Angry College Radio DJ

Has there just been too much college radio love lately? Perhaps....

In a post yesterday on NeoAvant called "Thoughts of An Angry College Radio DJ Pt.1," a college radio DJ rants a bit about the state of the station, writing:

"...I’m a DJ at my university radio station. It’s a shitty and excellent job. First off, most of the people I work with are either together with their job or just… annoying as fuck. Most everyone has this 'hipster' shit down- not only do they wear skinny jeans, but they cream said jeans over Tobacco and Deerhoof. Fuck those people… I’ve made it my main goal to play everything that they’re not playing. Not just for my sanity… but for the listeners out there who’ve heard the latest Sub Pop records album a million times already.

Don’t get me wrong - I like most of the djs and staff… but some people are so predictable that it hurts."

Does this sound like your college radio station? Do most of your DJs like the same bands? Who are the rebels? Are they the folks playing mainstream music or the people playing obscure, underground artists?

The author goes on to critique the station's Music Department:

"It’s crazy… our music directors in the past have given us crap for expanding our listening to include certain artists that AREN’T played otherwise, and for having fun by playing songs by random notable artists that you never hear on other stations. We’re young, we’re on the air, and we SHOULD be rebelling against the system and playing old LL Cool J at 4am."

I'm not sure I get the entire argument (especially in terms of who is rebelling against what), but it seems like the author worries that the station is afraid of taking chances and sticks to a standard college radio sound. That's never a good thing, and there are lots of critiques out there against the standardization and mainstream sounds found on college radio. I agree that all Music Directors should be challenged to have broad, eclectic playlists that are NOT based on music charts or the top hits listed in CMJ.

What's your college radio rant? And, how do you deal with drama, in-fighting, and differences in music taste at your station?