Modern Music

[katman]

Morning all,

As I said in my intro in the newbie forum, I am about to return to DJing after a 20 years break. My target market is for the older audience and functions eg 40ths, 50ths etc as that is the generation that I belong to and I know lots of people who are having trouble finding discos to cater properly for that era.

My one BIG area of concern is "modern music" eg 2000 > today. I think its fair to say that in the last decade I have bought less music than I used to buy in a month.

The problem I have is with the lyrical content of said music. Primarily I listen to Radio 2 or Internet Oldies stations but have been forcing myself to listen to local radio eg Heart, Beach Radio and Kiss so that I am hearing the current music. Having heard a song that I think is nice and catchy and dancable on the radio, the question of where to buy it rears its ugly head.

Because of the lyrics, the versions played on the radio often differ substantially from the versions that you purchase in the shops. A quick scan along the shelves of the record department reveals loads of compilation albums. I look at the albums from the 50s - 80s and can usually score 19/20 or even 20/20 for already having the tracks on them.

I look at the compilations from the current decade and think...."oh Ive heard 4/20!" but the biggest problem is that almost ALL the current compilations have the "PARENTAL ADVISORY" label stuck on them.

When my 14 year old daughter has been in the car playing her iPod through the stereo she will suddenly hit skip because the track coming on isnt suitable for my 7 year old son to hear.

Obviously when doing family functions for whatever occasion there is going to be a mix across the generations from young children, through teenagers, young adults, middle aged and grandparents. Whilst the 14-40 age group may not object to the odd unbroadcastable word, it obviously isnt suitable for the young and old.

I personally dont see why lyrics need to be so explicit in the first place, a classic example being Celo Green - Forget You/:Censored: You, the clean version being an excellent dancable singable song, with the dirty version not adding anything apart from a load of obscenities.

Dont get me wrong, Im not a prude, but I dont see the need for it to be shoved in your face all the time. I know that I will need to buy some modern music and I do actually want to do that, but where can I buy clean family friendly versions such as those played on the radio. Are they readily available and easily identifyable from iTunes etc because obviously you cant return a download and the days of sitting in a record shop and listening to an album before you bought it disappeared about 40 years ago (yes I am that old LOL). Do I have to return to my DJing roots from my youthclub days and record the Top 40 and edit out the talking to get clean versions ???

Advise gratefully received as I want to do this properly but the lyrics of modern songs just seem to make it such a $%£@*^%$ diffficult process and I know this is something that all of you will already be dealing with.

Many Thanks

Keith

[Corabar Steve]

Keith, please read the forum rules regarding the use of asterisks instead of profanities. I've edited your post this time as you are a newbie, but in future could you please use the :Censored: smilie.

DMC downloads & Now compilations (which still use radio edits AFAIK) would appear to be the answer to your problem

[katman]

Thanks for the reply Steve. Apologies regarding the use of asterisks, I had already seen the rules and was aware of the profanity policy. The only reason I typed that was because I was making the point about the specific song title. I will look for the censored smilie for use if needed in the future.

I will check out the NOW albums and the DMC downloads but one of the things that prompted me was that I was playing a CD that a friend lent me, I believe it was a Mastermix one and a song came on which was nice and upbeat, sounding really nice, then when it got to the chorus it was basically just a string of profanities. I dont want ot get caught out by having a song in my collection which I am not 100% familiar with and which cant be identified as unsuitable by listening on PFL for a minute or so.

[Corabar Steve]

DMC & CD Pool usually state that an explicit version is used when there is no alternative For instance DMC have marked the Nicki Minaj track here with (XXXX Explicit Lyrics)
http://www.dmcdownload.com/product-detail/Official+UK+Top+20+Chart+2011+%28Radio+Mixes%29+%2 8Week+29%29//download/1499

or the Chipmunk track on this month's CD Pool Radio CD (marked (EXPLICIT) after the title)

I can't see Now changing their policy of only including clean versions, although the downside to that is you have to wait until the next one comes out.

[STEVE HANLEY]

Buying the latest Now album might be a good starting point for you. I think a fair few tacks on it are still in the charts.

I usually check out the Radio 1 charts weekly. Then download the new entries from Amazon. That way you'll be pretty much covered for the latest chart stuff. Plus I think the last 4 or 5 Now albums can be pretty easily obtainable. That will give you a decent start.

[funkymook]

The Now collections will safely sort out your back catalogue for non-explicit songs , and if I ever need the latest charts I usually find the radio edits are available on iTunes.

Must admit I think Cee Lo's Forget You/:Censored: You is an example where the swearing isn't just gratuitous, it actually changes the song. There's a big difference between forgetting someone and saying ':Censored: you!' to them (passive/aggressive), so I see them as different versions, rather than a clean/swearing version.

[WWDJ]

I'm probably going to get shot down for this because it is technically the wrong side of the law, but if I cannot download the clean version and the swearing is pretty bad I use Audacity to edit the file, reverse the swearing bit and produce a clean version.

It's a pain if you need to do a lot of songs, so unless they are really popular (eg. Do it Like a Dude), then I tend to work on the basis that one or two swear words might make it through and I would play these late on rather than when there are lots of kids around, but anything really bad gets edited out.

[katman]

I'm probably going to get shot down for this because it is technically the wrong side of the law, but if I cannot download the clean version and the swearing is pretty bad I use Audacity to edit the file, reverse the swearing bit and produce a clean version.

Well if you are going to break the law anyway, may as well save a bit of editing time and grab it off the radio where they have already done that :p

To be honest, I dont think I would bother having it in my collection anyway if that was the case.

I take on board funkymook's point about how the song changes from passive to aggressive. I cant say that I have studied the lyrics of the :Censored: You in depth as I have only heard it once or twice.

Speaking to one of my other DJ mates, he said that even when he plays the clean version of a song there is usually a handful of people who will sing the explicit lyrics at the tops of their voices despite there being young children around. :(

[chrisj]

Hi Keith, I do not play explicit tracks no matter who my clients are. I buy the Now series as they come out and download from Tunetribe which is the cheapest I can find. I very seldom buy recorded cd's in the stores these days.
I see you are in Gt. Yarmouth so local to me as I am in Spixwoth.I shall be coming to Gt. Yarmouth, well almost Caister soon to see Paul at Audioloudspeakers for a recone of one of my 15" subs so maybe we can meet and have a chat over a coffee.
I am home today like most days but out tonight and tomorrow night so if you wanted to call me we can have a chat. Chris www.abracadabradisco.co.uk

[funkymook]

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Just a gentle reminder - the forum doesn't encourage, condone or advise anyone to download music illegally (or do anything illegal with it).
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I was just thinking you'd probably not feel the need to have any song that doesn't have a clean version anyway.

But don't get caught out thinking you don't need a totally up to date chart selection for any gig you do, I've had 60th birthdays where it's been essential (and that's requests from the birthday girl!). If it's being played on the radio people will probably request it.

Like me, you'll probably think it's a bonus if you can do a great party and not have to play any chart tunes at all!


Cee Lo - the songs don't really differ apart from the obvious.

[katman]

Hi Keith, I do not play explicit tracks no matter who my clients are. I buy the Now series as they come out and download from Tunetribe which is the cheapest I can find.

I see you are in Gt. Yarmouth so local to me as I am in Spixwoth.I shall be coming to Gt. Yarmouth, well almost Caister soon to see Paul at Audioloudspeakers

Hi Chris, Spixworth brings back the memory of "almost" being late for a gig. didnt bother looking at the map because I "knew" where Spixworth was..... except that when I got to where Spixworth WAS, I discovered that what I actually knew was where Panxwoth was :eek:

Out came the AA atlas and a rushed trip down twisty country lanes to get to the real Spixworth !!

Would be good to meet up but I am at the day job during weekdays so might not be that easy. I have known Paul for years, I dont know anyone who knows more about speakers than him and if he cant fix it then its totally ..........


......time for him to sell you an alternative :)

Glad to see that other people share my views on explicit lyrics.

I remember buying Ian Dury and the Blockheads on 7" vinyl back in the day from Boots. Where the copyright warning was printed around the edge of the label, someone at the record company had added a sentance to the standard wording, it said "Dont :Censored: about or else" and ever copy on sale in the shop had been :Censored: with a thick black marker line throught he offending word :D


Like me, you'll probably think it's a bonus if you can do a great party and not have to play any chart tunes at all!

In the words of a well know dog.... "Oh Yes" :)

I just dont get the whole sampling thing in modern "songs"

Back in the day people like the Sugarhill Gang etc would take a fantastic song and sample a huge chunk of the backing track and create another great record. Now the sample seem to have got shortened down to a few notes at best and are repeatedly looped to the extent that after just a few seconds I am already starting to hate the classic original that it has been sample from.

[WWDJ]

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Just a gentle reminder - the forum doesn't encourage, condone or advise anyone to download music illegally (or do anything illegal with it).
Moderator mode off


See told you I would!


Like me, you'll probably think it's a bonus if you can do a great party and not have to play any chart tunes at all!


It's also great to do one where you don't have to roll out the over played tunes either .... Dancing Queen, I Will Survive, Grease, Livin on a Prayer ... all the old cliches.

The best parties are where you play some less expected tracks and get an amazing reaction!

[Excalibur]

Keith, as suggested elsewhere, the NOW series is valuable on two counts. Firstly, it's one of the best ways to quickly build up a collection of modern music at a reasonable price, and secondly, they're all clean edits. Sometimes, this can be a compelling reason to buy them.

Are you still using those prehistoric shiny things, or have you come out of the Dark Ages, and embraced Technology? :whistle:

How I love not carrying a truckload of CD's into a venue. :D :D :D

[Shaun]

It's also great to do one where you don't have to roll out the over played tunes either .... Dancing Queen, I Will Survive, Grease, Livin on a Prayer ... all the old cliches.


Which is every gig for me. I haven't played any of those ones you've mentioned for years (unless specifically requested).

[WWDJ]

Which is every gig for me. I haven't played any of those ones you've mentioned for years (unless specifically requested).

It would be good to see one of your sample playlists if you have one. Sometimes I can't see the wood for the trees and go with the obvious cliched stuff .... :(

[Shaun]

No sample playlist unfortunately. It'd be nice if the Denon had the ability to save playlists.

I'm not a music snob though. I don't mind playing cheese when it's asked for, but I make a conscious decision to try not play the clichéd tracks that people associate with mobile DJs. I occasionally play other tracks by the artists you've mentioned.

Instead of Dancing Queen I'll often play 'Does Your Mother Know'
Instead of Living on a Prayer I'll play 'You Give Love a Bad Name'
Instead of Grease I occasionally play 'we go together'

That way the crowd still get their quota of cheese if it's that type of crowd, but they don't have to listen to the same tracks they've heard at the last 5 parties they've been to.

Works for me.

[sleah]

I've expressed my view on the whole explicit lyrics thing before......

<rant>
:Censored::Censored::Censored::Censored::Censored: :Censored::Censored::Censored::Censored::Censored: :Censored::Censored::Censored::Censored::Censored: :Censored::Censored::Censored::Censored::Censored: :Censored::Censored::Censored::Censored::Censored: :Censored::Censored::Censored::Censored::Censored: :Censored::Censored::Censored::Censored::Censored: :Censored::Censored::Censored::Censored::Censored: :Censored::Censored::Censored::Censored::Censored:
</rant>

Basically, I'm with the OP:D

[katman]

Are you still using those prehistoric shiny things, or have you come out of the Dark Ages, and embraced Technology? :whistle:

How I love not carrying a truckload of CD's into a venue. :D :D :D

I'll have you know I embraced technology back in the day.... I think I was the first person in town to have twin CD players.... not those fancy rack mount gizmos with two drawers but two identical domestic players :)

Actually prior to that I had two identical LOOKING players but they behaved differently when you pressed STOP. The older machine went back to the beginning of track 1, the newer machine to the beginning of the current track which was more than a tad confusing to say the least.

I have now got a custom built rack mount PC with Virtual DJ and a Hercules controller. There are still quite a few tracks that I only have on vinyl so the turntables will be coming down from the loft and some vinyl conversion taking place for songs that arent available as downloads or on CD's

Back in the days of Schweppes Crates I used to carry 13 of them into each gig and it became a problem trying to find a place to put them all so finally I decided I had to prune the collection down to a more manageable size. The first pruning criteria was to remove everything that I hadnt played for at least 3 years. First night out I got 5 requests for records I had removed :(

I am looking forward to the fact that digital technology means you can have ALL your collection with you all the time. It never bothered me if someone asked for a song that I hadnt bought but it annoyed the hell out of me if it was a request for a song that I had but not with me.

[Dynamic Entertainment]

I'll have you know I embraced technology back in the day.... I think I was the first person in town to have twin CD players.... not those fancy rack mount gizmos with two drawers but two identical domestic players :)

Actually prior to that I had two identical LOOKING players but they behaved differently when you pressed STOP. The older machine went back to the beginning of track 1, the newer machine to the beginning of the current track which was more than a tad confusing to say the least.

I have now got a custom built rack mount PC with Virtual DJ and a Hercules controller. There are still quite a few tracks that I only have on vinyl so the turntables will be coming down from the loft and some vinyl conversion taking place for songs that arent available as downloads or on CD's
Back in the days of Schweppes Crates I used to carry 13 of them into each gig and it became a problem trying to find a place to put them all so finally I decided I had to prune the collection down to a more manageable size. The first pruning criteria was to remove everything that I hadnt played for at least 3 years. First night out I got 5 requests for records I had removed :(

I am looking forward to the fact that digital technology means you can have ALL your collection with you all the time. It never bothered me if someone asked for a song that I hadnt bought but it annoyed the hell out of me if it was a request for a song that I had but not with me.

Incomming..."P" word!!!!!!

:sofa:

[Excalibur]

Back in the days of Schweppes Crates I used to carry 13 of them into each gig and it became a problem trying to find a place to put them all so finally I decided I had to prune the collection down to a more manageable size. The first pruning criteria was to remove everything that I hadnt played for at least 3 years. First night out I got 5 requests for records I had removed :(



Been there. Done that. :D

Keith, seems like we are singing off the same hymnsheet in many ways. Good Man. :thumbs_up:


Steven: Sssssssshhhhhhhhh. Don't mention the P word. :eek: I did once, but I think I got away with it. ;)

[Corabar Entertainment]

Incomming..."P" word!!!!!!

:sofa:

:lol:

Be fair... Keith - as a returning DJ - may not be aware of the 'P' word of which you speak! :D

Keith: He's talking about a ProDub Licence - which (if you haven't already) you'll need to buy to keep your music collection legal. (It's a format shifting / copying licence. Have a search - again plenty of info on the forum, but if you need any help, start a new thread in the relevant sub-form. :) )

[katman]

I am aware of the ProDub licence and will be getting one before I start working as a DJ again.

Although a very time consuming task I believe it has to be done to preserve many great songs which sadly will never be available for download. The record companies (why do we still call them that when they dont make records anymore?) are only interested in a small section of the huge back catalogues they have in their vaults.

If a record was a Top 10 hit it will be available as a download or CD somewhere but if it was a lesser hit by an artist not fortunate enough to have enough tracks for a "Greatest Hits" CD and was originally recorded as an analogue master tape they cant be bothered to digitise it and make it available.

Sadly, many radio stations also seem to have the same attitude and since they all moved to digital playout systems thousands of songs have disappeared from the airwaves never to be heard again :(