Requests?

 

As a dj, the most annoying thing in the world is to receive requests all night long.  I know people mean well, but a lot of the times the song that you want to hear, is just that....the song YOU want to hear.   Most of the time it's not the song that will keep people dancing, bobbing their heads, or whatever effect you're looking for.  So this is my public cry to all my friends to stop requesting songs from djs.  They don't care if it's your birthday (unless you are the one who paid them and booked them). They don't care if it's your favorite song.  They also can't hear you if they have headphones on (pay attention).

DJing is not as simple as pushing a button and listening to whatever song you'd like to hear.  Imagine you were on the floor of the NY Stock Exchange and someone came up to you and was like, "um... I was wondering if you could buy 2000 shares of Microsoft... It's like my favority company!"  Better yet, if a student stood up in your class and said, "I know everyone is reading silently, but can you teach math now?  It's my birthday!"  That wouldn't fly.

There is a catch!!  If you actually make a request that makes sense and works with what I'm playing at the time it could work for you.  Unfortunately, that happens like 1 request out of every 100.

In one of my first business school classes, Prof. Garth Saloner described a classroom scenario that was like having someone jump out of the bushes while you're riding your bike and putting a stick in your spokes. That's what requests are like.

So how do I get my song played?

1. Cut a hole in the box.... (just kidding).

1. I'm starting to ask for requests on Twitter.  If I think the song is worth a spin, I'll try my hardest to work something into the mixes that I post on my blog.

2. If you ask a dj for a song when you're out, make sure it's one that won't leave the dancefloor looking like someone farted out there.

3. Ask once and don't come back unless you have a drink for the dj.

4. Ask when it's not packed.

5. BEST ANSWER - Have the CD ready to play on your ride home

If you want a DJ, you gotta let him/her work. If that's not in your nature, then get one of these.  It's reliable and it plays whatever you ask it to play.

This mix is the result of my first Twitter request.  Big ups to D. Banks for picking a good one.  My apologies for not having clean versions of all songs.  It's the rappers cursing... not me.  ;-)

Down South