Looking for the Perfect Beat: The Art and Culture of the DJ

They are music's vanguard. The reshape today's sounds — house, techno, hip-hop, rock — direct our feet on the floor, and influence the way music is represented in our culture.

"Don't look at the turntable as just this mechanism that you play records on. Apply yourself to it as if it were an instrument, and you can express yourself through the turntable."

— Rob Swift, The X-ecutioners

From the rapid-fire editing of MTV videos, to underground parties and world-famous clubs, DJs have altered the course of music and video, moved into new media, and turned our generation on its ear — literally.

Meet these creative artists — many of them celebrities in their own right — who line up the most infectious beats, mix and program them, and make us dance talk and think about music — and the world — in entirely different ways.

"We like to mix it all up and have a good time, a bit of a laugh."

— Ben Dubuisson, Purple Penguin

Discover how they select their gear and choose tunes — and pick up tips on how to mix.

Preface

Introduction: Who Do You Think You Are?

I What Is a DJ?

2 Got to Be Real

3 Dance to the Drummer's Beat

4 The Young Person's Guide to Gear

5 Looking for the Perfect Beat

6 It Takes Two

7 Let the Music Play

8 The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

9 All That Scratchin'

10 The Music That We Make

11 Stars

12 The Future of the Future

Bibliography