DJs should vow to please crowds

As I stood there, champagne glass in one hand, head drooped in disbelief in the other, I closed my eyes and waited for his time to pass -- for the embarrassment to end. He was the slightly inebriated guy singing karaoke at my aunt's after-wedding party.\n"Ugh," I thought as he passed me earlier in the night, somewhere between the dining room and the porch, carrying a stack of CDs with -- no kidding -- "Late Elvis' Hits" on top of the stack. As he headed out the door, I realized his point of destination: the DJ booth. \nThen it hit me, as soon as I saw the cordless microphone, I knew any remaining ounce of "party tact" on the part of this Vegas-wannabe went straight down the tube.\nBeginning with a lower-level cruise-ship rendition of an unfamiliar tune with the word "Chicago" and ending with Elvis' "Can't Help Falling in Love With You," the whole experience was painful, and this is a gross understatement.\nBut I have to give the guy credit. It took courage (and several spirits) to stand among a couple hundred people and subject himself to laughter. Although many found the experience humorous, the two songs he sang were among some the crowd's favorites. \nWhich brings me to my point, if these songs were among the high points of the evening, imagine the mediocre job the DJ did relating to his audience.\nI think this relationship between DJ and party-goers is among the strongest and most essential in the post-matrimonial celebration. If you can't play music that people like -- you're not going to have many people dancing.\nFor the most part, the music he played was good. He integrated current Top-40 songs with classic tunes peeled straight off collections of "Pure Funk" and "Billboard Hits." The trouble was his lack of knowledge of both the subject matter and his inability to create the desired playlist.\nLet me put it in perspective -- the majority of the crowd in attendance were in college between the years of 1979 to 1983. This particular age falls right between the post-disco era and the dawn of new wave. In other words, you can play the Talking Heads and Rick James, but you can't play Kashagoogoo and Wham.\nAt one point in the evening, a friend of my aunt asked me to request the Talking Heads cover of Al Green's "Take Me To The River." Upon hearing my inquiry, he said, "I have 'Take on Me.'" At this point, I had an epiphany. This guy doesn't know what he's talking about. "Take on Me" is a hit by the Swedish group A-ha, not the Talking Heads! It would have been nice for him to know his songs, nice little plus, we're not looking for miracles.\nOf course, classics are always necessary. Good wedding songs like Nat King Cole's "Unforgettable" or any lounge-like love tune by Louis Armstrong, Etta James, Al Green, Patsy Cline or Frank Sinatra will suffice. And he covered those bases well, but towards the end of the night he got a little trigger happy with his CD selection.\nThough great tunes like the Rolling Stones' "Start Me Up" and Kool and the Gang's "Jungle Boogie" surged through the crowd, they were poorly placed amid 'N Sync's "Pop" and The Weather Girls' "It's Raining Men"-- which to no surprise were hits with only a handle full of teenage girls and middle-aged ladies.\nAll in all, I would have to say that I enjoyed myself, despite my harsh criticism of the music. I only complain because I care. Besides, you have to speak up when the guy doesn't even have Aerosmith's "Sweet Emotion." Right?