Editor's note: This appeared in the WREK "Op Book", a diary of sorts for WREK's disc jockeys (or "ops") to vent their thoughts on anything and everything. It was written in response to an ongoing debate about WREK's music programming.
It seems like every quarter we have a few ops that fail to realize what WREK is all about and bring their stuff from home or root out the Bananarama from the back, and it is of course monumentally irritating, but I realized a month or so ago that it's because we have new ops every quarter that are, if I may say, ignorant of WREK standards and conventions.

I was at WUTC in Chattanooga in December (where the Shakin Ray Levis have an exceptionally good show), which is a relatively good station, especially given the location. I spoke to a couple of the DJs, and they thought that the philosophy behind WREK was noble, but the "inconsistencey" and unprofessionalism that plagues us was just too annoying. WUTC, like WFMU in New Jersey [until recently], is supported by a school but staffed by community members "qualified" enough to be allowed a position. Nights at WUTC are occupied by generally knowledgable DJs, but days tend to slip into adult contemporary shit.

Either way, we were talking about how nice it is (or would be) to choose ops according to their musical knowledge. Then I realized that if that were the case at WREK, _I_ sure as hell never could have worked here, and there's a good chance that _none_ of us could. I mean, I have a certain amount of confidence in my knowledge now, but I was listening to Soundgarden Pearl Jam Mother Love Bone Mudhoney Green River etc etc ad nauseum add favorite Seattle band here and, uh, oh yeah, Smashing Pumpkins, back in 1991. Now I know that there's so much more that offers genuine spiritual upliftment and not mere merchandising opportunities. I never would have realized (or not as quickly and as thoroughly) the potential benefits of music without doing some time and doing some crimes at WREK. All those times Thomas called me up during a shift and told me why I was wasting my time playing such-and-such were great opportunities for me to learn the real scope of what's going on here at WREK.

So, the point I'm getting at is that WUTC and WFMU and most of the other stations in the world sound more professional than us because they are professional and we are not. I'd rather irritate a few uptight listeners and still have new ears come in every quarter to take advantage of the chances for growth here. Of course, it would be nice if they didn't bring their Debbie Gibson in with them (and we can and should discourage it), but they haven't invented doorway crap detectors yet.

Andrew Burnes, Feb. 1995

Edited by Chris Campbell, May 1995