Lifestyle / Hot Pot Column

Why school DJs are in a class of their own

By Mai Ya ( China Daily ) Updated: 2007-06-05 17:00:54

Living nearby a high school, which owns a super-loud speaker, is torture for a night owl like me. To make it even crueller, the school speaker is positioned opposite my balcony and is controlled by someone who has bizarre musical taste.

For almost four years, I have seldom used my alarm clock. Every morning at 8 sharp, I've awoken to a burst of blaring music. What's worse, the broadcaster always cuts the music suddenly, paying no heed to rhythm or the end of the tune.

Why school DJs are in a class of their own The noise is a signal to a follow-up tune that summons students to gather in the sports field for morning exercises. It is also a warning for me to prepare for a five-minute bombardment of unsettling and monotonous music.

When I first moved into my apartment, the broadcaster seemed to be enchanted by Tokyo Love Story, the theme song of a Japanese TV serial, which was extremely popular in China about 15 years ago. I am also a fan of the show and love that song very much. But it was still unbearable for me to listen to it every morning for six months. And I still cannot understand why the school was so keen to broadcast a song which contains no Chinese words.

Pretty soon the school DJ seemed to get bored with that song. That was a "memorable" period when I was able to enjoy an eclectic collection of Chinese pop songs. The DJ still stuck to the rule of playing one song repeatedly for weeks before replacing it with another. However, that was simply the quiet before the storm.

Without warning, one morning a passage of Latin-style dance music burst out of the speaker, destroying the little faith I had just established in the school DJ.

Every rhythmic beat stomped on my heart, seized my breath, and pulled my head apart.

That same year the school began to teach students a new set of exercises. So after the disco music, the speaker would play a song, which started with a female voice singing I Will Fly High, again and again.

I was finally rescued last year from about a six-month-long cacophony of terrible music by early morning radio programs. It was not the best choice, but obviously not as bad as the previous one. It was still noise, but at least with some varieties.

A female and male host were trying to tell jokes, which were not funny. It seems the school DJ's primary concern is to find some noise to fill the vacuum before the students dawdle out of their boring classrooms for some stretching.

There was another problem: If the music stopped suddenly, it was mildly acceptable, however if a conversation got cut in the middle, it choked.

All things must pass and I felt sheer relief when the school started to play classical music this semester. However, the DJ's playlist sunk to a new low last month when I heard Michael Bolton's Said I Loved You... But I Lied.

But they need to change the PA system and get equipment that doesn't "cough and crackle" at a high pitch all of a sudden.

I've heard that housing prices nearby good schools in Beijing have been soaring.

Potential buyers beware: There is an additional price to pay on your nerves if you are determined to send your children to a school with a DJ of no taste.

(China Daily 06/05/2007 page20)