don't download illegal stuff with it though, the FBI/British-BI will come looking for you.
7. Bittorrent (www.bittorrent.com)
I use the original, I'm sure you guys have something better, but this gets the job done. Tons of great music and programs to download quick and easy, remember, no illegal stuff. Keep it legal boys. Also used at tmb.dj, where I get most of my DJ mixes off of and the site that got me so into electronic music.
8. Limewire (www.limewire.com)
The fastest for single songs, and easiest to use, but don't expect too many rare songs to be popping up. Commercial shit only.
10. Sony Acid 5.0 Pro (http://www.sonycreativesoftware.com/products/acidfamily.asp)
I have this running great on my old computer, but since I've upgraded to Vista it has been giving me install problems. But this is great to cutting clips (which i used Ableton now but it is a slower process). I also hear some people make their mixes in this, but how, i have no idea.
And these are some programs that I have installed but don't really use all that much:
1. M-Audio Torq (http://www.torq-dj.com/)
It's like Serato for poor people. You use your normal CDJs or turntables with the included CDs and vinyl, and through your computer, you can mix mp3's like regular records. It's back at home, but I am never there so I don't get to use it all that much. A lot more features than Serato Scratch (which is sort of the standard), but people have complained about its stability.
2. Deckadance / Traktor Studio 3 (http://www.deckadance.com/, http://www.native-instruments.com/index.php?id=traktor3_us)
Two DJing programs to mix mp3s on your computer, and they both work with various MIDI controllers. I mostly play around with them, and have never made an actual mix in either. Available at your local bootleg torrent site.
3. Reason 4.0 (http://www.propellerheads.se/)
I spent hundreds of dollars on this program (I have 3.0), and I still have no idea how to use it, but I hear its the standard for making your own dance records, although everyone has their personal preference (Logic, Cubase, etc.). It seems pretty easy to use, but my interest is in DJing and not producing. Another great thing is that everything you need to make your own tunes in included with the program, although it kind of sucks that it doesn't work with VSTs and can't record outside audio itself.
4. Cool Edit Pro 2.1 (now Adobe Audition, http://www.adobe.com/special/products/audition/syntrillium.html)
I haven't used the Adobe version, but this is what Party Ben uses to make his mash-ups, and I'm just starting to get into producing mash-ups, so this is apparently the program to use, although I have no clue how to use it again.
One of the favorite things that I have read was that Mylo made his album Destroy Rock & Roll on his Mac in his bedroom after dropping out of school using bootleg copies of Logic and Cubase (I think, I know he used bootleg copies of whatever software he used, although I always forget which software he used). It was a huge hit and very very good album, and although it is great to support the companies when you can (I have bought some programs and bootlegged others), the important thing here is making music. And when your shit goes commercial and you're a huge super-star, you can go back and buy the software with your millions.
Thursday, April 3, 2008
it's like MTV cribs for DJ's
This was a feature from Groove Magazine in Germany that covered the living and DJ spaces of many famous German DJs. It is by far one of the coolest things I have found on the net, and I would love to see more of these, especially considering it only covers German DJs. The English translation of the article is available here. The complete set of pictures is also available below.
Ali Schwarz of Tiefschwarz

Andre Galluzi

Ata

Steve Bug and Frank Wiedemann of Âme

Dixon

DJ Koze

DJ T

Dominik Eulberg

Ellen Allien

DJ Hell

Justus Koehncke

Lawrence

Michael Reinboth

Mathius Modica of Munk

Hans Nieswandt and Tobi Neumann

Richie Hawtin

Gobar Schablitzki of the Wighnamy Brothers

Sven Väth

Ricardo Villalobos

Obviously I like Michael Reinboth's record collection the most (although I have never heard of him before in my life), and DJ T's workspace. Ricardo Villalobos probably has the tightest flat, and I find it hilarious that DJ Hell keeps weights in his living room. Dominik Eulberg's room reminds me of Fatboy Slim's studio from the You've Come a Long Way, Baby US vinyl release, Justus Koehncke's room looks like some shit from the movie Saw, and Lawrence's place looks like it belongs in a World War II movie.
Ali Schwarz of Tiefschwarz

Andre Galluzi

Ata

Steve Bug and Frank Wiedemann of Âme

Dixon

DJ Koze

DJ T

Dominik Eulberg

Ellen Allien

DJ Hell

Justus Koehncke

Lawrence

Michael Reinboth

Mathius Modica of Munk

Hans Nieswandt and Tobi Neumann

Richie Hawtin

Gobar Schablitzki of the Wighnamy Brothers

Sven Väth

Ricardo Villalobos

Obviously I like Michael Reinboth's record collection the most (although I have never heard of him before in my life), and DJ T's workspace. Ricardo Villalobos probably has the tightest flat, and I find it hilarious that DJ Hell keeps weights in his living room. Dominik Eulberg's room reminds me of Fatboy Slim's studio from the You've Come a Long Way, Baby US vinyl release, Justus Koehncke's room looks like some shit from the movie Saw, and Lawrence's place looks like it belongs in a World War II movie.
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
a month of music
I have officially reached the mark where I have reviewed and kept 30 days of continuous music, which if you were wondering, is 720 hours of music. I would have reached this milestone much faster if I had not lost my mp3 collection during my sophomore year of high school, or had my little brother reset my iTunes last December in which I lost about 2 days worth of reviewed music. Too many times I have lost reviewed music, but today I reached a major milestone in reviewing-music history. It has gone into overdrive since I began listening to dance music during my year off and began dj'ing. Here is how I rate the songs:
5 stars- a perfect song, and my favorite songs of all time. Ethereal audio. These are very very hard to come by, in fact, I don't think that I have given out a 5 star rating in more than a year. In order for a song to be considered, it must either have been played 200+ times on iTunes, or it must remind me of a time in my life. There are 35 different songs that have be given a 5 star rating, out of 7323 songs that I have officially reviewed (and if you count all the stuff I have deleted, it would probably be closer to 15000 songs. I delete a lot of music; if I don't like it or see no use for it dj'ing, it gets deleted.), so only .48% of my songs I considered perfect (not counting duplicates I have of some of the 5 star songs). Here is a complete list of 5 star songs:
Bad Ronald- Let's Begin
Blur- Song 2
Blur- Parklife
Blur- Country House
The Clipse- Grindin'
The Clipse- When the Last Time
Coldplay- Yellow
The Crystal Method- Name of the Game
Dave Brubeck- Take Five
Foo Fighters- Everlong
George Michael- Freedom '90
Kasabian- Club Foot
Lo-Fidelity Allstars- Battleflag (ft. Pigeonhead)
Mobb Deep- Getaway
Modjo- Lady (Hear me Tonight)
N.E.R.D.- Lapdance
Nas- New York State of Mind Part 1 and 2
Oasis- D'you Know What I Mean?
Oasis- Wonderwall
Oasis- Wonderwall (MTV Unplugged)
Oasis- Morning Glory
Oasis- Champagne Supernova
Party Ben- Boulevard of Broken Songs
Phantom Planet- California
The Pharcyde- Passing Me By
Pitch Black- It's all Real
The Prodigy- Breathe
Shyne- Bad Boyz
Stardust- Music Sounds Better with You
Sublime- Doin' Time
Take That- Back for Good
Third Eye Blind- Jumper
Travis- Writing to Reach You
Travis- The Fear
The Verve- Bittersweet Symphony
and one day I expect to add Blur- Beetlebum and Digitalism- Pogo to that list.
4 Stars- Excellent songs. I wouldn't consider these songs perfect, but they are very very good. A good example would be Air's "Playground Love". I love this song, and consider it borderline perfect, but it doesn't seem to have that moment that I associate it with, so I can't quite put it up there. One day, I think some of these songs will join the 5 star list, but most of them are just excellent.
3 Stars- Good songs. These are the songs that I listen to the most. It's pretty simple: if I like a song upon first listen, it is given 3 stars. After a few months I may even give it 4 stars. But it would have to be a couple years for it to achieve 5 star status. These are the songs I usually listen to on a daily basis.
2 Stars- Tolerable songs. The biggest category. Songs that I wouldn't seek out, but they aren't bad, and worth keeping around. Enjoyable, but I don't usually listen to these songs.
1 Star- Crap. I never really listen to these, or they are things like acapellas for dj'ing that I wouldn't consider a real song. These are only kept around to keep complete albums, and only for albums that I would want to have complete. Say there is a crappy song on a Primal Scream or Massive Attack album; I wouldn't delete it because I would like to have their whole albums, but at the same time I don't want to listen to this song again in my lifetime. 99% of all 1 star songs are deleted upon first listen, but if I need to have the complete album, I'll give it 1 star and just ignore it.
The 30 days of continuous music consists of 7323 pieces of music (there are songs, dj tools, and dj mixes all in there). Of that:
52 are 5 star songs (.55% of the time, .71% of the songs)
443 are 4 star songs (5.4% of the time, 6% of the songs)
2950 are 3 star songs (46.4% of the time, 40% of the songs)
3730 are 2 star songs (45.8% of the time, 50.9% of the songs)
148 are 1 star songs (1.8% of the time, 2% of the songs)
As you can see, I take this stuff pretty seriously. I think it is very important that not only have I heard a shit ton of music, and different music, but also that I rate the songs very harshly. If you review songs and have hundreds of songs that you consider perfect, then you better have heard tens of thousands of songs over the years. There is a lot of crap out there, and I only keep what I like. I've lost my rating and mp3's countless times, but this is probably the most I have every reviewed at any time. If things had not been lost over they years, I would guess I would have close to 40 days of music reviewed by now. And I would also guess that I have probably listened to and deleted roughly 20 days worth of music since I began dj'ing, as 80% of the stuff you listen to is either shit or useless to you as a DJ. What can I say is that I listen to a lot of music. And if anyone has reviewed more than me, I would love to know about it.
5 stars- a perfect song, and my favorite songs of all time. Ethereal audio. These are very very hard to come by, in fact, I don't think that I have given out a 5 star rating in more than a year. In order for a song to be considered, it must either have been played 200+ times on iTunes, or it must remind me of a time in my life. There are 35 different songs that have be given a 5 star rating, out of 7323 songs that I have officially reviewed (and if you count all the stuff I have deleted, it would probably be closer to 15000 songs. I delete a lot of music; if I don't like it or see no use for it dj'ing, it gets deleted.), so only .48% of my songs I considered perfect (not counting duplicates I have of some of the 5 star songs). Here is a complete list of 5 star songs:
Bad Ronald- Let's Begin
Blur- Song 2
Blur- Parklife
Blur- Country House
The Clipse- Grindin'
The Clipse- When the Last Time
Coldplay- Yellow
The Crystal Method- Name of the Game
Dave Brubeck- Take Five
Foo Fighters- Everlong
George Michael- Freedom '90
Kasabian- Club Foot
Lo-Fidelity Allstars- Battleflag (ft. Pigeonhead)
Mobb Deep- Getaway
Modjo- Lady (Hear me Tonight)
N.E.R.D.- Lapdance
Nas- New York State of Mind Part 1 and 2
Oasis- D'you Know What I Mean?
Oasis- Wonderwall
Oasis- Wonderwall (MTV Unplugged)
Oasis- Morning Glory
Oasis- Champagne Supernova
Party Ben- Boulevard of Broken Songs
Phantom Planet- California
The Pharcyde- Passing Me By
Pitch Black- It's all Real
The Prodigy- Breathe
Shyne- Bad Boyz
Stardust- Music Sounds Better with You
Sublime- Doin' Time
Take That- Back for Good
Third Eye Blind- Jumper
Travis- Writing to Reach You
Travis- The Fear
The Verve- Bittersweet Symphony
and one day I expect to add Blur- Beetlebum and Digitalism- Pogo to that list.
4 Stars- Excellent songs. I wouldn't consider these songs perfect, but they are very very good. A good example would be Air's "Playground Love". I love this song, and consider it borderline perfect, but it doesn't seem to have that moment that I associate it with, so I can't quite put it up there. One day, I think some of these songs will join the 5 star list, but most of them are just excellent.
3 Stars- Good songs. These are the songs that I listen to the most. It's pretty simple: if I like a song upon first listen, it is given 3 stars. After a few months I may even give it 4 stars. But it would have to be a couple years for it to achieve 5 star status. These are the songs I usually listen to on a daily basis.
2 Stars- Tolerable songs. The biggest category. Songs that I wouldn't seek out, but they aren't bad, and worth keeping around. Enjoyable, but I don't usually listen to these songs.
1 Star- Crap. I never really listen to these, or they are things like acapellas for dj'ing that I wouldn't consider a real song. These are only kept around to keep complete albums, and only for albums that I would want to have complete. Say there is a crappy song on a Primal Scream or Massive Attack album; I wouldn't delete it because I would like to have their whole albums, but at the same time I don't want to listen to this song again in my lifetime. 99% of all 1 star songs are deleted upon first listen, but if I need to have the complete album, I'll give it 1 star and just ignore it.
The 30 days of continuous music consists of 7323 pieces of music (there are songs, dj tools, and dj mixes all in there). Of that:
52 are 5 star songs (.55% of the time, .71% of the songs)
443 are 4 star songs (5.4% of the time, 6% of the songs)
2950 are 3 star songs (46.4% of the time, 40% of the songs)
3730 are 2 star songs (45.8% of the time, 50.9% of the songs)
148 are 1 star songs (1.8% of the time, 2% of the songs)
As you can see, I take this stuff pretty seriously. I think it is very important that not only have I heard a shit ton of music, and different music, but also that I rate the songs very harshly. If you review songs and have hundreds of songs that you consider perfect, then you better have heard tens of thousands of songs over the years. There is a lot of crap out there, and I only keep what I like. I've lost my rating and mp3's countless times, but this is probably the most I have every reviewed at any time. If things had not been lost over they years, I would guess I would have close to 40 days of music reviewed by now. And I would also guess that I have probably listened to and deleted roughly 20 days worth of music since I began dj'ing, as 80% of the stuff you listen to is either shit or useless to you as a DJ. What can I say is that I listen to a lot of music. And if anyone has reviewed more than me, I would love to know about it.
Monday, March 31, 2008
drsaith-nov3 009 mini mix
download the mix here
I have no idea what is going on in this mix. From the recording, it sounds live, and has to be from a couple years back when I began dj'ing. It's just some stupid little fun mix from back in the day.
tracklisting:
EMF- Unbelievable
The Chemical Brothers- Block Rockin Beats
BG- Bling Bling
CB4- Straight out of Locash
I have no idea what is going on in this mix. From the recording, it sounds live, and has to be from a couple years back when I began dj'ing. It's just some stupid little fun mix from back in the day.
tracklisting:
EMF- Unbelievable
The Chemical Brothers- Block Rockin Beats
BG- Bling Bling
CB4- Straight out of Locash
Caspa & Rusko - Fabriclive.37
"When your spirit is floating down that tunnel towards the light, you know what's behind the light? It's not God, it's me. And I'm gonna kick your poncy soul all the way back down the tunnel till you choke on your own fucked up ribs. NOW, WAKE THE FUCK UP!" - Caspa & Rusko - Cockney ThugFirst of all, I know very little about dubstep. I have heard it around, and downloaded the dubstep essential mix the BBC broadcasted a few years back, which I enjoyed, but never really went out of my way to seek out the sound. However, when Fabric had Caspa & Rusko do Fabriclive.37, I booed. Not because I hate Caspa & Rusko, I had no idea who the hell they were. But it was supposed to be Justice, in what might have been the most anticipated Fabric release of all time. On top of that, Justice had never released a proper mix cd. But there was a problem with Justice's mix, and blah blah blah it was never released (although you can find the unreleased mix here). Anyways, Fabric had to find a replacement fast and came up with Caspa & Rusko. After all this, I never had any intentions of listening to their mix ever, and was just going to wait until they released the Justice mix as say Fabriclive.42. But I read a review of the mix in Mixmag, and they described it as a dark mix with gangsta movie samples dropped in. Well, I can go for a bit of that. So I listened to the mix, and that is a pretty accurate description. I also realized that I had heard Caspa & Rusko before, despite never actually knowing it was them. They produced a track called "Cockney Thug" which I downloaded after reading a review of. The actual song doesn't do it for me so much, but that is an excellent sample from what sounds like a Guy Ritchie movie, and me like Guy Richie movies (it's actually from an Armando Iannucci show, apparently). The mix itself is a pleasant surprise, especially for someone who doesn't really listen to any dupstep. It's really loud and rude and dark and the bass just reverberates for an hour. My favorite part of the mix are tracks 19-21, when the mix peaks in intensity and goes absolutely bananas with samples like "Look in my fucking eyes" and "Blow you into kingdom come." I would say that I would have not enjoyed this mix half as much if it didn't have the gangsta-movie samples. Towards the end, where I started giving out 1 star tracks, it is because the mix totally changes up from dubstep to like inspiration dub, and after an hour of retarded bass, I was just not ready for that. But I would say that this is a very enjoyable mix for myself, although I don't really have any other dubstep experiences to compare it to. Its not so great that I consider myself some dubstep-devote now, but I have been going back to it over the last week. And I break it down song by song:
01 Caspa - Born To Do It - Sub Soldiers 2 stars
02 L-Wiz - Girl From Codeine City - Dub Police 2 stars
03 Caspa - Cockney Violin - Dub Police 2 2 stars
04 Uncle Sam - Round The Way Girls [Tes La Rok RMX] – Argon 2 stars
05 Rusko - Jahova - Sub Soldiers 2 stars
06 Caspa - The Terminator - Sub Soldiers 3 stars
07 Cotti & ClueKid– The Legacy – 30 2 stars
08 Matty G - 50K VIP – Argon 2 stars
09 The Others - Africa VIP - Dub Police 2 stars
10 Distance – V - Chest Plate 3 3 stars
11 Caspa - Big Headed Slags - Sub Soldiers 2 stars
12 Rusko - Too Far - Sub Soldiers 2 stars
13 Coki - Sponge Bob – DMZ 2 stars
14 Caspa - Louder - Pitch Black 2 stars
15 Caspa & The Others - Well 'Ard - Sub Soldiers 3 stars
16 Rusko - Hammer Time – Dub Plate 2 stars
17 Unitz - The Drop - Dub Police 2 stars
18 Rusko - Mr Chips - Dub Plate 2 stars
19 Orien - Look At My Eyes - Dub Police 3 stars
20 The Others - Fun House - Dub Police 3 stars
21 Rusko - 2 N A Q - Sub Soldier 3 stars
22 Rusko - Cockney Thug - Sub Soldiers 3 stars
23 Rusko - Cockney Thug [Buraka Som Sistema RMX] - Sub Soldier 2 stars
24 Skreamz – Guru (Power Hour) - Tempa 2 stars
25 Rusko - Beta Max - Dub Plate 2 stars
26 D1 - I'm Loving - Tempa 1 star
27 Caspa & Rusko - Rock Bottom – Destructive Recordings 2 stars
28 Orien - Rainbow Tear Drops - Dub Police 1 star
29 ConQuest - Forever - Dub Police 1 star
1 star=terrible, 2=tolerable, 3=good, 4=great, 5=excellent
Fabric press release
what more can i say?
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