Questlove teaches you "curation"
Danno3000
2,851 Posts
It's a sad sign of the times that this gem hasn't already generated a ten-page thread:
Kind of sad Questlove said yes and not, say, Diplo.
Kind of sad Questlove said yes and not, say, Diplo.
Comments
You have Scorsese, Gordon Ramsay, Wolfgang Puck, Bob Iger, Samuel L Jackson, Margaret Atwood, etc…basically a “who’s who” of their craft doing these. It must have been flattering to have been asked (if it works that way).
I would’ve done it for sure if I was him.
How do you say no to that? I would’ve jumped on that, too.
Play records you like that you think other people will enjoy. If all else fails hit the “echo” button and an air horn.
I'd rather hear from Questlove on drumming or DJing as crafts you can practice and get better at and take things from others on. In fact I've seen similar from him in the past and it was rewarding. I don't blame him for taking the gig though but I feel like the masterclass people are half-assing the subject matter here. Teaching curation. foh outta here
The Penn and Teller one is as good as you would hope but many of the other ones got pretty unfocused and autobiographical pretty quickly. Like the Steve Martin was good just for his sense of humour and stories, not because it taught me how to be funny. The Deadmau5 one is also funny but for the wrong reasons because he pulls back the curtain to reveal that... he just sort of wanks around with music software until something sounds "right", and how he's learned to turn that into a career. I was like, are you sure you want to be calling this a "masterclass"??
I respectfully disagree with the idea that vanity is a motive, and I say that because the man probably has enough money and a large enough platform and people around him to really do something splashy, you know?
As for the teaching curation bit that others have mentioned, it does sound fluffy (if not ridiculous) to folks like us, but I don’t think we’re the intended audience. I think his bit is aimed at absolute beginners, or to non-DJ/collectro fans who want a peek at his process.
b/w
Which Leon Thomas LP, Dan?
If I have it, I’ll send it to you (no cost for the piece or for shipping)
on another tip, he's clearly a detail-oriented person, and here's what sort of blows my mind - he talks about how he prepared for his gig djing for a beyonce/jiggaman party last year by working on his set one hour a day starting a year in advance! he ultimately curated the (in his mind) perfect 180 minutes. like, damn
Wow. I mean, I'd speak with B and J and just say "What kind of shit you wanna hear?" - I guess it would be in my professional interests to maintain a relationship with customers that can give me that kind of gig, rather than be all "Naw, Naw... Listen... I need to educate your musical tastes, you must deal with my curation."
I dunno, maybe I don't have the ego but AFAIK, nobody went broak by giving their customers what they wanted.
SO WHAT IF THEY WANTED CHIPMUNKED DESTINY'S 4 DAYS... ?
Don't forget the classic "Flash Gordon" intro pitched down, shoutouts to fake celebs who aren't there and "When I say DIZZY... You say BULL!" chants.
Your sets sound less po-faced than ?'s.
I'm in.
Yeah I guess if you approach the sales pitch as bullshit and enjoy hearing Quest talk records and DJing for a while it's really fine. As I said I've enjoyed hearing similar stuff from him in other formats before. It's the "Masterclass" brand and marketing that kills me. We just wanna hear Werner Herzog wank on about his movies! Nobody is coming out of his class with his unique-on-earth filmmaker's imagination. It's like the whole Masterclass brand is "unstructured lectures from uniquely talented people (and also Aaron Sorkin)" - the education/class part of it is a fig leaf for what's basically "let's spend time with these people talking about what they do".
If I see him and Henry Rollins ruining another music documentary I am going to put my foot through the telly.
Plaese to ask fellow hip hop drummer J Zone to be the talking head instead.
Hour 1: Tim Dog Penicillin on Wax is the greatest hip hop record of all time
Hour 2: Sampling chud to somehow make dope beats
Hour 3: Drumming
Hour 4: More on Tim Dog
Deal. Can we do this over Zoom?
tampons laxative liver and onions pro-keds joe rogan richard simmons dubstep
Cause if I was rich as fuck and could buy as many records as I want at any price, I'm pretty sure it wouldn't make me the guy you wanna talk to about crate digging.
Even listening to them is not a good idea. I buy them but listen to the Spotify version. Keeps them minty fresh.
I'm in the predicament right now as I try to keep it real by spinning raers on the live stream.
At some point you have to say fuck it and realize these are DJ records and are meant to be played.
It's pretty shocking when you listen to Brainfreeze today realizing fools be cutting up priceless OG Salt 45s.
I just so happen to have a gatefold ’72 Canadian pressing.
Jacket is a weak VG+ (no shrink, sadly) but the vinyl looks NM. I’ve played “Shape Your Mind” out a few times a couple years back at my old weekly (and made sure to transition into something else before Leon Thomas’ insane/terrifying laughter kicks in LOL!)
DM where you’d like it sent.
Cheers