Do you ever find some tracks are really boring / samey / uninteresting / cliché on some well known labels?
Some of the stuff I hear is so simplistic and monotonus with nothing really going for it, yet they are made by some known names and are on big labels?
Why is that? I expect EPIC musical masterpieces that take my breathe away, but it’s not always the case.
I don’t mean any disrespect to anyone and i’m not going to show you examples of what I mean because I feel it unfair to do that, but I do get fairly shocked by how bland some tracks can be whilst you look on youtube and they have loads of comments from people saying things like ‘amazing’, ‘this is my tune of the summer’ or whatever else like that you know?
I wonder whether people are hearing the same thing i’m hearing?
I take your point Roben, it is a bit rubbish when you hear something on a label that you like that just doesn’t seem in anyway better than a lot of stuff on Soundcloud.
But I don’t agree that every release should be an epic masterpiece. You will know more than most that different tracks need to do different jobs when used to DJ. Yes you need the epic tracks, but you also need the start of the night tracks, the slow building tracks, the sustained energy tracks, the locked in a groove tracks and the switch around and kick you in the nuts tracks (you do all have those don’t you?).
Lots of tracks you just hear in isolation don’t seem interesting at all, but in a well built set can perform an important role.
Yeah that’s not what I meant though but i can see how my mentioning the word ‘epic’ you assumed i meant it like that.
I just mean a great track, a track which is memorable, a track which has something distinct that makes it what it is, not something that’s bland as hell which sounds like it was made in a day.
There is room for divesity in DJ sets, it what makes better tracks stand out more and takes people on that journey, but there’s no room for down right boring sh*t that makes people wonder of the floor / look at the time / leave the club.
Anyways this post isn’t about DJ sets, it’s about music that is yawn-worthy and uninteresting yet still seem to get lots of praise.
The actual problem, which you mention, is the fact that we have Soundcloud and Beatport and iTunes and MySpace and Facebook and YouTube and every other “easy” way for anyone claiming to be a producer to release material, regardless of the quality. Just as in any other field, there are going to be complete unknowns that totally blow away some of the big names because there isn’t anything to lose.
The big names have sponsors and a generally popular reputation that needs to be upheld, so after the waves are made early in their career, many become bland and uninteresting as a means to maintaining their “safe zone” with fans and sponsors alike. It kind of like college vs. pro sports. College players take chances and often provide a much more exciting game-watching experience than the pros, who made it to the big time, and are essentially just trying to protect themselves from injury!
Not sure if this makes any sense, but I blame things like Soundcloud and Facebook for the flood of “crappy” music. What I want to see, and what I am trying to do with my music, is get back into the PERFORMANCE of tunes. To me, it is much more impressive to see a DJ or performer actually perform the song instead of pushing some buttons on overpriced gear that was probably free and requires almost no input. Kind of like Tiesto!
J
95% of the stuff i hear coming out on big labels i think is utter ****e and bores me to tears…
I mean what do you expect? Beatport & Labels can’t even get their genres correct…
To me it is both annoying & funny when I go to beatport, check out the electro top 10.
And then the #1 track is a progressive house track. Or a tech house track…
Really?
I sometimes think people shoot heroin prior to labeling their track in a genre.
It happens all the time.
If you thought “crate digging” was a laborious process back in the day, it’s nothing compared to now.
The issue: Technology
Everyone with a laptop nowadays is a “producer.” And the medium at which most music is played nowadays “MP3, WAV, CD” is virtually costless. And that is both good and bad.
BAD: You’re now getting bombarded with tons of crap tunes because people are pumping out half-assed tunes on labels quickly because they just “want to get something out.” And think about it, it doesn’t cost anything. Very rarely now is vinyl being pressed. Which is quite expensive. Alot of crap was filtered back in the day because it wasn’t worthy of being pressed to vinyl. Now, what’s the cost in throwing a WAV file on the internet???
GOOD: This technology also gives those who are on a budget a chance to create. And some of these peeps are BRILLIANT. AND, it’s fun. Even if you’re not in it to sell your tunes, it’s still fun to chill in the studio and mess around.
Another good thing, is that music moves so fast now. Back in the day, if you wanted to play the same records as Sasha, Digweed, Carl Cox, etc., etc., etc. you had to wait a couple of months until the record was released. By then, the record was DEAD. Everyone heard it a million times and it was “old news.” Now, you can get most of their crate online pretty quickly. There are a few tunes that you can’t get cuz they’re on their label and they’re gonna wait for the general public to get them, but it’s not as bad anymore.
BAD: The monotony of music is ten-fold. If you go on to Beatport, you’re going to go to the Techno or Tech House section and hear a million tracks that sound identical to the one before it. Talk about ear fatigue.
GOOD: This pushes people to come up with something new and different.
BACK TO THE ORIGINAL QUESTION POSTED: Yes, there is some monotonous sounding stuff by big artists on big labels. Some of it is guys signing their friends to labels. It’s a little insestious. And yes, most stuff on Beatport is boring. However, I’ve listened to tracks on nice systems and they sound TOTALLY different at home. Some of these “boring” tracks really groove and rock on a big system.
I’M RAMBLING AGAIN!!! SORRY!!! I will now step off my soap box! 
[quote]UnitedVision (19/04/2011)[hr]I mean what do you expect? Beatport & Labels can’t even get their genres correct…
To me it is both annoying & funny when I go to beatport, check out the electro top 10.
And then the #1 track is a progressive house track. Or a tech house track…
Really?
I sometimes think people shoot heroin prior to labeling their track in a genre.
It happens all the time.[/quote]
Don’t use beatport! Use Juno!! I never use beatport can’t stand it
I’ve been buying vinyl for 15 years or so and I don’t see anything different tbh. There’s always been crap produced you just got to wade through it. The problem is there is a Market for it, people will buy crap music for whatever reason, I’ve done it myself you should hear some of the crap I’ve got lol
[quote]Mussi81 (19/04/2011)[hr]I’ve been buying vinyl for 15 years or so and I don’t see anything different tbh. There’s always been crap produced you just got to wade through it. The problem is there is a Market for it, people will buy crap music for whatever reason, I’ve done it myself you should hear some of the crap I’ve got lol[/quote]
yeah + 1 on this… I have some records that are total piss which I would have paid between 8 - 10 pounds for 10 or 11 years ago.
What was I thinking.
But yeah nothing has changed in this respect. I would spend a whole day in HMV going through 100’s of records and only leaving with a small handful.
Funny, I couldnt stand spending a whole day on beatport or audiojelly, I’d go crazy, But with records it was very much different. I do miss em
+1 Mussi
Dont buy Vinyl anymore… but I used to always debate whether or not I’d buy a record, cos it only had one good track on it.
Sometimes I listen back over them… see the money I paid & the ok track isnt even that good! Between 5 & 10 quid for that honour!
Now… multiply that by?! 
The utter win right now is that you can just buy that good track & skip the filler. The other tracks now have to be of a higher standard if they stand a chance of being bought together.
For the most part - theres a lot of same-y sh!t out there… but its ALL genres, not just Tech.
Good is Good. Sh!t is Sh!t.
Dont like it? Dont buy it.
Mate… I think we were looking over eachothers shoulders when we were writing! 
[quote]gofunk (19/04/2011)[hr][quote]Mussi81 (19/04/2011)[hr]I’ve been buying vinyl for 15 years or so and I don’t see anything different tbh. There’s always been crap produced you just got to wade through it. The problem is there is a Market for it, people will buy crap music for whatever reason, I’ve done it myself you should hear some of the crap I’ve got lol[/quote]
yeah + 1 on this… I have some records that are total piss which I would have paid between 8 - 10 pounds for 10 or 11 years ago.
What was I thinking.
But yeah nothing has changed in this respect. I would spend a whole day in HMV going through 100’s of records and only leaving with a small handful.
Funny, I couldnt stand spending a whole day on beatport or audiojelly, I’d go crazy, But with records it was very much different. I do miss em[/quote]
i have no idea why people buy tracks on beatport!!
audiojelly’s prices are so much better!!
I was thinking that the other day. The good thing with digital is that you buy all the good ****.
The bad thing with digital is that you don’t come across a little gem on the b side that you haven’t heard before, that turns out you like more than the original track you bought the vinyl for
[quote]willidaniel (19/04/2011)[hr]i have no idea why people buy tracks on beatport!!
audiojelly’s prices are so much better!![/quote]
Even more so for me cause on Audiojelly my currency show up as US Dollars and I’m paying with GBP, bonus.
[quote]Mussi81 (19/04/2011)[hr]I was think that the other day. The good thing with digital is that you buy all the good ****.
The bad thing with digital is that you don’t come across a little gem on the b side that you haven’t heard before, that turns out you like more than the original track you bought the vinyl for[/quote]
I dunno… when I tend to buy stuff - I listen to all the tracks on releases.
I’ll then go off on a tangent… linking off to all sorts of other sh!t… and end up finding stuff that I’ve never heard of before.
I think thats the equivilent of the random b-side thing… for me anyway
That wasnt something that you could do with a static piece of plastic. Now you can explore all the releases on a label or go off checking out a remixer etc… just remember to leave a trail so you can find you way back 
Sweet!
[quote]gofunk (19/04/2011)[hr][quote]willidaniel (19/04/2011)[hr]i have no idea why people buy tracks on beatport!!
audiojelly’s prices are so much better!![/quote]
Even more so for me cause on Audiojelly my currency show up as US Dollars and I’m paying with GBP, bonus.[/quote]
I dont know what u call Epic!! but i think that depends on your Musical taste.
but i agree. nowadays is hard to get good Tracks from Labels like Intec.Nervous Records ETC. back in the day it was just pure quality .
nowadays seems that they just release whatever .
but still from time to time u get that one track
[quote]ICN (19/04/2011)[hr][quote]Mussi81 (19/04/2011)[hr]I was think that the other day. The good thing with digital is that you buy all the good ****.
The bad thing with digital is that you don’t come across a little gem on the b side that you haven’t heard before, that turns out you like more than the original track you bought the vinyl for[/quote]
I dunno… when I tend to buy stuff - I listen to all the tracks on releases.
I’ll then go off on a tangent… linking off to all sorts of other sh!t… and end up finding stuff that I’ve never heard of before.
I think thats the equivilent of the random b-side thing… for me anyway
That wasnt something that you could do with a static piece of plastic. Now you can explore all the releases on a label or go off checking out a remixer etc… just remember toleave a trail so you can find you way back :D[/quote]
I just get lost if I do this! Must try it again and not just go through the top 100! I’m lazy theses day unless I have a gig which I havent in a while (club closed down 
)
I miss B sides! So many times i’d end up finding gems on the B side