Spinnin’ their way to the top

SAM RATHE
OPINION EDITOR
@samuel_vaun

Disk jockeys, most commonly referred to as DJ’s, are modern day rock stars. They jet set around the world, getting paid millions to live the life of a professional partier, all the while not being taken seriously as a musical artist.

A movie coming out next titled “We Are Your Friends,” named after a song by the artist Justice, is about a young man trying to make it as a DJ.

I am a fan of electronic music, but lots of thoughts come to mind when I try to think about what the main plot is going to be. Is it going to be a nice, happy movie where he struggles for a bit and miraculously becomes the most famous and desired person in the world? Or is it going to strike up a more serious tone?
If the latter is the case, this movie has some serious potential to look into the life of the people behind the turntables instead of just making a really long party video. DJs are more than party fiends, they are musicians, and they deserve to be recognized as such.

DJ’s lives are a non-stop event. The booze never stops flowing and the parties never stop bumping. Sounds like the life, at least until their lives spiral out of control. Popular DJ Avicii has had an ongoing struggle with alcoholism, and is currently taking some time to himself to recover from the rock star lifestyle. This is something I hope the film takes a moment to address to create a sense of realness and draw emotion from the audience.

This is the kind of thing I hope the movie portrays, a look at the darker side and the consequences of living life on the edge. People would be interested to see that from a DJ movie instead of a perpetual party. There are a lot of things that go on behind the scenes that do not get as much attention as they should, and this includes actually making the music.

When a rock band like Guns N’ Roses gets up on stage and people are going crazy when Slash starts shredding a killer solo, everyone can see how his fingers moving on the strings. When the DJ is up on stage, it is hard to discern the significance of their twists and turns.

I know, it looks like all they do is stand up on stage and press a few buttons. But have you ever looked at the turntable of a DJ’s setup? There are so many buttons and switches on there it looks like the cockpit of an airplane.

Even if all the DJ does is stand up there and push buttons, they still had to create all the sounds and rhythms that are being used.

DJs are rock stars on the outside but composers on the inside, and they deserve more musical credit.