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[Dennis Wiggins]

http://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/764165/Britain-oldest-dj-still-spinning-records-aged-80-love-music-party-pensioner

That'll be me, in about 12 years.

-Dennis

[Steve M Smith]

Not the oldest.  Desmond Carrington, who died at the age of 90 earlier this month, was a regular on BBC Radio Two until October last year.


Steve.

[Lance Hallmark]

Nice and all, but I'd be more impressed if he was killing it with the latest Tech House or Trap and still passionate about new music. Everyone becomes so close minded musically once they've left their twenties. I'm just as pumped for new dance tracks as I am for all of the great songs over the last 50-60 years and I don't see that changing anytime soon, hopefully.

[Dennis Wiggins]

Nice and all, but I'd be more impressed if he was killing it with the latest Tech House or Trap and still passionate about new music. Everyone becomes so close minded musically once they've left their twenties. I'm just as pumped for new dance tracks as I am for all of the great songs over the last 50-60 years and I don't see that changing anytime soon, hopefully.

I agree 1000%, but I do have my limits.  I stay current, but my conscience still drives what I present to the audience.  Does this limit the gigs I get booked?  Absolutely.  Do I go home feeling good about my shows? Yes.

-Dennis

[Lance Hallmark]

I agree 1000%, but I do have my limits.  I stay current, but my conscience still drives what I present to the audience.  Does this limit the gigs I get booked?  Absolutely.  Do I go home feeling good about my shows? Yes.

-Dennis

Of course, you don't have to like everything new, personally I hate most of the new Hip Hop/Rap of the last several years and luckily I can get away with playing almost none of it at my gigs. I was talking more about being passionate about music in general and not just automatically blanket everything made after you turned 25 (whenever that was) is crap. To still be able to listen with an open mind and ears.

[Tim McCulloch]

I was talking more about being passionate about music in general and not just automatically blanket everything made after you turned 25 (whenever that was) is crap.

Crap?  That's everything composed since I was Mahler's paper boy...    /nudge, wink

Like a discussion about EDM on another forum, not all "music" is appealing to everyone.  I'm not a fan of micro-tonal compositions, most EDM or hip-hop.  I can appreciate the efforts of the composers and authors without internalizing some fake attraction but would not listen to them away from work.

I think it's more a matter of being engaged with what one hears.  As DJs its up to you guys and gals to figure out what is working with your audience that night and adjust accordingly even when that direction may not be your favorites.  Good DJs are like good cabaret entertainers... sometimes it's art but most often it's givng the crowd what they want and smiling when the crowd shows its appreciation.

[Randy Pence]

I think it's more a matter of being engaged with what one hears.  As DJs its up to you guys and gals to figure out what is working with your audience that night and adjust accordingly even when that direction may not be your favorites.  Good DJs are like good cabaret entertainers... sometimes it's art but most often it's givng the crowd what they want and smiling when the crowd shows its appreciation.

I agree within some limits.  The german superior court recently ruled concerning the taxation of ticket sales that dj sets can be at the same cultural artistic level as an orchestral performance as opposed to essentially being a breathing jukebox.  There is a huge industry of djs who have honed their taste and performance skills into a predictable product for which they are specifically booked to perform as such to audiences who are already familiar with what to expect, not unlike a band or comedian performing its own material.

There is of course also a large market of djs hired to curate according to the whims and desires of the audience, whose selections might not reflect their own personal taste, but it is important for a rental shop to acknowledge the existence of both

[Lance Hallmark]

While part of being a good DJ is giving the crowd what they want, a good DJ can give them what they didn't know they wanted as well. My best gigs are usually Open Format, where I'll play dance music from the 70's to the latest underground tracks of today. Having a crowd that is totally into what is playing and having elevated, happy vibes, even though they have never heard the songs that are playing before, does it for me. Mix in some new House remixes of classic songs that have an updated drive and great bottom end and it keeps them involved, liked to the past and present. When I throw in some classic rave tracks (Breakbeats, mostly, down here in FL), people lose it when they hear these underground tracks that they haven't heard in 15 years and it takes them back to their happy place. I have always been good at weaving an audio tapestry with tracks covering 40+ years and making it work for people of all ages. Seeing people totally in the moment and free from life's BS for a little while makes it all worthwhile for me.