Clowns in the scene (literally)

[mostapha]

Mr. C, though…

Uhh…every time I've seen him DJing (live or in videos), he's been quiet, reserved, and intensely focused on what he was doing. Not like his frontman days.

It was 4 hours of techno and acid house that was basically just awesome. Actually, the whole night was…everyone that spun was very talented and awesome…no real gimmicks (other than the light show, but that was a separate artist that this production company uses). No BS. No VIP. Just people crammed into a warehouse for an awesome party.

Shit, blame the KLF, the Shamen and Altern-8

Or even Alice Cooper, David Bowie, the New York Dolls and KISS.

All live artists, not DJs. And live performers have always done stuff like that. And it's different from a DJ doing it because it is about them to a great degree. Same with Daft Punk…who–to my knowledge–didn't wear the masks when DJing.

As much as I think he's a worthless cunt, I think deadmaofive has the best excuse to dress and act like an idiot…because he's technically more of a live act. I think his music sucks, and I don't know what he does live. But at least some of his stuff is more like a live act than, say, seve aoki……who's a shit DJ and makes up for it by letting other people do the work while spraying champagne at people and looking like he's about to cry because he doesn't play guitar for Aerosmith.

[RDRCK]

Mr. C sounds like a great party I know that he is a very intensely focused DJ, as I have seen him play a couple of times. My comment was aimed to defend his eccentricity in personal style (I don't know what I thought ).

Good point on the live acts too. I was just trying to extend the joke

[Pri yon Joni]

There's an old quote that goes

"If everyone would stop crying about how it used to be, then we could focus on being the ones that develop how something could become."

[ilya]

There's an old quote that goes

"If everyone would stop crying about how it used to be, then we could focus on being the ones that develop how something could become."

which is totally irrelevant, it's not a matter of the 'good old days' versus today.. not every dj is acts like an asshole on stage and there's still a thriving community of music lovers and local scenes where the dj is not the party's center of attention. unfortunately, the clown types are becoming much more acceptable as dance music becomes more and more commercialized. we can choose to stand behind it by supporting these types of acts or call them out on the bullshit. the original post rod linked is 100% on point.

[Hygro]

I saw Mr. C on Saturday.

I think that should properly illustrate my opinion on the matter.

Irony!

Aoki had one good set in his career and I was a part of it

I agree with this guy, to a point. I don't really care. House beats are house beats, and different venues serve different purposes. I seem to recall taking a nuanced position in the last thread and getting hated on for it. There's not enough 1-DJ/8-Hours in the higher octane, "big" sound dance scene. There's not enough 1-hour festival sets of deep ass dank basement-with-sweat-dripping-from-the-ceiling-and-one-strobe house.

Long live 4/floor 909 kicks.

[mostapha]

Irony!

Touché, good sir. +Rep.

I listened to and spoke to (again) Mr. C on Saturday. It was awesome.

There's not enough 1-DJ/8-Hours in the higher octane, "big" sound dance scene. There's not enough 1-hour festival sets of deep ass dank basement-with-sweat-dripping-from-the-ceiling-and-one-strobe house.

Long live 4/floor 909 kicks.

[DJ Highline]

Britney Spears - "Circus"

There's only two types of people in the world
The ones that entertain and the ones that observe
Well baby, I'm a put-on-a-show kind of girl
Don't like the backseat, gotta be first

This song lyric sums everything up. In this business, you are either an entertainer or you are an observer/fan. All of this talk about keeping it real cracks me up.

I'm sorry, when people are paying $25 - 60 to see someone perform their craft (whatever it is), they want to see a show. They want to see the person they just forked over more than likely a days worth of work (after you pay for parking and have a few drinks) actually do something. They want a show. They don't want to spend that kind of money for the person they spent all that money to see tucked away where nobody can see. This is the exact reason why someone like Britney Spears and Frank Sinatra who are/were marginally talented becomes a Superstar and the very talented people who finish in the top places on a show like idol are barely remembered 2 years later. Britney and Frank put on a show and entertained the crowd. You can be the dopest lyricist, most gifted singer or the most knowledgeable and technical DJ on the planet, but if you are not entertaining, then it doesn't matter.

On top of that, with the advents of DJ technology, DJing is now accessible to the masses which means you have to find a way to differentiate yourself from everybody else. That often takes the shape of gimmicks....but guess what, gimmicks work. It worked when Ozzie bit the head off of a bat and it works when DJ Bl3nd puts that stupid mask on and has what looks like a seizure...and guess what, they will still work 20 years from now. That's why people still use them, it gets peoples attention. Now, you have to have substance and a good product after you have gotten peoples attention or else they won't stick around. Perfect example is Dennis Rodman...excellent at getting peoples attention with gimmicks, but didn't have the substance to keep peoples attention and look where he is now.

So go ahead and bitch and complain about clowns all you want...but guess what its the clowns that people come to the show to see, not the trapeze artist or the tight rope walker...they want to see 20 clowns climb out of a VW Beatle. Seriously...when you think about a circus, the order of thoughts that come to mind are animals, clowns and then everything else. Everything else is the substance, but the clowns are the draw. So feel free to be the substance of the show, but don't get upset when everyone remembers Bozo and not you. You can be Ludacris or you can be Nas.

[RDRCK]

Words of wisdom from Britney Spears.

I love it!

[drumpusher]

I love clowns, u mad?

fixed.

[Sublim&All]

Just wait until mister Bl3nd discovers that he is nothing without wearing that stupid mask. Nothing more than a stupid gimnick. Just wait how long he survives after he discovers that...