Please don't use the word 'DJ' unless you really, really mean it

Just thought I would post a bit of a rant here.

For those that know me, skip this part. You have heard me rattle on about records and deejay culture for long enough. See you next time.

But for those that don't know me, I love records. I love the look of them, the sound, the sheer fragility of them is awesome. You hold a record in your hand, and you are holding a slice of musical history, a mark in time. The sound of a record will change over time, depending on how many times it's played, how it is stored, and on what equipment it's played.

There isn't much that's more satisfying than inding a filthy record, cleaning it with a lot of elbow grease, and listening to it play, clicks, pops & all. Nice.

I also love to see DJs play records. I use the term DJ in the traditional sense - i.e., someone that plays records in the public sphere. Records. Not cds. Not mp3s. Not a keyboard.

So we really need some definitions here:

1. DJ - One who plays records in the public sphere
2. CDJ - One who plays CDs in the public sphere
3. MP3J - One who plays mp3s (read - one of these terrible hard drive deejays or Ipod deejays) in the public sphere
4. KJ - One who manipulates a computer to play music in the public sphere

I don't want to disrespect any of these non-record playing people, but I reckon it's fair enough to demand a bit of dj purity. If I was to go a club expecting to see someone playing records, but was instead faced with a cd-slinging hack, I'd be pissed off. False advertising.

Anyway, rants off.