The best way to visualize the Dance Dance Revolution (Sundays at 8:00 P.M.) is to use an analogy Kyle mentioned when describing his show: If indie rock were fire and electro were ice, DDR would be the lukewarm water between the two. The official show tagline reads:

Start your Sunday nights off right by listening to all the best in synth-rock, dance-punk, electro-pop, electro-indie, and various other hyphenated genres.

Kyle isn’t just a DJ, he’s also the General Manager of the station. Whereas most DJs may have a one or two hour slot once a week, Kyle puts in around 30 or so hours a week running the place. This means WKNC is a student run operation at all levels–something that is not common amongst college radio stations.

Kyle has produced the Dance Dance Revolution for over a year and a half now, but has been with the station for four years. Running a college radio station involves overseeing many supporting roles: Web Developers, Production Assistants, Copywriters, Promotions Assistants, Various Engineers, among others. He puts in about 30 hours per week keeping everything running smoothly. There are 122 people on staff at WKNC, 83 of which are on-air DJs.

Some of the artists you may hear on the Dance Dance Revolution include (but are certainly not limited to):

• Justice
• The Rapture
• MSTRKRFT
• Cut Copy
• Daft Punk
• Black Ghosts
• The Chemical Brothers
• Crystal Castles
• Digitalism
• Shitdisco

An interesting fact about FCC laws and regulations involve the display of profanity on smart radios (iTunes, intelligent car stereos, etc.). On the air Kyle can’t mention the band name Shitdisco (he may say “expletive deleted Disco”), yet there is no problem with profanity appearing on the radio or software display.

Something else Kyle mentioned that I thought was interesting was the frequency at which Boy Scout troops come and tour the station–1-3 times per year. It could be because WKNC responds to email inquiries when others don’t, that the station has more sound equipment (as opposed to only computers) than mainsteam radio stations, or has the higher eduation tie-in. Whatever the reason, it’s neat that a generation of Boy Scouts gets to be exposed to independent broadcast media at a young age. I’d be interested to know if Scout leaders are aware that Ol’ River Haynes (host of the Hippie Hour) is an Eagle Scout.

Kyle graduates this Spring with a double major in History and Chemistry, but plans on handing over the reins to another like-minded electro-indie individual to continue the show.

Be sure to tune to 88.1 on Sunday evenings at 8:00PM or tap in to the webcast to hear the Dance Dance Revolution on WKNC.