MARCH 18: Rantings of an irate club enthusiast: Part 2
As most EDM fans would be aware, Simon Cowell is reportedly creating a talent show based around DJ’s as opposed to X Factor and American Idol which highlight singing talent. I try to think of one positive that can be materialized from this concept, but honestly there isn’t one. To analyze and rant about this subject I’m going to break this abysmal idea down into some categories and we will see where we end up.
Genre: I find it hard to judge a show with such a wide variety of styles and possibilities present. Of course with a show like American Idol one can easily judge a singer based on their vocal talents. The merits of a singer can be measured and there isn’t a real way to dispute someone’s power to bring out their pipes and sing a beautiful moving melody. On the other hand a DJ competition would be home to several genres of music. Dubstep, trance, house and electro, these four (very broad) genres alone are so differing that for one to judge them as separate entities it would be impossible. A dubstep DJ dropping a rippling beat at the right moment is much different then a trance artist who can meld beautiful songs together seamlessly. A house artist plays big clubby tunes back to back to get a crowd riled whereas a hard core electro DJ spins together complex sounds and pummels the audience with a hard sound. How would a celebrity judge who produces house music react to a dubstep artist competing on the show, a an electro host react to a deep trance DJ?
Structure: The DJ’s I go to see live are ones whom I already know of, and respect their taste in music sensibility, or the songs the produce themselves? Will the show revolve around the talents of DJ’s who can mix on several decks and showcase amazing live coordination skills, or will it rather highlight artist who create their own material they produce themselves? I don’t think the mainstream audience (that this show will clearly target) cares about the talent of a DJ doing his live work, rather they care about big house tunes that all their friends listen to while at a party, or while hitting the local club on a friday night after school. And on that note, how in the hell is a deep trance, or a hardstyle artist going to connect with the audience who will watch this show? Why is a 15 year old girl going to pay attention to somebody mixing Paul Van Dyk music when her and her friends all listen to Afrojack and Skrillex?
Genre: I find it hard to judge a show with such a wide variety of styles and possibilities present. Of course with a show like American Idol one can easily judge a singer based on their vocal talents. The merits of a singer can be measured and there isn’t a real way to dispute someone’s power to bring out their pipes and sing a beautiful moving melody. On the other hand a DJ competition would be home to several genres of music. Dubstep, trance, house and electro, these four (very broad) genres alone are so differing that for one to judge them as separate entities it would be impossible. A dubstep DJ dropping a rippling beat at the right moment is much different then a trance artist who can meld beautiful songs together seamlessly. A house artist plays big clubby tunes back to back to get a crowd riled whereas a hard core electro DJ spins together complex sounds and pummels the audience with a hard sound. How would a celebrity judge who produces house music react to a dubstep artist competing on the show, a an electro host react to a deep trance DJ?
Structure: The DJ’s I go to see live are ones whom I already know of, and respect their taste in music sensibility, or the songs the produce themselves? Will the show revolve around the talents of DJ’s who can mix on several decks and showcase amazing live coordination skills, or will it rather highlight artist who create their own material they produce themselves? I don’t think the mainstream audience (that this show will clearly target) cares about the talent of a DJ doing his live work, rather they care about big house tunes that all their friends listen to while at a party, or while hitting the local club on a friday night after school. And on that note, how in the hell is a deep trance, or a hardstyle artist going to connect with the audience who will watch this show? Why is a 15 year old girl going to pay attention to somebody mixing Paul Van Dyk music when her and her friends all listen to Afrojack and Skrillex?
Judges: There’s going to be 3 judges, that’s just the way all these shows go. And to clarify and give some hints to where the show is going, Wolfgang Gartner just so happily gave a little tid bit of information on who the judges could be. Mr Youngman stated “i know who the judges are. one of them is very famous, speaks very poor english, and is a human cheese dispenser. one of them is probably just laughing his way all the way to the bank and not taking it seriously. the other pair is a total wild card.” The first judge is clearly David Guetta. It could have been a play on words and was referring to deadmau5, but later Wolfgang went on to clarify Joel is not involved in the show. It’s typical that Guetta would be involved in something like this anyways (I’m not going to start a rant about him, so lets just all resent the guy in our minds). The DJ “laughing his way all the way to the bank” could be a big name classic DJ like Carl Cox, Norman Cook or Tiesto. These guys have been mainstays in the industry for years and can’t possibly tarnish their reputation in any way at this point. Plus none of them would take it seriously as they are all way above and beyond a prime-time TV show such as this. Lastly Wolfgang Gartner speaks of a DJ duo who are a wild card. My only guess could be LMFAO as they have gone mainstream, they bring more popularity to the show by being teen friendly, and hell they aren’t real DJ’s anyways so of course they would be involved in this shit. Actually I wouldn’t be surprised if the lineup is actually Nervo to add females to the judging panel, Carl Cox to fill in for Randy Jackson, and David Guetta because he has mainstream appeal. I wouldn’t be surprised if Benny Benassi and Martin Solveig get involved at one point or another as well.
I was going to do a demographic category too, but we all know who this shows target audience is. All I can say is that I hate how our little underground world of dance music is being thrown into the spotlight and turned into a spectacle for the masses. It’s a fun genre of music to pay attention to, listen to and move to. It’s just sad that the industry is taking it this way when it certainly was fine without the press and focus.
I was going to do a demographic category too, but we all know who this shows target audience is. All I can say is that I hate how our little underground world of dance music is being thrown into the spotlight and turned into a spectacle for the masses. It’s a fun genre of music to pay attention to, listen to and move to. It’s just sad that the industry is taking it this way when it certainly was fine without the press and focus.
MARCH 11: Rantings of an irate club enthusiast: Part 1
I was at The Guvernment in Toronto Canada last night and couldn't help but notice the amount of drunk university students climbing the DJ booth. Now I'll be honest they were probably only a couple years younger then me, but in all honesty I've never had an experience as annoying as this. Sure Wolfgang Gartner is my favorite electro/house DJ of all time (sure judge me now) and i would love to shake hands with Mr Youngman, but I have the composure to not climb up and try to fist bump the guy.
I'm not going to blame the security for letting the kids get away with these interruptions (yes I'm saying kids because it's childish to goof off like that). The one thing that stinks is that there's these saturday nights where a huge megastar DJ isn't charging a 80 dollar gate to get in, so the usual college rabble of club goers comes in who couldn't care less about the show, but rather which girl they will go home with at the end of the night. Sure you could raise ticket prices to filter out the kiddies, and keep the dedicated music lovers who will pay an arm and a leg to see talented people like Wolfgang Gartner, or his supporting DJ Pierce Fulton, take the stage. Raising ticket prices would sadly burry a deeper hole in my pocket, and the last thing anyone wants to do is spend more money, because we will if the artist is worth it. After that i'm just disappointed, I brought my crappy point and shoot camera, because anything larger would get pummeled on the dance floor, and nearly half of the photos are filled with yet another drunk goof with his glow in the dark sunglasses and his white button up shirt that he spilled a broken glow stick all over.
I'm not going to blame the security for letting the kids get away with these interruptions (yes I'm saying kids because it's childish to goof off like that). The one thing that stinks is that there's these saturday nights where a huge megastar DJ isn't charging a 80 dollar gate to get in, so the usual college rabble of club goers comes in who couldn't care less about the show, but rather which girl they will go home with at the end of the night. Sure you could raise ticket prices to filter out the kiddies, and keep the dedicated music lovers who will pay an arm and a leg to see talented people like Wolfgang Gartner, or his supporting DJ Pierce Fulton, take the stage. Raising ticket prices would sadly burry a deeper hole in my pocket, and the last thing anyone wants to do is spend more money, because we will if the artist is worth it. After that i'm just disappointed, I brought my crappy point and shoot camera, because anything larger would get pummeled on the dance floor, and nearly half of the photos are filled with yet another drunk goof with his glow in the dark sunglasses and his white button up shirt that he spilled a broken glow stick all over.
Deadmau5 takes the stage at The Guvernment as Wolfgang Gartner plays their collaborative track Animal Rights
JAN 20: Dada Life @ The Hoxton
The Hoxton nightclub has only been hosting events since the early fall of 2011. The space within the south Bathurst hall is minimalist and clean. Upon entry one would first notice that the venue is not overcrowded with the typical club goers. If you are one who feels out of their element when seeing shows in larger venues around Toronto such as the main hall of The Guvernment, then you may be at home at the Hoxton. The sound is great, the bar service is fantastic (even at the most busy points) and the crowd is cooperative and friendly. The booths are small and simplistic, and the floor itself is small and easy to navigate from coat check to the bathroom. T
Thursday night spent at this new club struck me positively, not sure if it was the lack of typical clubbers, the service at the venue, or the music... Awe hell it was the music of course, Dada Life blew the roof off the place. If the idea of head banging to Cotton Eye Joe while having bananas thrown at you and having entire bottles of vodka poured on your head sounds fun to you , then you better hit up one of these parties. Believe me you will have a smile on your face the whole time, and some bruises to prove your battle on the dance floor.
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JAN 10
There’s something about Steve Aoki that one can’t help but admire. On interviews, in his music videos, and during live shows, the Californian Dj can’t help but make you smile. He brings personality to his works and displays the same emotion in person. Beginning his Winter/Spring tour with a new album ‘Wonderland’ he continues to show his adaptive ability to cover all genres of house and electric dance music.
Aoki’s Discography itself is pretty minimal. The majority of his released work has been through features and collaborations with other artists or with singles spread out throughout the year by his juggernaut of a record label Dim Mak Records. ‘Wonderland’ reflects Aoki’s variety in style and the way he has adapted to cover multiple genres of music. Of course Aoki’s big hits from the past year No Beef and Turbulence are included on the later half of the album, and can’t be ignored, my ears are quickly distracted by the wicked dance tune ‘Earthquakey People’. This collaboration of Rivers Cuomo, of Weezer fame, is flat out fun. I also can’t stop listening to the epic remix of this tune by Steve Aoki itself which is titled as a sequel to the original track. I’ve always been a fan of Weezer, and Rivers has the perfect voice to accompany Aokis signature sound. A while back Aoki crafted a remix of ‘(If You're Wondering If I Want You To) I Want You To’ (say that ten times fast) and clearly that mix paved the way for an even more epic collaboration of vocal talent and electric dance mayhem.
Aoki’s Discography itself is pretty minimal. The majority of his released work has been through features and collaborations with other artists or with singles spread out throughout the year by his juggernaut of a record label Dim Mak Records. ‘Wonderland’ reflects Aoki’s variety in style and the way he has adapted to cover multiple genres of music. Of course Aoki’s big hits from the past year No Beef and Turbulence are included on the later half of the album, and can’t be ignored, my ears are quickly distracted by the wicked dance tune ‘Earthquakey People’. This collaboration of Rivers Cuomo, of Weezer fame, is flat out fun. I also can’t stop listening to the epic remix of this tune by Steve Aoki itself which is titled as a sequel to the original track. I’ve always been a fan of Weezer, and Rivers has the perfect voice to accompany Aokis signature sound. A while back Aoki crafted a remix of ‘(If You're Wondering If I Want You To) I Want You To’ (say that ten times fast) and clearly that mix paved the way for an even more epic collaboration of vocal talent and electric dance mayhem.
Weezer live on Canada day 2011 photo by Kurtis Hooper
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Overall this album is just fun. I’ve found myself listening to ‘The Kids Will Have Their Say’ and ‘Ladi Dadi (Ft. Wynter Gordon)’, the later fitting into my usual taste in house music. ‘Ladi Dadi’ is by far my personal favorite tune on the album. The lyrics are sang with power, and the breakdowns of calm, quiet, modern trance sound make this track a smorgasbord to listen to. I’ve had a bootleg copy of ‘Ladi Dadi (part II)’ which somehow finds its way into all my mixes though finally I have a great track that doesn’t sound like it’s being projected down a manhole.
I’m quickly learning that I’m going to have to convert to listening to some hip hop, or at least some electronic dance tunes that have hip-hop vocals. The tracks that i generally would dislike I’ve found to be quite catchy. I learned the same lesson with Wolfgang Gartners album ‘Weekend in America’. Maybe it’s just the memories of teenage girls singing and dancing to LMFAO songs that is horribly and regretfully engrained in my head. |
‘Wonderland’ is a great full length album debut for the house producer. As i have felt with American Electro artist Wolfgang Gartner and Europe's Martin Solveig, they’ve created some amazing work, and it’s going to be exciting to see what else comes from these talented minds within the new year. I'm looking forward to seeing the Dim Mak Dead Meat tour this spring, headlined by none other then Steve Aoki himself.
I give ‘Wonderland’ and 4 / 5 Aoki head rating. Kurtis Hooper
I give ‘Wonderland’ and 4 / 5 Aoki head rating. Kurtis Hooper
JAN 1
OCT 30
DJ MAG Top 100 2011 review
The 2011 edition of top DJ Mag 100 DJ's has been released and I assume all of you were just as eager as I was to find out the rankings. Here's my thoughts on a couple of acts that should not have placed so high on the list and also my thoughts on what is in store for next year. Here's a link to the listings themselves http://www.djmag.com/top100
Daft Punk
Now I know when I say this you are all hating me. But to hold them at #28, above Martin Solveig who’s had a helluva year, is just ridiculous. I love Daft Punk don’t get me wrong, and one can argue that they have somehow stayed relevant even when out of the limelight entirely. Honestly it just comes down to a whole bunch of people who voted for Daft Punk basically because they had to choose another couple choices in their votes other then David Guetta 5 times over.
Afrojack
Don’t get me wrong, he’s making a name for himself. I saw him live this year, for about 15 minutes of his set, and he’s friggen popular. The one problem is that his fame comes from featuring with David Guetta in a couple songs and representing the clubbing culture and not the culture of music lovers.
David Guetta
I could get right to the point and start saying what’s on my mind right now, but you and I both know that theirs nothing great about this guy. Somehow over the past two years DJ Mag has somehow catered and pandered to the masses and the French DJ has garnered votes, not because of his talent, but because 17 year olds who flick on the MTV awards see that he featured in the newest pop song. I would have predicted him getting the top spot last year more so then this year. Somehow I expected Tiesto’s new Club Life tour to rebound him back into the throne again.
It is sad to see Paul Van Dyk drop and to see Infected Mushroom lose their place on the list, but as soon as they pick up steam again we will see them in the top 10 for sure. What I can’t stand is the Swedish House Mafia guys. Sure they’ve released some big tunes, and very catchy ones I must say. Nominate them separately and not as a group though, the several songs they have released collectively garner the same sort of buzz as David Guetta or a Skrillex single.
I am although very glad to see Hardwell up on the list, and that Sebestian Ingrosso was in the bunch as well. I Robbert Hardwell open for Tiesto earlier this year and he is by far the next biggest thing. I guess I over estimated Eric Prydz popularity. Haven’t heard of him touring much this year but I thought he would break into the 20’s. I also expected Martin Solveig and Ferry Corsten to be in the teens for sure as they have remained really relevant this year and headlined some awesome festivals. If you caught Solveig’s Essential Mix you for sure can agree that he is a fun dude and likes to meld genre’s together, much like a young Norman Cook. The consensus seems to be that the landscape of electronic music is changing, there's been several new additions to the rankings very high on the charts, and some of the old favorites are sinking like a stone.
I am although very glad to see Hardwell up on the list, and that Sebestian Ingrosso was in the bunch as well. I Robbert Hardwell open for Tiesto earlier this year and he is by far the next biggest thing. I guess I over estimated Eric Prydz popularity. Haven’t heard of him touring much this year but I thought he would break into the 20’s. I also expected Martin Solveig and Ferry Corsten to be in the teens for sure as they have remained really relevant this year and headlined some awesome festivals. If you caught Solveig’s Essential Mix you for sure can agree that he is a fun dude and likes to meld genre’s together, much like a young Norman Cook. The consensus seems to be that the landscape of electronic music is changing, there's been several new additions to the rankings very high on the charts, and some of the old favorites are sinking like a stone.
OCT 19
So tonight I would have been writing a review for the new Paranormal Activity film as I was attending an advance screening, or at least I thought I would be. I also was to attend a screening for the new Jason Reitman film. Alas When I got to each of these screenings this evening I found out that the promoters had given out way too many RSVP invitations and had to turn away at least 200 eager movie goers ready for a nice Tuesday night out. Now of course I've worked in situations where I have been unable to give a consumer what they want. Within my part time job I was one of the employees at the late and great Canadian branch of Blockbuster and had to regretfully tell people that their accounts and gift cards were unusable. And I can easily understand that people can make mistakes and those can be forgiven, but... well... I was so excited tonight and am incredibly unhappy now. I'm obviously someone who loves to write and tweet and discuss film with peers and this was going to be an exciting double feature tonight and something obviously fun to talk about. Obviously this blog.. errr .... site was going to be meant for discussing film news and displaying some of my photography, but in all honesty tonight It's just about ranting to the world about how unhappy I basically am.
I've already found several twitter users whom attended one or both of tonight showings but ended up being dissapointed with the experience. My gripe at the moment is not with the fact that I got shafted... okay maybe it is a little. Thinking about this I ponder with the fact that possibly this happens all the time. I mean It happened twice to me tonight, by Paramount Pictures. I was given the same email address i can complain to and they will guarantee me my tickets in advance, rather then picking them up from a guest list line before the actual screening. I ofcourse could go to another screening, and I'm going to ask specifically for Mission Impossible tickets, but in all honesty that doesn't solve my gripes for this evening. Well before I even get into my heated discussion, I'm going to end it because in all honesty the only thing that will help me is a time machine.
I've already found several twitter users whom attended one or both of tonight showings but ended up being dissapointed with the experience. My gripe at the moment is not with the fact that I got shafted... okay maybe it is a little. Thinking about this I ponder with the fact that possibly this happens all the time. I mean It happened twice to me tonight, by Paramount Pictures. I was given the same email address i can complain to and they will guarantee me my tickets in advance, rather then picking them up from a guest list line before the actual screening. I ofcourse could go to another screening, and I'm going to ask specifically for Mission Impossible tickets, but in all honesty that doesn't solve my gripes for this evening. Well before I even get into my heated discussion, I'm going to end it because in all honesty the only thing that will help me is a time machine.
OCT 18
While watching Goldeneye yesterday I noticed that the Russian train closely resembled Same the Eagle from the Muppet show.
After that I remembered how excited I am for the upcoming Muppet film. Going to bring back great memories. Hopefully you enjoy
my photoshop skills.
After that I remembered how excited I am for the upcoming Muppet film. Going to bring back great memories. Hopefully you enjoy
my photoshop skills.
OCT 17
Greetings. Today marks the beginning of my web-page/blogging life. So many things have honestly pissed me off lately that I've decided to keep tabs on them and rant to all of you wonderful people via the "interwebz". Actually to be honest i would just like to use this wonderful spot to review movies, products and display photos and some of the work I create. As of now there's nothing for me to really say here. Quite frankly there's loads I could say but it's late, I'm lazy and would rather keep working on some storyboards and watching my roommate play Dead Island.
Hopefully you'll be able to read some exciting, things in the near future.
Kurtis
Hopefully you'll be able to read some exciting, things in the near future.
Kurtis