During the summer, superstar EDM DJ deadmau5 caused a bit of controversy when he wrote a Tumblr post that called out fellow DJs (and himself) for the lack of skill involved in DJing. He wrote, “I think given about one hour of instruction, anyone with minimal knowledge of ableton and music tech in general could DO what im doing at a deadmau5 concert.”

As one might expect, throngs of DJs lashed out at deadmau5 for his oversimplification of their performances. While aspects like song selection are undoubtedly important when DJing, the more relevant point deadmau5 brought up is the lack of improvisation in the EDM world.

Most major EDM DJs show up to a venue not only with their DJ equipment, but also with a massive light and sometimes fireworks show — shows that are planned out, moment by moment. Although the DJ may be twisting knobs, triggering effects, running loops, and making dramatic gestures, these movements are all pre-planned.

I’m not saying lights and fireworks are a bad thing, but when it comes to the point when an artist lets his live act dictate his musical performance, I have a problem with it. Deadmau5 and most other EDM DJs are like pop stars who lip sync their shows because actually singing would interfere with their dancing.

The creative tools that modern DJs have at their disposal are endless, and part of being a DJ is reaching beyond your comfort zone. Don’t plan out your sets track by track and don’t script out your knob turning. There are scores of DJs who follow this, still have fancy flashing lights, and still lead the crowd into a dancing fury.

So go home and start DJing. You’ll be a professional within the hour — unless it really isn’t as easy as the man with a flashing mouse head makes it out to be.

(Originally published in The Tartan)

Electronic music can be viewed in a lot of ways. Sometimes it seems cheap and synthetic. Sometimes things like dubstep culture seem to threaten the integrity of the alternative and indie scenes, where bands are constantly struggling to make music their careers. However, once in a while, electronic music can fuse perfectly with alternative music. The result: an album that is creative, innovative, and very well thought out. Michael Angelakos of Passion Pit has done just that with his new release Gossamer.

Although known for his signature falsetto vocals, Angelakos writes and programs all of the parts for Passion Pit. He is a one-man-band of sorts and the group’s debut album, Manners, gained popularity very quickly within the alternative scene. Angelakos was faced with the large task of avoiding the “sophomore slump” with his follow up, Gossamer. And he nailed it.

From start to finish, Gossamer is pure gold. The opening track and lead single “Take A Walk” blasts the listener with catchy synths and well-orchestrated dynamics. The second track, “I’ll Be Alright,” is programming genius, strategically using vocal squeaks and heavy distorted keyboards to brighten up the somber, self loathing tone of the lyrics.

The album carries on with “Carried Away,” this album’s “Little Secrets” equivalent, and “Constant Conversations,” which is an interesting, catchy R&B (yeah… really) track.

The rest of the album is not at the same level as these first four tracks, but that does not mean the songs don’t hold their own. The rest of the songs are still catchy and fun with very real lyrical content.

The album outlines Angelakos’ struggle with bipolar disorder, which turned into drug use and strain on his engagement with his fiancée. He tells all on the closing track, “Where We Belong,” which outlines a failed suicide attempt. The lyrics on this album are all very personal and very genuine and add a lot of personality to an electronic album. Personally, I think this is going to be one of the most important, groundbreaking alternative releases of the year.

Enjoying a new type of music is similar to learning a new language. Developing a functional knowledge and understanding a few key phrases isn’t that difficult, but attaining fluency requires research, practice, and more time than one first imagines. The key to both, however, is immersion. Surrounding yourself with people who are already familiar with the culture is the most efficient way to learn about any musical style.

You can try doing research on your own by reading Pitchfork or Drowned in Sound, surfing Wikipedia’s “list of X-genre artists,” and downloading a bunch of albums that you’ve heard belong in a certain genre, but this is no different from learning a language solely through how-to books and instructional podcasts. In other words, by learning this way, you lose the human aspect — the social nuances that elevate communication beyond simple information transmission into a form of spiritual connection and understanding.

There is another key similarity between learning a new language and broadening your musical taste: There is a critical period of acquisition, and once you pass that period, fluency is much harder to acquire. According to Daniel Levitin, associate professor of psychology at McGill University, it is our music taste during our teenage years that most heavily influence our listening preferences as adults. While that critical period has already passed for most of us, there is still time to listen and learn.

Carnegie Mellon is one of the most diverse universities in the country. Our music program is world renowned, our radio station is one of the final bastions in freeform radio culture, and Pittsburgh is a musical hotspot for most any type of style. So, why are you still reading this? Go find something new to listen to and expand your mind.

(Originally published in The Tartan)