lee@rochester.UUCP (Lee Moore) (10/17/84)
Since there seems to be some interest in the topic of party tapes, I would
like to contribute the following thoughts on:
The Theory and Practice of Party Tapes
1) Choosing the music
Your choice of music is going to be your most pivotal decision. No
"if"s, "and"s or "but"s. The first thing to realize is that there
is no necessary relationship between good listening and good dance
music. This applies to rock or jazz just as it applies to folk.
Silly lyrics can have their place on the dance floor IF they are
backed up a tune that makes you move. Resist the urge to play In-
na-gadda-da-vida just be cause it represents your formative years.
Carefully examine any live cuts you might want to play as they often
contain long passages of jamming that confuses dancers and causes a
general loss of party momentum. Be aware that not all party music
has to be danceable to be successful. There is a class of music in
the "sing-along" category which, though undanceable by techniques
known to Western Civilization, will get people to twitch as they
sing. ...and people do love to sing! Examples of this in Rock
music are "Born to Run" and "She Blinded Me with Science". When it
comes down to actual choices, you will have to be guided by your
taste and the tastes of your guests. Since your music will all be
pre-recorded, you must guess in advance what will be successful.
This is quite un-like the situation of a live DJ who can adjust to
the mood of the crowd. (When I have done live dances, the crowd
didn't waste any time in letting me know their preferences.) Folks
at my parties tend to prefer a mix of oldies (Beach Boys, Beatles,
Stones, Motown...) and popular "new" music (Clash, Prince, Talking
Heads, B-52s, English Beat...). People usually respond better to
music that they are familiar with. While you shouldn't be afraid of
putting in new or undiscovered music, you shouldn't use your dance
tapes as a medium for showing off how much more you know about music
than anybody else.
2) Ordering the music
A friend of mine once made about six hours of party tapes in which
the songs were arranged in strictly chronological order. By mid-
night, the music was only at 1966. While this approach is academi-
cally laudable, it was not greeted by popular acclaim. Try to mix
up the order of the tunes so that people will be pleasantly
surprised by the juxtaposition. This doesn't mean that you should
play head games with the song titles. The matching up such songs as
"She's So Cold" with "Hot Stuff" is almost always lost on the
listener. Instead, look for rhythmic and stylistic similarities
that can let you bridge. For example, follow a motown song with The
Jam's "A Town Called Malice". When people settle into a rhythmic
groove, don't jerk them around by radically changing the speed
between songs. Songs have moods which they lay on the listener.
Try not to make frequent changes in the mood. For example, the
Stones "Miss You" has a dark tone while the Go-Go's "Vacation" has a
playful giddyness.
While it used to be that one programmed two quick songs to one slow
song, contemporary taste has almost sent slow songs the way of the
do-do bird. Any more, slow songs will just clear the dance floor.
Use them sparingly.
3) Recording the music
The important thing here is to keep the songs closely spaced to each
other. Otherwise, people will feel awkward hanging out for the next
tune to start. The faster the beat, the closer the spacing. I have
access to two turntables and a mixer so I can overlap songs. I have
done tricks like timing the last crash of ABC's "Look of Love" with
the first chord of "Beat It". (Note 1: this was before M.J. became
un-cool. Note 2: this bit of artistry went un-noticed by most
listeners) This does illustrate an important subliminal property
which is keep the beat going without people stopping. If you get it
exactly right, people can keep bopping right through segues. "Stars
on 45" carry out this principle ad-nausium (sp?).
4) Playing the tapes
As you can see, I am in favor of never letting the music stop. For
this reason, I suggest that you borrow *two* tape decks and alter-
nate between them. While one deck is playing, you can queue up the
next deck with headphones. Because of unpredictable mood swings in
your guests, be prepared to switch the order that you play the tapes
in. For example, you might have a special cassette with just a cou-
ple slow songs for the right moment. Make a table of contents for
your tapes so that you can find specific songs if you have to. I
usually stick the stereo in the closet during parties so that I
might protect it. I also tape the list of songs to the inside door
of said closet. This organization keeps the stereo away from errant
liquids and the music list from getting lost.
Good luck with your parties! Remember to start recording early as you will
probably spend at least twice as many hours making the tapes as you will
playing them back.
--
Internet: lee@rochester.arpa
UUCP: {decvax, allegra, seismo}!rochester!lee
Phone: [USA] (716) 275-7747, -5671
Physical: 43 01' 40'' N, 77 37' 49'' Wgregbo@houxm.UUCP (Greg Skinner) (10/26/84)
I would like to add that if you do plan to use slow songs, be sure that you
know what kind of people will be at the party. People who are generally
closer to each other (either they come in couples or are pretty good friends)
will dance to slow songs more likely than a bunch of people who come together
for the first time.
I speak from experience. Once, we (I and some college friends of mine)
had a bunch of people who all knew each other well. We played nothing *but*
slow songs for over an hour. Tried it again with people who didn't know each
other so well and it bombed.
--
Baby tie your hair back in a long white bow ...
Meet me in the field, behind the dynamo ...
Greg Skinner (gregbo)
{allegra,cbosgd,ihnp4}!houxm!gregbo