What is our JOB?
Moderators: Mr Awesomer, JesseMiner, CafeSavoy
What is our JOB?
This is something that seems to be a recurring theme in various threads. I keep hearing people use the catch phrase "as long as they are having fun" referring to the crowds we DJ to, and used in relation to the music being played. So I'm curious what everyone thinks.
-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.
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.
I don't mind saying that I voted for keeping the dancers happy and the floor full. I operate under the belief that the average dancer at my dances doesn't come out because they want to be educated in a certain type or style of music. They don't come out because of the potential for great instruction. They come out because they want to dance to swing music and have a good time with their friends and their favorite follows or leads.
What swings to them may be Basie, Ellington, Ella, Sinatra, Dean, Dinah, Marvin, Smokey or Outkast. (gotta love that progression!) Or what I should say is that it may be predominately the first three, without precluding or excluding the other six. Hell, they may love Basie without knowing or recognizing who he is. But they love it just the same.
If I can provide an environment where all of these folks with their myriad of tastes and styles and desires can mingle, drink, talk and DANCE with each other, forgetting about the cares and worries of the world for 2 to 3 hours, then I go home happy, secure in the knowledge that I've done my job.
I have no problems calling myself a "Lindy" DJ or a "Swing" DJ. I do what I do out of an honest desire to give joy, learn more and dance a lot.
Tina
What swings to them may be Basie, Ellington, Ella, Sinatra, Dean, Dinah, Marvin, Smokey or Outkast. (gotta love that progression!) Or what I should say is that it may be predominately the first three, without precluding or excluding the other six. Hell, they may love Basie without knowing or recognizing who he is. But they love it just the same.
If I can provide an environment where all of these folks with their myriad of tastes and styles and desires can mingle, drink, talk and DANCE with each other, forgetting about the cares and worries of the world for 2 to 3 hours, then I go home happy, secure in the knowledge that I've done my job.
I have no problems calling myself a "Lindy" DJ or a "Swing" DJ. I do what I do out of an honest desire to give joy, learn more and dance a lot.
Tina
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mousethief
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lindyholic
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My job as a DJ is to play swing music for swing dancers. I can then attempt to keep the floor packed through the music I play. First and foremost though is to play swing music for swing dancing. That is my definition of my job as a DJ.
Harrison
Harrison
www.lindyhopper.ca, Canada's Swing Site.
My job as a DJ is to play swing music for swing dancers. I attempt to keep the floor packed through the music I play. First and foremost though is to play music for swing dancing. That's also my definition of my job as a DJ. However, I'm not going to be the one to dictate what does or doesn't make a swing dancer (within the "reasonable" confines of something that looks like swing dancing). That identify is really for each individual to decide to take upon themselves or not. I may despise your arm-ripping jive, or your bouncy upright ballroom swing, but far be it for me to decide that that's not swing and that you don't have a right to have fun just as much as the couple next to you doing "authentic" lindy hop. As such, I choose to have a broader definition of what fits under the "music that swing dancers can have fun dancing to". Not that broader==better in any way. It's just different.
Yeah...I have to say in favor of the floor-packing argument (believe it or not!) that if the beauty of dance is that people feel motivated by hearing music to express their joy about the sound through their bodies together...then it shouldn't matter what kind of music motivates them to dance, as long as we provide that experience.
The only reason for subdividing is that there is so much music out there that motivates people to dance in so many ways, and some music motivates certain people while other types don't motivate those people at all.
So you decide on one genre of music and make it clear that that's what it will be, and then all the people who get moved by that type of music know they'll have a higher frequency of songs that will make them want to shout out joy through their bodies than if they, say, listened to some eclectic radio station.
That's the only reason a community of swing dancers exists, really--to hope that as many people as possible who get moved by the same music will be under one roof at once.
I think I'm starting to ramble. But I guess my point is that no subdivision is too large if it's clearly known what will be played so people can decide whether they want to participate in that community's event. As a DJ, our job is to cater to the community that shows up because of what was advertised. The only problem is..."swing" may be the only thing that was in the publicity, and then who knows what people came to hear.
The only reason for subdividing is that there is so much music out there that motivates people to dance in so many ways, and some music motivates certain people while other types don't motivate those people at all.
So you decide on one genre of music and make it clear that that's what it will be, and then all the people who get moved by that type of music know they'll have a higher frequency of songs that will make them want to shout out joy through their bodies than if they, say, listened to some eclectic radio station.
That's the only reason a community of swing dancers exists, really--to hope that as many people as possible who get moved by the same music will be under one roof at once.
I think I'm starting to ramble. But I guess my point is that no subdivision is too large if it's clearly known what will be played so people can decide whether they want to participate in that community's event. As a DJ, our job is to cater to the community that shows up because of what was advertised. The only problem is..."swing" may be the only thing that was in the publicity, and then who knows what people came to hear.
It appears from the results so far (which are clearly not definitive, I know) that a majority of people care more about keeping the dance floor full than preserving the integrity of lindy hop and its music. Of course, this isn't really anything surprising, I suppose.
It seems as though some on this board find the idea of "educating" your crowd to be offensive. That surprises me. While I think it would be wrong to try to force a certain kind of music on your crowd, I think gentle suggestion can go a long way. A year ago in San Diego, I would rarely play more than 2 or 3 lo-fi songs in a set. Now, it's around half, if not more (depending on the situation, band, crowd). The point is that people's tastes have changed, mostly due to the music I choose to play. I think that the music people want to hear has a lot to do with what the promoters and DJs want to hear. I think the pendulum swings both ways.
It seems as though some on this board find the idea of "educating" your crowd to be offensive. That surprises me. While I think it would be wrong to try to force a certain kind of music on your crowd, I think gentle suggestion can go a long way. A year ago in San Diego, I would rarely play more than 2 or 3 lo-fi songs in a set. Now, it's around half, if not more (depending on the situation, band, crowd). The point is that people's tastes have changed, mostly due to the music I choose to play. I think that the music people want to hear has a lot to do with what the promoters and DJs want to hear. I think the pendulum swings both ways.
-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.
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.
HAHA! Well, what else are we supposed to debate about. What version of "Sing, Sing, Sing" is the best?Yakov wrote:god, don't you guys get tired of having this ridiculous debate over and over again?
-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.
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.
Nope. Some of us are relatively new and don't mind jumping into the fray.Yakov wrote:god, don't you guys get tired of having this ridiculous debate over and over again?
First of all, before I say anything, I want to remind that I'm not talking about you, just feeding off this particular comment.yedancer wrote:It seems as though some on this board find the idea of "educating" your crowd to be offensive. That surprises me.
No, not offensive. The only thing that some of us find offensive is forcing an agenda on your dancers in the name of "educating" them. I personally don't like the moral high-ground that sometimes pervades in these debates. The idea that you are less of a DJ, or shouldn't even call yourself a DJ, if your main purpose in spinning IS NOT to push a crowd towards a particular style or genre of music. I don't like those who berate others for voicing their opinion that making the floor happy; as if it is less of a loftier or legitimate goal. Like we're "playing" DJ. I personally find that sort of arrogance and condesension offensive, insulting and rude.
And besides, you asked us what we though our main job was as a DJ, and there were limiting choices at that. Some have already stated that they found the choices limiting and chose not to vote. You never asked to rank our motivations or reasons for DJing. Education is probably among the top three of a lot of us, just maybe on a sliding scale as we learn and evolve.
In any event, I don't tire of the debate, just the visciousness that sometimes comes with it. Thanks for your curiosity and for continuing the never-ending debate.yedancer wrote:So I'm curious what everyone thinks.
Tina
I definitely agree. However, I postulate that many DJs are "forcing an agenda" on the crowd by refusing to play certain genres of music. The pendulum swings both ways (as I said below). It is fine to say "I don't play original swing music because the crowd doesn't want to hear it, and I want to please the crowd" as long as you agree that all you are doing is "educating" the crowd to like the music you are playing.gatorgal wrote:No, not offensive. The only thing that some of us find offensive is forcing an agenda on your dancers in the name of "educating" them. I personally don't like the moral high-ground that sometimes pervades in these debates.
Whatever music you play, that is what you are "educating" the crowd to like. Another way to say it is that it is impossible not to educate the crowd. Therefore, as a swing DJ you must choose what sort of teacher you want to be. Do you want to help preserve lindy hop and swing music, or do you want to help in the creation of a new form of dance? Neither is wrong in my opinion, although personally I don't want to see lindy hop and swing music die out.
-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.
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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Shanabanana
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