12.20.2012

A BRIEF HISTORY AND 40 SONGS THAT HAVE INFLUENCED ME AS A DJ

lately, i have been getting asked a lot about my dj history, my influences and my views on playing vinyl vs. other mediums. well, here it is.

to be honest with you, sometimes i feel silly when i tell people i am a dj. the main reason i became a dj wasn't for the reasons you would think. as much as i admire some of the old dj greats, i wasn't one to sit and daydream about scratching and spinning beats while someone busts a rhyme. the truth of the matter is that i just love music. i collect music, i research music, i listen to music as soon as i wake up in the morning, but mostly because of how music impacts my life on a daily basis and i want to share that with people.

before i became a dj, i used to throw parties just so i could create a mixtape or playlist. on some nights you would catch me sitting in front of the stereo carefully crafting my next music selection. this lead to my husband tor eventually surprising me with turntables one year for christmas 10+ years ago, and that's when it began. yes, i used to play only records and i still get why djs would ideally play records. lately, i have been seeing a lot of djs out there calling themselves "vinyl enthusiasts" and i have even seen event invites saying "vinyl only". a part of me can appreciate this and the other part of me thinks this comes off as a bit elitist. being someone who has played records, cds and mp3s, i can see all sides. as a dj i personally tend to focus on musical flow rather than the medium. but that's just me.

my musical influences are all across the board. instead of throwing out the names of music genres, here are 40 songs that have influenced me as a dj. just the tip of the iceberg.

here we go:

1. peter piper - run dmc
2. holy thursday - david axelrod
3. dominoes - donald byrd
4. chameleon - herbie hancock
5. metronomic underground - stereolab
6. night of the living baseheads - public enemy
7. heartbeat - taana gardner
8. finally - kings of tomorrow
9. tour de france - kraftwerk
10. hangin' on a string - loose ends
11. ecstacy- ohio players
12. mystic brew - ronnie foster
13. tracey in my room - etbg vs. soul vision
14. buddy - de la soul
15. soul makossa - lafayette afro rockband
16. can't turn me away - sylvia striplin
17. you can't play with my yo-yo - yo yo
18. you belong - hercules and love affair
19. is it all over my face - dj marley marl & loose joints
20. cubik - 808 state
21. dream machine - mark farina
22. morfar - prins thomas
23. cavern - liquid liquid
24. never too much - luther vandross
25. she's lost control - joy division
26. sidewalk talk - jellybean
27. paper thin - mc lyte
28. your love - prodigy
29. automatic - pointer sisters
30. music and wine - blue six
31. act too (love of my life) - the roots
32. got a love for you - jomanda
33. 900 degrees - ian pooley
34. some lovin' - liberty city
35. cooky puss - beastie boys
36. pull up to the bumper - grace jones
37. unfinished symphony - massive attack
38. house of love (more/phearce mix) - smooth touch
39. lady cab driver - prince 
40. al-naafiyish - hashim

most of these songs are earlier influences and i can go on and on, but i will stop at 40. 


keep dancing,
stephanie

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