is everyone just collectively pretending to like DJs but privately everyone feels too bad for them to tell them that actually the original songs were better
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The traditional DJ is like a gallery curator: they play other people's music and let it speak for themselves. They enhance the music through context.
DJ-as-remixer (beyond mere structural changes) is an aberration (to a degree).
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but it doesn't feel like an enhancement, it strips away the most important part of a song that makes it good - the melody - and replaces it with UNGH U UNGH U UNGH. there are SO MANY MEASURES without any change.
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Yeah, if a mix modifies the original in such a way (removing the melody, adding beats), it's considered a Remix, which is the domain of Producers, not DJs.
By "structural changes" I was referring to a mostly-defunct 80s-era practice of restructuring-sans-destruction.
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In general, melody is deemphasized in dance music because the method of engagement is different than with popular or "listening" music.
Your response to dance music is physically embodied, so rhythm (and bass, which physically pushes you) influences your response much more.
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When I listen to a song on my commute, my experience of the music is somewhat abstract.
I hear melodies and harmony, and I focus my attention on engaging with them. There is a pleasure in melody alone, as tension rises and falls. I can shut my eyes and enjoy.
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