When I was into drinking heavily (i.e., the past five years off and on until a month ago), I pretty much went to one bar- the Replay Lounge>. Fantastic place… cheap beer, good jukebox, interesting patrons, generously pouring bartenders… we all have our favorite watering hole.
However, the Replay, as well as its sister bar, the Jackpot Saloon, have recently begun making money on weekend nights by bringing in djs. This is not a new thing, as the Replay’s had various djs in over the years. These are not djs in the typical sense. They’re usually scenester types with a box of records who want to make an extra buck here and there.
This does present a trend that has become worrisome in recent years, though. Another club, the Hurricane, in Kansas City has been having bands play until midnight, at which point they then move in a dj mto spin records until the bar closes at 3am.
Now, I’m a live music sort of person. If I wanted to listen to somebody play records, I’d turn on the radio or, more likely, sit in front of the stereo and do it my own damn self. This is why I would like to give extra-special super-duper props to Jet. They’ve recently released their new single to radio, and it’s called “Roll Over DJ.” It spoke to me as I was driving home from the local clothing resale store. Lyrics like “I wanna move but I don’t feel right / ‘Cause you’ve been playing other peoples songs all night” simply hit the nail on the fucking head, as far as I’m concerned. Add in “Well I know that you think you’re the star / A pill poppin’ jukebox is all that you are” and you have some pleasantly biting commentary on why it sucks to be a live music lover and go out to a club.
I suppose I wouldn’t be so pissed if the clubs paid the djs themselves, but they charged a fucking cover to get in. Why in the fucking hell should I give someone five bucks to hear them play their damn music, when for that much money, I could get fifteen plays on the jukebox of music I want to hear?