Oldies but Greaties!

Tonight I spent my evening DJ-ing for my daughter's eighth-grade dance. I had done it twice before, but tonight my stress level was finally at a manageable level. The dance was advertised as a 50's - 60's dance, which is what I'm all about; my music of choice is certainly eclectic, but oldies win out. Tonight were the classics - from Little Richard to The Four Seasons to Chubby Checker - they're all old friends. I wasn't so lucky with the first two dances I did.

When I did the first two dances, I was handed several current CDs of alleged current "music" (boy do I sound like my father). I literally did not recognize any of the "artists" nor did I recognize any of the titles! It was a recipe for disaster. When an eighth-grader approached me and asked me to play a slow song, I didn't have a clue what songs were slow (or fast) - I had to call my daughter and her friends over to get a clue. When kids asked if I had anything by something called Akon, I went off in search for Acorn - it was sad. The titles and "artists'" names might as well have been written in Greek (I took Latin in high school). The kids were slow learners as they kept coming in human wave attacks asking me to play this or that. I was also a slow learner because I went back for the same thing a second time (on the plus side, I was saving the class lots of money as I worked for a bag of popcorn and a couple of waters). The dances lasted for three hours - I was sure my watch had broken each time! Somehow, I made it through both evenings. I must not have totally blown it because they asked me back (or they really needed the money for the class).

Tonight, I brought about twenty of my own comfortable CDs. The students were in the same boat I was for the other dances... I thought, but they did know a lot of the songs. I don't think my watch broke until the final twenty minutes tonight. Since my daughter was there, I tried not to play too many slow songs if you catch my drift here. I don't want her dating until she's thirty. Anyhow, with the help of my wonderful wife (who also chaperoned and assisted me), I made it through the festive event. The best part is that's the last dance I will be doing as a DJ. Next year, my daughter will be in high school. As her sport will be the school's equestrian team, I'll still be around as a barn dad. Whether or not I'll be at school dances is another story, but they still need chaperones... and I'm still her dad.

Later.