Saam’s Corner | Top 10 | Holy Mother of Avicii
Let me just start off this week’s blog by slapping everyone who didn’t go to Identity over the back of the head. INEXCUSABLE!
I’ve been to a lot of festivals and concerts in my day:
“United We Stand”
“Virgin Fest”
“HFSTival” (Back when it was good)
“Kegs and Eggs” etc…
But none of them topped the experience that was “Identity.” Such a great vibe, amazing crowd, and it was so awesome to see how EDM can bring thousands of people together. Whether it was everyone jumping for Steve Aoki or 10,000 people putting their hands up in the air for Avicii, it was an experience unlike anything I’ve ever witnessed in my entire life. Thank you to Glow, Panorama and Live Nation for bringing it all together!
The only thing i didn’t understand were the outfits. Look, I’m the last one to complain about 22 year old girls walking around half naked and grinding up on me while i’m jamming out to Chuckie’s set, but GOOD GOD!
Ladies, YOU DON’T HAVE TO DRESS LIKE A SLUT TO TELL PEOPLE THAT YOU LISTEN TO HOUSE/TRANCE/DUBSTEP. It’s totally ok to JUST WEAR SHORTS AND A T-SHIRT. And fellas, don’t think you’re off the hook either. Kermit the Frog backpacks were retired in the 4th grade. SERIOUSLY!
On that note, This week’s top 10 gets an EDM Twist. With the evolution of house and electronic music, it’s noticeable to see how it’s influenced club music as a whole. I remember 4 years ago there were nights when I wouldn’t even DARE to play house and now, it dominates my set. With that said, here are the top 10 house tracks that you will hear in the club!
10. Swedish House Mafia– “Miami to Ibiza” Just a heads up, this is now the only time you will be seeing SHM on this list. Tinie Tempah is slowly starting to blow up! The English artist went from rapping in pubs to getting on the guest list with the Swedish House Mafia. How can I get on that list?
9. Steve Aoki and the Bloody Beetroots- “Warp 1.9” There are very few songs that get a crowd as hype as this song does. If you’ve never heard this song…WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?! The drop is amazing and the build up is epic. Its the perfect fusion between hard house and rock!
8. Benassi– “Cinema” (Skrillex Remix)- It’s no secret about how much i despise dubstep, but as a DJ, you have to cater to the crowd and there’s no denying the fact that this track definitely caters to a crowd! Skrillex, no matter what you think of his music and style of dubstep, is definitely a pioneer in the genre and brings a lot of people together. #Props!
7. Afrojack & R3hab- “Prutataaa” Is there a more dominant duo in the world of house music right now than these two? Hard house #ftw.
6. The Temper Trap- “Sweet Disposition” (Axwell and Dirty South Remix)- Always gotta show love for the classics and this is certainly a classic! Arguably one of the best house remixes of all time!
5. Tiesto and Hardwell– “Zero 76”- One word and only one word describes this track: #Winning. That is all.
4. Eric Prydz– “Call on Me”- One of the best songs of all time, regardless of the genre. Everyone sings out loud to this song!
3. Swedish House Mafia- “Save The World”- I warned you guys that you would see the SHM again on the list. This is actually my favorite SHM of all time. We anxiously await the day that the entire trio of DJS do an entire set together here in the States #glowwashingtondc 😉
2. Calvin Harris- “Awooga“- Honestly, this track has it all. I think Calvin Harris could retire from music today and make millions just off of the royalties of this track. I predict this song will be played in nightclubs all over the world for many years to come! #winning
1. Avicii– “Levels”- Big room and soulful house music for the win! Amazing instrumentals with just the right amount of vocals. Sometimes the vocals can drain out the production of the track but this track has the perfect balance. You heard it here first, when the newest edition of the dj mag top 100 comes out, Avicii will be #1 or #2.
Thank you guys for reading this week’s top 10. As usual if you fee like there was a track that I missed or maybe a song that you would like me to pay more attention to, please hit me up on Facebook and twitter!
On that note, let me just say, FOR THE LOVE OF HOUSE MUSIC 🙂 Cheers!
DJ Saam
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*The views and opinions expressed by DJ Saam do not necessarily reflect those of Panorama Productions or DCClubbing.com
Saam’s Corner | Top 10 | Rihanna’s Law
Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, and children of all ages! This is the moment you’ve all been waiting for! No, I am not retiring from DJ-ing yet and NO the 10th dentist did not finally come around and decided to recommend trident! I’m taking my talents to the blogosphere and I’ve decided to bless your eyes and entertain you with my weekly top 10 tracks!
So How does a song crack my top 10? Well, it’s not easy and there are multiple factors that come in to play. For starters, overall popularity of the track in the club scene is key. There are a lot of songs that are very popular in a club that you don’t necessarily hear on the radio or read on the weekly billboard charts. Typically, in today’s music scene, this is more common amongst house/edm tracks but it ranges and applies to all genres across the board. Secondly, crowd reaction is also crucial. When playing in a club and catering to a large amount of people like I do, it’s very important to trust yourself, and cater to everyone. This means not just playing one genre of music (regardless of how much you may hate the genre), but rather finding a way to incorporate all the genres of music together so that people don’t even notice the transition. And finally, the last factor in making my top 10: musical innovation. How is your track catchy, different, and stand out to make it club worthy?
With that said, let’s start the drumroll (in your head of course 🙂 )
10. Rihanna- “S&M”
-It’s no secret about how much I despise Rihanna, but as a DJ, I play her music because everyone loves it. In fairness, “S&M” represents everything that club audiences and mainstream music fans love to listen to. It’s uptempo, catchy (“na, na na, come on!”), and everyone loves singing about Sex. As you will see, “the singing about sex” theory (I call this Rihanna’s law) will apply to more songs on this list 😉 #winning! Editor’s note: This song is so hot we can’t put the actual video up but it’s here.
9. Eva Simmons- “Take Over Control”
-This track has a special place in my heart because it reminds me of the night I was able to open for Cedric Gervais last year at Glow! The track was released the same day and I dropped it that night! It got a great reaction that night and still gets a great reaction to this day. I have a feeling this will be a club banger for a long time. I compare it to Eric Prydz “Call On Me.” #instantclassic
8. Jennifer lopez Ft. Pitbull- “On The Floor”
-Talk about a musical resurgence! We here in the United States love us a good comeback story! J-lo took a lot of time off but came back with a bang! Again, uptempo, catchy (la, la la la la) and has the EDM beat that people love nowadays. It always helps your cause when Pitbull is on the track
7. Avicii- “Levels”
-It’s amazing how in the past two years this kid has gone from the new kid on the block to potentially overtaking Armin Van Buuren in next year’s DJ Mag top 100 as the #1 DJ in the world! Every track he produces is a banger and this one is no exception. Avicii is definitely musically innovative! “#igetagoodfeeling
6. LMFAO- “Shots”
-On MOST nights, this is the song that gets the party starting for me. It’s such a hype track and everyone knows the words. I don’t care where you go and for what crowd I end up DJ-ing for. EVERYONE wants to hear “Shots.”
5. Enrique Iglesias- “Tonight (I’m F***ing’ You)”
-One of, if not, the best track from one of my favorite artists of all time. Much like J-lo, Enrique took some time off and came back with 2 immediate bangers. First with, “I Like It” and now with “Tonight.” Once again, “Rihanna’s Law” applies to this song: Everyone loves singing about sex. #truestory
4. LMFAO- “Party Rock Anthem”
-Anytime there’s a song that comes out that has a stupid dance associated with it, people will always go crazy for it. Don’t get me wrong, I like this song, but if it didn’t have the dance, I think it would just be like any other LMFAO song. See “la, la, la” and “Yes” for further examples. With that said, it still hits hard!
3. Duck Sauce- “Barbara Streisand”
– For a song being this high on my list, I must say I am very confused by this. This song arguably gets the best reaction in a club for me on any given night and it’s nothing special. But once again, uptempo beat and a catchy hook save this track! Maybe I shouldn’t say that I am confused, but rather JEALOUS. Why didn’t I just make a song and drop the name of one of the most successful actresses/performers of all time and make millions off of it?! WHAT AM I DOING WRONG HERE GUYS?!!? “awwwooowooooooo”
2. DJ Khaled Ft. Drake, Rick Ross, and Lil Wayne- “I’m On One”
-Put your finger up in the sky and sing along to one of the freshest hip hop songs to come out in recent history. Whenever I drop this, I always let this entire song play out because it deserves it! What an amazing song and the anthem to my summer. Every single person goes nuts in the club when this song comes on! “Could be purple or it could be pink!”
1. Pitbull Ft. Nayer, Ne-Yo and Afrojack- “Give Me Everything”
-You could say that I am a little biased since this is my favorite song out right now, but in my opinion, this is a no brainer. AMAZING beat (would you expect anything less from Afrojack), GREAT hook, and awesome build up. I usually drop this song as late as I can in my peak hour set because I’ve found that this is the song that everyone wants to hear the most when they’re partying and having a good time. Once again, “Rihanna’s Law” comes back to entertain our ears 🙂
There are a lot of good songs that didn’t make this list
Britney Spears- “Till The World Ends”
Laidback Luke FT. Steve Aoki and Lil Jon- “Turbulence”
Calvin Harris- “Awooga”
However, that’s why there’s always next week’s edition 😉 ! If you guys have songs that you think should’ve made the list, feel free to send me suggestions, tracks, and your feedback to my Facebook or hit me up on twitter! I love hearing your feedback and I also love to know what people are listening to! It only helps me in becoming the best DJ that I can be!
If it wasn’t for you guys, I wouldn’t be where I am today!
DJ Saam
*The views and opinions expressed by DJ Saam do not necessarily reflect those of Panorama Productions or dcclubbing.com/wordpress2
DJ Saam’s May Mix
Towards the end of every month DJ Saam releases a mixtape consisting of the hottest tracks of the month. Of course, where would a DJ be without a unique sense of style, and perhaps humor? Hence this month’s mix starting off straight into Coasters’ – “Yakety Yak.” Released in 1958, no-one has probably heard it since 1973 but that’s okay! Saam accomplishes what many would consider impossible and transitions straight into a current hit released in 2010: “Mr. Saxobeat” by Alexandra Stan. From there it’s a house-heavy mix with a lounge feel and the intensity of mega-club fame.
Be sure to catch DJ Saam at Lima on Tuesday, Barcode on Friday, and Ultrabar on Saturday.
