How 2 Approach the DJ at the Club

One of the most irritating parts of being a DJ for me is artist approaching the booth telling me I NEED 2 play their music. Although I fully realize the need for an artist to get his music on the hands of a DJ factors such as time, place and proper etiquette must be considered in any presentation. The problem with most artist is the only interaction they have with DJs is while we’re working trying to keep 500 on the dance floor. Imagine this: Its 1AM and the club is packed, women everywhere dancing on each other. Bartenders are working super hard to satisfy the thirsty customers yelling for long island teas and apple martinis. The DJ is in a zone playing everything from Gucci to Beyonce and the crowd absolutely loves it. It seems to be a perfect night then up walks YOU! DRUNK AS HELL!! You hand me a CD that was written on with a sharpie and yell in my ear,”Ay mane you NEED 2 put this on! Me and my homeboy just finished mixing this junt tonight! This’ll really get this thang jumping!” Now, just to get you to leave me the hell alone I’ll probably tell you I’m going to check it out which is a blatant lie. Your unprofessional looking, un-cased CD will be sitting in the exact same spot when your drunk ass come back up here 15 minutes later to ask me what I think about it. Sorry but it’s the truth.

    I didn’t go through the previous rant to discourage new artist but to do the exact opposite. There is a proper way to give music to a DJ while working. First you need to consider the presentation. If you bring me a CD with your name written on it in marker, I’m going to treat it like what it looks like, trash. With so many printing options available there’s no excuse for this. I know companies that will duplicate and print on your CDs for .50each with minimums and low as 100 pieces. If you live in most major cities there’s a good chance if you add up what you paid to get in the club and what you spent on drinks it would equal well over $50. If you don’t have $50 to invest in yourself, keep your day job. You aren’t built for the music industry.

    Alright you got your CDs pressed up and you’re at the club. Now what? When I’m spinning I always get rappers that want to hold conversations with me and tell my how they’re the next Jeezy or the new Hov all while I’m at work controlling the dance floor. Please!! As a DJ, after I start playing any given song I have approx 1 and a half minutes to find another song and get it ready to play. As I stated before, I AM AT Work! Just because you’re off the clock from you job doesn’t mean I am. Keep in mind that the DJs job is to keep party goers at the club, on the floor dancing or at least nodding their heads all night long. We can generally pull this off without outside help especially from you. Bottom line, this club is going to jump without your song and it’s an insult to my craft to suggest otherwise. But it’s still alright to bring me your music. Jus make sure all your contact information is on the CD or stick a card inside of the case, ask me for a business card and keep it moving. With most DJ’s using computer software based setups, its not realistic to think that we will play your song tonight so drop of the CD and back off. Some DJs (especially in strip clubs) have a pay to play system where if you give him $20 or $50 he will play the song. This works differently with EVERY DJ so if you’re going to try the ‘bribe’ approach don’t be insulted or get mad if the DJ shoots you down. Not all DJs are in the position to do this and it’s not worth loosing their steady paying club gig for your $20.

    After the club, follow up is key. Give the DJ a few days then email or text him(No, don’t call) to see if he’s had a chance to check out the music you submitted. By the way don’t feel insulted if he hasn’t listened to it yet. We’re very busy people and chances are a bunch of other people have given him CDs to listen to so don’t get mad if he doesn’t instantly remember who you are. Let him know you want his honest opinion on the songs potential. Remember we do this for a living so we know what people want to hear. And don’t get discouraged if he doesn’t like the music. We are also human and have our own individual taste. Good or bad, its just an opinion, not the end of the world. It’s important to keep improving and working the streets in your market. Most hit records, especially in the South, are built up from a strong street buzz throughout the artists’ city, so don’t get stuck going to 1 particular club or DJ every weekend just because they play your song. Every club is a potential avenue for greatness. The DJ is the artist best ally in the music industry since we are the ones that deliver your vision to the consumer, so respect our position and build bridges with us and you will have an upper hand on the competition in your quest for musical success.

[Via http://djfrogie.wordpress.com]

Velvet Assassin

Originally published on the Square Go website on 1st June 2009 and published in the June issue of the physical magazine.—————————————————————————————————————————————————-

Games set during World War II tend to follow the same formula: a company of soldiers as they fight their way to victory against the Nazi threat. These men have access to devastating weapons, which are handy for cutting through the enemy hordes they’ll inevitably encounter. Throw in the occasional vehicular section and you have the perfect description of your average war game.

Which is why Velvet Assassin makes a refreshing change to all those games. You play the flashbacks of Violette Summer, a British spy tasked with highly dangerous and highly unofficial missions deep behind enemy lines, who currently lies comatose in a French hospital for reasons that are explained over the course of the story. Using a combination of stealth, shadows and cunning, it’s Violette’s job to carry out her objectives, ranging from sabotage to assassination.

The game itself is set up spectacularly, with an exceptionally moody menu screen showing her lying bleakly on a hospital bed, with monochrome tableaus depicting doctors agonising over whether to keep her alive or euthanise her to save her from the invading SS officers, and said officers’ murder attempt as she rests. The sombre mood is emphasised by the doleful music and visceral imagery included in the opening sequence, with hanging bodies, eye stabbings and burning corpses flashing by in quick succession in a beautiful, indulgent sepia.

The haunting visual styling and brutality carry on over to the gameplay. Being a spy, your only allies in this game are the shadows, which there are plenty of since light itself seems to be a luxury. And whilst hidden, Nazis won’t see Violette, but neither will you; things are so dark here, a visit to the video options menu might be in order.

If you can get used to this, you’ll realise soon enough that you need to be stealthy; absorb only a couple of rounds and you’re down for good. This wouldn’t be so bad if there was a decent checkpoint system in place, but they’re few and far between, usually filled with guard chatter that has to finish before you can move on. This leads to unnecessary waiting for a chance to progress, and epic frustration when you have to restart an age away from your point of death for the umpteenth time. This can occasionally be remedied using firearms and slo-mo Morphine injections, but  these items are scarce, so expect to endure numerous infuriating restarts over the course of the adventure.

The only viable path to steady progression is to take out enemies silently. Sneaking up on one with the knife equipped opens up the opportunity for a remorseless stealth kill, powerfully emphasised by rising chords and blood red filters permeating the screen before turning a brilliant rufescent rouge as you near the dispatch. The ability to peek through keyholes is another nice feature, but others don’t work so well. The vibration of the controller acting as a heartbeat when low on health is both cliché and annoying, and disguises are simply useless: get too close to an enemy while wearing one and your cover is blown. What’s the point?

Velvet Assassin is an intriguing idea largely carried off well. The presentation is superb, it’s refreshing to see individual Nazi opponents as significant individual threats, and the gameplay is exhilarating when it works. It’s no Metal Gear Solid or Splinter Cell, and its linearity and lack of story may put some off, but there’s a large amount of sneaky fun to be had with this title, especially for gamers new to the genre. However, they’ll just need a strong resolve and the patience of a saint to overcome its checkpoint problems.

3/5

[Via http://michaelslevin.wordpress.com]

Hypocrite

That other girl from radio club that i mentioned a few posts ago…her boyfriend dumped her. Before she told me that, we had been chatting on IM, and saying hi whenever we saw each other, then i mentined him, and she was like, “he dumped me”.

She’s from Germany, and has spent time in an international school, which has given her an American accent. Her eyes are real deep.

Last night the radio club played football against a team from a neighbouring uni’s radio team, so i went to that with her, and after, we went back to hers, and we chatted for a while, then went out to the clubs. We chatted about all sorts of stuff, like stuff that you wouldn’t usually talk to someone you hadn’t know for that long. Also, this other guy from radio was texting her, and she said that she didn’t like being hit on by him, so i asked her why she keeps giving him positive waves (they were flirting at radio club, and she was tickling the back of his leg), she didnt have an answer for that. Later, in the club, we danced quite a bit, we grinded quite a bit too, but when ever i looked her in the eye, she’d look away, so i knew she wasn’t interested in kissing me. That’s fair enough. Then that guy showed up, and she flirted with him a bit. Eventually she motioned to me that she wanted to go somewhere else away from him, so we went into a different room, but he followed, so she started dancing with him.

He went off somewhere evetually, and i was tired, so i said to her that im going, she followed me and said she was going as well. We got to the entrance, and she texted the guy, and he came, they spent like 10 minutes saying bye to each other, i got bored and left. Then i got a call off her asking me to come get chips with her. I met up with her, and told her not fuck me around like that. She didnt react.

Then we went home. This morning, i got a text off her, “Had a real good night, first one without tears and arguements for a while. Thank you. xx”

Fucking hell, women. I’m gonna refer to her as Hypocrite.

[Via http://gilliganafc.wordpress.com]

Final Fantasy Awesome

Well, I’ve played my new long-awaited game, Final Fantasy 13 and was pleasantly addicted. Unfortunately I can only play at my boyfriends house, preventing him from using his Ps3, but I’ve started saving for my own

I have no idea how they remotely related the battle system to FF10 as it is the polar opposite- You don’t even control any other character than the leader, like in FF12, but the battle is a lot like The Last Remnant, another Square Enix game. Also the Battle theme is catchy enough to have everyone in the house humming it.

I like the way all the characters story’s intertwine, and the stories themselves are just good enough to forgive Vanille and Fang’s voices.

[Via http://stabintheart.wordpress.com]

Jirachi Event Wrap-up

Wel, Pokémon fans, as almost all of you probably already know, there was a free Nintendo Event at US Gamestop stores where players could bring their Nintendo DS systems and their Pokémon Diamond, Pearl, or Platinum cartridges to receive a free Jirachi using Mystery Gift in-game, which ended yesterday. When you transfer this Jirachi over to the new HeartGold and SoulSilver games, you will unlock a new route on the Pokéwalker called Sky Night’s Edge, which is the only way this route can be accessed. For more information on how Jirachi was distributed, click here.

So, some of you guys probably missed out on the event and are kind of bummed out, right? Well, cheer up, because if you have unlocked Mystery Gift in your game and you have a friend who has received the Jirachi, you can also receive it, after the distribution. Here’s what to do:

1. Make sure that you turn on the game cartridge that you want to receive Jirachi on.

• You must have unlocked Mystery Gift

• You must have the Pokédex

2. Select “Mystery Gift” in the main menu and the select “Get from Friend”

• Make sure your friend has the Wonder Card for the Jirachi

Please note: The above method only works for some things, so it may not work on Jirachi or other events. Another solution if you just want to unlock the route is to have your friend trade you Jirachi to unlock the route, and then you trade Jirachi back to them after unlocking it.

JIRACHI’S STATS

Level: 5

Moves: Wish, Draco Meter, Confusion, and Rest

Item Held: Liechi Berry

Ball Caught In: Cherish Ball

One thing’s for sure – this is one event that is something nobody wants to miss!

[Via http://pokefanswebconnect.wordpress.com]

Crash & Overgrown to Modern Warfare 2!

Just wanted to let you all know that two of the best maps from Call Of Duty 4 will be in the next map pack, Crash and Overgrown. This is some great news for all the players that loved these maps (me included). Funny thing is that I wished for these maps the same morning that the news came out. Wonderful!

Lets hope that PS3 get this update soon as well. Not a problem for me personally but they should really be aloud to get it pretty soon.

/Nurgle
@Start And Select

http://startandselect.wordpress.com

[Via http://startandselect.wordpress.com]

Brown Fricassee of Squirrels

2 squirrels, cut in quarters

2 tbsp butter

2 tbsp of browned flour

2 c. water

1 medium onion, sliced

6 thin slices salt pork

1/2 c. red wine

1 tbsp lemon juice

Salt and pepper

Skin, clean and wash squirrels, if not already done. Pat meat dry. Melt butter in pan and, when hot, add meat and onion, frying until a light brown on both sides. Remove from pan and set aside. Add flour to butter in pan and mix well. Add water and stir until thickened. Return squirrels to pan, along with salt pork, seasonings and lemon juice. Cover closely and cook over low heat until the meat is tender. Add wine and serve.

[Via http://recipesgrandmacollected.wordpress.com]