Problem with memory... not the laptop's memory... mine.

[Galager]

Maybe it's the medication I take, maybe it's my age, but whatever it is, I have a difficult time remembering important information about individual songs. I am referring to information like 'This song is not appropriate for a wedding because it talks about cheating on a spouse' or 'this song has profanity in it so don't play it at a church dance' or 'this song has a beat that can also be used as a Samba' etc. With the average DJ having thousands of songs and the list growing daily, I wonder how you keep track of those kind of things.

I ask because currently the software I use, Otsav DJ, allows me to make as many 'tags' (like Disco, Oldies, profanity, dubstep, 1980s, fast, slow, good father/daughter dance, waltz, smooth jazz, dixieland jazz, etc.) for each song and then allows me to search according to the tags to find just the right song. For instance I can search for songs that are 1980s/country/fast/no profanity/wedding appropriate and my program will show me all the songs that fit that criteria. I love it BUT I am more than a little worried that because Otsav is not a major player like Serato or Traktor that they may go out of business. As it is they are very slow with any upgrades, updates, etc. and their customer support is only via e-mail which makes it difficult at times.

Does you use your DJ program to help you remember all the various information about each song or do you do something different... or do you just keep it all in your head?

[KLH]

I use the comments to remember different aspects. Most of the time I simply worry about just cursing.

-KLH

[JackStalk]

I do a little of both. In Rekordbox I usually color the tracks based on genre or key and use the star rating for how much energy the track carries. Rekordbox allows you to make and edit playlists so you can browse through playlists instead of having to search by keyword. You can also search by keyword. I memorize a large majority of the tracks that I play and have a separate playlist that says "HipHop Dirty" for example. I'll also make a custom playlist based on the upcoming event to make sure there's no issues.

[Dix]

I'll be honest, I wish I could sit down & enter all that info. My problem is, when I started & got all my songs together, I was burned out on fooling with music, editing tags etc, so I never really got around to entering all the useful things like that. Now, its too many to even start on. It takes someone with a LOT of time & patience to edit all the tags.
While I too am getting older & more senile, I need that info more than ever, but I wont ever take time to do it. I play what I know & leave the rest alone unless requested etc.

[DYM]

I edit all my tags with Dirty/Clean/Use if there are different versions. I also make many "playlists" in iTunes that Traktor keeps in folders. I tend to remember what works well with other stuff.

[bumpyjonas]

My tracks are crated by genre in Serato with saved cue points and loops. Tracks that are deemed dirty are edited and tagged.

[Ntertainment]

When i get around to it, usually in the winter. I write explicit on tracks that i know are, and try to write that in right when i buy them. To keep my library clean i try to delete multiple entrees so you can't pick the wrong version. But when i want a dirty and clean version i keep both and write explicit on the dirty ones.

[DJ Nada]

It helps if you do tagging during your practice sessions. I'd never be able to get through all my tracks individually.
I usually tack on (clean/dirty) to the title, and add comments to the comments field. If you change the ID3 fields, then it doesn't matter what software you're using, it'll still be there.

[DjNeedleSharp]

^^^What he said about the ID3 tags.

I started going through and throwing songs in playlists during my slower gigs. I not have about 30 solid playlists (and could still use some more!) and am planning on batch editing the ID3 tags in each playlist. Example: Go to "New hip-hop dirty (June 2013)" playlist, select all, right click, batch edit ID3 tags, go to comments and enter "New hip-hop dirty (June 2013)." The way I have my software setup, if I ever search for "new hip-hop" those tracks will pop up. When I update with the newer "new hip-hop dirty dec 2013" i can batch edit the old tracks into "hip-hop dirty" to go along with the other slightly outdated but not quite "old school" tracks. This is a work in progress but I feel like it's a pretty good system.

Any better ideas I'm all ears!

[djdoublej]

I edit the song name in iTunes.. I put (EXPLICIT) or (CLEAN) or (SUGGESTIVE) after the title. This way it edits the name of the file, so no matter what program I pull it up with (Traktor, Serato, etc.) I can still see my notes.

I don't do it for all songs as that would be impossible, just the new/popular ones. I don't typically label things as (CLEAN) unless it is the clean version of an explicit song. Otherwise, if it's unmarked it's usually clean.

[DJMC]

That's why I'm glad I've been with RPM "Top Hits USA" for 22 years.

ALL of the songs are Radio Edits, so there are no F*** bombs, only Content Warnings.

I'm actually surprised that "I Love It" is so popular --- if you listen to the words, its an awful song!

[Ali3411]

That's why I'm glad I've been with RPM "Top Hits USA" for 22 years.

ALL of the songs are Radio Edits, so there are no F*** bombs, only Content Warnings.

I'm actually surprised that "I Love It" is so popular --- if you listen to the words, its an awful song!

Are the radio/clean edits super clean or is further editing required for some tracks? I've noticed that a lot of songs that say "clean" by them still have quite a few curse words in them. I'm building my music collection for grade school parties, weddings, and corporate events, which of course can't have any curse words in themfor any of mentioned audiences.

[Galager]

Are the radio/clean edits super clean or is further editing required for some tracks? I've noticed that a lot of songs that say "clean" by them still have quite a few curse words in them. I'm building my music collection for grade school parties, weddings, and corporate events, which of course can't have any curse words in themfor any of mentioned audiences.

Too true. I read ALL the lyrics for all new songs I download and categorize accordingly. What is 'Profanity' varies on age and group. With the church groups I DJ for I can't even have songs that use the Lord's name in vain. Hell, damn, crap, bastard, and a bevy of other words that many people don't think twice about may be considered 'bad' depending on the group. Plus even if the song doesn't have 'bad' words in it the song can be very bad. There are some pretty raunchy songs out there that don't have any profanity in them which I can not play at church dances or some younger school dances. 'Clean' sadly doesn't always mean 'clean'.

[Windows 95]

Plus even if the song doesn't have 'bad' words in it the song can be very bad. There are some pretty raunchy songs out there that don't have any profanity in them which I can not play at church dances or some younger school dances. 'Clean' sadly doesn't always mean 'clean'."I Wanna Kiss Her" by Tim Cavanagh (1982)


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2JOB_oElZDk


"Smut" by The Other Half
(Garnet McGladdery's 1982 remake of Tom Lehrer's 1965 "Smut".)


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iH03whYAXNA


Both songs were on the "Dr. Demento's Mementos" album. (Released in 1982.)

[djdoublej]

((deleted, wrong thread))