Daft Punked

I used to worship them (Daft Punk) and their production on the "Homework" album. Stardust's "Music Is Better" is a classic. But when "Discovery" came out something changed. Take away the Peter Frampton talk box vocals and most of these tracks are straight up loop records with some new beats and edits. I'd equate it to the electronica version of Puff Daddy or Will Smith. Listen to the clip below. It contains three clips of tracks by Daft Punk and the original samples that precede it. It goes like this:

"I love You More" by George Duke then it's use in "Digital Love"
"Cola Bottle Baby" by Edwin Birdsong and it's use in "Harder Better Faster Stronger"
"Release the Beast" by Breakwater and it's use in "Robot Rock"


Not to take anything away from Daft Punk, but I didn't know the originals and for a long while thought they were the musicians. I know so much of electronic music is sample based and Daft Punk are not the first or last to do it. I'm sure the liner notes gave credit but I never read them, and I am not hating, they rock and I play the tracks all the time.

Heres a few YouTube videos on this same topic...

Deja Vu?

I am concerned over the digital music services recent implementations of various regulations concerning content on their stores. Part of the reason this model and format worked so well was because it kicked mud in the faces of all the brick and mortar music distributors who only catered to the top 5% of music and artists. This format made it possible for artists and startup indie labels to capitalize on all their promotion on social networking sites like MySpace and turn these fans into consumers and so much more. Now it seems that the digital music distributors are now becoming as selective as the major labels have and making it difficult for grass roots labels and new artists to blossom and build a following by imposing strict regulations such as a quota of downloads or sales and number of releases in order to continue to have them carry your content.

Don't know about you, but hard drives are cheap, space is not an issue, and it takes time to develop a following. Maybe I'm jumping the gun, but this all sounds too familiar. New labels like fine wines, take time to reach their peak. Don't kill music before it's time.

Digital Display of Affection

So I was looking for a place to download this new track "Don't Use" from Black Russian. Now I wasn't surprised at the results of my query, but I just found it frustrating that I got dozens of recipes for the the drink of the same name, as well as links to a myriad of porn featuring the words black and Russian in the title, but none to the MP3 I was looking for. I finally found it on Beatport.

I Hate Music

Have you ever hit a time when you looked at your library of music (vinyl, hard drive, CDs, 8-tracks, sheet music) and just sighed and said to yourself, "self, I ain't got nothing to listen to." It's like going to a grocery store and thinking to yourself "theres nothing here I want to eat." If you're wondering what prompted this, I was sitting at my workstation making ringtones for my iPhone (everyone has to have their own) and I couldn't come up with anything for anyone besides my daughter (Gwen Stefani "Hollaback Girl"), my fiance (Michael Jackson "PYT"), and my mother (Toni Basil "Hey Mickey" because her name is Micki). It's the pressure of picking the perfect song for each person. Some people are easier then others. My brother will undoubtedly get "White and Nerdy", my best mate Geoffe will get "Eighties" from Killing Joke, and my friend Meira who owns a candy store will get Bow Wow Wow's "I Want Candy." Who will fall victim to the default ringtone, and what will that be? Does anyone else put this kind of effort into their cell phone playlist? It's like I'm DJing a private party for everyone in my contact list.

Maybe it's the fact that earlier a younger producer friend of mine referred to me as "Old Man Techno." Just because I own synthesizers that are older then him doesn't make ME old, does it? I need to go put on some Stevie Wonder and remember why I actually love music.

UNK in the Trunk

I just can't let these go to waste, they were commisioned by the label. They loved them and accepted them, then they were working on a deal for the record with Universal which would have propelled the record even further, then never heard from the label again about them. Months later, after all this work and not having them released, I feel compelled to at the very least, put these out there... Both are electro house mixes, ones a dub, one is a vocal version. I have seen download counts of over 27,000 on several peer-to-peers.

UNK - Walk It Out (Strobe Gets Electrofied Dub).mp3

UNK - Walk It Out (Strobe Gets Electrofied Mix).mp3

THE VINYL FRONTIER. Elite or Obsolete?

I was reading a local rag whose name shall remain nameless because they refuse to do an article on me, about a DJ and the preservation of vinyl versus going “digital”. I can understand the love of vinyl as someone with a ridiculous amount of it myself, and there are certain selections in my collection that I will take to my grave.

Now [said in the voice of Bill Cosby], let’s be honest for as minute. Having a solid collection, and even continuing to collect those hard to find or missing pieces of circular delight is a noble pursuit. But buying new releases on vinyl, even for hip hop, seems a tad counterintuitive. Vinyl is expensive, the music today is fleeting, and DJs usually don’t have free chiropractic care for the bad backs after carrying record crates for a decade. With few exceptions, the majority of music new and old is available digitally and for less then $150.00 you can buy a USB turntable you can hook right into your computer and rip your vinyl to your hearts content.

So I am NOT saying sell your decks. I’ve had my 1200s since the late 80’s and they’re still rocking. I’m merely suggesting using them in the new and improved way. Get yourself Serato, Final Scratch, or whatever feels good to you, and rock the party with the new era of vinyl. It looks, acts, and feels like the real thing. Before you go off about spinning from a laptop, many of the biggest DJs such as Grandmaster Flash, Jazzy Jeff, Sasha, and Dubfire have already made the switch to digital vinyl, and if Grandmaster Flash, the inventor of the art of scratching, uses it, it’s good enough for you. This is not even including the myriad of people using CD “turntables” such as the Pioneer CDJs. I have a special place where all the iPod and laptop DJ wannabes should go. The computer is not doing the mixing (at least it shouldn’t) and you still need the same skill and technique. You’re just using the computer as the source. And believe me, having your entire collection at your fingertips doesn’t suck either.

Face it, many of the big vinyl distributors and pressing plants have gone out of business. With fewer places to carry vinyl, the demand for the labels is decreasing and one can only think of the inevitable. For everyone involved, the financial aspect is much better as well for going digital. Vinyl endures normal wear and tear, scratches, warping, thievery, angry ex girlfriends, etc. Thats a good $5 and up investment per record that’s had it’s last needle drop. They take up space exponentially. They’re heavy in large quantities. The artists and even labels, make less per unit on vinyl. Theres the pressing, manufacturing, distribution and retial markup. They just don’t spend the time on the artwork for the jackets like the they used to.

Digital is just the better model for the industry, at least for the artists, independent labels, DJs, and consumers. You can get most of the records you want for under $2.00, and you can back up your library to a hard drive or DVD for safe keeping. Because your music has been converted to 1’s and 0’s doesn’t mean your music has been degraded and that you’ve sold out. It means you’re a smart artist and label and want to continue to make money in the Information Age. You can say that by only offering it on vinyl you’re keeping it real, but pretty soon you’ll be keeping it real…real broke.

Bigger artists are buying back their catalogs from the majors and releasing them online, partly because major labels have been so behind in catching up and getting the content out there in addition to not making adjustments to the legacy deals the artists had with them. C’mon, if you have a 20 year old record on Epic, the cost in making it available digitally is so small and there’s no manufacturing or distribution involved other then uploading the music and the small fees online eTailers take so kick the artist back a bigger share before they all realize they don’t need you anymore. (Just look at what Radiohead was able to do.) Established artists with large fan bases stand to make significantly more money marketing directly to the fans and bypassing the major labels altogether, especially when most of them are more interested in selling ringtones then quality music.

I realize I went off on a little tangent so getting back to the topic, there will always be proponents of “real” vinyl versus digital vinyl and enough support for both to have many healthy debates on the subject. But to all those still on the fence, what are you waiting for? Technology is our friend.

Last Night A DJ Saved My Life

Thy name was Chad. Chad is Rad. Chad Elish that is, not the Republic in Africa. Shortly after starting my set Friday, my Apple MacBook Pro’s power cable started to smoke and then the happy green light that says “I’m connected and supplying you power” went forever dark, and the music died.

Once again, Chad came to the rescue. Sick as he was, and on his day off, he drove down to the club and brought me one of his extra power supplies and saved the night. It wasn’t the first time Chad saved the night, and it won’t be the last.

So here’s to you Sir Elish. DJ. VJ. Apple Genius. Maker of reuben dip. Hero.