I've been DJing for what
at this point almost feels like forever.
And don't get me wrong - I love it as
much today as the first day I stepped
behind the decks. As my friend George
once said, "I'll stop DJing the moment
after I stop breathing, and not a moment
before." That's as true today as
it was back in 1992. But still....
Something feels like
it is... missing. Or more accurately,
like somewhere along the way it got lost.
And I'm not happy about it. But rather
than complain, I've decided to do something
about it. I've decided to shut up, step
up, and see if there isn't something I
can do.
In the beginning, vinyl
was the everything and the only thing,
and what separated one DJ from another
could be found in the answer to two simple
questions: What's in your box? And what
are you going to do with it? That was
it. Nothing more.
But then DJ culture began
to grow, and as it did so too did both
its art and its industry. Vinyl became
CDs. Mix tapes became studio productions.
Turntables became MIDI controllers. DJs
became nomads. Producers became rock stars.
And the music of the underground became
the sound of Madison Avenue.
Don't get me wrong here...
the changes have been phenomenal, and
on balance I wouldn't change a thing.
Without a doubt this life has been everything
I've dreamed and more. But for all the
changes I've seen, for everything we've
all shared and done, I can't help but
feel that something important has been
lost. And that something is this:
Surprise.
Once upon a time, you
would walk into the club and not know
what was going to happen next. Maybe it
was the venue that surprised you. Maybe
it was the promoter. Maybe it was the
theme, or the crowd, or the style of the
kids throwing down on the floor. Maybe,
on one of those rare, once in a lifetime
nights that seemed to happen just about
every week, maybe it was all of them at
once. But one thing was for sure - no
matter who was on the decks, whether their
face and their name was new or old, you
never knew where the music would take
you next.
As much as I hate to
admit it, and as much as it pains me to
say, in most clubs, in most cities, on
most nights, that element of surprise
is gone. Surprise has been replaced by
formula, something to which both the DJ
and the crowd know how to play. And sad
to say, at times I've been guilty of following
that formula, too.
So... you can consider
this my apology. My fault. My bad. And
my time to do something about it...
100 days. 100 tracks.
1 track per day, none selected more than
an hour or two in advance.
Always forward, never
backward. Layers can be added, but they
can never be removed.
Old songs, new songs,
electronic music and more. Where will
this mix take me? How will it evolve?
I honestly have no idea. Surprise!
Come January 2007, good
or bad, the entire thing will be posted
online for the world to hear.
100 songs. 100 days.
Where will it take us?
Come on... Time to go!
