Reddit Reddit reviews Last Night a DJ Saved My Life: The History of the Disc Jockey

We found 18 Reddit comments about Last Night a DJ Saved My Life: The History of the Disc Jockey. Here are the top ones, ranked by their Reddit score.

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Last Night a DJ Saved My Life: The History of the Disc Jockey
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18 Reddit comments about Last Night a DJ Saved My Life: The History of the Disc Jockey:

u/submarinefacemelt · 27 pointsr/AskHistorians

The Caribbean New York link is often cited as one of the key factors in the formation of hip hop. I strongly recommend you read Jeff Chang’s book Can’t Stop Won’t Stop to find a more detailed narrative on the link. It dedicates a chapter to the socio-economic conditions in NYC the late 60s and early 70s and another chapter to sound system culture in Jamaica which really set the scene what how and why hip hop emerged.

As a fan of early hip hop, I just want to stress that in 1970s in NYC the Caribbean influence was present in not only in rapping style, but in DJing style too, perhaps even more so. It was really the sound-system DJ culture of Jamaica that first made its way into the parks, streets and house parties in New York. It was the rapping that followed. This interview with DJ Kool Herc gives some indication of how one led to the other. The book “Last Night A DJ Saved My Life illuminates this further.

Lastly, while there is a strong Jamaican link to the origins of rapping, it is important to note that it was not only the source of influence. There were many other American artists from different backgrounds included raps and spoken word in their songs.

As a record collector, some of the more interesting examples that I have come across in my time include.

u/philiac · 4 pointsr/edmproduction

There are two tracks that get me indescribably pumped, every single fucking time I hear them, even if they're old as shit. Paul Oakenfold - Dread Rock and The Prodigy - Breathe. Such great memories.

The first piece of electronic music that blew my mind was Inkey$. After hearing that I knew I had to get into that shit.

When not dickriding, this book gets it right.

Watching Human Traffic makes me want to get people dancing.

And of course, this scene from Spaced illustrates perfectly how the groove is always there, waiting to be tapped into.

EDIT: How could I forget this classic? It's impossible to not at least try to get funky after watching that dude dance.

u/deejayalemus · 4 pointsr/AdviceAnimals

An excellent book on the roots of modern electronic music styles and their evolution [Last Night A DJ Saved My Life] (http://www.amazon.com/Last-Night-DJ-Saved-Life/dp/0802136885), and one of the chapters is about reggae and dub. If you're looking for an example though, [Lee Perry - Blackboard Jungle dub (Version1)] (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PgIv-T2QkRA&feature=related). The bristol variation [Massive Attack - Protection Large Professor Remix] (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zdnOifB-Knc)

u/RIP_KING · 3 pointsr/Beatmatch

how to DJ right

and for more historical perspective: Last Night a DJ Saved My Life.

Same authors, good reading

u/smmat · 3 pointsr/DJs

Read this book if you want to know what DJing is about. Nothing will explain it better than the very people who invented the craft.

This documentary will also be a great way to learn more about the New York scene of the '70s, where the modern DJ emerged from.

u/LinguoIsDead · 3 pointsr/DJs

I like books, so maybe we should have a book section? We can include:

u/kunho · 2 pointsr/Beatmatch

[Here is](http://www.amazon.com/Last-Night-DJ-Saved- Life/dp/0802136885/ref=pd_sim_b_2) annother great read if you liked the first book.

u/cleverkid · 2 pointsr/AskHistorians

Tom Moulton invented what is now known as the remix. For further reading: Last night a Dj saved my life

As far as appropriating content, I'll bet that started when the first human(oid) told a good story.

u/nessaneko · 2 pointsr/pics

I remember reading a book about dance music evolution (Last Night a DJ Saved my Life) which I recall mentioned that rudeboy was like... an influence on skinhead culture, but not a direct part of it. More like a precursor which then as Jamaicans immigrated to Britain was a part of what skinhead culture would become.

u/MrSt1klbak · 2 pointsr/electronicmusic

One thing I'm taking away from this (so far...on #3) is the sense of community that dance parties create. Yeah, I know, it's almost cliched. But it's the realist sense of group comrade that I have ever encountered. I was at a party last weekend that exhibited this same level of compassion. I live in the Detroit area, have a lot of friends who are artists, promoters, or just plain enthusiasts, but the fact remains that this vibe is real. It's more than the music. It's the sense of family that keeps every body together. The same people from week to week with the same good sense in music that binds it all together. It makes me proud to be a part of the scene. Places like the Paradise Garage or the Music Boxx really laid the ground work for the rest of the world to enjoy nightlife as we know it.

BTW, David Mancuso really needs a movie all to himself.

edit 2:Francis Grasso, wow, there getting deeper than I expected! We should all be reading Last Night A DJ Save My Life as a primer to this. Seriosly, it's the best book I ever read (about djing)!

u/empw · 2 pointsr/electronicmusic

Last Night a DJ Saved My Life

Edit, and of course: Mark Prendergast - The Ambient Century

Edit 2: I'm currently reading John Cage's biography, but it's not really about all of electronic music.

u/crustation · 2 pointsr/books

I love music, so my favourite one was Last Night A DJ Saved My Life. A history of electronic music which gave me a real in-depth appreciation of the electronic music scene now.

I also really liked A Brief History of Time by Stephen Hawking and Flatland (not exactly non-fiction, but extremely interesting).

u/beatbot · 2 pointsr/funny

I didn't mean internet articles... but, if you're curious about how the idea of the "DJ" has changed over the years:

DJ History here: It also directly addresses the issue of DJ celebrity I bought up in the post.

And short / interesting articles about elecronica in general:

Audio Culture has some great short articles.

More nerdy book on the "culture" of underground electronic music:

Club Cultures

I don't really mind Deadmau5 or Skrillex. I love listening to new stuff. It's listening to people get angry about electronic music not being like a rock show that usually makes me confused.

u/kaptain_carbon · 2 pointsr/WhereDoIStart

hahaha, it is a long journey. To be honest, I started with a book.

Last Night A Dj Saved My Life

..which not only goes through the history of djing but also shows the connection between reggae, disco and later electronic music. It also shows the style in a more underground cultural light rather than the studio 54cokehead glitz which came to dominate the image.

If you want early disco go with loft classics or extended dance tracks that were spun in underground parties.

As for Daft Punk's recent record, the type of music they are paying tribute to is early 80's dance music. It has dashes of funk and soul but the main style (with Moroder) is space disco and also its less sci-fi cousin Italo disco. Just imagine disco having an extended afterparty in the 80's once it became unhip in America. The style would later morph into space synth or synth dance.

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That is for history whiuch I feel is important for understanding why not only the style is so important but also how it became a pariah in the 80's. As far as personal recommendations.

u/Mashivi · 2 pointsr/Beatmatch

Do yourself a favor and read Last Night a DJ Saved My Life. You won't regret it!

u/punosion · 1 pointr/AskReddit

Last Night a DJ Saved My Life: The History of the Disc Jockey

It's really the only book about music I've read, but it's an amazing read. Definitely recommended for anybody interested in any of the culture's many facets.

u/zumzink · 1 pointr/offbeat

If you're interested in the origins of electronic music I recommend the long winding path of Better Living Through Circuitry and Last Night a DJ Saved my Life. In a nutshell: most of it wouldn't exist at all if we hadn't had disco, both the music and the culture.