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Turn My Headphones Up - June 2013

This month's show was a semi-first, but an experience upon which I'd like to build and repeat. For the first time, I set the playlist over a week in advance of the show (instead of the night before). One of my goals is to make more solid transitions from one song to the next, rather than just fade in/fade out transitions. It's a work in progress, but getting better (I think). As far as "workflows" go, I think I've found the one for me, but I really need to stop mixing inside of my headphones. It all sounds janky as fuck on the studio speakers after I've mixed everything on my headphones. And then I have to try to balance out the sound in the studio, which leads to the volume bullshit that you can hear in the playback.



DJ-ing 101: Unless you're mixing live and can make split second adjustments in your headphones and hear the results on big ass speakers....uhmmm don't mix in your headphones, you'll be disappointed. As always, my radio show is less about the acoustics and more about playing music that I love. Still, I want to make a playlist that floooooows. Right now, the problems is that I get home late at night sometimes and I don't want to subject neighbors to loud music from my speakers. Work in progress.

I've got an amazing new graphic for the show with more to come; still, I want to put something together that does it justice. I don't necessarily want an entirely scripted show, but I like talk about the music that I'm playing and that I like and I've got a lot of ideas swirling around in my head. Now I've got the new name, the new graphic...the two big steps to greatness. Now, I need to get guests. This Friday, I was in the whole studio by myself. Usually, there are people pre-producing their shows or other shit like that. On Friday ,I felt like Tom Cruise/Joel Gooden in Risky Business. It's fun, but also creepy since you're by yourself talking to yourself (since you have no idea who's listening).


I literally wrote this sentence in my journal in the 11th grade.

  Anyway, hanging out alone in the studio is kinda played out. I've got the part now where I live blog links and shit, so I need to make the next steps. Maybe I'll start out with friends. If you want to hang out with me in the radio studio and shoot the shit about music then hit me up!

In the meantime, listen to this month's show. I actually put some effort into it. It was intended to be a show about mashups, until I realized that hip hop and mashups are kind of the same thing. Mashups, remixes and samples. What's the difference? Not really anything. Life is a remix.

Some people say that sampling is wack. Sampling can be an art. You can hear two (Jay-Z + Alicia Keys - 2009) different tracks (Asamov - 2005) with the same sample (Atmosphere - 2007) flipped different ways (Jean Grae - 2005) and each song conveys a different mood. Last Beer Thursday at work, a co-worker said (paraphrased), "I studied music and when people listen to music that I think is shitty, I die a little inside." 

I recognize this feeling. I studied music, sang in a choir, played piano, trumpet, and French horn (lots of brass instruments). I'm not a professional, but I can kind of decipher musical notes. It might take me a lot longer than, say, 15 years ago, but now I think -- fuck -- if shitty music is your kryptonite, then that's a huge genetic minus. You're not very equipped to survive on a Darwinian scale in the grand scheme of the history of homo sapiens. If music that you think is shitty is the thing that kills you....then....well...........sucks to be you, I guess? Whatever...change the channel. Get over it. I don't think we can be friends.

At any rate, I think I played some tight tracks this month. Some I'd consider mashups, some remixes, some are flipped samples....it's all good to me. Just need to work on the talking parts. 

Here's the playlist; take a listen to the show and the playlist:



DangerDoom - Benzie Box
Fünf Sterne Deluxe - Wir ham's drauf
Eins Zwo - Das alte Lied von und mit Mutter Nature
Dendemann - Lalalabernicht
Ozomatli - Cumbia de los Muertos
Da Beatminerz ft Last Emperor - Mafia Don
Hocus Pocus - WO:OO
Pigeon John - Money Back Guarantee
Blumentopf - Party Safari
K.I.Z. - Abteilungsleiter der Liebe
Atmosphere - Ha, this one's about alcohol, too
Brother Ali - Pedigree




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