Turn it up

I have been to a lot of parties at IU that would have been phenomenal if the music played had come from a bigger selection.\nPicture this scene with me. Lots of people are there, and the music is loud. Most of the people are trying to dance and have a good time, but the only CD the host owns is a bootlegged copy of Nelly's Country Grammar album. You can only grind to the same song a set number of times in one night.\nA lot of parties at IU fail because of the host's poor music selection. So do yourself a favor and hire a DJ to take care of everything music-related at the party. It will eliminate a lot of your stress and encourage a lot more of your friends to show up. Having a DJ advertises the party - they might invite friends, too. Everyone involved will have much more fun than they would if the party was relying on your roommate's outdated CD collection.\nEverybody can get a DJ. It is not that hard to find one. One of your neighbors, a roommate with a lot of MP3s on his or her computer or even one of the aspiring professional DJs at IU will suffice.\nHiring a DJ instantly brings credibility to the party. It becomes a mini-club, not just a bunch of college students who have had too much to drink. Most DJs have their own equipment, too, so the sound system they bring will probably be better then the rickety one in the basement.\nSome serious DJs also have light shows. It might make hiring them a little more expensive, but having the lights they bring is well worth a few more bucks.\nI would suggest hiring a DJ, especially if it is a theme party. Let them know this, and they can help in keeping with the theme by having music that fits. Playing Fred Durst's music at a Hawaiian party might not be the best of ideas.\nAt IU, there are clubs for everything. There is even one for aspiring DJs on campus. Disk Jockey and Electronic Musicians (DJEMA) is an interest group of aspiring DJs on campus. They maintain an extensive Web site at www.indiana.edu/~djema..\nThe site has links to many local DJs. The difference between hip-hop DJs and techno heads is clear, so you can get what you want.\nDJs are not that expensive. If you have friends that DJ, you might be able to convince one to do it for free. If not, price will depend on how established the DJ is, the size of the collection and the equipment that they bring with.\n"Most DJs run from $30-$50 an hour. So it turns out to be $150-$300 for the whole gig," says junior Raygar Khailany of DJ TEQS. "We have over 10,000 songs that people can come up and request; it's just more fun with a DJ."\nOnce again, let me know what you think about partying. My e-mail address is ychami@indiana.edu. Also, the Big Ten football season starts for real Saturday, so go out there and support the Hoosiers as they play the Hawkeyes.