The "DJ Challenge"

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yedancer
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The "DJ Challenge"

#1 Post by yedancer » Sun Nov 02, 2003 12:14 am

In case you don't know what a DJ challenge is, it's when you play a "non-swing" song as a "challenge" for dancers. What are your thoughts on DJ challenges?

How often do you play them?
  • Every time you DJ?
    Multiple times per night?
    Every once in a while?
    Never?
If you do play DJ challenges . . .
  • What are your favorites?
    Do you play the same songs all the time, or do you frequently come up with new challenges?
    How do dancers usually react to your DJ challenges?
If you stare at it for a long time, especially after a few drinks, isn't "challenge" a weird looking word?
-Jeremy

It's easy to sit there and say you'd like to have more money. And I guess that's what I like about it. It's easy. Just sitting there, rocking back and forth, wanting that money.

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Matthew
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#2 Post by Matthew » Sun Nov 02, 2003 12:37 am

My musical taste is so varied (as is my movement/dance experience) that occasionally I'll play something that I'll think will be really cool for dancing, only to find that everybody else thinks of it as a DJ challenge. This usually happens once or twice per night, because once it does, then I remember that other people don't share my taste, and I adjust my selections.

Examples of these types of songs (some of which I've only requested):

"Here Comes Another One" - Groove Terminator
"Fire" - Coco de Mer
"Landing" - Moby
"Life in Mono" - Mono
"Mrs. Robinson" - Simon & Garfunkel.

Each of these has a strong beat, but also a sound that's unfamiliar. I'm finding that my personal motto, "If it has a beat...," isn't shared by others as often as I'd like for it to be.

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#3 Post by Roy » Sun Nov 02, 2003 1:35 am

I rarely do it. When i do (every 6 months or so) I usually use an Acid jazz song: "Jazz" by "A Tribe called Quest"

Other acid jazz songs that I might use instead are:
United minds-Arrested development
Alongway to go-Gangstarr
Lougin'-Guru

Lindy Bomb
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#4 Post by Lindy Bomb » Sun Nov 02, 2003 8:45 pm

I hear them more often that I'd like here (1/3 to 1/2 a night's music), so I try not to play them very often...it does depend on the night, though.

Popular around here with other djs:
Weapon of Choice - Fatboy Slim
Techno-ish remix of Dinah Washington's Is you is, or is you ain't my baby
Plenty - Guru w. Erykah Badu
Get a move on - Mr Scruff
Gotta get through this - Daniel Bedingfield
My baby's got sauce - G Love and the Special Sauce
Moondance - Van Morrison

There are a couple Daft Punk and Basement Jaxx songs that I'll spin every once in a while, sometimes I'll pop in some old skool funk: The Gap Band, Sugarhill Gang, Parliament Funkadelic.

Since this kinda stuff gets played around here alot, people react well to it. Annoyingly, they often react better to that stuff than they do to music better suited to the dance.

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#5 Post by Nate Dogg » Sun Nov 02, 2003 10:27 pm

The word "challenge" has negative imagery to me and other dancers in my area. It implies that a song is not very danceable and the DJ is being indulgent.

A few years back, a controversial local DJ once wrote a post on our local YahooGroup about the need to challenge dancers with difficult songs (no, and it was not Lawrence :lol: ). Many people disagreed with him.

To this day, every now and then, you will hear the "challenge" word used when people are complaining about a DJ. They will say, "the DJ is 'challenging' us with that lame song." Hence, if I hear the word "challenge" in relation to one of my sets, it is a sign that somebody thinks I screwed up.

Most of the DJs I know do stick in non-traditional/novelty songs. Usually songs from a different genre (hip hop, country, or overtly west coast/hustle oriented tracks). In general, no more than one an hour, and usually later in the night. The idea is to spice up the night with something different, not to test, challenge, or educate dancers

Also, from the post directly above mine, Van Morrison's "Moondance" is very popular down here. It is almost guaranteed to fill the floor and get a good reaction. People request it all the time. Perhaps, it was a novelty song years ago. But, these days it is one of those popular songs that borders on being overplayed. I guess that goes to show that if a non-traditional song is played enough it becomes normal.

Nathan

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#6 Post by kennly » Mon Nov 03, 2003 12:15 am

I have never really thought about "Moondance" being a challenge/non-swing song, I used to hear it all the time in Hawaii during the Big Bad Voodoo Daddy/Indigo Swing/Neo-swing stuff days, and I guess I just accepted it as a song people dance to. But you're right, it's technically a non-traditional song...

For non-traditional challenge songs, I would only play it if the majority of the people were dancers (vs. beginners out for the first time). Sometimes at our Friday venue, we get a lot of college kids who come for the free lesson and stay for dancing. These people outnumber the "regulars" 4:1 sometimes, and when that happens, I'm very reluctant to play things that might throw them off/otherwise make them uncomfortable. Dancing is about having fun and enjoying yourself, and if you're trying out something for the first time, the last thing you want is for someone to play something that is deliberately different from what you were trying to adjust to. That being said, I like "I've got you under my skin" by Lou Rawls and Biz Markie, but I'll only play it if someone requests it, or if it's late at night, or early and no one is there yet.

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#7 Post by djstarr » Mon Nov 03, 2003 3:33 am

I've been experimenting with the term; depending on the venue I'm at it will be different genres, but I always use the term to indicate "I'm playing a song that I don't expect you to be able to dance to well".

Tonight someone requested a polka; I played a fast song from the Andrew sisters and told folks "if you don't know how to polka this will be a DJ challenge for you". And lo and behold we had about 10 couples doing the polka (and running into each other - it was funny). It was also a very high energy night and the polka fit in well.

At the vintage night here, I played a Marvin Gaye song for the DJ challenge (where on other nights it would just be a normal song to dance to).

I've found that if you announce a song as a "DJ challenge" you will get more people to try dancing to it since they can't be blamed if they don't look good doing it!

I will only do this once during the evening though.

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gatorgal
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#8 Post by gatorgal » Mon Nov 03, 2003 8:32 am

I do it about once a month. Because of my insane love for all things 80s, I usually play some song from that wonderful decade (ha ha) that you haven't heard for a while, that I swear you could do a swingout to. But that's just me.

Most of the time I ask the crowd to "indulge me"... when I say that, they usually know I'm gonna play something unusual or funny just for a break. I do get a couple of stares and some folks asking if you can actually dance to it. I usually have a partner lined up, so I get out there and actually dance to it and I think it makes people feel better about dancing to it. The last few crazy songs I ended up playing were the following:

The Addams Family Rap - MC Hammer (it was our Halloween dance and I felt silly)
Pretty in Pink - Psychedelic Furs (feeling nostalgic for high school)
Take Me To The River - Talking Heads (I think it's an interesting WC. I'm probably wrong)

Tina 8)
"I'm here to kick a little DJ a$$!"
~ Foreman on That 70s Show

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#9 Post by Roy » Mon Nov 03, 2003 8:33 am

Come to think of it the last time I did a dancers challenge type deal it was to Screaming Jay Hawkins-Orange colored sky. The song double times and back many times during the song.

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#10 Post by Nate Dogg » Mon Nov 03, 2003 8:51 am

gatorgal wrote: Take Me To The River - Talking Heads (I think it's an interesting WC. I'm probably wrong)

Tina 8)
I have hear the original Al Green version played at WC events, every now and then. I need to pull out my copy to see how danceable it is.

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#11 Post by Nate Dogg » Mon Nov 03, 2003 9:33 am

I went throught my song database and put together of a list of some of the songs that fit the spirit of this thread. Again, I hate the word challenge. Call these non-traditional or novelty songs. I use them very, very sparringly.

Alien Fashion Show-Bad Serafin
Anastacia - I'm Outta Love
Anastacia - Don't Stop Doin' It
Anastacia - Made For Lovin You
Atomic Fireballs-Hit By A Brick
Babyface and Des'ree-Fire
Beastie Boys - Intergalactic
Benson, George and Count Basie Orchestra-Baby Workout
Beyonce-Fever
Big Daddy - Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For
Blind Boys of Alabama-Higher Ground
Booker T and the MGs-Green Onions
Brown, James - Sex Machine
Burke, Solomon-Cry To Me
Cake - Love You Madly
Cake - Short Skirt, Long Jacket
Cantrell, Blu-Swingin'
Cantrell, Blu -Hit Em Up Style
Chambers Brothers-Travelin' Shoes
Charles, Ray-Deep In The Heart Of Texas
Cole, Holly-Little Boy Blue
Coolbone-The Saints
Croce, Jim - Big, Bad Leroy Brown
Croce, Jim - You Don't Mess Around With Jim
Depeche Mode - Route 66
DeeLite - Groove Is In the Heart
Divinyls - I Touch Myself
Dr. John-It Don't Mean A Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing)
Earth, Wind and Fire - September
Eastwood, Kyle - Why Can't We Live Together
Eiffel 65 - Blue
Enriquez, Bobby-Pink Panther Theme
Ford, Tennessee Ernie-16 Tons
Franklin, Aretha - Baby I Love You
Franklin, Aretha - Respect
Gabin-Doo Uap, Doo Uap
Gaye, Marvin - Let's Get It One
Gaye, Marvin - Sexual Healing
Gorillaz - 19-2000
Grateful Dead - Truckin'
Greenbaum, Norman - Spirit in the Sky
Green, Al - I Wanna Hold Your Hand
Green, Al - Let's Stay Together
Guru and Ekyka Badu-Plenty
Harper, Ben-Suzie's Blues
Jackson, Michael - Thriller
Jackson, Michael - Leave Me Alone
Jackson, Michael - Streetwalker
Jacksons - Blame It On The Boogie
Jacksons - Dancing Machine
Jamiroquai - Canned Heat
Jean, Wycliffe - Stayin Alive
Jones, Quincy - Soul Bossa Nova (aka the Austin Powers Theme)
Jones, Tom-Sex Bomb
Jones, Tom-Sixteen Tons
Jones, Tom - You Can Leave Your Hat On
Jurassic 5-Swing Set
Kid Koala-Drunk Trumpet
Kravitz, Lenny - If You Can't Say No
Lighthouse Family - Ain't No Sunshine (From Notting Hill movie)
Lina-I'm Not The Enemy
Love and Rockets - So Alive
Love and the Special Sauce, G - Baby's Got Sauce
Lovett, Lyle-She Makes Me Feel Good
Lovett, Lyle-You've Been So Good Up To Now
Lucas-Lucas With The Lid Off
Luxury, Jimmy-Ain't That A Kick In The Head
Mancini, Henry-Pink Panther Theme
Mar-Keys-Last Night
Monty Python-Always Look at the Bright Side of Light
Morrison, Barbara - Use Me
Morrison, Van-Jackie Wilson Said (I'm In Heaven When You Smile)
Mr. Scruff-Get A Move On
No Doubt - Hella Good
Oakenfold, Paul - Starry Eyed Surprise
Pink - Get This Party Started
Pink Martini-Sympathique
Poe-A Rose Is A Rose
Presely, Elvis - A Little Less Conversation (remix)
Presley, Elvis - Rubberneckin Remix
Prince - Cream
Prince - Kiss
Prince - Erotic City
Propellerheads - History Repeating
Rawls, Lou-Natural Man
Rawls, Lou and Biz Markie-I've Got You Under My Skin
Real Group-Splanky
Robinson, Smokey - Second That Emotion
Ruffins, Kermit-Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner
S Club 7 - Don't Stop Movin'
Salt n Pepper - Shoop
Schrodinger's Cat-Sexual Healing
Sheldon, Jack-Conjunction Junction
Skavoovie and The Epitones-Bli-Blip
Sir Mix A lot - Baby Got Back
Soul Coughing-Disseminated
Stereo MCs - Elevate My Mind
Sublime-Doin' Time
Sunshine, Ron-A Natural Man
Stealers Wheel - Stuck in the Middle
They Might Be Giants-Lie Still Little Bottle
Timberlake, Justin - Rock Your Body
Travis, Randy-King of the Road
Two Tons of Steel-I Wanna Be Sedated
Uncle Kraker - Follow Me
Us3-Cantaloop
Walker, Seth-Restless
Warren G and Nate Dogg - Regulate
Withers, Bill - Use Me
Wright, Betty - Let Me Be Your Lovemaker
Yalloppin Hounds-Jaquet, Where's Your Jaquet
Yalloppin' Hounds-Oops My Bad
Yalloppin' Hounds-Thug Brat
Yello - Oh Yeah
Zion Travellers-Packin' Up
Zip - One O'Clock Jump
Last edited by Nate Dogg on Mon Nov 03, 2003 12:14 pm, edited 2 times in total.

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gatorgal
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#12 Post by gatorgal » Mon Nov 03, 2003 10:19 am

Thanks for the list, Nate. Some of my favorites are in there as well.

Every once in a while Sergio likes to play David Bowie's "Lets Dance". I love him for it and we're usually the only ones on the floor dancing.

There's a DJ in Tampa who will play The Cure's "Boys Don't Cry" for me if I ask for it. That's a fun one too.

Tina 8)
"I'm here to kick a little DJ a$$!"
~ Foreman on That 70s Show

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#13 Post by gatorgal » Mon Nov 03, 2003 10:22 am

Lindy Bomb wrote: Gotta get through this - Daniel Bedingfield
Some of the West Coasters here like his song "James Dean". Myself included.

Tina 8)
"I'm here to kick a little DJ a$$!"
~ Foreman on That 70s Show

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wheresmygravy
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#14 Post by wheresmygravy » Mon Nov 03, 2003 10:27 am

I never thought about calling it a DJ Challenge, nice idea. There are several songs that I keep trying to put in. In particular, there are a couple of ZZTop songs that that just scream to me:

"Tush" (146BPM) and "La Grange" (162 BPM) being to two on the top of my list.

Maybe I will use them as "Blues DJ Challenges" also.

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#15 Post by Roy » Mon Nov 03, 2003 10:35 am

I have never heard that term either, I mean what is challenging about dancing to a song that is more familar to most dancers then most unknown swing songs. A real challengs is a song that changes tempo, style, or rythm. Have a dance floor try to dance decently and to the music of Errol Garner or be-bop, now that's a challenge.

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