A Positive Spin on DJ AM

Adam "DJ AM" Goldstein, spinning records at a Scottsdale, Ariz., clothing store in March 2006. (AP Photo/Dan Steinberg)

Two things bother Arash Shirazi about the coverage of DJ AM's death last week: suggestions that his success was rooted in his celebrity social life (starlet squeezes Nicole Richie and Mandy Moore), and tabloid hints that he OD'd in a state of despair.

"He e-mailed me on Tuesday, and it didn't look like he was distraught," said Shirazi, manager for D.C.'s own DJ duo Deep Dish. "He was LOL-ing in e-mail, and making plans" to get together soon.

The two met at the Grammys in 2003; when DJ AM was recuperating after a plane crash last year, the agent sent him the "Planet Earth" DVD set. ("What do you get someone who has everything?") Shirazi said his pal "had a great musical acumen" that made him a star in the once-faceless profession of mixing tunes. "He came up around the time of the media explosion of TMZ and Perez Hilton, and it was probably hard. We didn't talk about his fame, but my impression was he didn't really care for it. He was about putting out good music."