[Tango-L] Music preferences

[Tine Herreman]

Friends,
Hi Ilene :))

Tine here, DJ in NYC.
I looked at what I played the first half of 2010 and came up with 62% vocal
and 38% instrumental. Each song played was counted, and it's  WITHOUT vals
and milonga.
Other DJ's stats I heard were around the mid-60s % as well.
I very rarely get complaints about the proportion of vocals. In fact I do
not recall getting one in at least a year or two. Or even a veiled comment
in that direction. Maybe I should ask around a bit and encourage the
complainers :)
I must say that I avoid playing the whiny voices of the 50s and beyond. So
no Mario Pomar, Oscar Serpa etc. Yes I dare to call Pomar and Serpa whiny!
In 1930s and 40s music, the voice is just another instrument you can choose
to dance and give expression to. It doesn't take over at the expense of the
rhythm and instrumentation. I love Golden Age vocals!

In 2010 so far I have played only 9 vocal songs from 1950 and up (each song
once), 3 of those were for performances, 2 were special requests when the
milonga was almost over, 5 were Di Sarli with Duran or Florio, and 2 were De
Angelis with the baritone Larroca, these are hardly whiny. As a percentage
of total played, the  post-1950 vocals tandas I played comprised 0.2%.
I know that post 1950s vocals have some fans out there, that doesn't mean I
have to play them if I have a lot of other good stuff to play to make these
same people happy.

As for the 40s, the voice of Fiorentino can really cut, and overpower the
music, so when I play Troilo/Fiorentino from 1941, I select from a small set
only. Not the muddled muffled or shrill ones.
Di Sarli/Podesta I play only really late; it can be very delicate and
vocal-centric, and works best on a crowd already danced to mush.

Tine



On Fri, Jul 30, 2010 at 11:34 AM, Ilene Marder <imhmedia at yahoo.com> wrote:

> Many many leaders in NY and elsewhereprefer to dance  to instrumental
> music and openly express a dislike for vocals. I have heard this many
> times thru the years of DJing.... these are also very good, eperienced
> leaders, not  just beginners. They either say the melody throws them
> off, or that they don't like that they can't understand the lyrics and a
> few have said they canlt stand the "sniffling and whiny" quality of some
> vocal!!!
> I disagree completely...but that's what I have experienced.
> I think they are in the minority!
>
> Trini y Sean (PATangoS) wrote:
>
> >I, too, have gravitated toward music with lyrics over the years.  My
> interest with lyrics started with the movie Tango by Carlos Sauros,
> specifically the scene of two singers performing Flores de alma at a dance
> rehearsal.  I just really enjoyed the romantic quality the pair brought to
> the piece, which brought it to life.
> >
> >
> >
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