Your mission, should you choose to accept it...

[apple_pathways]

First, I should announce that there's roughly four hours left to offer a prompt for Spring Into Sherlock over a sherlockmas. You don't have to plan on taking part in the fest to prompt, and I'd be extra-special-excited to see any of you offer up a suggestion!

Now, down to business: we are throwing a retirement party for my father next weekend. My mother has asked me to handle "the music". She seems to think that people are going to want to dance. I...don't know how I feel about this.

So I turn to you, my dear flist, for help: suggest some music I can play. Keep in mind: the crowd will be composed of an odd mixture of family, my father's co-workers, and friends of my parents, my brother, and myself. (Also keep in mind: though I love them, my friends have No Shame and will not be afraid to Get Freaky in a brightly-lit American Legion Hall filled with pizza, beer, and old people.)

I need songs for: dancing, mingling, and General Party Atmosphere. My mom likes Beyonce; my dad is a fan of The Rolling Stones, Jimi Hendrix, and Jazz. My brother listens to hardcore rap. I am going to get drunk off my ass and pretend the entire evening isn't happening.

Suggestions?

Comments

[ladybracknell.livejournal.com]

Whenever I'm DJing to a mixed crowd, I do something like this - for a party I'd take 40 mins-and hour to play warm up stuff, which would be most of these artists but not their big hits. Then to switch into get your ass on the dance floor mode, I'd do something like:

1. Stevie Wonder, Superstition
2. Jackson 5, Want You Back
3. Contours, Do You Love Me?

...from where you go into a mini Motown set mixed up with the Beyonce-type pop.

Then:

1. Gloria Jones, Tainted Love
2. Jackie Wilson, Higher and Higher
3. Kinks, You Really Got Me

...from where you can go into Stones, Who, Beatles etc

Then

1. Prince, Kiss
2. Wild Cherry, Play That Funky Music
3. Chuck Berry, Never Can Tell

...from where you can go Hendrix or anything with a heavier guitar sound. The rap poses a bit of a problem, but you could easily work in House of Pain or Tone Loc or something with a more pop rap feel like Snoop here.

The trick I find is to keep things moving and play no more than 15-20 mins of any one kind of sound :D.

[apple-pathways.livejournal.com]

AWESOME! Oh wow, what great suggestions! I like the way you've outlined the flow of music for the evening. This is most definitely going to be VERY helpful once I sit down to make a playlist!

I LOVE the image that you are constantly playing DJ. I wanna party with you, love!

[ladybracknell.livejournal.com]

Glad to have helped :D. I died on my arse many times to learn these things. Eventually I realised there are about 30 records you can play literally anywhere - and after that if ever things weren't going well I would ALWAYS hit them with a Jackson 5/Stevie Wonder combo to turn things around. It's like one of the laws fundamentally underpinning the universe - doesn't matter if it's a hipster gig or OAPs, EVERYONE will nod along to Superstition and then feel compelled to dance to Want You Back, lol.