As most college students do, I spent a good chunk of my finals week thinking about everything but finals. I promise it all worked out, and I wrote this subjectively cool article as a result of my procrastination. I decided to reflect on my role as KJHK Music Director through what started it all: music. So here it goes, an all-access VIP look into the station through the lens of my all-time favorite album, Andy Shauf’s The Party.
Since my 3-6am DJ shift my freshman year, Andy Shauf has been a familiar voice in my sets. I’ve considered scrawling “Dearest Andy,” onto parchment several times for crazy fangirl purposes, but that’s not why I’m here today. The Party is so much more. The album took root instantly for me, just like KJHK did my freshman year.
Despite several years of volunteering and DJing under my belt, I was still so nervous to join exec staff. It was like Shauf knew about my exec staff interview when he wrote “The Magician;” he sang “just a shaking hand without a concrete plan.”
I remember all the scary first phone calls, overly-formal emails, and forgotten passwords. On track 2, Shauf notices “new faces” and “nervous greetings” early in the night. While no one dreams of semi-sober small talk or a dingy room of strangers, there’s a reason we push through that door.
Our beloved music office couch made getting comfy a little too easy. My amazing co-music director, Patrick Kennedy, was there ready to train me, making walking into the party far less sweat inducing. But we’ve all been there, so let’s fast forward to the peak of the party.
One of the responsibilities we had as Music Directors was ‒ you guessed it ‒ leading “Music Staff.” As a staff, we sort through new music, figure out what to put on air, and write all the rad album reviews you see on our website. To bring everything full circle, The Party happened to be my first published review!
I can’t imagine this year without each review, meeting, and coworker. The story Shauf weaves throughout the album wouldn’t be complete with each and every song. You would be able to picture moments of the party, but you wouldn’t quite remember the whole night. This wholeness of the album is why it’s one of my favorites, and why no one song on the album is my favorite.
The final track, “Martha Sways,” encompasses everything that goes unspoken in a goodbye. It replicates my bittersweet goodbye to my role as KJHK Music Director. The chorus repeatedly sings “dance dance to the radio,” and I hope you were able to do just that this year.
Keep it locked,
Miranda