intellectual properties

superstar DJ

is it possible for a DJ to EVER have the kind of cultural pull that live musicians have? so many argue no - including the current cover story for the East Bay Express on DJ Lorin, aka bassnectar (get some while it’s hot), in which the author states:

most of Lorin’s fans and this photo (and maybe the fact that he’s the first solo DJ to be booked to play the High Sierra Music Festival) argue otherwise:

photo by kyle.hailey

the man is worshipped.

the article suggests that lorin might be a bit “over” burning man, the root of his following, and that he is looking to try to catch up more with the hip hop DJ crowd. i’m not entirely sure that will work, but i understand his desire to want to branch out beyond the burner crowd. it also tries to capture the enigmatic (and imo, conflicted) nature of a DJ who is all crunchy granola but is OK with flying to st. louis to play a candy rave. some people deride him for his “i want to save the world with my music” statements (he’s not kidding), and his overly west coast leftist approach to that goal (including putting graphic images of militias attacking citizens and burning monks in his videos, rageagainstthemachine-style), but i’m entirely empathetic to the closing quote of the article:

“I don’t want to seem like some dumbass hippie idealist who just thinks that we should all be saving the world,” he says, “but that doesn’t change the fact that I am trying to change things.”

me too.

you can read what the man himself thinks about the article here.