Night People

How to Be a DJ in '90s New York City

De: Mark Ronson

Narrado por: Mark Ronson

Capturing the music, characters, escapades, and energy of his DJ days, a profound memoir from seven-time Grammy-winning record producer Mark Ronson.

Lady Gaga, Adele, Amy Winehouse, Dua Lipa, Bruno Mars, Miley Cyrus, the Barbie soundtrack—behind some of the biggest musical moments in the past two decades is one man: Mark Ronson. Night People conjures the undeniable magic of the city's bygone nightlife—a time when clubs were diverse, glamorous, and a little lawless, and each night brought a heady mix of music, ambition, danger, delight, and possibility. It's about the beauty of what you can create with just two Technics and a mixer, in a golden era before Giuliani, camera phones, and bottle service upended everything. It's also about a teenager finding his way—stalking DJ Stretch Armstrong and biting his mixes, crate-digging in every corner of New York, grinding gig after gig through a decade of incredible music—and finding a community of people who, in their own strange, cracked ways, lived for the night.

Organized around the venues that defined his experience of the downtown scene, Ronson evokes the specific rush of that decade and those spaces—where fashion folks and rappers on the rise danced alongside club kids and 9-to-5'ers—and invites us into the tribe of creatives and partiers who came alive when the sun went down. A heartfelt coming-of-age tale, Night People is the definitive account of '90s New York nightlife and the making of a musical mastermind.

Reseñas de la Crítica

"In Night People, Mark Ronson tells his own sweet, intimate, and sometimes extremely funny story of what it’s like to be inside an era of pure musical magic before anyone but you and your friends even know it’s happening. His is a perfect New York tale — the kind that makes you jealous you weren’t there, grateful for your own version, and racing to make a playlist so you can visit this world anytime you want. It’s also about the power of obsession with the thing you love, and how it can drive you to find your people, the ones who will eventually introduce you to yourself.”
—Lizzie Goodman, author of the New York Times bestseller Meet Me in the Bathroom

"Night People is not just Mark Ronson’s origin story. It’s a snapshot of 1990s New York City from a figure at the epicenter of its culture. It’s a book about the life of a DJ, by a DJ, in the same groundbreaking way that Anthony Bourdain’s Kitchen Confidential illuminated the life of a chef. And it’s also a lovely, sweet story about a small family and a tight community, even though you may know these people’s names well. This quadruple blend is not surprising: It comes from pop music’s master synthesist.”
—Dan Charnas, author of the PEN Award-winning, New York Times Bestseller Dilla Time, and The Big Payback: The History of the Business of Hip-Hop

“Mark Ronson’s transporting memoir is a New York bildungsroman about an uptown kid with a downtown heart that beats to hip hop while longing for a sound that’s all his own. Night People reads like a playlist of life's hard knocks and small triumphs that somehow flows effortlessly on the page, not unlike his talent as a DJ to mix songs that kept the crowd shaking on the dance floor.”
—Griffin Dunne, author of the New York Times bestseller The Friday Afternoon Club

“In Night People, Mark Ronson goes time-traveling through his life and returns with a wry, sharp, moving, evocatively detailed story of discovery, and self-discovery, and of how it feels to fall head-over-heels in love with pop music.”
—Michael Chabon

"Thoroughly charming...An endearing memoir from a musician who’s more than just Mark."
—Kirkus Reviews

Can’t recommend enough

If you have any even vague connection to the night life world, 90s / 2000s nyc or dj world read this. Humble and authentic and such a fun trip back to a really special time. RIP jemz! So glad this book exists.

A feel good story of what it’s like to be a DJ.

Mark tells his story that represents all DJ’s and why we started in this journey of music. While the word dj means so many different things these days Mark embraces its truest meaning. Someone who loves music, and loves playing it for others.

Highly recommended for my fellow 90’s kids

Mark Ronson gives his own words a chill vibe that the reader can comfortably relate to.

Incredible

What a story, Who knew Mark Robson was such a talented storyteller. I was captivated from start to finish.

Portals and downtown dirty angels I miss you so.

To hear Mark’s voice again…touching so directly on shared experiences during a time that seemed so magical where we all flowed together and everying made sense cause it was so layered and intertwined uptown downtown the benches at Thomson st playground courts the comedy cellar Max, Dave attel, Rebar…. liquids….

New appreciation for Mark Ronson.

I plan to build a playlist of every song mentioned in the book. I heard one interview on Dax Shepherd's podcast. I remember hearing that Nikka Costa track and sharing it with friends who heard what I heard.

As a fellow night person

I loved every minute of this. Couldn’t thank Mark enough for reading it himself, really made a world of difference in making me feel like I was in the club on my way up with him. Cheers!

The man can produce and write!

I’m surprised at how much I enjoyed this book. Mark has had one hell of a ride and he knows how to tell it with ease.

Captivating, Nostalgic, and vulnerable.

Listened all the way through into the night and didn’t stop until it was finished and dawn washed my view of the Statue of Liberty in a new day. A retired night person, this book filled me with nostalgia, and appreciation for a youth spent chasing the zeitgeist. If you’ve ever lived for the lightening rod moments that seem to make time stand still because the music had captured you this book is for you. Ronson describes with imaginative prose the elusive cool of the people and places he pays homage all while maintaining an undertone of vulnerable self-awareness and impressive education of the music that connects them. Brilliant. Educational. Funny. Thoughtful.

A must-read for lovers of music and OG club culture

As a DJ who spun in the '90s, this was a trip down memory lane. I was there at the same time and at a few of those parties. It's amazing to hear the stories and to be able to hear all the songs Mark talks about throughout this book. It's a fantastic read and a window into a time and place where there were no cameras no video just people fun good music and good times!