FYI.

This story is over 5 years old.

Music

Fuck A Band DJ Set

Skinny Friedman sees the light while watching Sigur Ros' Tripple Nipple.

Earlier this month, Sigur Rós launched their DJ career. Under the name Triple Nipple, the Icelandic rock trio known for their otherworldly soundscapes debuted a mix for FACT Mag and played Berlin Boiler Room. They played the same competent but meandering set you might expect from any greenhorn DJ, one that would probably outrage the average Boiler Room crowd. But since it was Sigur Rós up there playing, nobody said a damn thing and they got international coverage.

Advertisement

If Triple Nipple comes to your town, don't go see them. Band DJ sets are a scourge, a swindle pulled by promoters that cost actual working DJs money. Bands like DJ bookings because they get cash without having to actually play a show. Promoters like band DJ sets because their star power brings a crowd. Fans see the name on the bill and show up expecting the band to play live or at least spin some of their songs… or do something—anything—that will justify their booking. It's such an egregious hustle that it inspires a mind-boggling "The Emperor's New Clothes"-style delusion: people keep going to see bands DJ because there's no possible way they could keep getting booked for DJ sets if they weren't actually good DJs, right?

There is no reason to think being in a band makes you a good DJ. It's like assuming a chef will know how to farm (to paraphrase the late Mitch Hedburg). DJing and making music are actually pretty different skills. Making music is largely creative and personal. DJing is about being able to look at a room full of people and know what songs they want to hear and what order to play them in. Even a wildly famous headliner knows what they've been booked to do and understands how to balance crowd-pleasers with more adventurous cuts. And even when it's a scrub like me DJing a wedding, I'm aware of how deep I can go without losing the crowd.

I'm not a snob about DJs. I have no problem with a guy playing Flo-Rida and Black Eyed Peas bangers to a room full of happy drunk people off of two iPods. I fuck with vinyl-only rock nights at dive bars. Someone playing dubstep off their laptop for a bunch of raving teenagers? Awesome. All these people know their audiences and know what they are there for. Bands that get booked to DJ (along with other celebrities) are only up there because they are famous enough that nobody will tell them they suck. They should get the same dismissive coverage that celebrity bands do—we should see Triple Nipple in the same light as, like, Dogstar. Instead, they get headlining spots that could have gone to someone qualified but less "famous."

Band DJ sets are the handjobs of nightlife: one side phones it in, the other side is disappointed. Don't get gaffled!

Skinny Friedman is into trap rave and #buttmusic. - @skinny412