Word: musication
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Effectively, DJs like VanMiddlesworth and Zisiadis are specialty acts; the more an artist knows about DJing techniques and music, the less inclined they are to do the basic stuff that the vast majority of a crowd wants to hear. “You have to be at a place where people are expecting a DJ to do DJ things,” said VanMiddlesworth...
...your set will be worse overall.” For Thorn, songs like “Party in the U.S.A.” are not intrinsically problematic; according to him, “the mainstream party culture at Harvard is focused around a really small canon of Top 40 music but I don’t think it’s necessarily a bad thing... I don’t feel disappointed not playing the music I’d rather listen to on my own. That’s not what those parties would ever be about...
Ultimately, DJing is about striking a balance between the narrow register of pop jingles and an endless catalogue of the music DJs love—what for VanMiddlesworth includes “European techno minimalist house,” but for other DJs comprises a range electronica and hip-hop. John R. Regan ’11, who was the heavenly coefficient to Thorn’s Hell at the aforementioned party, has found a way to reconcile his approach with the demands of his audience. “I’m a remix DJ,” said...
...play too many of the popular songs until there are a good amount of people [on] the dance floor... You really have to learn how to gauge your audience.” This micromanagement amounts to an extended empathy; from noting who goes and who stays, Thorn adjusts his music according to what he believes they will like. While DJing, his entire focus is centered on maximizing his crowd’s happiness...
Zisiadis presents a more narrative view. “You take people through a journey the whole night, building up the music into peaks, bringing it back down, teasing the audience, and then bringing it back up into a marvelous climax.” Though Zisiadis may lack Thorn’s reserved sensitivity, it is clear that they are saying the same thing in two different languages. For both artists, the DJing act is one devoted to crowd pleasure...