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Last Night a DJ Saved My Life: The History of the Disc Jockey
From the first time a record was played over the airwaves in 1906, to a modern club economy that totals $3 billion annually in New York City alone, the DJ has been at the center of popular music. Starting as little more than a talking jukebox, the DJ is now a premier entertainer, producer, businessman, and musician in his own right. Superstar DJs, from Junior Vasquez to Sa...more
Paperback, 336 pages
Published
July 1st 2000
by Grove/Atlantic, Inc.
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This book is decent so far, but consider this quote: "Perhaps the most dramatic example is that of rock'n'roll propagator Alan Freed, who was hounded to death (literally) by the FBI..." I naturally wikipedia Alan Freed immediately, hoping to read about his gruesome and fatal mauling by FBI dogs. No such luck, he died in a hospital. BOOOO
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I finished it. Consistent with my complaint above, the writer's style was truly terrible, almost a deal-breaker. If you lik...more
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I finished it. Consistent with my complaint above, the writer's style was truly terrible, almost a deal-breaker. If you lik...more
This book is really awesome. It's contains the history of so many of the musical genre's we as ravers enjoy today, and some surprising facts about the birth of hip hop and disco too! It's a little slow at first, but I have to say this book changed my opinions on Disco, and mad me love hip hop and punk even more. A must read for any DJ wanna be, Raver who's been at it for more than the usual 6 months and really any other person who's even enjoyed a night on the dance floor losing themselves with...more
This book is clearly well researched, but the prose bogs it down. It takes a fascinating subject and makes it sometimes painful to read about--painful as in laden with pedantry and cliche. It feels like it was written by one of those fanboys who loves "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and knows why Angel was wearing that bracelet in that one episode and will tell you about it for 15 minutes got turned on to hiphop.
The interviews were good, though.
The interviews were good, though.
A good read for dancefloor oriented music lovers and a must read for anyone interested in understanding the history and foundations of music made for dancing. Learn why Jamaica is considered the birthplace of not only ska and reggae, but also of soundsystems, two turntables and a microphone, hip hop, remixing, dub, and much more. Highly recommended and definitely worth a buy.
A super interesting history of the DJ and his record collection. This book basically covers the time when a man or woman played a record in front of an audience. It covers stuff from the 20's to of course the Disco era to the Northern Soul.
I am not into dance music or DJ culture, but saying that this is truly a fascinating history of records and the role it plays in individuals lives as well as social groups of all sorts. The Northern Soul cult is beyond fascinating. DJ's locatin...more
I am not into dance music or DJ culture, but saying that this is truly a fascinating history of records and the role it plays in individuals lives as well as social groups of all sorts. The Northern Soul cult is beyond fascinating. DJ's locatin...more
Fun overview of the history of the DJ in underground culture going back to the 60's. My only complaint is that despite the explosion of topics that could have been covered in the 90's and forward, this decade is brushed over towards the end of the book. Interesting information on previous decades makes up for it though.
I cherry-picked chapters around my musical tastes, so I can heartily recommend the parts on reggae and hip-hop. The authors admit that their treatment isn't comprehensive, but focused on their experiences and connections. Still, great stuff on the origins of DJing and the musical forms it spawned.
A short History of How the DJ came into the Big picture! And How Music Genres like Trance, Techno, House, Garage and Hip Hop was Born, who created it, the info on pioneers of these genres etc..It's an awesome book and will make you a mini musicologist :)
I really enjoyed this book, it had alot of info about music and where its orgin came from. honestly i would only recamind this book for a true music junky.
A fantastically researched, thorough and passionately written book that explains the history of the DJ over almost a century and clarifies a lot about the emergence of dance music scenes and genre labels, it falls down on two accounts: 1) It is slightly dated - last revision is 2000 - and therefore its conclusion about CD DJing is now quaint and woefully passe; and 2) Although I enjoyed the casual writing style it could really use one more pass-through from a good editor, having in many places n...more
disco-tastic! a great, great book. informative. well-documented, well-organized. inspiring. a trip down memory lane. i remember when Rapper's Delight first played on the radio & i rushed out and bought the 12"...and i was listening to Gary Numan's "Cars" at the same time...and before that, disco! it's always more than swell to feel validated & "in the club"...these guys do a terrific job explaining the history & various connections (world-wide) of dance music. ex...more
Essential reading if you want to know where all this business on the wheels of steel began.
Seriously this book made me depressed I don't have a better grasp on current music.
I teach "electronic music history" because of this book!!!
Awesome book. A real education that made me proud to be a DJ.
my bible to all things historically electronic.
Could you imagine going to a ballet studio turned dancehall to dance to jazz records played one after the other? According to these authors, that was the first two turntable setup. The histories of british, jamaican, european, and american club deejays are presented with excellent interviews. Look out for the quote-rich history of the detroit techno scene. By the end of the book, they start theorizing, and boy you wish they wouldn't! That's after 500 pages of history, though.
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This is pretty good for writing about pop music. Not too shallow, not to unhelpfully academic. Worked for me.
This book answers the question "where did dj's come from?" So it starts with the phenomenon of recorded sound, to radio stations, to DJ's (who's job it was to select what was played on the air), to disco's beat-matching, to hip-hop's inventions (mixing 2 turntables in order to play only the most hype parts of funk/soul music), to current-day genre relations (tec...more
This book answers the question "where did dj's come from?" So it starts with the phenomenon of recorded sound, to radio stations, to DJ's (who's job it was to select what was played on the air), to disco's beat-matching, to hip-hop's inventions (mixing 2 turntables in order to play only the most hype parts of funk/soul music), to current-day genre relations (tec...more
This book is a must if you are at all interested in modern music and its roots. Packed with amazing facts and characters who shaped what we listen to and how we listen to it.
Jenna
rated it
Recommends it for:
anyone trying to understand a DJ
Recommended to Jenna by:
a DJ who wished i could only understand him
Shelves:
probably-never-gonna-read
actually i did start this book & was kind of getting into it before i stopped seeing the DJ & kind of lost interest. it's really well-written & rather fun & real. but i'm not gonna read it i'm pretty sure, not when i have piles of current-events books & history books & graphic novels & a paul auster book from the library.
I got a copy of this years ago and lent it to somebody who never gave it back. Bastards. Then, I found the same edition at a half priced place about a year ago. This book is even BETTER than I remembered. I especially like the rather detailed section on the Northern Soul scene. Quite good!
This really is a stunningly written book outlining the advent of the DJ, from early days in northern England through to gay New York discos of the 70s, to superstar 90s DJs. It's tragic at times (the devastation of AIDS and its impact on the burgeoning 80s gay club scene), amusing, and inspiring.
I admit to not having read all of the book. I purchased it to feed into my Scratch (DVD) phase and learn more about the history of Hip Hop and DJing in the Eighties and Nineties. I really like this book and would like to spend more time with it.
Kimberly
added it
same review ast "Looking for the Perfect Beat". Once again, if you're interested in modern American and English (but definetly influenced by many other cultures/styles of music) dj history, this book is well written and higly recommended.
This is the other half. Read "The Oral History of Punk Rock by Legs Mc Neill" before during or after reading this book. The characters, music, moods and ideas all collide.
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Michael
rated it
Recommends it for:
Those who don't know what/where/who Northern Soul, Paradise Garage, or Derrick May are.
This book also contributed to my music education. Like Jeff Chang did with "Can't Stop...", these two Brits were serious. It was very indepth.
With a potential disco resurgence in the offing, it's high time I better understood what happened to it the first time around.
This is an amazing history of the dj. The parts on disco are awesome and opened my mind to the world beyond Saturday Night Fever.
Eye-opening details on the origins of disco, hip-hip and lots of revelatory info on Northern Soul.
Great book! Lot's of interesting facts about the history and function of the DJ.
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