Thank you very much, reality TV. Once again you’ve swooped in on popular culture and dropped a Cleveland steamer on its chest. First it was Tila Tequila, then it was Australia’s very own Kraftwerk crazy, and now news is out that one of the certified douchebags from the MTV reality series Jersey Shore has been nominated as America’s Best DJ. Kill me.

For the unenlightened on ITM, Jersey Shore is pretty successful reality show from the States which follows a cluster of ridiculously tanned ‘guido’ kids on summer vacation and all of the misadventures that the crew get up to – i.e. fist-fights and threesomes. The show’s already been well-documented in the ITM forums and was recently described by its own producers as a “herpes nest”, and now cast member and part time DJ Pauly D is up for top honours as America’s Best DJ in the annual poll.

You can judge for yourself Pauly D’s merit as a DJ with the live clip from a gig earlier this year – yep, he plays Sexy Bitch – but already the reaction to the guido DJ’s nomination has been met with disdain by the club community, with 2009 champion Z-Trip raging on Twitter about the nomination.

“Being last years winner, I have to say, it’s a bit of a knock to all the OG’s to include Pauly D on Americas Best DJ 2010 ballot. Not trying to dis, but the fact that he is on the list (alongside some DJ legends) is a bit sketchy,” Z-Trip began. “I only hope people see (and vote for) DJs who’ve actually been doing it for years in public and/or have put in the work to earn the title. To me, he is on that list based mostly off of the show, not his skill level. I’m hoping people vote for the right DJs based on skill, not fame…U R no Jazzy Jeff, A-Trak, Craze, etc. Not yet anyway, but keep practicing, like the rest of us, let your skills rise. If you keep at it, eventually you can earn it. But nobody knew who you were before the show.”

You can check out the full list of nominees for this year’s ballot to see who Pauly D is fighting for the title this year and then check out a bonus clip of Pauly giving you a step-by-step guide on how to style your ‘do like he does.

America’s Best DJ 2010 Nominees:

Andy Caldwell – Los Angeles
Annalyze – Chicago via Rochester, NY
Armand Van Helden – NYC via Boston
A-Trak – NYC via Montreal
Baby Anne – Orlando, Fla.
Bad Boy Bill – Chicago
Bassnectar – Berkeley, Cal
Behrouz – San Francisco/Miami
BT – Maryland
Carl Craig – Detroit
Cedric Gervais – Miami
Charles Feelgood – DC/Baltimore
Claude Von Stroke – San Francisco via Detroit
Colette – Chicago
Crystal Method – Los Angles via Las Vegas
Cut Chemist – Los Angeles
Danny Tenaglia – NYC
Dave Dresden – Los Angeles via Connecticut
Dave Pezzner – Seattle
David Morales – NYC
Dennis Ferrer – New Jersey
Derrick Carter – Chicago
D:Fuse – Los Angeles via Austin, Texas
Dieselboy – NYC via Philly & Pittsburgh
Diplo – Philadelphia
DJ Boris – NYC
DJ Craze – Miami
DJ Crème – NY/NJ via Connecticut
DJ Dan – SoCal via San Francisco
DJ Enferno – DC-area
DJ Icey – Orlando, FL
DJ Irene – Los Angeles
DJ Pauly D – Rhode Island
DJ QBert – SF Bay area
DJ Sep – San Francisco
DJ Shadow – Davis, Calif.
DJ Shiftee – NYC
DJ Skribble – NYC
DJ Theo – Commack, LI
DJ Vice – Los Angeles/Las Vegas
Doc Martin – Los Angeles/San Francisco
Donald Glaude – San Diego
Dubfire – DC
Dustin Zahn – Minneapolis
Erick Morillo – NY/NJ
Faust & Shortee – Los Angeles via Atlanta
Felix Da Housecat – Atlanta via Chicago
Filo & Peri – NYC
François K – NYC
Frankie Knuckles – Chicago via NYC
George Acosta – Miami
Girl Talk – Pittsburgh
Grandmaster Flash – Long Island/NYC
Green Velvet – Chicago
Jazzy Jeff – Delaware via Philadelphia
Jeff Mills – Detroit
Joe Bermudez – Boston via Maine
Jonathan Peters – NYC
Josh Gabriel – Los Angeles
Josh Wink – Philadelphia
Junior Vasquez – NYC via Lancaster, PA
Kaskade – San Francisco via Utah & Chicago
Keith MacKenzie – Chicago
King Britt – Philadelphia
Louie Vega – NYC
Mark Farina – San Francisco via Chicago
Markus Schulz – Miami via Phoenix
Martinez Bros – upstate New York
Miguel Migs – San Francisco
Mixmaster Mike – San Francisco
Moby – NYC via Connecticut
Monk – Tampa, FL
Morgan Page – Los Angeles via New Hampshire
Nickodemus – NYC
Oscar G – Miami
Peanut Butter Wolf – Los Angeles
Prok & Fitch – Los Angeles
Quentin Harris – NY/NJ
?uestlove – Philadelphia/NYC
Reid Speed – Los Angeles via Port Washington, LI
Richard Vission – Los Angeles
Rob Swift – NYC
Robbie Rivera – Miami via Puerto Rico
Roger Sanchez – NYC/NJ
Roonie G – Columbus, GA
Saeed Younan – DC
Seth Troxler – Detroit
Scotty Boy – Las Vegas via Orange County, CA
Sharam – DC
Stacey Pullen – Detroit
Steve Aoki – Los Angeles
Steve Porter – Massachusetts
Sticky Boots – South Bend, IN
The Rub – NYC
Theo Parrish – Detroit
Tommie Sunshine – NYC via Chicago/Atlanta
Tommy Lee & DJ Aero – Los Angeles
Trouble & Bass Crew – NYC
Victor Calderone – NYC
Wolfgang Gartner – Austin, Texas