things are getting simpler, more refined.  stripping away most of the pretty layers to reveal the dirt underneath.  it's the attitude stuff, and it's clearly defined in black and white.  much more of this is warming on the plate... i promise to keep trying to get better at this.

my thoughts as the battle between vinyl purists and modern technology rages on in the DJ realm...

yes, it's true: most DJ's aren't expending loads of time pulling a bundle of records off the wall or digging through bins of their local record store week-in/week-out anymore...it's unfortunate for the record store owners, but it's an age of convenience and they must adapt... even the DJ's that are still spinning vinyl mostly listen to records online before ordering them for delivery or printing out a list and heading to their local record store. the smart record peddlers started offering the digital formats when they saw that vinyl sales were suffering. the reality is, vinyl will eventually become nothing more than a collectible novelty (albeit, a great-sounding one)... it's been going down that road for so long now.

yeah, the culture of the DJ might have been founded on the medium...but times change, and being a purist as opposed to embracing what the new technology offers and adds to the whole experience can in many cases be a bit naive and counter-productive. some people are purists just because it sounds cool to refer to yourself as a "real DJ" (as i've heard many of them claim) or that they're "preserving the art"... that's like the old world looking at Picasso or Van Gogh's creations and claiming it's not "art" because it's not the classical process used by the "Masters"...

think about this: the fidelity of Edison's wax cylinders and Victor Records' phonographs were matched up in the beginning... but Victor eventually dominated... why? because records were (a) cheaper to produce and (b) easier to store. sound familiar? same reasons the record itself is being slowly phased out now... aside from the DJ's getting the music faster and cheaper, the low overhead for labels and producers is a huge factor as well... they're more likely to take a chance with a track in the digital realm now, which many times equates to true avant-garde music right at our fingertips that otherwise might've never left the studio or made it on vinyl.

be a purist if you will (even i shunned digital at first years ago), but adding digital to your DJ arsenal - whether it be CDJ/Serato/whathaveya' - is like having the ability to add colors never before seen to the DJ palette. the beauty of it all is: you don't have to put away your vinyl completely... it's not a this vs. that issue where you are required to replace one for the other. in fact, i'm most comfortable with (2) 1200's and (2) CDJ-1000's and a good mixer with effects... it makes DJ'ing a lot more fun and exciting to have additional options and the ability to get more creative on the fly... and the listener experience is enhanced as a result. isn't that what DJ'ing is mostly about anyway?... /my $.02 -Kable