Mixing It Up with RDR DJs: Storytelling Through Media

DumDums, disco balls, and drawings… Though that list might not have anything in common beyond alliteration, that's the point: each show on Rainy Dawg Radio revolves around an eclectic array of themes. Some focus on a genre or period of time, while others are centered around a more specific concept carried out through each episode. If you’re looking for a Rainy Dawg Radio show that sounds different every week, these three shows are a great place to start!

From 7-8 PM each Friday, you can tune into DJ forbiddenfawn’s “Music for DumDums,” where each show is centered around a different DumDum flavor. “I didn’t have a niche or specific genre that I could keep going for multiple weeks,” DJ forbiddenfawn explained. Instead, she was drawn to the variety of 100+ DumDum flavors she could choose from each week.

DJ forbiddenfawn bases her show concept on the connections between lollipop flavors and songs, analyzing tracks through the lens of concert lighting, event playlists, and even commercials!

“I was thinking about what my story would look like for this week, and I found this commercial from the 80s for Slush Puppy,” DJ forbiddenfawn explained about one of their past shows. So, taking inspiration from the Slush Puppy commercial, the “synth-pop, vaporwave, and new-age revival” sound of the 80s, and her affinity for vaporwave artist George Clanton, she based her show on the Polar Punch flavor, stating, “It all comes together in a circle.”

While all the DumDum flavors might seem like a lot to choose from, imagine having to filter through over 40,000 photos each week. This is what DJ Maile does each Wednesday from 8-9 AM on her show “The Photo Booth!”

Each week, DJ Maile tackles a different photo from her iPhone camera roll, relating each to points of nostalgia, locations, or concerts she’s attended. She credits her ever-growing camera roll to her love of photography. “Because I have so many photos, there’s a freedom to do whatever I want, but still have something for listeners to go off of,” she explained.

One photo she is particularly proud of is a disco ball stage light from an LCD Soundsystem concert. After rediscovering the photo in her camera roll, she knew she had to plan a show around the image. Regardless of which photo she chooses, Maile follows a formula to curate her shows. She starts with one song — in this case, “Tribulations” by LCD Soundsystem — and then plays songs that branch off of that song, such as songs from Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ and Talking Heads’ discographies.

Maile isn’t the only DJ whose show involves multimedia content. DJ Katelyn’s show “mixed media” explores music connected to a piece of media she’s freshly interested in. This could be a puzzle she just completed, a movie she’s recently rewatched, or something based on “men who can’t sing,” which changes every Tuesday from 6-7 PM.

Katelyn’s interactions with different forms of media influence her connections with music listening. “I love art and listening to music and seeing where we can see different intentions behind the media and thinking more closely about what we’re interacting with,” she said. “I think that [my show concept] came naturally to me. I thought it’d be interesting to think about the interconnectedness of these different forms of media.”

Sometimes Katelyn chooses to “extend” the media’s story through stylistic choices; other times, she associates feelings or aesthetics with the songs she chooses. One week, her set was based on a recent road trip, featuring a photo of a Costco hot dog paired with songs by artists that she felt captured the Americana sound, such as Steely Dan. However, she doesn’t always stick to traditional road trip playlist expectations; her set also included songs by Japanese Breakfast, Ethel Cain, and Tennis.

Katelyn chooses to embrace her creativity when selecting what to play for her sets. “I like that college radio is how you want to see things, and you’re playing your set based on your own interests and interpretations.”

All three of these DJs prioritize flexibility in their shows each week, and asking each of them if they pick their focal point or their songs first is almost a “chicken or the egg” dilemma. Even with different show concepts, each DJ centers their shows around their lived experiences, interests, and how music has shaped these moments. When looking at the relationship between music and different flavors, photos, or art, this poses a challenge for DJs to either extend the narrative or create a new interpretation.

- Hayden