Re: Having saturday nights free...
[QUOTE=88Mariner;991695]why not switch to a top 40 format yourself, but throw in some prog too? i'm sure tenaglia, [URL="http://www.mercuryserver.com/forums/djdb.php?id=151"]deep dish[/URL], [URL="http://www.mercuryserver.com/forums/djdb.php?id=5"]sasha[/URL], bt, and dozens of other producer/dj's have remixed top 40 tracks to fill a nights worth of music no?[/QUOTE]
I'll admit that I briefly toyed with the idea of it, but it isn't going to happen. I've had the displeasure of going to places where I've had to listen to Top40 before, and it's always been a painful experience. Pop music isn't what it used to be, and American pop is absolutely tragic. Beyonce? not really talented-she sings like a harpooned seal. Gaga? For the love of all that is holy, NO. Most tween singers? Get rid of them, please- they or their parents are in it for the money. Most pop 'artists' are only products. There's hardly anything left to respect in pop music. There are exceptions, but that's a totally different argument based on taste levels and opinions.
In my mind, the place for Top40 is radio and MTV, [B]not[/B] a nightclub. Nightlife shouldn't be a direct extension of popular culture; it should focus on any and all differences. That's likely an archaic point of view, but I have no desire to dumb down to a Top40 format. I love dj'ing, playing the music I love and respect for those who not only enjoy, but [I]get[/I] it, too. Do I really want to sacrifice my integrity for it? No thanks.
As far as remixed pop, I honestly haven't heard any remixes of contemporary pop that I'd consider 'good' or playable. Very few exceptions, the one that jumps to mind would be [URL="http://www.mercuryserver.com/forums/djdb.php?id=403"]James Talk[/URL]'s rework of Prince's "When Doves Cry", but that's not a contemporary pop hit. Scary as it may seem, [URL="http://www.mercuryserver.com/forums/djdb.php?id=1189"]Peter Rauhofer[/URL]'s remix of Adele's "Rolling in the Deep" was good, especially when I chopped out the anthemic breakdown. There were a few decent remixes of La Roux, but they've pretty much run their course.
I know that I likely come off as an asshole, even a music snob for saying all of the above, but, in my opinion, if I were to kowtow to that which I do not respect, that would make me more of an asshole.