The college radio charts have always been looked upon, for better or worse, as barometers of which groups may go on to have mainstream success. That's the reason so much money has been dumped into promoting the format. What is fascinating are the abuses that happen in the name of promotion, when the audience is so select and so small.

A friend who does a radio show told me recently how he busted a record label person who called up to request one of the label's bands. "Where are you calling from?" my friend asked, to which the caller gave a vague area. "More exactly would it be Main Street?" he continued, saying the street upon which the label bases its operations. The caller stammered and jumped off the phone.

Similarly, I remember a call coming into my college radio station asking for a song by a no-name rock group... during a hiphop show.

The offers come in as well. Many records, some videos, and even trips and hotel rooms have been arranged in the name of a chart position. It's a chart number that means nothing, especially if no airplay accompanies it, and this further fuels the unreality of the charts.

These techniques are as useless as they are nefarious. Right now, a band I've never heard of, Blue Hawaiians, is riding high on the college charts. A few months ago, Kid Silver held a similar position. Check back in a year and see if it got them anywhere.