The DJ Edits My Blog
For the past few months, Adam Gorley has been copy-editing my other blog. Multi-talented man that he is, he also DJs at parties and bars around town.
Here’s a quick play list of his favorite tracks that he put together for us:
This song is from the Junior Boys’ newest release, Begone Dull Care, which is in my opinion the best thing they’ve done so far (which is saying a lot, because it’s all been great). It’s a very smooth and low-key electro track with a powerful groove. It’s obvious that these guys are terrific producers.
Jay-Z with Ratatat, Sunshine (remix)
DJs have gotta play Jay-Z, right? Well, this one combines a great Ratatat backing track with Jay-Z’s signature flow. The line between rap and rock is nowhere to be found here.
Dragonette, Competition (Ocelot Remix)
I came across Dragonette in a UK magazine “Watch Out For…” section, and I was super-happy when I listened to them. It makes me think that there’s hope for pop R&B. Their allmusic page calls them “new wave revivalists” and “bouncy electro-pop”, but that doesn’t give them nearly enough credit. Oh, and I just discovered (after about a year) that they’re Canadian.
This song is a few years old, but I can’t help playing it regularly. It’s got a great rhythm, it’s upbeat, and it fits with a lot of musical styles—it’s a great bridge track. Bonus: I just discovered that the chorus melody is stolen from here.
Smokey Robinson and the Miracles, The Tears of a Clown
Well, soul music hardly gets better than this 1967 track, especially from Motown. Can you believe that it wasn’t released as a single for two years after it appeared on an album? That album must have been pretty darn good to have the label not consider “Tears of a Clown” as a single. No surprise it’s so great: the music was written by Stevie Wonder (with Hank Cosby).
Speaking of Stevie Wonder, this is an obvious choice. My friend Derek once told me a story about DJing a party where a lady came up to him when he was playing Stevie and asked, “Can you play something we can dance to?” That person was wrong.
Electric Light Orchestra, Last Train to London
ELO never really tried to hide their pop, did they? And we should be happy about that, because they created some terrific disco-pop songs like this one. Of course, these songs mostly sounded pretty similar to one another, but I think they’re still well above the “throw-away” threshold.
Eventually, I’ll put together a proper DJ mix for 199x, but until I’ve got the time and the gear, this will have to do.
Read Gorley’s post about laptop DJing on BlogCampaigning, then hit him up on Twitter. He’s AGorley there.
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Just blogged: The DJ Edits My Blog http://bit.ly/4O2qw
This comment was originally posted on Twitter
If you’re looking for some music this morning, check out this playlist from @agorley:http://is.gd/4qOVn
This comment was originally posted on Twitter
RT @parkernow: If you’re looking for some music this morning, check out this playlist from @agorley: http://is.gd/4qOVn
This comment was originally posted on Twitter
RT @parkernow: If you’re looking for some music this morning, check out this playlist from @agorley: http://is.gd/4qOVn
This comment was originally posted on Twitter
[...] Check out Gorley’s playlist from that night on 199x.org Posted in PR, Technology, Toronto, music | Tags: Adam Gorley, blogging, DJ, mp3, music, turntable « A Round Table of Music-Blogging Knights Sony’s Social Media Success » [...]
I must say though, Parker, I prefer the unremixed version of “Competition”!
Jayz-sunshine is a oldie but goodie. That video is hilarious too.
I posted some tracks on my blog to download.
http://tangentmissjump.blogspot.com (click the google ads, Help me out)
If I saw a DJ using itunes in a club I would boo them off stage. what ever happened to Dj’s knowing how to match a beat using their ear.
This is the reason with ever increasing frequency you go out and think to yourself “wow this dj really sucks.”
its because the DJ is some bar owners cousin who downloaded a trial version of some crappy software and pulled out their cool headkandy headphones…so sad
This comment was originally posted on blogcampaigning
Hi Justin, thanks for your comment.
I agree with you to some extent, but I think you might be a bit too quick in your judgment.
I am a DJ with a dozen years of experience in several clubs and venues in Toronto and Montréal. I know how to match a beat with my ear, and I do it well.
However, I don’t own turntables, and neither does the club where I DJ. Therefore, I’ve decided to try something that, previously, I thought I would never do: use a laptop to play songs.
This story is about my transition from “regular” DJing to laptop DJing, and what I’ve gone through in doing so.
It’s far from ideal, and I think I made that reasonably clear in my post. iTunes would never be my first choice as a DJ application.
Anyway, thanks again for your comment. Maybe some day I can change your mind about laptop DJs in clubs.
This comment was originally posted on blogcampaigning
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