I went to this festival a few years ago because it was work-related. I don't know a thing about techno music, although I am a musician and can appreciate good music no matter what the genre.

But -- and this is an honest question, not an attempt to be a smart-ass -- what differentiates a good techno artist from a bad one? When I was there, it looked pretty much like the artists were doing nothing more than playing record players.

Now, I know there are some DJs who use the turntable as an instrument. I saw Beck's DJ, and was blown away at the way he performed, throwing records up in the air, dancing, and then catching the record just in time to slap it onto the turntable. This guy also scratched out the "Stairway to Heaven" solo on the turntable. It was awesome.

But when I went to the Movement [[or whatever it was called a few years ago), the crowds were all jammed in to watch these guys -- and all they were doing was playing records! Maybe I'm just an old fart, but I didn't see what the point was in cramming in to watch that. They weren't putting on a show or anything; just playing a record while bopping their heads.

So how does one techno artist play a record better than the other? It seems like a fairly simple thing to do.