Silent DJ ideas

August 9, 2005 7:16 PM

What should I DJ to a bunch of people wearing headphones?

I have a gig coming up where I'll be DJing just to people wearing heaphones. Those without headphones will be excluded from the nerdfest, but get to laugh at the "silent dancers". Everybody wins. The trick is to get people dancing, so I'm thinking of playing heady-dancey stuff like Akufen, Thomas Brinkmann, etc., but I'll shamelessly play whatever works - galactic funk, goofy techno, cheesy rock. Heady is a plus, but not totally necessary. Also, it'd be funny to get a bunch of them singing now and then. What would you want to hear if you were on the receiving end of this?

posted by hellbient to Media & Arts (22 answers total)

For pure dance: Give them booty house (yes, it's a genre). Or, Plump DJs if you want more wholesome but still "get up and dance" fun. DJ bad boy bill is an old, but good, choice. If you want something more experimental, mouse on mars is a favorite of mine.

For dancy rock: the band "!!!" and The Brunettes are nice.

If you want something they can sing to / famous enough for everyone to know the words to, why not Licensed to Ill by the Beastie Boys?

Went to an aquabats concert recently, that's good for some sort of wholesome ska fun.
posted by lorrer at 7:26 PM on August 9, 2005

Can you describe the venue to us? That might affect what I'd like to hear.
posted by .kobayashi. at 7:30 PM on August 9, 2005

Oh hey, the music map might help. Just found it.
posted by lorrer at 7:34 PM on August 9, 2005

Response by poster: oh yes, it's in a park! so it will be all sorts of people. It's free.
posted by hellbient at 7:34 PM on August 9, 2005

No one can resist singing to a Michael Jackson song.

And, hey, can I come? :-D
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 7:40 PM on August 9, 2005 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: of course you can come...I'll email you.
posted by hellbient at 8:07 PM on August 9, 2005

Any particular demographic (either age or ethnicity?)
posted by oddman at 8:43 PM on August 9, 2005

This sounds familiar.

I'd just go for some "best of" party music... it sounds like it will be a silly event, so music that's a little cheezy will fit in just perfect.
posted by mosch at 8:48 PM on August 9, 2005

Mr. Scruff. Bullfrog, especially "Reverse Psychology," an excellent, excellent party song.
posted by Juliet Banana at 9:01 PM on August 9, 2005

Oh, and more happy dance tunes-The Avalanches. Duh. Sorry I'm not better with the head-y stuff. Gimix is oft overlooked, and not as overplayed as Since I Left You.
posted by Juliet Banana at 10:22 PM on August 9, 2005

Well, if you want to go REALLY goofy, you could bust out Hey Ya or somesuch.
posted by TTIKTDA at 1:40 AM on August 10, 2005

Aphex Twin - Windowlicker
the Go! Team - Huddle Formation
Le Tigre - Deceptacon
Moving Units - Between Us and Them

Maybe?
posted by rfordh at 1:55 AM on August 10, 2005

since you mention brinkmann, maybe this.
posted by juv3nal at 3:09 AM on August 10, 2005

If you're thinking of Brinkmann, you might also go w/ some of the Freiland records (Mike Ink related minimalism) - similar to Brinkmann, but usually some crazy left-right panning going on to mess with their heads.

Panning is one thing that will really affect headphone listeners more than those in any other club/music environment; I'd try to play off that.
posted by p3t3 at 4:38 AM on August 10, 2005

The quality of the production is much more obvious when listening to headphones. I actually liked 'Material Girl' by Madonna when I heard it on headphones for the first time. So, if I were in the audience I would want to hear records that had well thought out production values.

Some records with stereo effects:

The Beatles - 'Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band'

Pink Floyd - 'Dark Side of the Moon'

Plenty of dub has stereo effects, many old rock, latin, blues, jazz etc etc tunes are recorded with different artists in different places in the stereo image.

I have a fair few techno records that flutter clap re-trigger rolls panned from ear to ear, or have other stereo effects. Jam and Spoon - Follow Me (TUUUNE), Joey Beltram - My Sound EP, Perry and Rhodan - The Beat Just Goes Straight On And On, Psychic TV - Turn on, Tune in UK ACID.

Senor Coconut (El Baile Allemande Kraftwerk covers) uses some stereo effects, the Coney Island Love album has some frankly fantastic sounds (see also Electric Gypsyland compilation and Future World Funk - On the run) on it, including N.O.H.A - Balkan Hotstep which has some stereo doppler effects as well as being an infectious toe-tapper for everyone (well, I like it). That is what I would like to hear.

You could pan the sounds around yourself with a bit of technical tomfoolery.

And if you want to get yourself lynched play 'Men Are Pigs' or 'Hey Henrietta' by Henrietta Collins and the Wifebeating Childhaters, from the 'Drive-by Shooting' EP. They have some nice stereo effects. Also, TAGC Industrial Research Recordings (a CD I have never heard of or seen since I gave my copy away, which claimed to use 'frequencies' to 'alter brain states' and was in fact a hoax IMHO, but which used all sorts of effects to fairly disorienting effect).
posted by asok at 6:24 AM on August 10, 2005

Is "YMCA" too cheesy? It'd be sort of fun for outsiders to watch people doing the dance. See also: "Time Warp"
posted by ITheCosmos at 6:38 AM on August 10, 2005

Pretty much everyone on the planet tends to freak out and dance to "Billie Jean"
posted by softlord at 6:47 AM on August 10, 2005

Mystikal's "Shake Ya Ass" for the singing would be funny.
posted by terrapin at 6:53 AM on August 10, 2005

I'm assuming that you're looking for electronic dance stuff? And you're actually DJing/mixing?

I would want to hear: Rino Cerrone, Marco Carola, Carl Craig, Monika Kruse, Cari Lekebusch, Carl Cox, Thomas Krome, Ascii Disco, Bangkok Impact, Puento Latino, The Advent, Henrik B, Joel Mull, Johan Bacto, Motor Ola, Mhonolink, and lots of that sort of acid-house-techno-tribal-minimal-tekno stuff.

But I like hearing that stuff all the time anyway.

Anything from Hardkiss' "delusions of grandeur" would be great on phones, John Kelly, West Coast breaks, florida bass and east coast electro breaks would also be good.

Psytrance is also good on phones, but it has a very steep appreciation curve. People either love it or hate it, and too much of it is like eating too much candy, IMO.
posted by loquacious at 8:40 AM on August 10, 2005

All the "great on headphones, stereo effects" comments have reminded me-Cornelius.
posted by Juliet Banana at 12:33 PM on August 10, 2005

I'd throw in some Daft Punk for good measure. It's recognizable by most people, so they'll dance, and even the most ardent electronic music fans enjoy them so there's some cred. there too.
posted by itchi23 at 10:55 AM on August 11, 2005

Response by poster: yeah, i almost always have to play Daft Punk anyway.
Thanks everyone for the good suggestions...
posted by hellbient at 12:55 PM on August 11, 2005