There's something about playing music for someone who's hearing it for the first time. Even if it's a song you've heard many times before, you hear it differently. The first time I remember noticing this was in the high school parking lot in my old Jeep Wrangler that would stall whenever you put the clutch in. I loved that car. Anyway, I had just picked up the Counting Crows live record Across a Wire with the VH1 Storytellers on one disc and the MTV 10 Spot on the other. And I had been blown away by the version of "Round Here" on the MTV disc. So I had listened to it about a million times, and I wanted to play it for my best friend Dave, who hadn't heard it.
I remember sitting there blasting music out of my parked car, hearing the song in a whole different way once I realized that in playing it for him this way, I was showing him a part of myself. It was like saying "This is something that moves me. This represents me. What do you think?"
I started to hear some of the imperfections inherent in a live show that I hadn't heard before. And I started to think the lyrics were maybe too pretentious. I started to wonder if I really wanted to commit myself to this song, or this song to myself.
I have come to love this feeling. This is why I am a DJ now. It helps me to really listen to every song I play when I remember I am playing it for people who maybe have never heard it before. It helps me to remember why I love rock and roll. It makes me feel like everyone who listens to me on a regular basis could actually be my friend if we ever met.
"People seeking people, standing on the earth,
Reaching for connection, they know what it's worth."
-Steve Forbert - Tonight I Feel So Far Away From Home
Article comments
1 - Bob A. Booey
What kind of DJ are you? Club? Radio?
And what do you spin? Rock isn't the way to go if you're a club DJ.
That is all.
2 - Mikey McClenathan
It's internet radio, not a club. www.pulverradio.com, if you want to check it out.
3 - Bob A. Booey
Cool, I'll try to check it out. Thanks.
That is all.