raer records and the DJ

SoulhawkSoulhawk 3,197 Posts
edited November 2015 in Music Talk
Is playing rare & exclusive records actually important in djing?while there are certain 'scenes'( i.e northern soul) based around playing impossible to get tunes... generally most clubgoers can't tell the difference between a quality dollar bin joint & a multi-hundred dollar rarity...so is playing third guitar 'baby don't cry' instead of James Brown just down to the snobbery & vanity of the DJ?curious to hear what others might think...---
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  • SwayzeSwayze 14,705 Posts
    I can only speak from what I know.

    In my experience rare equals You might get some dudes that come up and ask what the joint is, but other than that...

  • Options
    third guitar 'baby don't cry'

    ---

    Pfft. Played-out. MAybe if it was the other Third Guitar...

    K.

  • crazypoprockcrazypoprock 1,037 Posts
    the only reason raerness should ever be a factor is because you are being practical and know that by bringing out this record you risk damaging it...but mostly pulling records for a gig should be about the music only...what you wanna hear and play, what you think the crowd will want to hear, etc...considering raerity seems silly to me...but of course it crosses your mind...what if one of the three people in the world who know this might be at the gig?

    on a related note i was djing in williamsburg this weekend and i stepped out to go to the atm and right on the wall next to the atm, which was outdoors, was a soulstrut sticker! so it's very possible strutters are making appearances...

  • Options
    I can only speak from what I know.

    In my experience rare equals You might get some dudes that come up and ask what the joint is, but other than that...

    My friend has built a loyal following to a party of "Tropical Funk" (african, caribbean, Latin, Brazilian, reggae, calypso, etc) - people who come often might recognize a tune here or there, but in all likelihood they don't know who it is or where it's from...only that it slams! 350 people consistently through the door each month, 14 foot mono speaker stack, old hotel venue, no attitudes.

    K.

  • batmonbatmon 27,574 Posts
    It depends on the venue/gig.

  • SoulhawkSoulhawk 3,197 Posts
    third guitar 'baby don't cry'

    ---

    Pfft. Played-out. MAybe if it was the other Third Guitar...

    K.

    snob

    oh, I don't disagree - it's become pretty generic... just trying to name something easy.

    the thing about 'baby don't cry' is that it is a known rarity - if you play it, hipper crowds will recognize it & also recognize that it is rare.

    so playing it appeals to both the vanity of the dj and the crowd.

    no attitudes? I highly doubt that.

    ---

  • SwayzeSwayze 14,705 Posts
    I can only speak from what I know.

    In my experience rare equals You might get some dudes that come up and ask what the joint is, but other than that...

    My friend has built a loyal following to a party of "Tropical Funk" (african, caribbean, Latin, Brazilian, reggae, calypso, etc) - people who come often might recognize a tune here or there, but in all likelihood they don't know who it is or where it's from...only that it slams! 350 people consistently through the door each month, 14 foot mono speaker stack, old hotel venue, no attitudes.

    K.

    I think the difference might be just location. There has never been, and I doubt there ever will be, a sucessful night here that featured anything remotely rare. You can get away with it here and there in a set, but you better have an escape plan ready in case it fails.

    I've seen in work in other markets, just never here.

  • bassiebassie 11,710 Posts
    pulling records for a gig should be about the music only...what you wanna hear and play, what you think the crowd will want to hear, etc...considering raerity seems silly to me

    this is my philosophy as well.

  • drewnicedrewnice 5,465 Posts
    It depends...most gigs are more about playing things for people that they are already familiar with vs. exposing people to new tracks or styles of music. I'd say that rarity shouldn't come into play unless you're DJing in a "boutique" sort of environment where people actually care.

  • dCastillodCastillo 1,963 Posts
    third guitar 'baby don't cry'

    ---

    Pfft. Played-out. MAybe if it was the other Third Guitar...

    K.

    snob

    oh, I don't disagree - it's become pretty generic... just trying to name something easy.

    the thing about 'baby don't cry' is that it is a known rarity - if you play it, hipper crowds will recognize it & also recognize that it is rare.

    so playing it appeals to both the vanity of the dj and the crowd.

    no attitudes? I highly doubt that.

    ---

    baby don't cry is also an excellent funk 45 however.

  • DelayDelay 4,530 Posts
    the thing about 'baby don't cry' is that it is a known rarity - if you play it, hipper crowds will recognize it & also recognize that it is rare.

    it's also a really good song. people will like it regardless. it's funny how everyone asks what james brown song it is, though.

  • SoulhawkSoulhawk 3,197 Posts
    baby don't cry is also an excellent funk 45 however.




  • pulling records for a gig should be about the music only...

  • batmonbatmon 27,574 Posts
    DJing in a "boutique" sort of environment where people actually care.

  • Birdman9Birdman9 5,417 Posts
    Who is this question posed to exactly?

    There are so many different levels of DJs and clubs (not to mention completely different scenes that play out in a variety of clubs and venues)that it is almost impossible to get an answer to questions like that.

    For ME, at the club I regularly do a saturday a month, playing raer stuff is accepted without question early in the evening but once folks start dancing steady the juggling act consists of dropping stuff people THINK they've heard before with the classics and sure shots. And actually, I don't think anything that I play on these dance nights would qualify as raer to anyone here, but a lot of soul and club stuff I play would be pretty obscure to the demographic that is generally at this club on a Saturday night(strictly 25-35 year olds, 75% white, 25% evryone else)so I don't get bored.

    When we do the jazz nights at the same club on Wednesdays, it's raer mixed with well known stuff all the time, if it's good stuff we play it regardless of if it is known or not or raer or not. I prefer to bring reissues of the raerer stuff as long as it sounds great, just cuz I don't like lugging $300 records across town.

    I imagine that there are DJs out there who have audiences that consist of 80% other DJs and real headz and for whom the actual records and everything are an integral part of the scene, the same way that with Northern Soul types in the US place emphasis on OG 45s and smart retro fashions. Every scene has it's unwritten rules, and the more specific the crowd, the more constrictive those rules become. For some DJs that works well, and for others it doesn't.

  • pickwick33pickwick33 8,946 Posts
    As someone said in this thread already, for me when I DJ it's not about "raer vs. common" so much as it is quality stuff that will get the crowd moving. At my once-a-month classic soul nites, I'm not too proud to play the hits. You should have heard the crowd scream last Saturday when the bass riff to "Rescue Me" started up. Yeah, I have nothing against the smashes...I just wouldn't play too many of them in a row or else I'd risk sounding like a baby-boomer movie soundtrack.

    I remember one soul night I was at years ago...it was Dante & Courtland in one corner spinning their raer 45's versus some other dude in the opposite corner playing dead-obvious hits from his iPod. Now, this wasn't a "record collector" crowd - it was just the usual hipsters out for a good time, with a 50% female ratio. However, more than one person I talked to said they didn't like the iPod guy. Why? Because it's nice to hear the hits every now and then, but his set was way too predictable, as if he just turned on the oldies station and let it roll.

  • lotuslandlotusland 740 Posts
    playing rare is a level which you have to work to. even the best nights i've seen here in the states play the rarest shit early, then late. before the crowd is moving, then after they have them by the balls.

    K- s____n is very established in toronto, seemingly in mtl as well. canada is definitely more open than the states in that respect as well. different cultures there which may allow for tastier night to jump off. canada sort of rules in this respect (bar vancouver)

  • SoulhawkSoulhawk 3,197 Posts
    the usual hipsters out for a good time

    I would say that most hipsters want to be in an environment that at least feels 'exclusive'... that means they want to hear shit that they don't know.

    ---

  • Options
    My thing is it's not raer for raer's sake, these tunes are felt in my heart....but it seems that people who don't know about them insist that you are doing it for the raer and not the purity of tune.

    IT's the same way with theings I sell - i don't put stuff on my list that I'm not into....that Trini disco 45 I traded you, being one them.

    K.

  • MjukisMjukis 1,675 Posts
    Thing is, though, the difference as far as I can see lies between Hits and Not hits. If you play a James Brown song that isn't "I got you (I feel good)" or "Papa's got a brand new bag", it's unknown to at least the vast majority of the crowd at the club where I play funk and older stuff (a monthly night in a fairly small swedish town - about 200 people, give or take). We definitely play hits now and then, but 95% of the stuff is unknown to everybody but us (except the reggae). I mean, there's just a few people there that are into the music on their own time, the rest just dance because it's good music and they like the club. So rarity isn't a big factor since most people don't know any of the songs anyway, so why should we care? Hits always get a response though, and always will.

  • Sun_FortuneSun_Fortune 1,374 Posts
    Hasn't Serato kind of made raer records irrevlevant?

    In the olden days, I always made sure to bring a few esoteric pieces in the event that a few Djs/music snobs were in teh crowd. But seriosuly, the last few times I played out, people were shocked to see records at all.

  • bassiebassie 11,710 Posts
    My thing is it's not raer for raer's sake, these tunes are felt in my heart....but it seems that people who don't know about them insist that you are doing it for the raer and not the purity of tune.

    but those are folks who are not interested in heartfelt music anyway...more about the thing to have as opposed to something to feel.

    DJing in a "boutique" sort of environment where people actually care.

    and are some of the least fun gigs. a bunch of people going nuts over Heatwave is a much better memory than the night Joe Cool gave me thumbs up on Lover and A Friend

  • SoulhawkSoulhawk 3,197 Posts
    Hasn't Serato kind of made raer records irrevlevant?

    serato seems anti-thetical to the type of crowd that actually cares about hearing rare records spun.

    with top-40 hiphop / 80's retro djs it's a different thing I guess.

    ---

  • Options
    Hasn't Serato kind of made raer records irrevlevant?

    In the olden days, I always made sure to bring a few esoteric pieces in the event that a few Djs/music snobs were in teh crowd. But seriosuly, the last few times I played out, people were shocked to see records at all.

    No. What's Serato?

    K.

  • lotuslandlotusland 740 Posts
    hipsters all dance to james brown.

    so even when you are playing lee fields, they think it is james brown and will dance.

    hipsters want to feel cool, though they don't like everything they don't know. most hate on reggae.

  • MjukisMjukis 1,675 Posts
    Hasn't Serato and or every DJ mainly playing downloaded mp3s on burned cds or ipods[/b] kind of made raer records irrevlevant?

  • pickwick33pickwick33 8,946 Posts
    the last few times I played out, people were shocked to see records at all.

    ...especially if they're old enough to remember records themselves. Me and my friend John DJed at a Betty LaVette show recently, standing in the middle of the floor spinning the little bitty 7" records with the great big holes, and we got a lot of long stares and nostalgic double-takes just based on that alone.

  • drewnicedrewnice 5,465 Posts
    hipsters want to feel cool, though they don't like everything they don't know. most hate on reggae.

    This can't possibly be correct!


  • 1219197712191977 323 Posts
    raer in thy bedroom - crowd pleasers in the club or party. But never radio mainstream crap.

  • SoulhawkSoulhawk 3,197 Posts
    most hate on reggae.

    really?

    must be an anti-hippie thing.

    I can understand that I guess...but I still like reggae( as long as it's rare...).

    ---
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