What kind of music do 14-18 year olds like?

Jazzsucka

I need some advise, beacause I'm DJ'ing a high school dance here in Helsinki in a few weeks. The reason I'm asking about it here, is that the school in question is an International School, and most of the students are probably of US origin. I'll probably get a playlist of some sort, but a few tips would be helpful.What are the current hits with the teenagers? Anybody DJ a school dance in a while? Do you have 14-18 old kids?

DocMcCoy

If you stick to dance/pop and mainstream rap/r&b, I don't see you going too far wrong; Katy Perry, Kanye, Chris Brown, Akon, Beyonce, Rihanna, Justin Timberlake, something off the Timbaland album, that kind of thing. Maybe some T.I., Flo Rida or Lil' Wayne, perhaps break it up with some rockier stuff like Fallout Boy, recent Green Day - anything that's been an international/Europe-wide hit or had heavy MTV rotation, in other words. Kids of that age do not give a tuppenny F*ck about funk 45s or raer, as if you needed telling.

Jazzsucka

Thanks, seems that I was on the right track as it was.

The artists seem to be very much the same as a few years ago. Only thing is that their music is a lot crappier. I guess I need to give that new Kanye album a listen after all, *sigh*.

DocMcCoy

Thanks, seems that I was on the right track as it was.

The artists seem to be very much the same as a few years ago. Only thing is that their music is a lot crappier. I guess I need to give that new Kanye album a listen after all, *sigh*.

Oh, I wouldn't go that far. A coupla joints off Graduation (Flashing Lights, Good Life) is probably as current as you'd need to be with Kanye - if you had any requests for anything off 808s, I'd be surprised.

Jazzsucka

Cool,

what about older hit tunes? Would these kids recognize stuff like "Crazy In Love", "Doo-wop" etc.

DocMcCoy

Crazy In Love, probably. Doo-Wop? The Lauryn Hill tune? That's about ten years old, so perhaps not, although you never know.

Jazzsucka

Yea, the Lauryn Hill might be a stretch. Thanks for the tips!

phatmoneysack

numa numa

dreskieboogie

Soulja Boy?!

Dress

Junior

Have the Tings Tings crossed over the pond yet?

funky16corners

crap

Unherd

If you do the rapidshare thing, some of the billboard top 100 single packs like this will probably come in very handy....

Gary

This thread was tailor made for Faux Rills' input....

DB_Cooper

Have the Tings Tings crossed over the pond yet?

I have their album. Don't know about the radio, though.

mordecai

If you do the rapidshare thing, some of the billboard top 100 single packs like this will probably come in very handy....

I need these from time to time. ...where to download?

Donger

Last time I played for a young "international" crowd in Mexico City, the last thing they wanted was a whole night of commercial hip-hop. Throw in some of that stuff, but don't make it your mainstay, because that shit is just seen as tired. Besides Kanye and Kid Cudi and some more of the glam-hop stuff, throw in Santogold, MIA, Yelle, CSS, Justice, LCD Soundsystem, more DFA stuff, Ting Tings etc. Then throw in some more electro-house and nu rave and rocky hipster stuff too. Trust me, kids that young aint even checking for Jay-Z and Beyonce these days. They see them as old.

Jonny_Paycheck

This thread was tailor made for Faux Rills' input....

When's the last time you posted anything about music?

parsec

This thread was tailor made for Faux Rills' input....

Yup.

The teens like the Lil Wayne and T-Pain garbage right now.

Jonny_Paycheck

I guess the teens like Fania discography projects too. Who knew?

DocMcCoy

Last time I played for a young "international" crowd in Mexico City, the last thing they wanted was a whole night of commercial hip-hop. Throw in some of that stuff, but don't make it your mainstay, because that shit is just seen as tired. Besides Kanye and Kid Cudi and some more of the glam-hop stuff, throw in Santogold, MIA, Yelle, CSS, Justice, LCD Soundsystem, more DFA stuff, Ting Tings etc. Then throw in some more electro-house and nu rave and rocky hipster stuff too. Trust me, kids that young aint even checking for Jay-Z and Beyonce these days. They see them as old.

Trying to second-guess the tastes of youngsters is a tougher job the older you get. Some of your suggestions are right on the money, although it's always worth taking regional variations into account.

Donger

Last time I played for a young "international" crowd in Mexico City, the last thing they wanted was a whole night of commercial hip-hop. Throw in some of that stuff, but don't make it your mainstay, because that shit is just seen as tired. Besides Kanye and Kid Cudi and some more of the glam-hop stuff, throw in Santogold, MIA, Yelle, CSS, Justice, LCD Soundsystem, more DFA stuff, Ting Tings etc. Then throw in some more electro-house and nu rave and rocky hipster stuff too. Trust me, kids that young aint even checking for Jay-Z and Beyonce these days. They see them as old.

Trying to second-guess the tastes of youngsters is a tougher job the older you get. Some of your suggestions are right on the money, although it's always worth taking regional variations into account.

My bet is that these kids are "jet set", and that set do have a sort of similar eclectic taste compared to the kids that watch mtv all day long and never left ohio though. I've noticed this when playing for certain crowds like this. I also played quite a few special events with younger people, so this does come from experience. If this guy is in Europe, it wouldn't hurt to go heavy on the Ed Banger, and maybe even bring a couple of current house and techno type of joints.

I will say though, do not underestimate these kids. They are glued to the internet, and are constantly downloading shit, and they all have ADD. So you NEED the NEWEST shit all the time. Seriously, start downloading now!

verb606

Trying to second-guess the tastes of youngsters is a tougher job the older you get. Some of your suggestions are right on the money, although it's always worth taking regional variations into account.

This is true, although I was on my honeymoon in Berlin in 2004 and we hit up a club on Saturday night that played all American club bangers. The whole time. I was amazed. I figured there'd be at least one German joint that was hot in der strasse, but no. I had a great time, though.

Now that was nearly five years ago and it was an 18+ crowd in Berlin, but that experience makes me feel like I could fall back on American top 40 when playing for young Europeans. I agree that this is not necessarily the case.

Young_Phonics

yeah man, old school to them is like November. Don't be afraid to repeat songs as well.

F*ck, so glad i'll done with club by the time these kids are of age.

LokoOne

The Presets get lots of young love down here....

King Of Leon for the rockier heads...

Tings Tings are blowing up on the radio here too....

Anything with a pseudo 80s feel seems to go down well with the under 21s

Tuff_Gong

You want some stuff that the kids are listening to but isn't on top of the Billboard pop charts or whatever, because like somebody else mentioned, with the internet these days there are groups who become popular with teens without necessarily making much noise commercially. Also, teens these days tend to like a lot pop punk stuff. To people my age that meant Green Day and the like, but now kids are listening to groups that grew up on Green Day. So, here's some groups you could check out:

3Oh!3
Cobra Starship
Metro Station
Say Anything
All Time Low
Tokio Hotel
Paramore
Jack's Mannequin

Honestly, you could check out the lineups for the Warped Tour the past couple years and get some ideas too because a lot of those bands are the bands teenagers listen to now. I think if you mix in some of this stuff with the more mainstream pop and rap/R&B you should be good to go.

Gary

This thread was tailor made for Faux Rills' input....

When's the last time you posted anything about music?

who cares?

you angry little man, you!

soulmarcosa

I DJ'd a quincie??era this past weekend in Ventura CA. I had the opening 3-hour slot and played commercial hiphop & r'n'b from the past couple of years. Nobody paid attention but some high school dude asked if I could play Kid Frost's "La Raza." I did, and he was happy. Not surprisingly, the club owner was pissed when I accidentally played the dirty version of Rick Rawss' "Hustlin'" but I don't think anyone else even noticed. Oh well.

Then the girls' father DJ'd a bunch of lame Spanish-language techno for 2 hours. Again, nobody paid attention.

Finally, the headlining DJ from a local latino radio station started his set with various hiphop, r'n'b, dance and top-40 stuff but nobody moved a muscle. So he abruptly switched to cumbia and all the highschoolers mobbed the floor on the first song. He was still playing cumbias and reggaeton to a busy dancefloor when we left 2 hours later.

Not sure if that would work for you in Helsinki.

Gnarliament

End your set with purple rain.

vintageinfants

Last time I played for a young "international" crowd in Mexico City, the last thing they wanted was a whole night of commercial hip-hop. Throw in some of that stuff, but don't make it your mainstay, because that shit is just seen as tired. Besides Kanye and Kid Cudi and some more of the glam-hop stuff, throw in Santogold, MIA, Yelle, CSS, Justice, LCD Soundsystem, more DFA stuff, Ting Tings etc. Then throw in some more electro-house and nu rave and rocky hipster stuff too. Trust me, kids that young aint even checking for Jay-Z and Beyonce these days. They see them as old.

Trying to second-guess the tastes of youngsters is a tougher job the older you get. Some of your suggestions are right on the money, although it's always worth taking regional variations into account.

My bet is that these kids are "jet set", and that set do have a sort of similar eclectic taste compared to the kids that watch mtv all day long and never left ohio though. I've noticed this when playing for certain crowds like this. I also played quite a few special events with younger people, so this does come from experience. If this guy is in Europe, it wouldn't hurt to go heavy on the Ed Banger, and maybe even bring a couple of current house and techno type of joints.

I will say though, do not underestimate these kids. They are glued to the internet, and are constantly downloading shit, and they all have ADD. So you NEED the NEWEST shit all the time. Seriously, start downloading now!

you couldn't be more on the money with this.

the 16 year old girls and boys working at my local coffee shop are killing jams that still haven't cooled. what started out as a "stump the old guy who comes in" game, has turned into me looking seven different kinds of disconnected:

sticky_dojah

Last time I played for a young "international" crowd in Mexico City, the last thing they wanted was a whole night of commercial hip-hop. Throw in some of that stuff, but don't make it your mainstay, because that shit is just seen as tired. Besides Kanye and Kid Cudi and some more of the glam-hop stuff, throw in Santogold, MIA, Yelle, CSS, Justice, LCD Soundsystem, more DFA stuff, Ting Tings etc. Then throw in some more electro-house and nu rave and rocky hipster stuff too. Trust me, kids that young aint even checking for Jay-Z and Beyonce these days. They see them as old.

Trying to second-guess the tastes of youngsters is a tougher job the older you get. Some of your suggestions are right on the money, although it's always worth taking regional variations into account.

My bet is that these kids are "jet set", and that set do have a sort of similar eclectic taste compared to the kids that watch mtv all day long and never left ohio though. I've noticed this when playing for certain crowds like this. I also played quite a few special events with younger people, so this does come from experience. If this guy is in Europe, it wouldn't hurt to go heavy on the Ed Banger, and maybe even bring a couple of current house and techno type of joints.

I will say though, do not underestimate these kids. They are glued to the internet, and are constantly downloading shit, and they all have ADD. So you NEED the NEWEST shit all the time. Seriously, start downloading now!

you couldn't be more on the money with this.

the 16 year old girls and boys working at my local coffee shop are killing jams that still haven't cooled. what started out as a "stump the old guy who comes in" game, has turned into me looking seven different kinds of disconnected:

Don't get too nervous about it. I djed and all age museum afterparty that was packed with youngsters in teh beginning (14-24) and did quite well with some r'n'b and hiphop (justin et al) and they seemed to be in it (even older stuff like fugees and eve did work well and got the girls dancing, hell, they were even singing along to "no diggity" :-) i threw in some new regional stuff that was cool like Kraak & Smaak feat. Ben Westbeech which was a big hit here in holland. after that i didnt give a F*ck and threw in some jimmy castor and roy head stuff and the kids seemed to get along with it. If they see you dig the music, they will try to get along with it from my experience. But of course be prepared. Play all kinds of music...

deej

its a crazy new world where what was once 'hipster bullshit' is now teeny bopper bullshit am i right or what

im too young to be made to feel old but imo the internet made music awesome for me but made everyone else's tastes shitty