Nick

Since my son was born, I’ve started to think about all the things that his generation will never know from my generation. The list is impressive, though not nearly as impressive as the list of things that will probably come to be during his generation… It’s truly the technology age.

Here’s a look at some things that I remember and that my son may never know, as well as what’s ahead.

1. Space Shuttle Launches – My son’s future teacher will never inturrupt class and turn on the TV for him and his classmates to watch a space shuttle launch. But there’s a good chance that he’ll actually have the opportunity someday to buy a ticket to space, thanks to privatized space travel. I’m keeping an eye on Truth or Consequences, NM.
2. D.A.R.E. - I’ve been told we have Nancy Reagan to thank for DARE, and as a legacy, we have mountains of ironic T-shirts. If DARE was really effective I think it would have stayed around. I remember when I came home one day from elementary school, and I proudly told my parents I had turned down some pot that was offered to me. “Why?” they asked. They weren’t aware of the DARE program, but neither had I considered asking why, or thinking for myself at that age.
3. Card Catalogs - Probably for the best, Nick will never have to open a drawer and sift through cards to find a book he wants- that’s assuming he even opts for a book over Wikipedia. Libraries have all their books indexed on computer now. And he’ll wonder, what were all those cards flying into the air in the opening scene of Ghostbusters?
4. Video and Music stores - Blockbusters used to be everwhere- and so did VHS tapes (and they never skipped!) I even remember renting video game consoles from video stores. You might also remember buying a cd and just hoping that there was more than one good track on the album. Good riddance, Sam Goodie!
5. Pay-phones and Pagers - I remember when I was in middle school, there was a new soda called ‘OK’. It had the coolest design and marketing campaign. And on every can of OK soda was a 1-800 number: 1-800-I-feel-OK. I called it from the pay-phone at my middle school. There hasn’t been a more interesting soda marketing campaign since. Check out the stuffed animaloption. Nowadays though, when you see someone on a payphone, you think, “I hope their dealer will let them have till Tuesday to pay that money back”.
   

   A carbonated "beverage"

6. Fast-food in School Cafeterias – It wasn’t until middle school, but I could buy Taco Bell burritos and Chik-fil-A sandwiches from my school cafeteria for like $2… No joke! And then wash it down with a nice tall Coke. Boy will my son be jealous when he’s eating carrot sticks and falafels.
7. Drive-in Movie Theatres - To me this one is sad, and I’ve seen a couple of these go away, both in my hometown of Boulder and here in Denver. There is no technology to blame for this one, just unceasing development. That land is worth more as cookie-cutter houses and apartments. Too bad.
8. Hypercolor T-shirts- Incredibly, the younger generation has not been able to find the secret sauce that enabled our T-shirts to change color when someone touches them. It lived and died with my childhood. Be jealous, children of the future!
   

   Girls put their hands on me in elementary school.

L Plus Kmag Guest mix

This mix has a lot of half-step or “drumstep” dnb peppered in. It has a great way of building up a drop without a long, annoying breakdown. I’ve had my eye on L Plus since the Headroom EP was released in 2008.

Play count: 8, and counting

Mind Vortex Kmag Guest Mix

High energy mix with a nice dirty dnb vibe. These guys are fairly new on the scene.

Play count: 9

RoyGreen and Protone Kmag Guest mix

Two young producers who hail from DKay’s home of Austria. Mellow, liquid/intelligent DNB.

Play count: 11

The Algoriddim djay app has a lot going for it- anyone who has some experience using turntables and a mixer will be impressed with this complete DJ setup for your iPhone or iPad. Djay offers real time scratching, waveforms that allow for surgical cueing, and features you’d expect from a mixer like frequency faders and looping.

The first thing I wanted to know about the app was, how do I cue? When you play out, you need be able to hear the track you’re cueing up while everyone else is hearing the track that’s already playing.

Put a record on

Well, Algoriddim teamed up with Griffin to offer this cable that splits your output from the headphone jack into a master and a cueing channel. There’s only one major problem with this cable. It outputs two mono signals. This was disappointing to me, I bought it thinking they had used some trickery to allow at least the master signal to be stereo. Because of this I knew I could never use this app for a serious gig.

The other thing that might deter you from using it, is that the controls are tiny, fine motor skills are required, and if you’re a little shaky from playing in front of a live audience, fuggetaboutit.

That’s where the auto-sync comes in handy. Adjusting the pitch control on the iPhone app is very difficult because it’s so small, and the touchscreen interface isn’t as good as the real thing. Auto-sync for beat matching works well on the Algoriddim djay app, to a point. Mixing breaks and dubstep, it’s adequate. Some tracks would require some jogging every 15 seconds or so, but still accurate. Until I tried using it for drum and bass. For this genre that averages around 176 bpm it usually fails, and you can’t depend on it.

Jogging and beat matching on teh Algoriddim djay app

Lastly, the Algoriddim djay app offers a recording feature that’s nice. Again one major problem- it records in mono. You can’t record in stereo, and I’m kind of puzzled by this. If the iPhone can handle decoding two stereo mp3′s at once, why can’t you retain one stereo signal for your recording? I made a short twenty minute recording of a breaks/dubstep mix on the Algoriddim djay app you can download here if you’d like to see for yourself.

Overall the app is fun. It provides the thrill of mixing two tracks, and realistic scratching. For 99 cents, that ain’t too bad. Pioneer and Technics: You need not worry (at least for now) that apps are replacing your hardware. Kids who want to try deejaying: this app might be the perfect gateway, before you spend $2000+ on big boy gear.

1. Dreams (Blind Authority Version) feat. Tramb – Nude
2. Gonzo – Apex
3. Bad Red – Culture Shock (dubplate)
4. Moonlight Bay – Agent Alvin
5. Chemicals – MRSA
6. Die for U – Cyantific
7. Wrong Means Right – Drumatic
8. Warehouse (Illskillz Remix) – Logistics
9. It’s Cruel – Furlonge
10. Something Good ’08 (High Contrast remix) – Utah Saints
11. Slap Chop – Reso
12. Move Y’all – D Kay
13. Smooth – Sub Focus

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The first one is a 3 deck Teebee mix called “Deeper”. Generally dark, but also intelligent. Teebee flies through the dubplates so fast you can’t tell when a track ends and when one begins. The mix »

The second mix is a guest mix on the Scribbler podcast by one of my favorite new producers, Metrik. “Time To Change” rocked my world, and this mix promotes his newer tracks on Viper’s Acts of Mad Men EP, along with other releases on the EP, and some dubplate pressure. It’s scary smooth, and there’s some crazy layering action in there, with a lot of track transitions during the breakdown.  I wonder if it was done with software or what, I dunno. Tracklist on DJ Scribbler’s site.  The mix »

1. The Specialist – Drumatic
2. Tear You Down – Brookes Bros.
3. Bear Trap – Treez + Lenzman
4. Balaclava – Nu:Tone
5. Sugar – Redeyes + Mutt
6. Passion – High Contrast
7. Move Y’all – D Kay
8. Toy Town – Logistics
9. Coming Unstuck – Cyantific
10. Remember the Future (HC remix) – London Elektricity
11. Consumed – Bcee
12. Hide U – Kosheen
13. Part of Me – Klute

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1. Take Me Back – Nu:Tone + Commix
2. Time Ticks Away – Musyka
3. Love on Love – Syntax
4. Where We Stand – D Kay + Epsilon
5. Sugar Soul – John Tejada + Rusta
6. Brazil – Shere Khan + Dimension
7. Rain – D Kay + DJ Lee
8. Half Now, Half Later – John B
9. No More Heroes – Q Project
10. Stray Light Run – Pacific
11. Treat Me Right – Syncopix
12. Yesterday’s Colours – High Contrast
13. We Can Make It – Fellowship
14. Renegade Snares (HC remix) – Omni Trio
15. ReWork – Brookes Bros. + Culture Shock

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