ITM FM

back to online radio.. this section of ITM (InTheMix.com.au) features DJ mixes recorded live at clubs from events all over the country, mostly from 2003/4, but going back as far as 1999. i guess this gives people who were at the event a chance to re-live the experience, or those who missed out to have a listen to what was played.

i dont know if this is really online radio or not, i feel that online radio should be 'live' in a sense, and not just pre recorded mixes able to be listened to on demand. i think that 'radio' needs to establish a community of listeners, who are listening simultaneously. i think this listing of mixes is more like an archive of dj sets, similar to an archive of mp3's that can be listened to at will.

60.6% making music at home

inthemix.com.au currently has a poll running under the question "Have you experimented with making your own dance music at home?". after 340 votes, 60.6% have answered yes, and 39.4% have said no.

this is quite a high percentage of people saying that they have experimented with making dance music at home, and i would suggest that this result is probably skewed due to the fact that most of the people who have voted are probably regular users of inthemix.com.au. to be a regular user, they also would probably have regular access to a PC, if not a PC of their own. i think that posession of a PC is fairly essential to making dance music, and obviously those with a PC are probably more likely to experiment with producing music.

however, it is possible that some people are using decks and other equipment and experimenting by mixing tracks together to create their own sound, which wouldnt require a PC but also wouldnt really be 'producing' music unless it was being recorded as well...

DJ Sickboy's interview with worldDJ.com (briz dj)

this article from worldDJ.com is an interview with a local DJ. he describes his journey as a dj and began as a 15yr old mucking around with his uncle who had become interested in DJ-ing. in our tutorial today we were discussing whether people who produce music at home come from a musical background or not. this guy seems as though he didnt, and became interested purely through exposure via his uncle. he also states his favourite decks as the Stanton ST-100's. what i thought was interesting is that he is also the owner of an online dj equipment store which he says he started up to provide cheaper prices and specialist knowledge to other dj's.

Also, i feel that i should appologise to my poor PC who was slightly abused in my last post, it seems it was the innocent victim of the sasser worm that has taken down half the world (apparently) including the westpac bank. well im pleased to report that all is now ok, my PC is worm free and is happily posting to blogger once again.. *phew* i didnt realise how stressful 48 hours without my 'puter could be... or how scary it is to realise how much i rely on it..

worldDJ.com - the international online community - (note: only useful if you are online)

i have been looking for the international equivalent of www.inthemix.com.au and think i may have found it.. www.worldDJ.com is a 'members only' site (membership is free) claiming to be comprised of underground electronic artists/DJ's, producers, distributors and of course, clubbers. when my.uq decides to work i will be able to complete my 'free membership' and hopefully find some gems from the site worthy of adding to my blog! (on the technical problems note, my personal computer has also packed up, and so has the computer lab at union college - my unfortunate residence - and so i will be queing to use the ss&h ezones well into the forseeable future..)

im tempted to have a rant about the unreliabilty of networked computers but i will resist since it has little to do with dance music and technology, except of course that it means i will be listening to NOTHING until my computer is fixed. this is because not only is most of my music is stored on my computer, but also because i rely on my computer to be my cd player (college rooms = small), so even the music that i have on cd (which i would generously estimate to be about 1/8 of my collection) are about as useful as drink coasters until my computer decides to work again.

i am sure i am not the first person to be frustrated by their utter dependance on computers and the internet for their daily existence. i guess this serves to demonstrate that without the humble computer, the dance music fan is effectively crippled; cut off from all current news and events, unable to indulge in some bedroom culture, and isolated from all forms of online community (its hardly appropriate to bring my cd's down to the ss&h library..).

In closing i would like to explore the notion that the existance of the online dance community could in fact have both a uniting and segregating effect: uniting those who have access to a computer, and separating those who dont. in effect, it is creating an 'elitist' online dance community, and drawing a very clear line between the 'haves' and 'have nots'. the 'have nots' would simply not be able to participate in the online community, and this probably has an impact on definitions of cultural capital; those who can get the latest news online are at a clear advantage over those who have to wait for news to be filtered through street press or rely on the accuracy of word of mouth.