Mark Skillz, hip hop historian of a sort and an occasional writer for Wax Poetics, represents the old school of hip hop and lets others tell their stories on Hip Hop 101A. From Eddie Cheba recalling his time as a top DJ in the small world of hip hop in 1977, to the life of Sparky D, who took up the good fight for UTFO and started the Roxanne Wars, one of hip hop's first rap battles. Read up on the fall of funk and the rise of Planet Rock, and reminisce with Reggie Wells about the birth of hip hop from black club deejays in Manhattan who were refining a slick style of talk over disco records to open hip hop jams in the park. As a bonus, Wells throws out a playlist straight from Club 371 (videos after the break). [more inside]
posted by filthy light thief on Sep 18, 2009 - 23 comments

The "Bonus Beats" tracks on 12" singles were used by DJ's to either extend the mix of the main track, or sometimes played within a dj mix on their own. One DJ mourns their passing. [more inside]
posted by analogue on Jul 28, 2009 - 15 comments

The Tarantino Mixtape from Eclectic Method is not the first mashup to cross the audio/video copyright streams, but they are pretty good at it.
via the always excellent giavasan [more inside]
posted by hypersloth on Apr 30, 2009 - 17 comments

Metafilter is certainly no stranger to music mashups, or even live music mashups, but a few artists are taking things a step further with live music and video mashups. Not prerecorded mashups of live music and video, but live performances of DJs (often calling themselves "VJs") mashing up music and video together on the fly. [more inside]
posted by Grimp0teuthis on Apr 8, 2009 - 14 comments

Four Hours of Free Funkiness Filter: Pretty Lights [more inside]
posted by jammy on Mar 31, 2009 - 20 comments

Introversy - 2 Many DJs (Soulwax) mixes the intros of 420 songs in 60 minutes. Ad-tastic direct mp3 download link.
posted by empath on Feb 3, 2009 - 31 comments

Gilles Peterson does his thing which you can listen to weekly. Some of his mixes and podcasts are available for download. Dude even digs Obama. [more inside]
posted by gman on Nov 10, 2008 - 14 comments

Ron Murphy cut records, but not just any records. Responsible for cutting the actual vinyl master plates of much of the now revered Detroit Techno including Jeff Mills, Carl Craig, Underground Resistance's seminal Knights of the Jaguar, and much more - he demonstrated impeccable craftsmanship and skill in both mastering records for sound and aesthetics at company known as Sound Enterprises source link AKA National Sound Corporation. Schooled in Motown, dubplates and jukeboxes, he is the bespoke-crafted, analog link between the digital future and analog past that is the roots of Techno music and modern techno DJ culture. [more inside]
posted by loquacious on Feb 13, 2008 - 15 comments

Mixed With Love: The Musical World Of Walter Gibbons: "This tale begins with a skinny white DJ mixing between the breaks of obscure Motown records with the ambidextrous intensity of an octopus on speed. It closes with the same man, sick with Aids and all but blind, fumbling for gospel records as he spins up eternal hope in a fading dusk. In between, Walter Gibbons transformed the art of DJing and marked out the future co-ordinates of remixology." [more inside]
posted by Len on Feb 7, 2008 - 6 comments

Nardwuar The Human Serviette. Who is Nardwuar? Nardwuar is a singer, DJ, VJ, record label impressario, and patriot. Perhaps most infamously though, he is an interviewer, and it is there his true genius shines. Nardwuar has interviewed everyone from Snoop Dog to Jean Chretien (it was in fact Nardwuar who got Chretien to utter that famous line about pepper). [more inside]
posted by stinkycheese on Oct 31, 2007 - 18 comments

Suddenly, a man in a vintage hat rides up, hip-hop blaring from a glowing Plexiglas container shaped like a tropical fish set above the back wheel of his bicycle, control lights flashing. Fossil Fool, a rolling rapper from San Francisco who rides the college circuit preaching the benefits of peddling, grabs his microphone, cranks up the volume and starts to rap. Paul Freedman, aka Fossil Fool, is one of the founders of Rock the Bike, which makes Soul Cycles -- bicycle-based, often human-powered hi-fi and PA systems -- for "playing clean, powerful, uplifting music at street festivals and off-grid parties." RTB recently made a mobile DJ booth for Austin's DJ Manny; here's how. Attention, party-throwers: In 2008, you may well be able to rent or borrow a Soul Cycle for your own shindig.
posted by GrammarMoses on Oct 28, 2007 - 9 comments

DJ Sara and DJ Ryusei. Sara is 8 years old. Ryusei is 5 years old. I reckon maybe those are papa's hands working the platter and fader in this clip? Also on the vinyl tip, and coming at ya outta Japan, the SOUNDWAGON.
posted by flapjax at midnite on Sep 20, 2007 - 12 comments

Djs in ihren Wohnzimmern: Erst. Zweitens. von
posted by klangklangston on Sep 18, 2007 - 24 comments

London Flyers. Paris Flyers. Punk Flyers. More UK Flyers. Belgian Flyers. German Flyers. Greek flyers. Academic Flyer. Flickr Flyers.
posted by desjardins on Jun 26, 2007 - 16 comments

All this scratchin' is makin' me itch.
posted by phrontist on Apr 20, 2007 - 26 comments

A massive collection of live DJ and PA sets of electronic music sorted by year and genre. Enjoy.
(Coral Cache link. Please use this to help archive and propagate the files.)
posted by loquacious on Dec 31, 2006 - 15 comments

Get in on the stream while there's space, because Autechre is doing a boomtastic live DJ set full of 80s electronica, mashed up weirdness and god knows what else... more links posted in the thread as I think of them but I have to hit post now because it's time sensitive.
posted by fleetmouse on Dec 29, 2006 - 33 comments

DJ Inferno is a former world DMC champion, but he's taking turntablism to the next level. No longer content with 'two turntables and a microphone' he's added a whole suite of new gear to his sets, allowing him to remix songs on the fly. -- Crazy, With or without you, Another Brick in the Wall, ... More viceos...
posted by empath on Dec 29, 2006 - 56 comments

Alan "Fluff" Freeman has died at the age of 79. Although he gave up broadcasting in 2000, due to poor health, he will always be remembered as the man who invented the chart rundown, complete with background music and jingles.

He is probably best known for Pick of the Pops, which reached a mainstream audience, but was also a champion of rock music. Along with John Peel and Tommy Vance, Fluff was the last of the three great DJ's I grew up listening to on late night radio. I'm too young to remember his Radio Luxembourg shows, but The Saturday Night Rock Show on Radio 1 was compulsory listening, part for the music and part for Fluff's unique catchphrases and jingles, particularly Sign of the Swingin' Cymbal (rm) which became his theme on all his radio shows. He was also the inspiration behind the Harry Enfield character Dave Nice. We'll miss you Fluff. Not 'arf!
posted by bap98189 on Nov 28, 2006 - 29 comments

WaxDJ.com - an excellent source for free downloads and streams of original electronic music mixes of all sorts, from seasoned pros to beginning bedroom amatuers, all told numbering in the hundreds or thousands. My current brand new favorite is the very diverse and well-versed Detriot/Chicago techno stylings of DJ Rubsilent. Recomended mix: Future Funk 23: (Direct MP3 link) (Streaming mp3 link) But don't let me divert you - search for your favorite local DJ or browse for new ones.
posted by loquacious on Oct 11, 2006 - 19 comments

The legendary and influential DJ Shadow has been discussed here several times before. His latest album, The Outsider, dropped earlier this week. It dropped hard. Its embrace of hyphy and schizophrenic genre spanning has been met with near-universal disappointment, shock, anger, and sadness by his fans. Josh Davis, aka DJ Shadow, explains himself here. As Shadow seems to be a long-standing favorite among Mefites, what do you think of it?
posted by ghastlyfop on Sep 21, 2006 - 68 comments

10 greatest beat-making videos ever* "*Or, you know, today." A Music thing thing.
posted by nthdegx on Aug 23, 2006 - 14 comments

Birdy Nam Nam blew me away. 4 DJs from Paris, 4 turntables and no mikes. A little context: Turntablism. Via the very lovely aurgasm.us
posted by econous on Jun 21, 2006 - 43 comments

Properly Chilled, "a great guide to the downtempo music scene/lifestyle, spotlighting not only the essential release reviews, label/artist profiles and other data on the genre but also exclusive DJ mixes and all kinds of other goodies" (via). Check out the totally free, totally chill Radio Jazztronica #3 mix from DJ Chicken George. It's 55+ minutes of "unpredictable, energetic and heart-felt" downtempo that packs a serious punch. Did I mention it's free?
posted by JPowers on Feb 8, 2006 - 19 comments

An awesome short commercial (quicktime) that's a sort of visual music mashup from a DJ equipment company. [via tween, a cool video effects blog]
posted by mathowie on Jan 29, 2006 - 17 comments

Irritation: A radio saga. NSFW (language) Dead Air Dave is a New York Disc Jockey, (in)famous for being the man who hit the dump button on the Howard Stern show. An interesting look at a day in the life of an overnight radio DJ.
posted by super_not on Jan 26, 2006 - 4 comments

Mark Spoon , best known as half of German trance duo Jam & Spoon, was found dead today, apparently of a heart attack at age 41. Jam and Spoon aren't well known in the mainstream, but they almost single handedly invented the dance music genre today known as "Progressive Trance" with their early 90s singles "Stella" and "Age of Love" (Short MP3 samples).
posted by empath on Jan 12, 2006 - 38 comments

The 2005 Chillits sets have been posted! This little Northern California sister of the Big Chill Festival is possibly my favorite annual music event. Even though the sets from this and last year are fantastic, my favorite is still the Mix Master Morris (aka the Irresistible Force) set from 2003. Ideal for fans of ambient chill and groove salad.
posted by analogue on Jan 3, 2006 - 24 comments

Traditionally, (video) a DJ uses two turntables, but recently a series of new products has challenged the primacy of vinyl. While local record shops have been closing left and right, online stores have begun offering digital downloads. One digital-only outlet recently sold their 1,000,000th mp3. And now, a new store has taken the DJ completely out of the equation by making mix cds on demand.
posted by empath on Nov 14, 2005 - 59 comments

Spin A short film about an intercessor DJ (via bryan. Hi, bryan!)
posted by boo_radley on Aug 20, 2005 - 28 comments

DJ Darth V. (.wmv file.)
posted by fandango_matt on Jun 10, 2005 - 25 comments

"I Ain't Lazy" (lyrics NSFW) featuring Skratch Bastid, John Smith & Pip Skid. A day-in-the-life indie hip-hop video directed by Jason Lapeyre featuring another top notch crew of PCRs.
posted by boost ventilator on Apr 16, 2005 - 16 comments

Watch this unique DJ show us what he's made of. (Flash)
posted by thebabelfish on Feb 27, 2005 - 11 comments

Too Many Fools Following Too Many Rules is a great mixtape created by Bristol DJs The Outlaws. It's a bit like this popular little number but with great combinations of dance music, pop tunes and a bunch of old classics. It's recieved some good reviews and there is an option on the site to donate some money to the DEC Tsunami appeal if you like it. This rather beautiful and mental interview sheds a little more light on them. They seem, quite appropriately, to be fans of these guys too.
posted by sam and rufus on Feb 16, 2005 - 10 comments

This is a great tool to mix mp3s with, especially if you don't have $400-600 for final scratch pro. It was designed specifically for DJing live and works like a virtual turntable. Besides being free, it's far better than most of the other toy-ish mixing programs available. Having two soundcards makes things easier, but it can even run on a system with one soundcard (although you still need a real mixer). We've come a long way since this.
posted by EvilKenji on Feb 13, 2005 - 21 comments

"We wanted to be the store that your mother didn't want you to go to." Cult band leader Dale Lawrence covers the RIAA shutdown of an Indianapolis record store, Berry's Music, for "Selling DJ mix-CDs.". Lawrence has written about mashups for a few years now. Is he also a deejay?
posted by mwhybark on Jul 28, 2004 - 8 comments

DJ Danger Mouse has been making waves recently with his Grey Album that cross-pollinates the music of The Beatles' classic White Album with the lyrics and delivery of Jay-Z's recent swan song, the Black Album. The results? "One of the more interesting pirate mashups ever done." (Pitchfork). "Most ambitious remix." (Village Voice). "As fun as it is daring." (Boston Globe). "Ultimate remix record." (Rolling Stone). Not surprisingly, EMI is far from amused by the unsanctioned and unapproved project and the limited release will no longer be distributed. So, download it now (or check out these Real Player samples).
posted by boost ventilator on Feb 18, 2004 - 92 comments

The New DJ Revolution? "You are a DJ but you don't have any bulky gear. You don't need to drive to a gig, the subway/underground will do just fine. You don't need an assistant to carry milk crates of heavy vinyl. Everything you need is in your pockets and the size of a cigarette pack. You only have 2 iPods, but they together hold enough music to play for several months straight, 24-7, without a single repeat. You are a mp3j." [thank you, iPodLounge.]
posted by grabbingsand on Nov 10, 2003 - 27 comments

From Russia, with love.
posted by mr_crash_davis on Sep 26, 2003 - 14 comments

Hip-hop turntablism at Berklee College of Music? I think it's a great idea, although I'm not sure that this is really what their typical student is looking for. Though apparently the book is already quite popular.
posted by soplerfo on Feb 11, 2003 - 88 comments

The end of Vinyl II? Stanton ships Final Scratch, which enables a DJ to manipulate (mix, scratch, cut...) any music on their PC with their turntables. Besides not needing to carry all the weight and bulk of crates of records around, DJs can now skip the expensive and complicated step of cutting their own records in order to play original tracks. Is vinyl going to die for real this time?
posted by badstone on Jan 15, 2003 - 35 comments

Bastard Pop is one of the more interesting developments in popular music in the last few years, but copyright laws preclude its distribution in stores. To hear it, you'll need to fire up your P2P or scour the internet. If you're not satisfied with the offerings, all you need is your home computer to make your own songs. Ever wonder what happens if you cross Joy Division with Missy Elliott?
posted by mert on Nov 21, 2002 - 31 comments

Life imitates "art" as the singer for Brazilian rockers ACC storms the studio, so to speak, and forces a DJ to play his band's record over and over for an hour. Are things really this desperate?
posted by mikrophon on Sep 19, 2002 - 12 comments

Rekha Malhotra is a New Yorker of South Indian heritage who can be given credit for popularizing Bhangra and promoting the UK Punjabi dub and beat sounds in NYC. She says this about an event she hosts regularly: "Basement Bhangra is very urban. It's Bhangra with a hip-hop sensibility. It's raw and percussive, unadulterated. It's got a lot of meat to it and demands that you dance. It's not head-nodding music—it's body-moving music." More. More. More.
posted by Mo Nickels on Apr 14, 2002 - 10 comments

HP-Diddy! Forget the desktop - HP's coming after your boo-tay!
posted by geronimo_rex on Nov 14, 2001 - 18 comments

Aspiring DJ's - Leave your records at home , and pack your laptop, mp3s, and this program to your next jam. Tactile12000 is a free opensource interactive simulation of two turntables and a mixer. I picked up some loops, breaks, and acapellas- and i was on my way. Its mighty funky stuff.
posted by ewwgene on Jul 15, 2001 - 15 comments

"Where does it take you when you make a sound out of a photograph?" To some very interesting places, if you're DJ Scanner and you're taking a break from turntables and samplers to play with something called a Metasynth. What pop star's picture would you want to see "photo-synthesized"?
posted by allaboutgeorge on Feb 27, 2001 - 8 comments

A radio DJ's prank on travelling friends. ...involved faking an Interpol officer and the suggestion of "concealed" bird eggs. [More inside...]
posted by holloway on Oct 2, 2000 - 1 comment