Spring Hits

Spring hits!

Maroon 5 “Makes Me Wonder” - The long-awaited follow-up to their breakthrough 2002 set “Songs About Jane” album is coming soon. Wow, was it really that long ago? It doesn’t seem like five years, partially because “Songs About Jane” didn’t “critical mass” with the general public until almost 2 years later. This release continues with the rhythmic pop which made the band connect with a large fan base in the first place. “Makes Me Wonder” is another heartbreak song, cleverly disguided by happy music, this time reminiscent of the Earth, Wind & Fire rhythm section. I expect this song to perform very well, and to age well, since the lyrical hook of the song isn’t battered into your head. Instead, it’s a little more clever. Indeed, the reason I like Maroon 5 in the first place is that while they’re unabashedly “pop”, there just a little more clever.

Linkin Park “What I’ve Done” - Speaking of long-awaited, Linkin Park is back with a new single, just before press time. LP is a group of very talented individuals, who together are better than the sum of their individual parts. While this song isn’t bad, and will likely do well, it’s missing some signature elements we’ve come to expect from this band. I’m told they are “progressing” out of the rap-rock hybrid that they helped create and define, which is fine. But on this well-written single, all the vocals are from Chester Bennington. Where is Mike Shinoda? To me this would be like having a new single from the Ying Yang Twins, and there was only one of the twins actually on it (and no, they’re not actually named Ying and Yang). Or, if you can’t relate to that analogy, try this one: if it’s Mick Jagger singing, but Keith Richards isn’t playing guitar on it, is it The Rolling Stones? I’m all for expanding the scope of what you do as a band, especially one as talented as Linkin Park, but this single doesn’t hit me as hard as I thought it would, at least on initial impression.

Rihanna with Jay-Z “Umbrella” - Not to harp on it, but I find it a shame that Jay-Z sounds better as a guest on this track, than anything I’ve heard from his own “comeback” album. I’ve also been pleasantly surprised at how well Rihanna has done in her career, thus far. And most of her hits have all sounded unique, too - which bodes well for her career. “Umbrella” is considerably funkier than the “Tainted Love” of her previous hit “S.O.S. (Rescue Me)”, with hard-hitting, rock hard live (sounding, at least) drums, and sinewy synths more often used as “blips” in hip-hop songs, versus for melody, as they’re used here. After Jay’s strong starting, Rihanna’s vocals stand up to the strong track that’s almost rock & roll, with r&b singing, yet with a stacatto rock & roll attitude. Original and very strong.

Don’t miss!

If you mention Steve Sharp when you sing up for the weekly Prime Cuts cd service from JonesTM between now and the end of April 2007, and take $5 each month (for up to three years) off the price of your subscription. Get all the new music you need, in every significant musical genre (in the English language - or add their Latin service, too!), every week, shipped right to you. Mention me (Steve Sharp) and they’ll drop their already low prices another $5 per month, every month. It’s the very best offer available, and it’s only available if you drop my name, and I could only get it because I have really clear blackmail pictures of Jim Weisz and Dave Foster that they don’t want published. Their indescrections are your gain!

You know, sometimes I just say things to see if you’re paying attention.Steve Sharp is a DJ in Southern California who has been spinning since 1981. In addition to running his own successful single-op business, Signature Entertainment, he also creates a weekly radio remix show for Bo’s Saturday Night Party on B95.1 FM. Steve is one of the few people who can not only play the hits, but gets involved in the story behind them and can often tell you who produced, directed and published the song and how their actions affect the music industry.

If you would like to contact Steve, he can be reached at thatdj@aol.com

Is It Summer Yet?

Heating Up!

It’s in the air: summer is coming! And with it, summer parties, the wedding “season”, the beach, and a lot more action in the clubs, and on the radio. And the music is starting to get released that will compete to be part of the soundtrack of summer 2007.

Daddy Yankee with Fergie “Impacto” - So, about 3 years ago there was this new revolutionary music style that was going to take over the world called reggaeton. And at first, it really did look like this trend had what it takes to last, with multiple hits breaking out at once, and labels scrambling to sign creators of this new music and/or assimilate this sound into the mainstream. But then, very little happened. Just in time to renew the faith in this genre comes Daddy Yankee with Fergie with “Impacto”. Sure, it’s the same drum pattern used in about a billion other songs, but it works. Daddy Yankee’s still hot, and Fergie (even though I’m getting tired of her) is hot. I don’t know enough Spanish to discuss the lyrics, but it’s a dance jam, so who really cares about the lyrics anyway? I particularly like the vocoder vocals on the hook, which is a throwback to electronic old school jams. This will be big, I tell ya!

Kelly Clarkson “Never Again” - I remember the first time I heard “You Oughta Know” by Alanis Morissette around twelve years ago (wow), and thought “wow, this woman is really pissed off” but was strangely drawn to the raw nerve the song struck. Well, the new Kelly Clarkson single makes “You Oughta Know” seem like Disney. The very first line is “I hope the ring you gave to her turns her finger green”. Wow. Is it too much? Time will tell, but it’s certainly urgent and rocking. I pretty much guarantee you won’t play this at a wedding. At the very least, it cannot be said that Kelly Clarkson makes the same record, over and over again - which adds credibility to her career. To be honest, I hope this is just a teaser from what is rumored to be an excellent new album of hers, on the way… for the summer.

50 Cent “Straight To The Bank” - On the other hand, maybe 50 Cent and Daddy Yankee (to a lesser extent) DO make the same record, over and over again, using a winning formula that they just keep mining. 50 knows it, and even boasts about it here about “laughing straight to the bank with this.” The bragging, laughing hook taunts, while Dr. Dre’s production is as sharp as ever. The rest is 50’s ego.

Think Pink and win!

I have another five pack of cds to give away, courtesy of our friends at JonesTM! This time, it’s five back issues of Prime Cuts Monthy cds. Here’s the question: what is Pink’s real name? Email your answer to me at ThatDJ@aol.com with the subject line “Think Pink”, along with your name, company name, mailing address, and phone number. Sumissions must be made by 11:59 p.m., Sunday, April 29th to be eligible. I will draw a winner from the correct entries on Monday, April 30th, and announce our winner one week from today!Last Call!

The following deal is only available until the end of April, so act now! If you mention Steve Sharp when you sign up for the weekly Prime Cuts cd service from JonesTM between now and the end of this month, you can lock in a $5 discount per month each month (for up to three years) off the price of your subscription. Get all the new music you need, every week, shipped right to you. Mention me (Steve Sharp) and they’ll drop their already low prices another $5 per month, every month. It’s the very best offer available, but it’s only for new subscribers, and it’s only available for readers of this column. You can get track listings and even a comparison chart online. It’s a fantastic resource at the best price ever offered, don’t miss it!

Steve Sharp is a DJ in Southern California who has been spinning since 1981. In addition to running his own successful single-op business, Signature Entertainment, he also creates a weekly radio remix show for Bo’s Saturday Night Party on B95.1 FM. Steve is one of the few people who can not only play the hits, but gets involved in the story behind them and can often tell you who produced, directed and published the song and how their actions affect the music industry.
If you would like to contact Steve, he can be reached at thatdj@aol.com

Fewer Music Hits Mean Challenges for DJs by Mark Johnson

Greater choice for music lovers means greater challenges for mobile music programmingOver the last few years I’ve been bemoaning the state of current pop music. I’ve observed that there seems to be an ever-increasing number of new artists and songs that all fight for their precious exposure. I’ve also observed that it’s more difficult to follow the trends of our audience’s taste, to identify their favorite current music. But I didn’t have a real reason for why it is more difficult.

Musical Tail-Wagging
An obvious reason is the Internet, and along with it, the iPod. Both are technological masterpieces but may do more harm than good for us mobile DJs. An article in the July 2006 issue of Wired magazine hit the nail on the head and validated my suspicions regarding the perceived short lifespan of today’s songs.

The article “The Rise and Fall of the Hit” is an adaptation of the book “The Long Tail: Why the Future of Business is Selling Less of More” (by Chris Anderson, Hyperion, 2006, ISBN 1401302378) It touches on hit music, hit movies, celebrities and other cultural items. It really made a lot of sense regarding the current state of hit music.
To summarize, it illustrates the cultural audience having much more diversity and many more choices for their entertainment, music included. In the past, the record companies depended on a few major artists or albums to “carry” their entire catalog of artists, income-wise. Now the sum value of all the secondary artists, i.e. “The Long Tail” (like a comet) is actually greater than the sum value of the primary artists.

The Bygone Days of Big Hits
Mobile DJs do not create hits. We play hits. Thus, we react to our guests’ requests for their favorites. For the sake of this article, I’m referring to contemporary music and not long-term favorites. Classic songs have already proven themselves.
Take any mobile DJ standard song and many DJs can remember when it first came out. Thus, there was a “BC” and “AD” to that song. Many of you can remember the time period before “Macarena.” I’m sure many of you can remember the time period before many other favorites like “The Cha Cha Slide,” “Electric Boogie” (The Electric Slide), “Billie Jean,” “Y.M.C.A.,” “Stayin’ Alive,” and more. When those songs came out, they hit big, embraced the entire country, and then became burned in our cultural memory of that time period.

These songs were on the Top 10 playlists of CHR (Contemporary Hit Radio) stations for weeks if not months. Some artists, such as Michael Jackson, Madonna, and Janet Jackson, produced albums that spawned four to six hit songs that were released as singles over the course of a year or longer. Thus, you could not avoid hearing one of those artist’s hits every hour on those radio stations. I also recall some stations purging their playlists of these artists for a weekend just to illustrate how saturated it had become.

Back to today’s music. As mobile DJs, we attempt to align ourselves with the thinking process of our adolescent audiences. We’re not 15 years old anymore, so we try to think like them on a proxy basis, i.e. listen to their stations, read some of their publications, watch some of their TV programs and listen to them directly when they talk about music. What I’ve concluded is a little frightful for us adults trying to sneak into their world.

Trouble on the Dancefloor
Years ago, when current super hits were prevalent, you could have an audience of 200 kids at a school dance and any one song could have 30-40 percent of the kids interested. That would mean that roughly 60-70 percent of the kids were disinterested. Now with the music so splintered, having 5 percent of the kids liking the song you’re presently playing means that 95 percent don’t. We all have enjoyed the tremendous effect such mega-hits like “Macarena” cause at a dance, but you cannot maintain that participation for 3 to 4 hours.

Today’s kids have many more sources for their song information. Once they decide what they want to listen to, they merely go to iTunes and easily download it. No longer is it the single channel sources of one or two “hot hits” stations or the TRL or Yo MTV Raps playlists. Good luck trying to pin down where the kids get these songs today. Years ago, when a 13-year-old asked for “Free Bird,” he was probably influenced by his parents or an older sibling. Now, that 13-year-old has dozens of influences, each offering their version of great music. It’s anyone’s guess what his favorites are now.

During a DJ event, we have all encountered that group of three, four or five kids (boys or girls, it doesn’t matter) that approaches the DJ booth, with their representative asking for a particular song. Chances are, it ain’t “Y.M.C.A.” Most likely it is some obscure song from some obscure artist that is their current reason for living. You may try to fluff them off by writing down their request, knowing that you don’t have it and are just trying to survive the current conversation. They may return to re-request it and you could say you’re looking for it or are trying to decide when to play it. Eventually, their persistence will prevail and you may have to confess that you don’t have it. (See my many articles on the impractical goal of 100% request satisfaction.)

So now they walk away, disappointed that you aren’t in sync with their little world and you’ve added a few lame-o points to your DJ status. You may make a mental or physical note of this song and look it up when you got home, but it’s too late. You’ve crushed the spirit of these kids and their lives will never be the same.
You may also try to see if that song/artist comes up as a request during later events. With a few exceptions, it will probably not. So, how could you possibly anticipate such a request without carrying 10,000,000 songs that may only get played once if at all.

No Future Oldies in View
A lot of us can remember when the M in MTV stood for Music. Now it means Miscellaneous. VH-1 has taken over as the purveyor of music videos, albeit not necessarily current hits. BET, CMT and other music video sources are too specific for mobile DJs.

Two litmus tests for today’s music are: 1) how long the songs presently last and 2) the future anticipation of their need. I cannot imagine most of these songs being requested next year. They really are quite disposable.

In essence, we are being deprived of “future oldies.” Since no current songs stand out that significantly (they don’t have to), next year they will be truly forgotten. I used to consolidate the best songs for each year onto a single CD; I haven’t done so in the last two years. Even the disc I made for 2004 looks pretty sparse today, unlike the still-useful songs on my 1998 through 2001 discs. Time was that Eminem and No Doubt would have their hits plastered all over CHR. They were catchy tunes and great fun for us mobile DJs. Now even they are considered passé.

Where Do We Go from Here?
If you’ve experienced the same feelings that I have about the slippery nature of today’s disposable music, then you owe it to yourself to read the Wired article. I even bought the book referenced, and it goes into greater statistics and rationale regarding the last few years of current music.
Unfortunately, there is no light at the end of the tunnel. Today’s marketing methods have shattered yesterday’s distribution methods to the point that it’s anyone’s guess what current songs are truly necessary for mobile entertainment. While the variety may be great for the music fans and musicians, mobile DJs have a harder and harder job chasing this ever more slippery collection of current “hits.”

For more on current musical challenges, check out Mark’s article, “Predicting the Musical Future,” from Mobile Beat #95, archived at www.mobilebeat.com.

We have all encountered that group of three, four or five kids asking for a particular song. Chances are, it ain’t “Y.M.C.A.” Most likely it is some obscure song from some obscure artist that is their current reason for living.

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