Jack wrote:B) Consist of people who like to dance and have fun whether they know the song by heart or not.
C) Aren't close-mindedly stuck in the 80s/90s to the extent that, no matter how good a "new" song is, they turn their noses up at it and shut their ears.
Hell, these two items are pretty much all any DJ could ask for from his/her patrons in a night.
Basically, it comes down to the fewer people that dance to stuff, new or old, the less and less it will be played. More people dancing equals more playtime. Want newer stuff? Request it. If it fits in with the rest of the set (and the DJ has it), it will be more likely to get played. If people dance to it, it (or stuff like it) will get played more. So, even if you don't know every note and lyric of a song by heart, but you may have heard it before and kinda like it, get out there and shake your money-maker. The more people that do this, the more likely you'll be to see the set lists change over time all by themselves without any of this type of thread stuff happening.
Some other things:
I'm not sure about Bone or Arkady, or any of the other fine DJs in K'town, but at least here in Nastyvile the DJs (myself included) get really disheartened to see the same played out (or just plain bad) songs on the request list and are less and less likely to pay attention to the rest of the stuff on it. If you are someone who requests the same songs over and over, night to night, here are some small things for you (and note: this is not meant to be rude or in any way condescending or disrespectful of music tastes. It's just and idea of how you might get a song you want to hear played):
1. Before you request a song, think about it.
a. Have you requested it multiple times before?
b. Does it NOT get played when you request it?
c. Does it NOT get played at all?
If you answered yes these, then perhaps you might consider changing that request. Most likely it will probably not get played this time either. Pick a different song that you like. Maybe the song has gotten a really bad response before and the DJs are loathe to play it again, or maybe it's just a bad song for dancing (or bad period). It's okay to have different tastes in music, everyone does, but you have to remember that the DJ has to do his best to provide for everyone as much as possible. So if you and a few of your friends like the song, that's great, but it doesn't mean it will fly on the dance floor.
2. Don't take offence if the DJ doesn't play 'your' song. A lot of the time, the DJs have their set lists planned out in advance and if the requested song won't fit in, or it just plain won't work it's not going to get played. Don't sweat it, make another request and maybe the song you requested earlier will get played later, or on another night. As always, see consideration 1 before requesting.
3. Have fun. This is all the DJs want. Get out, dance, have a great time. If you don't hear your request, it's okay, see consideration 2.
4. Don't pester the DJs. Everyone, including the DJs, is there to have a good time. That being said, the DJs are at work and it can be stressful to have people complaining about the DJ not playing their song, or continually requesting the same songs over and over. By all means, make your requests, but please respect that the DJs are working and that their main attention is going to be focused on mixing the music and keeping the dancefloor going.
All that being said, my experience of Sanctus (I DJed there once, most of you probably don't remember it) was this:
I played some newer stuff and no one danced to it, nor did I get requests during this time. That was pretty much how it went until I started in with some old stuff (late 70's early 80's). Then, all I got were requests for old stuff.
Now, like I said, I was there only one night, so take that how you will, but I think it would speak to how the music is chosen for the night, and because of that I think some consideration needs to be given.
Hmm..that's really fucking long. Does it make sense?
