Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with dj

What songs are like this one song?

brgale — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 12:01:31 -0800

I want Pandora, but only for a specific set of user defined songs. Is there software that will listen to a song and then tell me what songs are similar to it within another given set of songs? I explain better inside. Occasionally in my work as a video editor, I'll have to rescore a tv show because we don't have rights to the original music anymore. We're talking mostly instrumental music bed type stuff from a music library, not popular music for the most part. I don't have access to the original music library, so I can't just search for similar tracks there. I have a hard drive full of music I can use organized loosely by genre. What I want is to take the song that was originally used and then tell some software to go into this hard drive of approved music and find me a few songs that sound like the original.

I know there are some solutions DJs use to find beat matching stuff, but I don't know if this would help me, or what that software is.

Any ideas?

Recommendations for DJ samples/songs ala Fatboy Slim?

heatherfl — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 18:30:56 -0800

My husband mixes dance music using Fruity Loops. I want to get him some CDs for Christmas for samples -- particularly stuff that sounds like Fatboy Slim. Help? I can buy loops already sampled or I can buy songs for that he can sample himself, it doesn't matter.

This song is a good overview of what FBS sounds like and what I'm looking for:
Mad Flava

There's a lot of retro sounding piano and brass, some funky bass/guitar, syncopated percussion, a bit of synth/electronica, and non-rap but rhythmically interesting vocals. If you're familiar with Fatboy Slim, you know what I mean!

FYI, I already got him "The Ultimate DJ Sample Box" which has actual Fatboy Slim samples. Just looking for supplemental goodies now.

So what should I get for him, music experts?

Thanks so much!

What's the beat backing Thunderheist on this mix?

JamesJD — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 15:59:59 -0800

DJ Shiftee, two-time winner of the world's biggest DJ-ing contest made a mix for BBC. At 1:09:30 into the mix he transitions from M.O.P.'s "Ante Up" to Thunderheist's "Bubblegum" backed by an insanely catchy beat. What is this beat???

White Meets Black Music Mashups

i_am_a_fiesta — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 22:58:16 -0800

I really like mashups that juxtapose hip-hop/R&B/reggae with classic rock/radio pop. Some good examples are Girl Talk's music, this Biggie Smalls/Miley Cyrus mashup, and this Beatles/Black Eyed Peas/Ludacris/ etc mashup. What are the best executed and most fun ones you've heard?

HELP! Need Wedding Playlist!!

madmamasmith — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 01:35:50 -0800

HELP! I am (was) using my ipod instead of a DJ for my wedding that is in 10 days and it just CRASHED! It synched to my computer without warning and now all my wedding playlists are GONE! I'm a dope and only very recently started using an external hard drive...long story short I need help to rebuild my wedding playlists. With the stress of the wedding planning I cant even remember to poop, let alone the collection of music ive been building for years!! I would appreciate ANY and ALL recommendations but I need the most help with the dance portion. I love all kinds of music from all eras and I want to make sure there are some dance hits from my school days ie TLC, SWV etc but I also want to play some newer hits and I am suffering serious brain fart. I'm also 6 months pregnant so I have baby brain as they say.

So far my playlists are thus (in a nutshell)

Preceremony/seating:

sun kil moon, joni mitchell, elvis, alasdair roberts, some instrumental stuff etc., peter gabriel

Dinner/Cocktail:

cocteau twins, yo la tango, van morrison, fleetwood mac, sufjan stevens, nina simone, otis redding, nuetral milk hotel

Dancing:

MGMT, MIA, Soldia Boy, JAson Derulo, Kool & the gang, outkast, madonna, pssion pit, cure, aha, TI, iggy pop, peter bjorn and john, daftpunk, the knife, george michael.......

Radio Fa-Fa-Facebook

almostwitty — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 13:23:56 -0800

I need examples (good and bad) of how radio stations, DJs or programmes use Facebook. Thank you!

Help a newbie DJ!

aceyprime — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 08:02:41 -0800

I want to start DJing - specifically mixing and mashing songs and learning to scratch. I only want to make mixes for myself but might someday want to play for a house party if my skills improve. I need your input on equipment and how to get started! I love music but have no experience DJing so anything you have to share would be helpful. I spent a bit of time attempting to research it but feel totally overwhelmed by all the options available.

What controller & soundcard (or other equipment) should I consider? I've looked at the Vestax VCI-100, Hercules RMX and M-Audio Xponent so far but have no idea what would be best to get started. I want a controller that will be good for scratching. I'd like to spend less than $700 total.

What should I look at for software? Seems like Traktor and Virtual DJ are popular and support most controllers.

What should I do to learn the basics? Any good DJ forums that are beginner friendly?

Should I buy a Tonium Pacemaker?

jonnyploy — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 08:54:53 -0800

Should I buy a Pacemaker if I am not a DJ and don't have all that much dance music? I am thinking of acquiring the above product which is a pocket-sized DJ system, however I'm worried that my music collection is unsuited. I do have a limited collection of funky house from the last few years but this is mainly in the form of Hed Kandi compilations. I have music spanning several genres including: soul (60s and 70s), funk (60s, 70s, 80s), britpop, 80s cheese, electro-pop from the last few years, it goes on...

Will I be able to effectively mix tunes from these different genres and therefore get good value for money from my purchase?

A secondary, related question: where online can I purchase vocal-only and instrumental versions of songs? I have tried itunes (obviously) and hit a blank. Are these even available to buy?

What gear should I get so I can start DJing with Serato?

cirrostratus — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 23:11:12 -0800

I want to start DJing with Serato. What kind of gear should I get? I've been dabbling a bit with Virtual DJ and the like and been having some fun but I would like to learn to actually beatmatch and mix well. Messing around on my friend Serato+control vinyl kit was really satisfying. I would like to get a similar setup, but maybe something a little simpler. There few DJ controllers that work with Serato ITCH look just about right but they're pricey. Anyone have any experience with ITCH? Is it worth the money?

If I don't end up throwing down the cash for ITCH then I'll probably get ScratchLive and cheap a set up for it. Will a small controller meet my needs or should I opt for control vinyl? How much money (minimum) should I be prepared to shell out to get started?

Help me avoid having the Dallas club experience while I'm in Vancouver

Unicorn on the cob — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 08:45:10 -0800

Techno in Vancouver? Is there such a thing? If no techno, how about a really good blues bar? Help me find it before September 6. I'm about to be in Vancouver for a week (returning to US September 6). My mother is coming along; she likes live blues, I like techno. When I say techno, I don't mean remixes of top 40 music, I mean stuff like The Black Dog, Heartthrob, Drexciya, Rob Hood, Cybotron, that sort of thing. I also like tech-house and electro, even DnB, but kind of can't stand vocal or deep house or bad dubstep being drowned out by a crappy MC.

I see that Mark Farina is playing while I'm there, and that Lotus might be a good venue. But all the club listings look like they do here in Dallas; there's a lot of hype talk on flyers and all-caps Twittering, but I can't tell crap about the sound system or what style of music the djs play there. I don't care about the crowd or how much it costs to get in; I want a good sound system and a bar where I can get a decent drink without waiting 45 minutes or ordering bottle service for a few hundred just to sit down.

Alternatively, I'd also like to know what DJs to look for by name or if there are underground parties (I see there is an afterhours scene there too).

If there's none of that to be had, a dive bar with a jukebox would be just great. I'm not super-picky, but I don't want to pay $30 to go into a place that sucks, you know?

My mom would like a place where we can sit and hear local blues musicians play, or at least hear blues and jazz of some kind if it's not live and possibly eat dinner.

If anyone has suggestions on how I should dress for going out fashionably in Van, it'd be welcome, too; I see that "dress code" is listed on some clubs' pages. I'm sort of the anti-jeans and tshirt girl to begin with; I'm just trying to avoid being gauche, I suppose.

We will be staying near Robson and Granville.

Shout-out, Vancouver MeFites! If you see this and want to meet up, MeMail me. I won't have my laptop but I'll have my Blackberry which is always reliable for hitting up MeFi. :) I'll be wearing my Metafilter shirt at least once, so if you see a super-short girl walking down the street with one on, it might be me. Say hi!

name this song?

fac21 — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 12:22:59 -0800

What is the song dropped at 1:20?

Fixing wow and flutter on Numark direct-drive turntabes?

multiphrenic — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 18:21:29 -0800

Can I fix wow and flutter on Numark direct-drive turntables? The pitch varies while playing records and I'd like to fix this myself if at all possible. I have a pair of Numark direct-drive turntables I received as a gift. They do not keep the pitch constant. Often I'll hear a song slow down then speed-up as it loses and regains pitch. I would like to use them with Traktor 3, using the control vinyls supplied but this obviously a little difficult if the pitch starts to vary.

Any ideas on some things I can try myself to fix this, if any? Is it necessarily the turntable that's bad? The needle's might be old and could likely use replacement. I haven't heard of that causing pitch variations, but who knows.

Thanks in advance!

Blanket Fort Party

Juliet Banana — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 10:13:21 -0800

In approximately two weeks, I will be holding a Blanket Fort Goodbye Party on almost the entire top floor of an apartment building. Given the excellent ideas I got from this previous party thread, I thought I'd ask what you crazy kids: what would you want to see at a blanket fort party? "Blanket fort" means the same thing as "couch fort;" there's a local band named Couch Forts I'm trying to not get us confused with. We're looking to enclose as much of an area as possible with blankets, high enough for tallies to be able to stand up straight in. We're also having three DJs play in a backroom, a straightforward "here's a song, now here's another song" DJ to get things started and then two wildly popular and talented local superstars to play the height of the party.

We have the top floor of the our apartment building to work with. It was apparently a hotel back in the 1920s so imagine that we have the size of 3 large hotel rooms, connected by hallways. Two of the apartments are completely empty. I am completely unconcerned about moderate damage to walls or leaving it particularly spotless. I'm not very concerned about keeping the blankets flawless, either. The ceilings are too high to reach, and we're going to have to try to build a ceiling out of blankets.

Our apartment building has a long history (apparently going back to the 1980s) of being an underground music venue that has raves and hardcore punk and noise and experimental electronic shows in the basement. This is the first major party that's going to be held in the upper floors. A lot of people can be expected to show up; not quite as many as a hardcore show (typically 80-100 people throughout the night) but more than our previous house parties (we usually get around 20-something people to show up).

How do we hang up this many blankets and sheets? My current shopping list includes a hammer, nails, lots of rope to string between nails and keep the "ceiling" suspended, clothespins to attach fabric to rope, safety pins to attach fabric to fabric, thumbtacks to attach fabric to walls.

Where do we get them? Thrift store sheets still run $2-$3. I was wondering if it'd be cheaper to buy yards and yards of fabric from a fabric store. We're also going to borrow as many extra sheets and tapestries and etc as we can.

What different areas should we have? One apartment is devoted to the DJs and dancing; how should we set up the stage? There will probably be a projector playing on a white sheet. I'm also thinking of devoting a small bedroom to being brightly lit with a nice sheet in the background to take people's Polaroids (it's our goodbye party, I'm going to miss everyone) and having the living room as some sort of lounge area. What should we have in the lounge area? Candles to toast smores over (fire hazard? people are definitely going to be smoking, anyway), lots of pillows, what else?

Any amazing examples of huge blanket forts on the internet?

What would you want to see at a party like this?

Yes, you can come, if you live within driving distance of Columbus Ohio and I didn't weird you out at the 10th meetup.

Help me love my decks

asok — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 10:40:57 -0800

Audiophile/DJ question - Will I be able to hear the difference between a generic Stanton AL500II copy stylus in my existing cartridge, an Ortofon Concord S Pro or Blue stylus/cartridge or a GRADO DJ200i? 0.18, 0.26 or 0.7mm (on the AT 544-7, which is probably not what I need) needles? I have a pair of Technics 1210s with Stanton AL500II's on them. The cartridges are about 15 years old and I have never bought new needles for them. The decks have not been getting a lot of use! One of them has always had a bit of a buzz, which may be related to the headshell, grounding of the deck or otherwise. AL500II's are discontinued, but there are plenty of grey market substitute styluses.

Now I have the money and the inclination to pull out the old tunes, I want to buy them new styluses and (possibly) cartridges. I am hearing good things about the Ortofon range, although I am not interested in having an output of more than 5mV from the cartridge. I am also hearing good things about GRADO, although they do have a price tag to go with the reputation which probably prices them out of my league.

The GRADOs have elliptical shaped needles, whereas the others are all spherical. I will be (back) queueing records up and doing a little scratching, which damages the records more with a elliptical needle, according to folk lore.

Gear Porn

Juliet Banana — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 09:42:48 -0800

Tomorrow, my boyfriend and I will be photographed nude and somewhat covered in electronics (music making equipment and cords). Is there anyway to attach expensive, somewhat heavy mixers and controllers to our bodies? For non-music nerds, imagine we're covering ourselves with video game equipment. The items range in weight and size from a video game controller to an old school Playstation. Here's some of the stuff we have to work with; the major pieces are a Korg KP3, a Monome, a Korg Kaossilator, some guitar pedals, and a laptop.

Worst case scenario, he's going to hold his Monome sixty four (yeah, he got it) over his bits and I'll cover up with a Kaossilator and we'll wrap a few cords around ourselves. I wouldn't mind getting a bit more coverage, through, half to illustrate the concept and half for modesty's sake.

The concept? We're modeling for a sex-themed issue of an extremely small press art magazine. It's a riff on the cover of Unfinished Music No. 1: Two Virgins (NSFW). The more gear we can fit into the shot, the better.

So, how the hell do we cover ourselves with music geek paraphernalia without breaking the gear and ripping off skin? I own some skin-safe double stick tape, but I doubt it could hold up the Kaossilator, much less the KP3. Rig the items to the cords wrapped around us? Rope? Duct tape? Just pile it around our feet?

Music track suggestions for beginner DJ

TimeTravelSpeed — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 14:46:01 -0800

I just bought a dinky music mixer for my PC, and would like some suggestions on specific tracks to try out on it. Would also like suggestions on bands to use in general. I bought a Torq MixLab Digital DJ System from woot.com last week and realized that I have no appropriately phat beats to lay down. In fact, my new computer doesn't have any music on it whatsoever.

I need to populate my library with tracks that are for use with mixing. Any suggestions?

For example (please pardon my lack of lingo / understanding of DJ-ing):

"Try playing the intro of 'Digital Love' by Daft Punk by itself until the drums kick in. Once they start, fade slowly over to DJ Sir Beatsalot's remix of 'Crystal Rave'. When I was learning, this helped me get a feel for the basics...blah blah blah"

Any additional tips and tricks are welcome too.

DEATHMATCH: Tenori-on Vs Monome

Juliet Banana — Fri, 29 May 2009 15:08:56 -0800

Which is a better musical instrument: the Tenori-on or the Monome? So, to a lay person (me!) they look like the same thing; buttons and LEDs. Most people either are in love with one or the other, or think they're absolutely different, apples and oranges.

The Tenori-on is made by Yamaha, sells for $999, and is probably best known as that weird lite-brite thing Little Boots uses. It can generate it's own sounds and the software it pairs with is not configurable by the user.

The Monome devices are made by Monome and vary between $500-$1,400, providing you can snatch one when they become available or find one on ebay, or put it together yourself. It does not produce sound on it's own; it's simply a controller for software. Many user-produced software exists for it, and you can write your own.

I'm asking this for my boyfriend, who does a fair amount of DJing live and bedroom-recording of music that sounds like if glitchy robots could beatbox. He mostly uses Ableton Live, and is learning Max/MSP. If I got any information wrong in this question, it's because I'm not a DJ, just a club kid; feel free to correct me harshly.

Does the Monome make sense if you're not a programmer and Max/MSP looks like some scary moonman software you'd have to be Venetian Snares to understand?

Which is better for playing live?

Which is a better deal for the money?

What's on your personal wishlist? If you bought one, do you regret not buying the other?

Help me DJ a bar in Toronto!

The Card Cheat — Tue, 19 May 2009 06:59:51 -0800

I'd like to pitch a DJ night for a bar/pub in Toronto wherein I'd play retro (i.e. '50s-'80s) Canadian music of the sort featured on my websites -- country, r&b, reggae, rock, jazz, pop, you name it...although I could tighten things up, genre-wise, depending on the bar's preferences if need be. Anyway, could anyone suggest any bars that might be suitable for this sort of thing on a weeknight? (note: I've already approached Sweaty Betty's and The Cock and Tail).

I need DJ equipment and furniture. Suggestions?

mjbraun — Mon, 18 May 2009 05:41:48 -0800

So: I've finally moved to the new place and set up the turntables and mixer that had been languishing in storage. I added Serato to the mix to make it interesting. But I find myself in need of furniture and equipment to complete things, and I was hoping for recommendations. What I need:

* Studio monitor apeakers (preferably self powered)
* Stand for 2x Technics turntables + 1x laptop + 2x studio monitor speakers (preferably modular and/or expandable as I might want to add a small keyboard)
* Small amount of vinyl storage

Note: I don't need a "coffin" as I'm just doing this at home for kicks.

Suggestions? Thanks!

What's wrong with my mixer?

hellojed — Tue, 12 May 2009 10:54:10 -0800

A month ago I got my first DJ setup, a few weeks ago my mixer refused to turn on, what's wrong with it? Recently I acquired my first DJ setup, consisting of 2 Gemini pt 1000 turntables, a 19" Gemini Executioner mixer (looks like this), and a lovely flight case.

After putting it together and plugging everything in, I discovered that the mixer would not turn on when plugged in. It uses a 3 prong male to C13 female power cable, and I used several different cables, each one of them had no effect.

Then, a few days later, I flipped the switch on the mixer and it turned on. I guessed that it needed some time to get warmed up, as it had been sitting dormant in my friend's basement for years and hadn't been used in a long time.

So I was baffled when, a few weeks later, I flipped the switch on the mixer and it wouldn't turn on. I had not bumped or changed anything about it since last using it that morning, when I was practicing. It's been a few weeks since it's worked.

From what I can tell I'm using the correct power cable (rated at 125 volts) with the mixer at the correct voltage setting (115 volts). All of my equipment (turntables, mixer, small amp) are all off the same power strip, but it doesn't matter if the mixer is plugged into the wall or otherwise, it refuses to turn on.

What, if anything, is wrong with this mixer?

DJ Headphones for The Big-Eared?

awesomebrad — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 23:44:10 -0800

I'm an earbud guy who needs a recommendation for DJ headphones...that won't hurt my ears. I gave up on over-the-ear headphones years ago, because after wearing them for as little as a half hour, my ears start to hurt (and they're not even that big!). It's something to do with the way that they're shaped: there's a little cartilaginous ridge that sticks out just a millimeter too far. Or maybe they're just being bent back too much. I can't figure it out, but the problem is there, and the solution is earbuds.

Hence I have an amazing pair of UltimateEars SuperFi 5 Pros. But I've finally decided to get serious about DJing, just bought some equipment, and as per the conclusion of this question, it seems like I'm going to need to get traditional headphones.

I would really appreciate any recommendations that you have for very comfortable headphones that won't make my ears sore when I wear them. Bonus points if it's under $100. Triple bonus points if it's under $75 - I've already spent all the money I need to on equipment to pump music into my ears. Thanks everyone!

Automatically generate mix from folder of mp3s

jcruelty — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 13:01:23 -0800

Is there a program/script that will automatically create a beatmatched mix a from a folder filled with techno mp3s? I have a bunch of techno tracks on my computer that I haven't listened to, and I was thinking it would be great to have some script or program that creates a 'preview mix' so I don't have to sit there fast-forwarding past the intro parts for each song.

There's this program 'musicmatch jukebox' that automatically beatmatches tunes into a mix, but you have to manually select each track, drop it in at the right place, configure the transitions, etc. Ditto with Reason. Anybody know how this could be done more automagically (i.e. computer picks the tracks and track order, either based on bpm or randomly or using some rule)

Is it possible to beatmix with only one ear?

iivix — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 02:25:26 -0800

My girlfriend wants to learn to DJ. The problem is that she's deaf in one ear. Any experience, anecdotes or advice about one ear DJing would be greatly appreciated. So a little background. Since I've been DJing a while, we have all the equipment required (2x Technics 1200s, Vestax mixer, closed back Sennheiser headphones (HD25s), good monitor set up (Tannoy Reveals)). There's split cue on the mixer (splitting cue and master hard left and right on the headphones), but no way to mix incrementally between cue and master channels on the headphones. We have a stack of records with easily identifiable beats (techno, breaks, a bit of trance). My girlfriend ideally wants to learn basic beatmixing, to transition between 4/4 tunes in a mix.

The thing is, the way I've learnt to beatmix is the classic one-headphone-on-for-the-cued-track, one-off-for-the-monitor technique. This obviously requires two ears. And I suspect the only way I can actually get the mix working is by being able to process two different sounds as coming from two different spatial directions. If you only have one working ear, what do you need to do to be able to distinctly hear two different tunes at the same time?

Is it even possible?

On behalf of my other half, any advice is massively appreciated.

How do I become a DJ?

geoff. — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 13:38:58 -0800

How do I mix live music like Justice (or Diplo, or Ronson)? What equipment do I need to get started? How does one get into this? I have an extension collection and knowledge of music, along with a somewhat cursory understanding of how to DJ live sets. I have no professional aspirations, but I would like to take it as a serious hobby. I'm sort of stuck on how to get going. It is my understanding that DJs like Gillis / Girl Talk will take songs, cut them up in a program like Adobe Audition and then use a program like Ableton to control the tempo and pacing of the songs, but that most of the work is done beforehand creating the actual mash-up.

That part doesn't interest me, but I'd like to be able to do what Justice does in their live shows. The A Cross the Universe set uses the same source songs as their album, but they somehow manipulate the songs in real time to respond to the crowd. How they do this is completely lost to me. I understand how someone say, playing a piano, can alter the tempo or change keys or otherwise improvise a set, that's obvious, but how do DJs accomplish this?

It looks like I would need several components to get going on this, and have played around with Serato and Ableton, but it is not intuitive. Most of my collection is high quality MP3 and I have it nicely organized on a network share. Ideally I'd like to be able to access this directly instead of using a CDJ. It looks like the idea behind Serato is that I use their control vinyl with time codes on a regular turntable to manipulate the music. Is this all I need? A couple of turntables and it'll come to me?

I realize that this comes across as sort of "I heard a piano piece, what is a piano and how do I play Beethoven?" but I'm sort of stuck as what to do next. The only equipment I have now are several computers, and a nice stereo system. I'm also looking to spend no more than $2k, so if this is out of my price range that would nip this in the bud right now.

What's the best place to learn how to DJ in the Bay Area?

ebness86 — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 14:28:18 -0800

What's the best place to learn how to DJ in the Bay Area? I've always wanted to learn how to DJ, but I'm sure it's more a craftsman-like skill that you either teach yourself or learn from only one individual.

That presumption aside, are there any formalized ways to learn? And are any of those ways local and convenient to the Bay Area?

Thanks for taking the time to answer my question!