Knob Twisters

I’ve never quite understood what people think Djs do.

If you can count to four and collect and maintain a library of music on your phone, you can DJ.

If you know how to read the room at a live event, you can DJ.

If you know how to do smooth transitions from one song to another, you can DJ.

Beyond that, it’s kinda a “for show” thing.

DJ equipment typically includes either a mixer or a controller that enables the DJ to perform all of the above to the degree they are skilled.

Many DJs go online to perform music sets. TikTok, YouTube, Twitch, MixCloud, etc.

That’s where they run into… the algorithm (dun, dun, dun). The algorithm that emphasizes interaction with the viewing audience. On the low end of the algorithm, the DJ plays a music set and posts a static picture while the DJ talks over the music and interacts with the chat. One the high end of the algorithm are the Knob Twisters. These consist mostly of pre-recorded sets of music that the DJ attempts to convince the viewers that it’s being mixed live while they watch.

It’s pretty ridiculous when you understand this.

Without any real technical or physical challenge to live mix the set of music (remember, it’s pre-recorded), everything that’s visual, like the pink stuffed animals carefully arranged in the string-lighted background, becomes more of the focus. Bobbing and singing along to the music tracks seems like the right thing to do, right? Women DJs rely on scant clothing for attention while all of this is going on.

But, back to Knob Twisting. With a pre-recorded mix playing, and all that other stuff filling up the visual part of what you the viewer sees, there’s nothing to do but “knob twist”. The more frenetic the better - despite the viewing audience not having a clue as to it’s silliness. How many times do you need to “adjust” anything on a pre-recorded playing set?

If the Wizard of Oz curtain were drawn back, the audience would see how pointless it is. Mixing is a skill I totally respect. Putting on a show online is my problem with this.

Viewers would rather watch you stare at the cam and randomly acknowledge them. Playing music makes it like a “talk-over radio station” - and a crappy one at that, since the music ends up in the background for the algorithm engagement. If I just had better boobs. 🤦‍♂️

I’d love to hear your thoughts on this!