Is This the Best Michael Jackson Tribute Ever? (Yes. Yes it is)

I envision a future, after SkyNet takes over and the humans are locked in perpetual war with robots, where the most popular form of entertainment will involve pitting man vs. machine in epic video DJ battles. And while the robots will probably be sophisticated enough to beat mere mortals each and every time, there's no god-damned way they would ever beat Peanut Butter Wolf, because that man is a fucking Jedi master of the Serato game. While we may be a long way from seeing a worthy robot challenger for PB Wolf, watching his tribute to the King of Pop is not a bad consolation. (Keep reading to see parts two and three after the jump.)

I've had the pleasure of seeing PB Wolf do live video mixes on three other occasions and each time it was quite impressive, but I always felt like after 40 minutes or so the mixes got a little long in the tooth (not bad enough to be an issue, but still). Usually PB mixes together many different genres of music and a fair share of movie dialog, which can sometimes have this ADD affect on the flow of the mix. Usually not a problem since the focus is visual anyway, but what I love about these tribute mixes is that they are centered around one theme. And since that theme has a plethora of wonderful music to choose from, it works better than anything else like this he's done.

I also think it does a fantastic job of displaying the immense influence on Hip Hop Michael Jackson had. All the songs are bonafide dance floor jams, and it's only logical they would be sampled over and over, but it's nice to hear how it all sounds as one continuous flow of music. And since radio stations have been playing nothing but MJ the last two weeks, it's a nice change of pace to hear something a little more original while still managing to honor a fallen legend. I hope you all enjoy this as much as I did.
[Thanks to Damian for showing this to me]

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Record Store Day = The Future of Turntablism?

For those of you who don't know, Record Store Day was a simultaneous celebration of independent record store culture that took place in stores across the nation and the UK. Here in Los Angeles that meant the place to be yesterday was Amoeba Records, where promotions, giveaways and celebrity DJ sets were on tap for their appreciative customers. So, naturally me and my brother, dedicated vinyl junkies that we are, decided to venture over to Hollywood to check out the festivities.

While we both spent over four hours searching for records (one of my favorite pastimes), we were also treated to DJ performances from the likes of Daniel Ash and David J (of Bauhaus/Love and Rockets fame), the Donnas (who basically put as little effort and enthusiasm into their set as possible) and Stones Throw co-founder/producer extraordinarie/beat magician Peanut Butter Wolf. I'll give you five seconds to guess which of the DJ's made a lasting impression. . .ready?

Rather than throw down a set full of vinyl goodness (which would've been fine by me, since PB Wolf can spin wax with the best of them), PB decided to kick it up a notch and do an all video set. What this means is he used a computer program (my guess is Virtual DJ) that interfaced with his mixer and allowed him to mix video clips as if they were records. It was pretty cool to watch and it was a pretty ingenious way of forcing the audience to focus their attention towards the stage, rather than nonchalantly listening to the music while flipping through the record racks.

As I watched PB Wolf do his thing, I kept thinking to myself "is this what the future looks like?" That is, will DJ-ing eventually turn into as much a visual experience as it is a musical one? I have no idea, but it's obvious that the synthesis of old (turntables, vinyl) technology and new (software, computer hardware) is creating more opportunities for the DJ to expand their artistic craft. It's fun to watch and I can't wait to see what else they'll come up with next.

[Photo courtesy of flickr user beaucolburn]

Peanut Butter Wolf @ Amobea Records, Hollywood from Ivan Juarez-Mrazek on Vimeo. >>>Continue reading "Record Store Day = The Future of Turntablism?"