Overplayed songs

Everything about the swinging music we love to DJ

Moderators: Mr Awesomer, JesseMiner, CafeSavoy

Message
Author
Lindy Bomb
Posts: 66
Joined: Mon Mar 31, 2003 6:27 pm
Location: Dirty D

#31 Post by Lindy Bomb » Thu May 29, 2003 6:05 am

Have you ever had the nightmare of going out dancing only to find that 80% of the music you're going to hear is played every week at this venue, and at least once a week at another? Songs like, "Artificial Flowers", "Zoot Suit Riot" (yes, it still gets played and packs the floor), more Indigo Swing than any sane person can stomach, Van Morrison's "Moondance", "Fever", "Wade in the Water", you name it...if it's bad, he plays it- every week.

That is my personal hell.

This DJ said to me, "If you play to the lowest common denominator you'll never go broke." It just seems to me that there's gotta be a better balance of old favourites and good, new music. I think if given the chance, people might respond well to some better music, but he never gives them the chance to hear it. Instead, we hear the same songs every week and everyone gets settled in a safe, comfortable rut.

User avatar
Zot
Posts: 104
Joined: Thu Jan 09, 2003 12:37 pm
Location: Melbourne, Australia
Contact:

#32 Post by Zot » Thu May 29, 2003 10:39 am

Sigh. Yes, all too familiar, Lindy Bomb.

Nando wrote:
I suppose a song in the national scene can be considered overplayed when it's a "favorite" of many DJs in the swing scene. At least if you're using that terminology.
I'm not part of the US national scene, but I guess I see what you are getting at. If many DJs (in a given scene) are doing similar sets, some songs are overplayed.

Back to the stuff I mentioned above about having a responsibility to introduce new stuff as well as playing the favourites.

User avatar
JesseMiner
Posts: 1034
Joined: Mon Nov 18, 2002 5:36 pm
Location: San Francisco, CA
Contact:

#33 Post by JesseMiner » Thu May 29, 2003 2:08 pm

It's too bad that so many of you seem to get tired of great songs so quickly. If a song is great, it is very unlikely that I am ever going to get tired of it (and yes, I listen to music pretty much all the time). As time passes, I find I have an ever-expanding collection of great familiar songs (great new songs can quickly become great familiar songs), many more than you could ever come close to playing in a night. I can rotate through them, playing some for a while and then rediscovering others. That helps to keep things fresh and interesting for the dancers.

In the attempt to not play what you consider "overplayed", make sure you don't fall into the trap of being the "all-new all-obscure all-the-time" type of DJ. That can quickly alienate your audience - I've heard that complaint many times from dancers about other DJs. It's important to strike a balance of familiar and new without things growing stale.

Ah the challenge...I love it.

Jesse

User avatar
GemZombie
Posts: 772
Joined: Wed Nov 20, 2002 2:46 pm
Location: Alpharetta, GA (Formerly SLO, CA)
Contact:

#34 Post by GemZombie » Thu May 29, 2003 4:36 pm

I find that "overplayed" songs for me are songs I didn't really care for much to begin with.

It may also be a catchy tune that's neat the first few times, but annoys me after the 3rd or more...

For example "All the Cats Join In"... it's just a song I love, it could never be overplayed in my book, yet many of you would disagree.

On the contrary, the first time I heard "Wade in the water" I was ok with it... after the 5th time, I was done with it :)

I agree with you on the all new all the time thing. I ran a night recently, however, where I did play 80% new stuff. I enjoyed it as a change of pace, and so did the dancers I think. I wouldn't do it always though... too hard, and there are some songs I like to hear again anyway.

Nando
Posts: 130
Joined: Mon Dec 23, 2002 10:40 am
Location: NYC
Contact:

#35 Post by Nando » Thu May 29, 2003 7:53 pm

When people go out to dance - they want to hear some familiar songs. The key is when and how to rotate them in. You gotta mix it up. Probably the worst thing you can play isn't an 'overplayed' song, but a set that's filled with a bunch of 'overplayed' songs in a row.

One thing I find when I explore and find new music to play is how fresh an older song might sound right after the new track or tracks that you play.

mousethief
Posts: 984
Joined: Mon Mar 31, 2003 1:29 pm
Location: dfw - a wretched hive of scum & villainy

#36 Post by mousethief » Fri May 30, 2003 7:47 am

Lindy Bomb wrote:Have you ever had the nightmare of going out dancing only to find that 80% of the music you're going to hear is played every week at this venue, and at least once a week at another? Songs like, "Artificial Flowers", "Zoot Suit Riot" (yes, it still gets played and packs the floor), more Indigo Swing than any sane person can stomach, Van Morrison's "Moondance", "Fever", "Wade in the Water", you name it...if it's bad, he plays it- every week.

That is my personal hell.

This DJ said to me, "If you play to the lowest common denominator you'll never go broke." It just seems to me that there's gotta be a better balance of old favourites and good, new music. I think if given the chance, people might respond well to some better music, but he never gives them the chance to hear it. Instead, we hear the same songs every week and everyone gets settled in a safe, comfortable rut.
this sounds like a dallas venue. those high-minded snobs :P

kalman

User avatar
yedancer
Posts: 417
Joined: Wed Nov 20, 2002 8:08 pm
Location: San Diego
Contact:

#37 Post by yedancer » Fri May 30, 2003 9:54 am

Because of lack of funds, I haven't bought any new CDs in like 6 to 8 months, which means I've been DJing off of the same 200-250 CDs for that entire time. At first, I was really worried that I would start playing the same stuff over and over again, but it's really amazing how much music you can find in that many CDs. Every time I DJ, I still find stuff that I either didn't know I had, or that I haven't played in months if not years. I still don't think I've been overplaying anything.
-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.

User avatar
Lawrence
Posts: 1213
Joined: Mon Dec 09, 2002 2:08 pm
Location: Austin, Texas
Contact:

#38 Post by Lawrence » Fri May 30, 2003 2:20 pm

JesseMiner wrote:It's too bad that so many of you seem to get tired of great songs so quickly. If a song is great, it is very unlikely that I am ever going to get tired of it
It sounds like you are taking the point a bit farther than we (or at least I) meant it.

No doubt you listen to music all the time, but you certainly do not listen to the same songs over and over and over and over. I'm sure that when you listen to music, you (consciously or not) engage in some sort of selectiveness so as to not burn out a song or CD. That's all I am saying: I make sure that I don't play all my favorites every time I DJ so that the dancers and I don't get sick of those favorites. Moreover, you have the collection to change it up without much effort, so you probably take for granted when you change it up so as to not burn a song out.

You also are a driving force in trying to keep people interested in developing and expanding their musical collection. (Isn't that part of the point of your hosting this board?) Every time I meet up with you, you seem to have an entirely new collection of music, or a new set of favorites you enjoy playing. It seems like you might be taking for granted how "forward-looking" you are and how that prevents you from running into these pitfalls of overplaying a song.
In the attempt to not play what you consider "overplayed", make sure you don't fall into the trap of being the "all-new all-obscure all-the-time" type of DJ. That can quickly alienate your audience
Absolutely. That's part of the game/challenge. And that is exactly what I was referring to when I mentioned accounting for the difference between our perception of when a song is overplayed and our audience's perception. The example of my "shelving" a song so as to avoid burning it out before some people hear it for the first time was meant as a flaw of trying to not burn songs out, not a benefit.

There is also a huge difference between 1) playing "new" songs in the sense of challenging dancers with new, obscure rhythms or novelties and 2) playing a new song with a new take on the same, familiar, steady, deep and rich rhythm. I don't mind dancing to all new music that I have never heard before; I DO mind a DJ trying to push the envelope all night long so that nothing is familiar in a rhythmic sense.

And it's not like I play crap in order to avoid burning a song out. :roll: :lol: As I have said many times before, there is simply too many phenomenal tunes out there to excuse overplaying one or two songs every week, every dance, and at every Exchange. :)
Lawrence Page
Austin Lindy Hop
http://www.AustinLindy.com

mousethief
Posts: 984
Joined: Mon Mar 31, 2003 1:29 pm
Location: dfw - a wretched hive of scum & villainy

#39 Post by mousethief » Fri May 30, 2003 2:59 pm

when i travel to dj, i make it a point to ask what the local scene prefers and what songs are best avoided. often, i end up playing one anyway but i do it because of mood & feel, not because of any real motive.

and rayned thanked me afterwards, so i felt vindicated.

kalman

User avatar
lindyholic
Posts: 215
Joined: Wed Nov 20, 2002 2:51 pm
Location: Victoria, B.C., Canada
Contact:

#40 Post by lindyholic » Fri Jun 06, 2003 1:38 am

I get tired of a lot of that song that's played over and over again, seems like it's going on for 3 hours, and is just horrible....oh, I'm sorry, I'm talking about groove music in general. I'm pretty sick of it, it's overplayed, gimme good lindy hop music damn it!

Harrison
www.lindyhopper.ca, Canada's Swing Site.

User avatar
BryanC
Posts: 80
Joined: Wed Apr 09, 2003 9:22 am
Location: Calgary, Alberta

#41 Post by BryanC » Fri Jun 06, 2003 9:34 am

Eva Cassidy's Wade in the Water and I forget the artist's name but I believe the song is called "Ice Cream Man"--not the Master P one, but the American folk tune one; these get played _every_ week (usually back to back) at one of the venues in town. I could listen to Wade in the Water over and over again, but dancing to it over and over again gets old fast.

Lindy Bomb
Posts: 66
Joined: Mon Mar 31, 2003 6:27 pm
Location: Dirty D

#42 Post by Lindy Bomb » Fri Jun 06, 2003 5:22 pm

Nando wrote:When people go out to dance - they want to hear some familiar songs. The key is when and how to rotate them in. You gotta mix it up. Probably the worst thing you can play isn't an 'overplayed' song, but a set that's filled with a bunch of 'overplayed' songs in a row.
Exactly, this is problem I have with many of the venues in our scene. Entire nights of cheesy, overplayed 'hits' intermingled with the two or three token salsa songs. Every once in a while something awesome and new will get played, but maybe once every few weeks. It seems to me that this really doesn't give the dancers alot of credit. Just last night, I heard an 'old favourite' and I said, "This song makes me wanna sit down." I look around, and it seems that the feeling is mutual among many of the dancers. Obviously, not everyone likes 'the classics', but they keep getting played all night long.

Recently we've switched over one of our local venues from a single DJ to 4 or 5 rotating DJs. I'm hoping that it will help improve the level of music that gets played locally. By having different people spinning each week, it gives people that don't have regular gigs to give the dancers a taste of their own musical style and a chance to hear alot of new music. I was up this week and didn't play any 'old favourites' ('cause I don't own any of them) and people seemed to be happy and were dancing. I did play some stuff that was familiar, but not the stuff that I hear two or three nights a week, every week. Perhaps it's because I really try to make an effort to pick out music that doesn't get played often, or because I rarely spin I don't have any songs that I play to death...I dunno. However, I think many people have better musical taste than we sometimes think and sticking with sets entirely comprised of tried and true 'favourites' (or perhaps I should say tired and true favourites) shows respect for the dancers.

User avatar
Matthew
Posts: 421
Joined: Sat May 17, 2003 7:31 am
Location: St. Petersburg, Florida

#43 Post by Matthew » Fri Jun 06, 2003 11:44 pm

Tonight there was a live band, with a DJ spinning between its sets. This DJ played "Wade in the Water" twice!!!

User avatar
Lawrence
Posts: 1213
Joined: Mon Dec 09, 2002 2:08 pm
Location: Austin, Texas
Contact:

#44 Post by Lawrence » Sat Jun 07, 2003 8:16 pm

lindyholic wrote:I get tired of a lot of that song that's played over and over again, seems like it's going on for 3 hours, and is just horrible....oh, I'm sorry, I'm talking about groove music in general. I'm pretty sick of it, it's overplayed, gimme good lindy hop music damn it!

Harrison
BORRR-ING..... :|

Or perhaps I should just retort: "I get tired of hearing the same old indecipherable, monotonous, lo-fi stuff every time I go to L.A." :P
Lawrence Page
Austin Lindy Hop
http://www.AustinLindy.com

User avatar
Mr Awesomer
Posts: 1089
Joined: Mon Nov 18, 2002 10:21 pm
Location: Altadena, CA
Contact:

#45 Post by Mr Awesomer » Sun Jun 08, 2003 10:30 am

Lawrence wrote: Or perhaps I should just retort: "I get tired of hearing the same old indecipherable, monotonous, lo-fi stuff every time I go to L.A." :P
Where in LA? I need to know so I can go! I can't find that good shit here anymore.
Reuben Brown
Southern California

Locked