Inside Deadmauu5 mask. SWEET!

[lemur]

what makes you think i dont understand how dj's do their thing?


sir!!!

i understand very well, sir..


and the more i understand the more i realize why they suck ass.



some Dj's make their own stuff from scratch (like this clown in the mickey mouse hat, apparently) but werent you just talking about how youd prefer they not do so?

seeing him live is like listening to yet another remix of the same stuff that you've already heard.. over.. and over.. and over.. and over..

after a while it all just sounds the same.. and there's no live sets or studio mixes that you can get that sound any different than listening to his albums.. over.. and over.. and over.. and over..

[junglesmacks]

what makes you think i dont understand how dj's do their thing?


sir!!!

i understand very well, sir..


and the more i understand the more i realize why they suck ass.



some Dj's make their own stuff from scratch (like this clown in the mickey mouse hat, apparently) but werent you just talking about how youd prefer they not do so?

seeing him live is like listening to yet another remix of the same stuff that you've already heard.. over.. and over.. and over.. and over..

after a while it all just sounds the same.. and there's no live sets or studio mixes that you can get that sound any different than listening to his albums.. over.. and over.. and over.. and over..

No.. I didn't say anything about discouraging anyone from making their own music. I was referring specifically to hearing one during

live sets or studio mixes

that will only spin and mix their own music that they have previously released on albums that they produced and are now regurgitating over and over and over.

One thing that I personally enjoy when I see a DJ live is never knowing what's going to come next or how they will find obscure tracks and re-do and mix and twist them in just the right moments so that it all sounds almost as if it's being made live on the fly. When you have a guy such as Joel Zimmerman that refuses to play anything but his own very publicly released albums, it literally just sounds like he popped in his own CD and hit play. Yeah he can make some decent stuff, but my personal feeling (note = personal feeling) is that the only reason he is so mainstream is because of the mouse schtick and the killer lightshows that he brings. That's it.

and the more i understand the more i realize why they suck ass.

Why you think they suck ass. This is your opinion. Many others will beg to differ.


..anyway, I'm not digressing into a defense of DJs and EDM thread as that's been regurgitated ad nauseum on this board. Opinions are like assholes, remember.

[mudpuppy000]

you have to think though everything is done electronically. No instruments and no vocals. It is not going to be going to like a live show such as seether or blue October. All of that is live and raw.

I've seen some electronica shows that do some pretty amazing stuff on the fly. Bassnectar namely, he was mixing 2-3 different songs together at once and was absolutely mind blowing. Maybe he mixed it ahead of time but it was definitely not something I've ever heard on one of his albums.

[Bob]

[youtube][/youtube]

[ygmir]

[youtube][/youtube]

BEST!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[shykat]

[youtube][/youtube]

Saved to my clip board, should come in handy on this board, with all the ticket threads....

[lemur]

at least his name isnt DJ Deadmau5

[lemur]

my word!

Zimmerman doesn't like to be referred to as a DJ. In an October 2008 interview with the Irish Daily Star, deadmau5 was quoted as follows:

“It puts me to fucking sleep, to be quite honest; I don’t really see the technical merit in playing two songs at the same speed together and it bores me to fucking tears and hopefully, with all due respect to the DJ type that will fucking go the way of the dinosaur, I'd like them to dis-a-fucking-ppear! It's so middle man, they’re like fucking lawyers! You need them, but they’re fucking cunts.

say it aint so wikipedia!!!!!!

[junglesmacks]

my word!

Zimmerman doesn't like to be referred to as a DJ. In an October 2008 interview with the Irish Daily Star, deadmau5 was quoted as follows:

“It puts me to fucking sleep, to be quite honest; I don’t really see the technical merit in playing two songs at the same speed together and it bores me to fucking tears and hopefully, with all due respect to the DJ type that will fucking go the way of the dinosaur, I'd like them to dis-a-fucking-ppear! It's so middle man, they’re like fucking lawyers! You need them, but they’re fucking cunts.

say it aint so wikipedia!!!!!!

Lol.. that's his famous quote. The ironic thing is that he himself plays "two songs at the same speed together ".

[illy dilly]

One thing that I personally enjoy when I see a DJ live is never knowing what's going to come next or how they will find obscure tracks and re-do and mix and twist them in just the right moments so that it all sounds almost as if it's being made live on the fly.

Same here,
Thats why I will always love non-EDM mash-ups.
Nothing like hearing Led Zepplin remastered and remixed with Paul Oakenfold. Or Ozzy with some sort of break beats. My buddy has a remastered Metallica track that is amazing even when its mixed with some super bull shit repetitive rice burner trance.

Yeah he can make some decent stuff, but my personal feeling (note = personal feeling) is that the only reason he is so mainstream is because of the mouse schtick and the killer lightshows that he brings. That's it.

I'd have to say he is 'main stream' because his albums are pretty awesome....
People go to see him because he's main stream and his killer lightshows.... then leave disappointed.
On a similar note, I've never seen Teisto live and not left feeling ripped off.
Similarly, both DJ's are great on album, especially when your in the right state of mind, but live they play the same old shit, and unless you're really really intoxicated, its pretty boring. But if you're really really intoxicated, IT IS really awesome.

[shykat]

[quotee]specially when your in the right state of mind, but live they play the same old shit, and unless you're really really intoxicated, its pretty boring. But if you're really really intoxicated, IT IS really awesome.[/quote]


Sounds like most mainstream shows, i saw Metalica twice in the same year at two dif venues and the they played the same set and even told the same jokes... I just drank/smoked more and evtually forgot where i was and it all seemed so new..........

[illy dilly]

Sounds like most mainstream shows, i saw Metalica twice in the same year at two dif venues and the they played the same set and even told the same jokes... I just drank/smoked more and evtually forgot where i was and it all seemed so new..........

I'm assuming it was on the same tour?
I can sorta see that, and sorta accept it, if its on the same tour.
Though, that doesn't surprise me about Metallica at all.

The two times I've seen Tiesto, they both sucked, the sets were about 90% the same. And I was pretty fucked up, at a out door summer party with about 10,000 other people, who were also all fucked up so the vibe was pretty awesome, but Teisto cleared the place out.

[trilobyte]

It feels strange to be defending Joel's music. He's a great guy and all, but I'm not that into the majority of his work…

The notion that a performer with their own catalog is somehow obligated to play other people's stuff is moronic. Solo performers, bands, and electronic musicians play either covers or original tunes. And DJ's can play their own originals, remixes they've done of other peoples' work, or other peoples' music. Of all the reasons to judge a person's work/performance, playing too many originals seems a bit ludicrous.

It's probably also worth pointing out that there are quite a few varying degrees of performance when it comes to DJ's, and a lot of comments I've seen in this thread seem to indicate there's a lot of misunderstanding.

At it's simplest level, it's just picking a playlist. Playing 'radio host' all Casey Kasem style, or doing the iTunes playlist thing and going for the simple crossfade.
Kicking up a notch, you get into beat-matching (or playing records at the same speed as someone put it), which requires a bit of skill to do properly, even with today's tech.
Stepping above that, you get into stuff like turntablism (scratching) and more elaborate mixing and effects (mixing 3 or more records simultaneously, etc).
Getting more involved, you get into controllerism, where songs are often shredded into their core loops, and tracks are remixed or essentially being performed live.
Taking it any further, and you're involving live musicians or playing with a live band.

You might think all or some of it's easy, but doing it right takes some effort in my opinion. A playlist seems like the easiest thing in the world to figure out, but I can't tell you how many times I've heard somebody's mix or performance where the tracks just didn't fit together at all. And even with all the hardware and software tools in the world, there are still millions of people out there trainwrecking it on a regular basis. I may not care for a lot of Joel's DeadMau5 stuff, but he's got great controllerism skills (performing it live) and is a skilled producer (creating the tracks).

[illy dilly]

Completely agreed that he is a very talented artist, and makes awesome music.

Though, live its just sorta 'over played' and repetitive.
This could also be, because people are constantly playing his music. Maybe if people didn't play it in their cars, houses, or parties and it was NEW, it would be amazing again.
Then there are other folks who love to hear their favorite songs played live. KISS for example, still playing sell out shows, and not really producing new music- people love their favorites.

But, my ass hole (every has one) is it would be great if at a live show, he played around a little bit, instead of playing his own music mixed very similar to his albums.
Its not exactly how it is on recorded, remastered, and commercially distributed versions, but its not real different.

[junglesmacks]

What Illy said. For the record, I wasn't stating that he had to play other people's music, just that I would enjoy it if he did so that some variety could get thrown in instead of the same Sofi Needs A Ladder for the umpteenth time.




AND IN OTHER NEWS>>>

The LED technology in that mousehead is indeed SICK and completely fascinates me. I've really started getting into shift register based LED driving and can't wait to keep creating with it. I actually ended up contacting the guy in the blog that made the duplicate mousehead, and have become decent friends with him. He's only 27 and such an amazing creative mind. He just finished working on custom LED suits for the Black Eyed Peas among other projects. I'm trying to get him hooked on creating something for the burn eventually.. lol. It's really cool and inspiring to surround yourself with such minds.. I love it. It inspires me to take everything that I create just that much further..

[wh..sh]

Just like Paul Oakenfold concert I went to... it was the most disappointing concert. It sounded like he just played a CD.

Agreed! I saw Oakenfold in LA when I was out there a couple months ago. He literally played for 2 hours or less, and it was less than impactful to say the least. I felt totally ripped off. 2 hours as the highly billed headline DJ? Who does that?

Princess showed up after 1 am, about 3 hours late. I don't agree that DJs can't be entertaining in a live concert. For that matter, the DJ who played before Oakenfold was fantastic and we enjoyed his work more.

[wh..sh]

I'm trying to get him hooked on creating something for the burn eventually.. lol. It's really cool and inspiring to surround yourself with such minds.. I love it. It inspires me to take everything that I create just that much further..

yes please, bring him to the dark side

[Drawingablank]

While not a huge fan of his, it just seems to me that his performances sounding alike is the nature of the beast - he is after all just playing stuff that was previously laid down. While I'm by no means an expert on electronic music I would think there would need to be some equipment involved to do otherwise in real time and all the visible equipment is a laptop and a small board of some type (mixer?).

I suppose he could be more actively mixing, distorting, or whatever when performing live but after watching several live videos he seems to spend most of his time doing nothing with his hands. Given that poorly integrated stuff sounds bad (as Trilo stated previously), perhaps he is just not comfortable doing a lot of that live.

[junglesmacks]

Just like Paul Oakenfold concert I went to... it was the most disappointing concert. It sounded like he just played a CD.

Agreed! I saw Oakenfold in LA when I was out there a couple months ago. He literally played for 2 hours or less, and it was less than impactful to say the least. I felt totally ripped off. 2 hours as the highly billed headline DJ? Who does that?

Princess showed up after 1 am, about 3 hours late. I don't agree that DJs can't be entertaining in a live concert. For that matter, the DJ who played before Oakenfold was fantastic and we enjoyed his work more.

Wait.. were you at the same show??

[wh..sh]

Wait.. were you at the same show??

ya, infact I will shamelessly confess that I was that lady who was switching between cabbage patch and electric slide moves all night.

No, I went to the concert at Tahoe But it would have been so cool if we both were at the same concert.

[Simon of the Playa]

DJ'S ARE THE NEW GODS and ELECTRONIC DANCE MUSIC IS THE NEW CHURCH


now sit down, shut up, and drink the goddamn Kool-Aid.

It's for your own good.

heathens.

[lemur]

simon needs an ear horn to listen to his music these days...

DID YA HEAR THAT SIMON, I SAID YOU USE AN EAR HORN THESE DAYS..

[Savannah]

Wait.. were you at the same show??

ya, infact I will shamelessly confess that I was that lady who was switching between cabbage patch and electric slide moves all night.

For a moment I thought Junglesmacks had typed this . . . and I have to say, it seemed really natural.

[Bob]

Hell of a way to fight a class war, you people.

[Bounce530]

Wait.. were you at the same show??

ya, infact I will shamelessly confess that I was that lady who was switching between cabbage patch and electric slide moves all night.

For a moment I thought Junglesmacks had typed this . . . and I have to say, it seemed really natural.

I think I did see him doing the Running Man at the M&G, but then again my vision/memories were heavily influenced by Dr. Pyros' Evil Absinthe, so it really could have just been a jar of pickled eggs or something...

[wh..sh]

ya, infact I will shamelessly confess that I was that lady who was switching between cabbage patch and electric slide moves all night.

For a moment I thought Junglesmacks had typed this . . . and I have to say, it seemed really natural.

**shudders** Could it be that I have finally met my match?

[wh..sh]

I think I did see him doing the Running Man at the M&G, but then again my vision/memories were heavily influenced by Dr. Pyros' Evil Absinthe, so it really could have just been a jar of pickled eggs or something...

I hope no one mistakes me for a jar of pickled eggs when i dance.

[dj_john69]

Deadmau5 played at my birthday once

[Simon of the Playa]

and you're an Old fuck....

[5280MeV]

I never fully understood the requirement that electronic music producers should somehow be able to do something other than hit the enter key and rock out. It is a nice bonus when there is something that can be altered in real time, but I would rather the music just be amazing.

It is composed music meant to be played by computers, the virtual instruments often don't correspond to anything real, and the sequencing is often literally impossible for a human to execute. Harping on producers for not being able to do anything in realtime is like slamming Ludwig Beethoven for a lack of improvisational skill (actually I don't know if he could improvise).

To a degree, I think that deadmau5 has the right idea by adding theatrics to the whole thing. If you are going to do a concert, give people something to look at while you press go. Or just get some turntables and turn it into a dance party.

Although DJ worship gets to insane heights, there is something to be said for simply selecting good dance tracks and matching them at the same speed. Compared to the skill required to get three people together and learn guitar, bass, and drums, the bar for sequencing a crappy formulaic house/techno/trance track is pretty darn low - d&b and dubstep aren't that hard either, once someone gives you the formula. I am not saying that making *good* electronic music is easy, but making *bad* electronic music is a piece of cake - just play with some software for a few days. So there is a huge pile of junk for the layman to have to sift through if one wants to go directly to the producer. Also, a lot of tracks are designed to be mixed/mutated into a DJ set and can be rather bland on their own.

With notable exceptions, I tend to look for actual producers and specific labels when looking for 'armchair music', but for driving to work or getting down, I have had a lot more luck with a good DJ set.