Almost 20 years ago now when as young dj I had my ego hurt about my music ‘not being psychedelic enough for moontribe’ my friend Mason gave me one of my most powerful perspectives by simply telling me that ‘all music is psychedelic.’
It’s been in my head ever since. You might not think this applies right down to mainstream pop songs but it does – both because each individual experiences music differently, and because music is so complex that even a song that seems run of the mill probably has something deeper going on in its parts
Leading up to New Year’s I had the interesting experience of making a weekly dj addition to our lineup – between 3 crews with a dedication to booking an equal number of male and female djs with equal pay, this was quite a process
One of the key divisions was about how ‘serious’ the music should be. Should it be cerebral and more subtle? Or should it be fun even if more obvious?
I was in the middle on this just like I always have been. I lean towards the subtlety and the psychedelic but need the underlying funk to keep me dancing.
I love it most when the music hits me on both the cerebral and emotional level and that’s what I play.
I must accept that some people will find it too cerebral, and others not enough
Just like for me when it’s at the extremes of either too serious or too silly I don’t react to it as well
Accepting that music and music labeling is completely subjective means living comfortably with diversity and appreciating that diversity of both music and opinion about it
That’s not to say we won’t ever get our feelings hurt – music is an incredibly personal thing that we tend to have very strong feelings about
We must also be mindful of our own preferences, our own biases, our own capacity to be negative or hurtful
Her music sucks can be rephrased as she’s just not really my style
His mixing bites can be rephrased as he’s just really not my style
And in truth it’s more accurate
Because who is to say my opinions worth more than yours
Because music is completely subjective!