Deejays

potty pete

I understand that radio deejays are designed to be the talkative, effusive, chattering heads they are, but does anyone feel that a lot of them don't seem to be employed going on the merits of their musical knowledge? Obviously there are different types of show on the radio but for the ones that do play music rather than being moreso of a chatshow, a lot seem not to know the songs or the artists they play. An example would be Adrian Kennedy and his gormless sidekick. A lot of the time they don't say what the song was. Most of the time they get the artists' name wrong and generally seem like they're not there for their musical prowess or knowledge. Should this not be a requisite for a radio deejay? This morning Ian Dempsey called 'Lynyrd Skynyrd', 'Lynyrd Skinner'. Nice fella he is and all, but am I being too pedantic regarding this?

baztard

Most DJ's dont even pick the music they're going to play, so they probably have no idea what it is. I think the shows producer picks the songs based on 'market research' or something like that.

cornbb

Tis all based on playlists decided upon by the station tbh. Listen to some of the non-primetime DJs on Lyric FM if you wanna see guys that really know their music.

PeakOutput

cornbb wrote:

Tis all based on playlists decided upon by the station tbh. Listen to some of the non-primetime DJs on Lyric FM if you wanna see guys that really know their music.

there are playlists but they are HUGE the djs on talk shows like adrian kennedys would not be picking the music it would be the producer or one of the researchers but for the actualy prime time music shows and the ones that are in the middle of the night the djs do pick them in general

i think the average age of the djs on most stations is way too high and thats the first problem. im 21 and im so sick of hearing the same song when i switch between spin and 104 that iv taken to listening to newstalk all day in work for a bit of variety

potty pete

PeakOutput wrote:

there are playlists but they are HUGE the djs on talk shows like adrian kennedys would not be picking the music it would be the producer or one of the researchers but for the actualy prime time music shows and the ones that are in the middle of the night the djs do pick them in general

i think the average age of the djs on most stations is way too high and thats the first problem. im 21 and im so sick of hearing the same song when i switch between spin and 104 that iv taken to listening to newstalk all day in work for a bit of variety

Yeah, I glean that they do have playlist to abide by, but getting the names isn't a lot to ask. I don't mind when some err of course but it's the cursory nature of the said Mr Kennedy for example that can be bloody annoying. And the guffaw after it when he invariably gets it wrong. Not to bash him or anything but it certainly is his type that's only concerned about his own witterings. Don't want to go off the point though.
Phantom is decent and the deejays ain't too old I think. I don't think their age is necessarily a problem. Perhaps it's their application and research that's a bit ailing. That said, phantom does profess that they play the unobvious but they too are subject to repetitiveness. Such is the playlist I suppose.

kmick

Radio has degenerated in to advertising with some music and idiotic chat thrown in. Its like listening to the chat of two drug addicts down the back of the bus. Getting the names wrong and putting forward their views on everything. I find it unlistenable for most channels. However lots of people like the radio so each to their own. I dont think i have listened to the radio in years. If you are the type of person who gets annoyed when you hear Dempsey say Skinner instead of Skynard you should join me in the CD/MP3 craze. Buy a car radio with an Mp3 player and you never have to listen to the radio again.

potty pete

kmick wrote:

Radio has degenerated in to advertising with some music and idiotic chat thrown in. Its like listening to the chat of two drug addicts down the back of the bus. Getting the names wrong and putting forward their views on everything. I find it unlistenable for most channels. However lots of people like the radio so each to their own. I dont think i have listened to the radio in years. If you are the type of person who gets annoyed when you hear Dempsey say Skinner instead of Skynard you should join me in the CD/MP3 craze. Buy a car radio with an Mp3 player and you never have to listen to the radio again.

Quite true. Ahm, well, I listen to it in the morning. And then phantom at work. I too am the owner of both those devices. They please me muchly. The radio does need to be listened to from time to time though.

Miguel_Sanchez

Donal Dineen on Today FM. John Kelly on Radio 1.

They choose their own music and know their stuff very well.

OP - is there a chance that Ian Dempsey was just joking. I think at this stage of his career he knows that the band are called Lynard Skynard (also he would have the title up on the computer screen in front of him so I'm pretty sure he was probably only messing).

Dooom

Only thing I ever listen to on the radio nowadays is Newstalk.
Mp3 players ftw.

Stephen

I only listen to news and the odd bit of talk on the radio. Most of the music played is not to my liking, and 99.9% of ads on Irish radio are the most irritating fúcking sh1t known to man. The same few annoying voices prattling about financial services and terms and conditions all the bloody time. The high-speed T&C blurb that still manages to be longer than the ad itself always drives me mental. If your product has so many strings attached, it isn't worth the effort and I don't want it!

potty pete

Jeff_Lebowski wrote:

Donal Dineen on Today FM. John Kelly on Radio 1.

They choose their own music and know their stuff very well.

OP - is there a chance that Ian Dempsey was just joking. I think at this stage of his career he knows that the band are called Lynard Skynard (also he would have the title up on the computer screen in front of him so I'm pretty sure he was probably only messing).

Yeah, perhap perhap.

catch--22

cornbb wrote:

Tis all based on playlists decided upon by the station tbh. Listen to some of the non-primetime DJs on Lyric FM if you wanna see guys that really know their music.

Yes! their weekend hosts are excellent! Really know their stuff!

cornbb

Exactly, they're working there due to their musical knowledge/taste rather than their ability to talk nonstop about absolutely nothing for 3 hours Bernard Clarke on Nova is a good example, what an amazing out of the ordinary show...

Culture2007

To be fair, the names of some artists over recent years have even the most professional dj confused. Flick through any of the channels, either Ireland and UK, and you'll find a variety of pronunciations for artists like KT Tunstall, Eric Prydz, Bic Runga, Paulo Nuitini etc.
It might be a little unfair to be criticizing Adrian Kennedy who is a talk radio presenter, but I take your point how annoying it can be if you're a music fan.

Shane_C

I was listening to FM104 a little while ago when I heard andy P going on about how much he loved some teenie bopper 12year old girly song. I can't remember what song it was but it wasn't really the kind of stuff a middle aged man should like. That led me to think that maybe a lot of dj's aren't into music as much as they should be. I'm not saying this of all djs, but its something to think about.

Big Balls

Gents, Adrian Kennedy doesn't play any music so I dunno what the first post is about.

And stations have people called music directors/heads of music who decided what the DJs play, not producers and 99% of the time not the DJ either.

Culture2007

Shane_C wrote:

I was listening to FM104 a little while ago when I heard andy P going on about how much he loved some teenie bopper 12year old girly song. I can't remember what song it was but it wasn't really the kind of stuff a middle aged man should like.

Well considering FM104 is targeting a 15+ age group it should come as no surprise that the DJ may want to connect with this audience. There are no rules as to what peoples music taste should be, and this should be even more true for a DJ on a commercial radio station. It's funny, the initial post on this thread is criticizing DJs who don't know the names of the artists they play, but yet when a DJ says he likes the song he just played he is still in the wrong.

Shane_C

Culture2007 wrote:

Well considering FM104 is targeting a 15+ age group it should come as no surprise that the DJ may want to connect with this audience. There are no rules as to what peoples music taste should be, and this should be even more true for a DJ on a commercial radio station. It's funny, the initial post on this thread is criticizing DJs who don't know the names of the artists they play, but yet when a DJ says he likes the song he just played he is still in the wrong.

I didn't quite mean it like that. It sounded more like he was told what to say, which references back to not knowing much about the music being played. It wasn't that i don't like that type of music, but that it sounded too out of place to be sincere.

ashyle

Big Balls wrote:

Gents, Adrian Kennedy doesn't play any music so I dunno what the first post is about.

And stations have people called music directors/heads of music who decided what the DJs play, not producers and 99% of the time not the DJ either.

after the intro to the show he plays a song, after that he takes calls
i agree with the rest of what you say though!

Big Tone

All BCI local stations use a format where "Deejays" are told what to say n play...thats all there is to it really.

Big Balls

The BCI have little input into what a DJ physically says.

And DJs are not told WHAT to say nor it is as easy a job as you make out.

Engaging a listener is not something anyone can do with a microphone in front of them!

limerick_man

Generally a station (especially local) have a certain type of music they want to be known for... the station manager will state what percentages of what is to be played (following their BCI commitment) and then music is chosen which suits that. So the DJ's dont pick their music (with exceptions).

Also, the station wants to flog certain competitions or whatever and DJ's would have certain breaks to say certain things.

For example, Today FM would pick everyones music (except possibly Ray D'Arcy but thats cause he can basically do what he wants at that station) unless the show is something specialized... such as possibly Donal Doneen. But even then it probably has all been pre-chosen. An example of this would be The Blast, when Ray Foley hosted it was primarily dance, urban and charts... he has left but that time slot has the same songs.

:|

Shane_C wrote:

I was listening to FM104 a little while ago when I heard andy P going on about how much he loved some teenie bopper 12year old girly song. I can't remember what song it was but it wasn't really the kind of stuff a middle aged man should like. That led me to think that maybe a lot of dj's aren't into music as much as they should be. I'm not saying this of all djs, but its something to think about.

Yeah I've heard this before, It's very strange because I feel once people reach a certain age they stop listening to the latest hip hop craze/ DJ Knobhead, so I really think they're just saying it to please the listeners

DublinWriter

There was only ever one true DJ...John Peel.

The rest are all just shils to varying degrees.