Basically, we got a lot of shit.
Recently, several of the cities in the TVD Network ran stories on the popular mashup DJ Girl Talk. This resulted in accusations of hypocrisy from readers because Girl Talk is a MacBook DJ, although he does release on vinyl. While The Vinyl District Network does promote the superior form of music media, vinyl, we are firstly a network of music blogs and do not limit ourselves to only reporting on vinyl.
DJing is an art form, and both vinyl and MacBook DJs have a place as artists in this field, as there is a place for both oil painters and sketch artists. When comparing vinyl and laptop DJing, perhaps it’s as if one is comparing Raphael to Dalí.
TVD Contributor and local mashup DJ extraordinaire The Metaphysical is one of the first DJs trained to spin on digital, but he is a laptop DJ who still appreciates the vinyl medium. The Metaphysical took a break from his busy schedule to reflect on vinyl for TVD:
Since the early 00’s, laptop-based DJing equipment and programs have become available on the consumer market. When I was 16, I saved up enough money to buy the first edition of the Hercules MK series DJ midi-controller. At the time, I was fresh to the art and DJing; manipulating music was a new found hobby.
By the time I was 20, the internet generation was in full effect, and buying physical forms of music was becoming obsolete. Nowadays there are so many ways to get tracks: old, new, rare or ultra pop. Anyone can pirate from a music forum, download from a DJ membership site, dig through Soundcloud, or steal straight from YouTube… and the list goes on. The downsides are obvious: viruses, bad quality, and watermarks, to name a few.
There are a lot of new tools available to the laptop DJ. With the click of a button you can select the next track, sync it, match the key, and so-forth, aided by a visual representation so that you don’t have to rely solely on your headphones. Old-School DJs who had to spend years perfecting these things consider this a blasphemous practice. Almost how seasoned writers regard the average blogger.
This has become such a controversy in the modern DJ scene for several reasons. It’s not really that these tools are available but that they are so widely available. So much so that modern DJs can spend less than a year on these systems, promote themselves as DJs, and undercut more practiced artists — driving rates down for everyone. Vinyl DJs yell at Serato DJs, Serato DJs yell at Ableton DJs, Ableton DJs yell at Tracktor DJs, and so on and so forth. Personally, I want to use every tool under my belt to improve my sets.
What confuses me personally is how DJing digitally is only acceptable if you are doing it with a set of 1200’s. Yes, you still get the feel of vinyl, but you also carry around the hardships of it. The typical electronic dance music DJ doesn’t scratch, brake, or perform any vinyl tricks. For the most part, you are using your turntable as a pitch bender; records, needles, tables and mixers require maintenance. Since Technics officially stopped releasing 1200’s — is it still practical for someone who doesn’t fully use vinyl to spin this way? Can you blame a DJ who doesn’t?
Vinyl still has a lot to offer to both the art and the game. Vinyl has better quality than even the largest digital format. When comparing scratching on vinyl to scratching on digital, though they have tried to make it seamless, digital is still lagging. I remember going to go see a promotional tour for the movie Scratch when I was a kid. Qbert and Babu were doing things I had never seen before and will probably never see again. In my opinion, a lot of the art of DJing has been lost since then.
Passengers – Speedy Like Gonzales (The Metaphysical EDIT)
by The Metaphysical
The Metaphysical DJs in the DC-metro area. He has two monthlys at The Rock and Roll Hotel: GKYK with DJ Keenan (Second Saturdays, next show tomorrow 2/12), and STANK! (Last Saturdays, next show 2/26). He also has a Nu Disco party Church, with DJ Dean every Sunday at Asylum. The Metaphysical is also in international hip hop group mathpanda, who will soon be touring in Costa Rica.
