David Guetta: Nothing But the Beat
7.65
Ratings: 7.65/10 from 17 users.
David Guetta, popular French house music producer and DJ, tells the story of himself and the electronic music.
"I cannot look at myself in the mirror if I do not give 100 percent. My ambition is new each day, I have so much to learn and so much to achieve." - David Guetta
Nothing But The Beat reveals David Guetta's meteoric rise from underground house DJ to global superstar.
Featuring the likes of Will.i.am, Kelly Rowland, Ludacris and Snoop Dogg, the full-length documentary Nothing But The Beat offers fans a unique insight into the professional and personal life of David Guetta and chronicles one of the finest innovations in electronic music.
Even tough I don't listen to radio or watch TV or follow pop culture I felt the documentary had some powerful things in it. For decades many debates have been presented locally and abroad about the origins of house music. Also the racial identity of its makers. David discussed those and didn't have to being at the level he is at. Also the discussion about the American music dilemma with dance music versus pop/hip hop that's been going on for such a long time was mentioned. Many people don't know what the term or style "House Music" is and I agree his sound isn't "house music". But it was derived from the origins of "House Music" which will lead people who are seeking more to seek and discover. His mention of Farley, Frankie, Pierre and so on will open the worlds eyes to Chicago and the origins of the sound and it's evolution. There's been tons of Dance music documentaries written and the history seems to always get skewed or misrepresented. At least he didn't refer to Europe as being the origins of this music which it is indeed the heart beat of its life line and support system on massive level. I haven't seen a doc on Tiesto and so on but I don't think they would take the time to talk about DJ culture in the perspective I mentioned above. Another thing that's power is having people like Usher saying "House Music" and glorifying it leads people back to finding out more about it. Snoop and Kelly describing the feelings from the experiences even though it's from his electronic sets "House Music" delivers the same vibrations to its fans. Lastly I felt that his persona was very laid back and he seemed to enjoy what he is doing. I know hundreds of House Music, Underground and Hio hop DJ's from big names to small names and they are not at ease, comfortable or project a loving/easy going vibration like David displayed in this documentary. I liked his energy for a person making that much money and with that much clout. He's having fun and maybe that's why people like him regardless of his sound. Hahaha.
a so so doc... in my opinion a good doc takes a stance of neutrality, not hype or favoritism as with good journalism... otherwise, it's a wank. in regards to electronica? hmmm, it's done well with high production, tho it's not inventive as the doc hypes... i couldn't get through 20 minutes and my attention wandered thru that short period.
What I dig about Guetta is his passion and vision. He's at inadvertent conflict with some, if not many about the #EDM genre and even #House, but I appreciate that his focus is on the art of music, which in itself is bigger than it's genre's.
What I dig about Guetta is his passion and vision to move people with music. Not sure about the references to house
since when does remixing shitty top 40 music make you an EDM DJ
rewriting music's history... this so called documentary is nothing more than a failed attempt at rewriting of music history. This guy had absolutely NOTHING to do with bringing electronic music to the states. How about people like Prototype 909, Frankie Bones, Lenny Dee etc... when these guys were touring stateside in the early 90s and pressing tracks in the 80s, this dude was still looking in his diapers for leftovers.... big corporate wigs are trying to feed the young people today their version of events, but all it takes is a quick look at the age of these new jacks like Skrillex or this guy to see that it's just a giant sham. Not to mention that it has absolutely NOTHING to do with house.
true man so true :)
why is he talking about house? he's not house, he's pop
AMEN! Say it again!
I hated David Guetta 1h 6m 17s ago
A producer with integrity produces tracks that they like and are proud of and not based on how much money it will make, that is the problem with guetta. Please do not be so ignorant and believe that he is true representative of modern day house music! To all the older people saying that house isnt what is used to be you couldn't be more wrong! I appreciate that there was some fantastic music produced back in the day when it sprung up in Chicago and in fact ive been to see many DJ's like Dyed Soundorom, Derrick Carter, Kerri Chandler etc who will play tracks from the late 80's that still rock the dancefloor today. But there are many talented producers such as Guy Gerber, Maceo Plex, Davide Squillace, Maya Jane Coles etc producing music with integrity and a blend of so many cultures which have just as much feeling and groove as the old tracks but are also pushing the boundaries of creativity. This is why real dance music fans resent this man so much, comparing his commercial trash to real house music is like comparing '50 shades of grey' to 'To kill a mockinbird'!
The haters are missing the point. Who ****** cares whether the guy can Dj or not, He's not so much a Dj but more a producer. It's the fact that he revolutionized the Urban music with the House music. All your favorite Dj's have love for the dude, and if your hating on him cuz he's "top 40" then your clearly an id**t and need to appreciate, the level this guy brought a bunch of Genre's into one. I've been Djing for 4 years and I'm going to school for Audio Engineering and all i gotta say is appreciate what he did cuz he's changed music a lot, in a postive way . . .
And I have been into house MUSIC for over 25 years and a dancer that relishes soulful foundations of our culture. So, I appreciate that you have been djing for some 4 years....but HATER(?) can never be what I am simply for agreeing this man is a mass marketed pop star that is the furthest thing from house music. Don't try to sell out our music, then sell it back to us as some garbage we know is not house. We are not HIS conceptual idea of many genre's into one, as you described. We are Tom Mouton, Larry Levan, Tony 'humpty' Humphries, Ron Hardy, Farnkie Knuckles, Kerri Chandler...and I could go on. Save your idea of house music for the KIDS that think it is EDM. Do your history of our culture and stop this silly youthful talk. SMH..these children are lost....my god.
"Revolutionized urban music...." I don't even know whether to feel insulted or cry. We are doomed.
I´ve seen Sasha, Digweed, Seaman, Oakenfold, Cox, Kraftwerk and a bunch of other electronic music geniuses, David Guetta doesn´t even start. He´s the perfect example of mass media profits. I´ve seen him closing the last UMF and he can´t even mix.
Fraudetta gives electronic music a bad name.
if you're young, drunk and in a club you'd prefer to hear david guetta or the prodigy rather than portishead or david bowie. there is a time, a place and an age for any kind of music... embrace all!
I tend not to hate on music, there's no point. You take from music what you want, and what a boring world it would be if we all wanted the same thing. ;)
Having said that, house music like most other popular genres before it, seems to have become a bit of a victim of it's own success, and to my mind this film illustrates that.
Good old Bristol sound, trip-hop for me please....Tricky, Portishead, Massive Attack, etc. I don't think those tunes will ever sound old. :)
For all the old coffin dodgers who long since lost touch, go to Youtube and type the words “Tricky-Overcome”. You can thank me for it later. ;)
Cool, smooth, wishing for a dance floor surrounded by 10,000, eyes close
az
seen massive & portis live,best shows as were new model army,gbh,PANTERA & a german punkband named ea80!fond memories!the only thing i pity, is that i was too young to see joy division play!i was eight when ian took the hanging solution!
Looks like I'm one of the few that liked the flick, even though it was a bit shallow... more about promotion of David Guetta. Maybe it was a reminder of fond memories from my days as a weekend dance warrior... beginning in the 70's to the early 2000's when my engines finally shut down!
LOL I'm nearly 56 and even I've heard of David Guetta!! I would call him a "commercial" DJ/producer, and his sound is pretty much ubiquitous now on commercial radio. However, I do think that sound is really well suited to a giant close-cover arena.
Currently I'm liking the blend of retro 70's & 80's with today's electronic dance and a hint of hip-hop, a la Kraak & Smaak and Groove Armada.
this is awful, I'm getting sick from this a--hole's fauxness. Give me Masters at Work any day.
Not sure how I feel about this. Yes, I think it's great what David Guetta has done but I feel this is music is still a distant cousin of true dance/house/trance music. I am happy for him that he is doing what he loves, but I miss the days when dance music felt like it was 'mine'; maybe selfish of me - but I guess that's how life is sometimes.
Never heard of him but his mixes suck.
thats what happens when you mix music with money. you end up with crap
Never heard of this guy, who the **** is he?
Music is all about how it makes you feel, if you can't relate..don't hate aghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh...that was a good one for me lol
the magic has gone out of the dance / electronic scene. Its all about commerce. dj sets are mundane, dj's are pretty boys touting fashion and the music is whateveris forced out by the big stables. there are a few acts around still preaching the old ways, but not many. the superclub, and superclub dj mentality ruined the dance scene. if you get the chance, check out early Sasha, and Digweed Sets Or Sets from the likes of the Dope Smugglaz, danny Tenaglia, carl cox. A decent club night was like a journey, taking you though a mix of music and a mix of tempos and feelings. from what i see today, it may aswell be a computer mixing a list of records that have roughly the same BPM.
The Day The Music Died!
Very sad but true Dan; you're so right. I feel that dance music was something special back in the day. It doesn't feel normal for me to see DJ's in music videos that are selling Vitamin Water and cell phones...hmmm....I still love the music but something has been taken away from us.
I have always held the opinion that no matter what kind of person you are, IT would be nearly impossible to be a humble, world class DJ. Having all those people bounce on your command, lights behind you, it really is like he said, "A church preaching to a different kind of people." Only difference is, you take God out of the picture, and you become one to those people. I love house, dislike a lot of other electronica including about 98% of dubstep. Started loving on it in high school. I just cant tease myself the way these people do on the dance floor where you forget everything except the music. I've been to a few big name shows here and there, and I couldn't help over analyzing the scene and the people only to be disappointed with the childish way of life I was getting involved in. Drugs or not, the music is good. However, I dont see how people can make this a lifestyle and be at rest or satisfied with their life. Grew up in America by the way (Atlanta, GA) and its a huge hit, especially in the last 5 years its exploded over here.
Last year at the Shambhala Music Festival i got a taste of what it is to be in a crowd spellbounded by a beat. Spending 5 days camping near the 5 stages surrounded by more than 12,000 day and night, the funkiest camp settlements, great food, the mountains...wow!
The wave that is created by the dancing uphoric crowd at all hours of the day and night is totally crazy.
az
what a delusional world they created..
I particularly enjoyed this movie because it centered around a DJ in the electronic dance music genre (my favorite genre). There are plenty of documentaries on hip hop artist and rock bands, but only a handful on EDM DJ's.
I've seen David Guetta perform twice here in southern California. His first first show was amazing, but I became extremely disappointed at the second show because his set was almost completely identical (song selection, song order, transition styles). When I go to electronic shows and raves, I expect the DJ to bring something new to the table, even if they are trying to showcase their iTunes top 10 bangers.
On a second note, I like how he is trying bridge europe and america (and blacks and whites) by molding different music styles. I just hope he doesn't drift to far into the american pop/hiphop culture. I liked his older stuff because it sounded unique, but nowadays his new stuff sounds like every other damn song on the radio.
This answered a lot of questions for me. For one I'd never heard of David Guetta, two - I now know the guy from Air has a stunt-double, but more importantly I know why it's so hard to find 'soulful house'. On the other hand, there's no mention of Gus Gus or Naked Music, Trentemoeller and so on, it's very narrowly focused on things that matter in a commercial sense to a particular group of electro artists. It's a trade doco really.
I had no idea that Americans don't listen to this sort of music en masse, or that 'black' people over there don't get involved in it. I grew up with this and it's the most listened-to music in the entire world, so I guess I just assumed. I mean, rave parties, the Berlin Love Parade. I hardly listen to dance music anymore, but is America really that insular?
And I have to say this music reminds me so much of Les Rhythms Digitales, or early Royksopp which was also pretty sub-standard.
Having watched the whole thing now, I think it's very interesting to take note of the expression on his face while being interviewed, if you pause - it's the micro-expressions that give people away. A lot can be understood about the feelings in his music from just these little frames in-between: the sadness and determination, it's all there in the music and in a micro-expression. i don't really like the music, but it does have a heart of sorts, and the track over the end-titles pretty much sums it all up nicely, but I am left feeling pretty sad.
"I had no idea that Americans don't listen to this sort of music en masse, or that 'black' people over there don't get involved in it. I grew up with this and it's the most listened-to music in the entire world, so I guess I just assumed. I mean, rave parties, the Berlin Love Parade. I hardly listen to dance music anymore, but is America really that insular?"
Finally, something about my country's present-day culture I can be proud of!
Other than the fact that it started here, duh.
Robert, yes it's true, America has only just came into the dance scene. It was very underground for years. People only accepted it for an underground and drug scene. But now, it's on the mainstream - and I am not sure if it's a good or bad thing? Is it being liked because of the music or just because it's popular now? I don't know..
The same could be said for any music, as if this is some special genre designated for the special people. We all think this way. It's just beats and melodies, some like it and some don't. This loser DJ realizes that and is going for the green but we all know he's fake. But let's not pretend we have something any other genre of music doesn't. Authenticity is important for everyone and this dude is a failure on that front. What's his name, I honestly don't even rememeber???
American people are into it when they're exposed to it but today there's no context for this.
Now this is interesting. There are sh*tloads of things to learn about and from yet this is made into a "documentary". Says a lot about our priorities, doesn't it. If at least it was about music...
i'm a professional dj and i not sure to watch this or not
i hope i am wrong when this is not done as a promotion tool to get this dj to and keep on the top, its all a race for many of the promotional teams backing these 'super' djs to achieve maximum sales in the corporate pig world
djing for me is creating good vibes ad having fun and projecting that to people its kinda spiritual but dj's like like are just as bad as marketing consulants and celeb stars, much more talent if u go looking for it
peace x
I reckon you should watch it. Check my other comments above and see what you think about him as a person and then think about how he and his wife approach the corporate side. From what you've said, you might even find a kindred spirit.
I'm mainly into Modern Classical, but it's still interesting. Nothing tops Steve Coogan and 24 Hour Party People, but it's still an insight.
joy division tops all & everything !
I have tried so hard to like Joy Division and New Order, but they always sound better in my head than they do on record. In my mind I make all the production adjustments, so I always feel disappointed when I try to listen to them again. It's like making the effort to listen to Jaco Pastorius again and finding I was right the first time, there really were better bassists before him and even better ones after him. It's the same with Radiohead and Scott Walker. They're ok, but when you listen to what they listen to, you find the really good stuff.
They talk as if they were inventing the wheel....what a crap really.
i'ld love to pay 50-60 quid to see him live.....maybe the only chance to poke him in the eye with something uncomfortable!"guet-ta-hell-outta-here,ye-one-eyed-frog-impregnator"!no offence,i love the french!
Your wrong leewebster.
enlighten me
you're young ian harrigan.
the worst music imaginable