DJ Sean Haley

If you’re one of those people who is excited that House Music is “making a comeback”, please stop reading now. I’m going to offend the SHIT out of you.

Here’s what I’m talking about. In the 90’s, Mainstream radio in Chicago ( particularly V-103 and WGCI) turned it’s back on House Music ( which was born in Chicago, and spread like a virus all over the world) in favor of the preprogrammed bullshit on the Clear Channel playlist. They chose to play Hip-Hop and R&B and everything BUT House Music. No more mid-day mixes, no more Weekend mix shows. That’s cool. Some of us moved on. Some of you chose to keep listening to the radio.

Meanwhile, the radio cats kept digging deeper and deeper into the bullshit until it got to be unbearable. The music on radio has gotten so bad, they needed something else. So guess what? They declared a “House Comeback”.

On behalf of the House Underground,

FUCK YOU.

We never went anywhere. There’s no NEED for a ‘comeback’. YOU left. YOU want to come back…

While you motherfuckers were listening to insipid R&B and Rap records, and dressing “Grown and Sexy” trying to “Pop Cris in the VIP”, the rest of us were absolutely AMAZED by the quality of records coming out.

While you were sleeping, Chicago Producers like Larry Heard, Glenn Underground, Anthony Nicholson, Ron Trent, and others were becoming legends. ( feel free to do a search if those names aren’t familiar to your lame ass ears).

This isn’t some “long live old school House” rant either. The Old School House heads are just as lame. Why? Because they don’t go out and support the NEW music, they just want to hear the same shit every weekend ( that is, on the rare weekends when they DO actually come out). There’s more to life than “Funkanova” and “Clouds”.

Here’s what REALLY pisses me off. As I sit here typing this, I’m hearing a shitty ass House mix on the radio ( complete with the DJ babbling over the records), and I guess I’m supposed to be happy that they’re playing House on the radio. But if they’re playing trash, what’s the point? I can get PLENTY of good House shit to listen to. The irony is, one of the jocks playing this shit is a former employee of one of the stations that kicked house to the curb. but let HIM tell it, it’s all about House now. Get the FUCK outta my face.

There’s a big giant station-sponsored “Legends of ol’ School House reunion party” coming up ( way out in the middle of nowhere, of course), and they won’t shut up about it. They actually using phrases like “jackin’ it up” and all that old tired shit. Why am I pissed? Because a reunion is an admission of defeat. It’s saying that the best is behind you. and in THIS case, these people are just pimping out the old heads to make a quick buck. Why not have a weekly or monthly party if you love House that much? Because you’re stuck in a fucking time warp. THAT’S why. Nobody really cares about the music, they just want to recapture their lost youth.

Bottom line, people have jumped from trend to trend until there’s no new trends to jump. You’ve let people tell you that your age and wisdom are a liability, and now you find yourself listening to the same stupid shit that teenagers listen to. There’s NOTHING worse than seeing a 35 year old talk about doin’ the Stanky Leg or “Turn my Swag on”. You should be ashamed of yourselves. House Music is our generations Funk, Soul, or Jazz music. It has a rich history, and it changed the world. Radio has fucked us up so bad, we don’t even know live instrumentation anymore.

While you were dumbing down, House Music was growing up.
I’ve NEVER stopped listening to House Music. In MY opinion, it’s never been better than it is now. The Musicianship and songwriting is incredible. You clowns have NO idea what you’re missing.

I know I’m in here firing shots. That was my intention. If you ever see me on the street, PLEASE don’t bring up the good ol’ days, or tell me about how you “USED to be House”. I’m not gonna walk down memory lane with you and blow smoke up your ass about how “House ain’t what it used to be” This shit is a PART of me. Not something I did to kill time until I was 25. I’m definitely willing to talk about music until the cows come home. But if you’re still listening to cassette tapes from the Warehouse, you’re doing yourself a disservice. PLEASE update your shit. You’ll like what you hear.

Paz.

now that I’ve said my piece, come feed your ears:

“Head of House” - Glenn Underground

“Saturday Night Street Fight” - Anthony Nicholson

“Free”- Larry Heard

What is creativity?

Everybody has a different answer, and generally people overthink the question. However, if you ask ME? It’s simple.

Creativity is the ability to take nothing and turn it into something. The levels of creativity vary, but that’s all it is. Finding a thing, and reshaping it into something that you find beautiful.

Creativity inspires creativity in OTHER people.
Creativity stimulates the mind.
Creativity is something that comes from within.

Now, we as a society have tarnished the beauty and the notion of creativity by trying to attach a dollar value to it, or trying to piggyback on someone else’s creativity. But that’s not how it works.

Furthermore, people fancy themselves creative when they really aren’t. Jibberish disguised as high prose isn’t neccessarily creative. One word can be a poem. Abstract works for the sake of being abstract aren’t really creative either. Just because something is perceived as Art ( or at best, falls under the definition of Art), doesn’t mean a creative person made it. A lot of hacks are running around under the guise of being creative.

Why am I saying all this? It’s simple. I’ve been taking stock of my life, and I’ve come to discover that I know a LOT of people who are doing a LOT of things. I’ve been friends with Artists, painters, Photogs, Musicians, Writers, you name it… I’ve been pretty much surrounded by creative people most of my adult life, and never really thought about it. Maybe that means I take these things for granted. Maybe it means I’m just lucky enough to have seen a lot in my relatively short time on this planet. Or maybe I’m just slow to recognize what’s in front of me…There’s a TON of ways to look at it. But one thing’s for sure. Don’t let the world fool you. We’re not a bunch of idiots who sit around and wait for (insert overhyped celebrity) to make his or her next move. There are still intelligent, creative, and highly artistic people lurking in the shadows. The beauty of this world will not be completely bought and sold.

How about this? The next time you see a work of art ( in the realm of photography, music, film, painting, design, or whatever…) and it inspires you, Tell somebody else about it. Share that moment.

Like I said creativity breeds more creativity…

paz.

The Big Fat List of Producers you need to check out:

The Mizell Brothers
4Hero
Jazzanova
Glenn Underground
Pirahnahead
Blaze
David Axelrod
Jay Denes
DJ Spinna
Anthony Nicholson
Charles Stepney
Osunlade
Nicolay
Rob Playford
Andy Caldwell
Vikter Duplaix
Studio Apartment
Shuya Okino
Prefuse 73
Nicola Conte
Pete Rock
Dennis Ferrer
Kerri Chandler
Trevor Horn
Hank Shocklee
Larry Heard

that should get you started.