DJ my wedding reception.....

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I hate going to a wedding and hearing the same music ad nauseum. I need a list of songs that you've heard and thought: "Now THAT's a cool tune to play at a wedding reception."

I'm not talking slow dance songs, I'm talking about tunes that get you crunk funking boogying with those hot bridesmaids.

For a sample of my tastes, here's an example:
BANNED: "Celebration" Kool & the Gang
TO BE PLAYED: "Jungle Boogie" Kool & the Gang.

Don't even recommend something that requires group participation (i.e. Chicken Dance) because it's already banned.

Think very carefully about what you recommend. I don't want hip shit for my 60 year old Aunt Connie. The crowd I'm interested in getting on the dance floor is between 22 and 35, urban, and not into indie rock like myself. Obviously, sequencing is super crucial. Music's gotta be somewhat familiar, sometimes surprising, and something that will always keep the floor hopping. Bonus if you recommend consecutive tracks.

Keep in mind, this is for MY wedding. Try not to bust my balls too much. I want the tunes to have sophistication with alot of GROOVE, whether it be indie rock, classic R&B, hip hop, techno, or house.....

Let 'em fly.

― white dolemite (White Dolemite), Wednesday, 2 November 2005 19:55 (nineteen years ago)

Dead C - Trapdoor fucking exit (on repeat).

― Nathalie, the Queen of Frock 'n' Fall (stevie nixed), Wednesday, 2 November 2005 20:28 (nineteen years ago)

(Ah shit, you banned group participation. A mass exodus is sort of a group participation, no?)

― Nathalie, the Queen of Frock 'n' Fall (stevie nixed), Wednesday, 2 November 2005 20:29 (nineteen years ago)

"Crunk Funking Boogying" by White Dolemite

― Confounded (Confounded), Wednesday, 2 November 2005 20:37 (nineteen years ago)

I just DJed a wedding last weekend. Anything off those Rhino In Yo' Face: History Of Funk Vol 1-5 is perfect! I could do like 4-5 songs in a row and go get food or watch people smoke.

― Whiney G. Weingarten (whineyg), Wednesday, 2 November 2005 20:49 (nineteen years ago)

Mtume - Juicy Fruit
Patrice Rushen - Forget Me Nots

― Purple Vegemite (Andy_K), Wednesday, 2 November 2005 20:50 (nineteen years ago)

BANNED: "Celebration" Kool & the Gang

I think this is a pretty good example of worthy-no-matter-how-overplayed

TO BE PLAYED: "Jungle Boogie" Kool & the Gang.

this isn't just as overplayed among the right demo?

― gabbneb (gabbneb), Wednesday, 2 November 2005 20:54 (nineteen years ago)

anything by Bridezilla would be good too.

― Susan Douglas (Susan Douglas), Wednesday, 2 November 2005 20:55 (nineteen years ago)

I've said it before, I'll say it again - Freda Payne's "Band of Gold"

― zaxxon25 (zaxxon25), Wednesday, 2 November 2005 21:07 (nineteen years ago)

Stevie Wonder - We can work it out

Familiar tune, more obscure (and funky) version. Hopefully this will help young and old get out there rockin'. This version is so great and the lyrics are funny in a wedding setting.

― ianinportland (ianinportland), Wednesday, 2 November 2005 21:13 (nineteen years ago)

Jimmy Castor Bunch - It's just begun

― ianinportland (ianinportland), Wednesday, 2 November 2005 21:15 (nineteen years ago)

Band of Gold --- IN

Kudos for that the History of Funk recommendation. A keeper. Paul's Boutique without the Beasties.

Also IN:
EW&F -- Semptember
Reel to Reel -- I Like to Move It
Daft Punk -- One More Time(single edit)
LL -- Phenomenon
Little Joe Cook -- Lady from the Beauty Shop (You make my heart go bippiddy-bop)

― white dolemite (White Dolemite), Wednesday, 2 November 2005 21:17 (nineteen years ago)

My boss, at the record store I work in, and a colleague of mine at the night I DJ at, has now DJed at the first two weddings in the family.

He got away with alot of good stuff, amongst some wedding staples (but amazingly no absolute rubbish) The best was....

New Order-Blue Monday

You haven't lived until you've danced to Blue Monday with your Dad and your aging aunties.

― Ronan (Ronan), Wednesday, 2 November 2005 22:26 (nineteen years ago)

My grandma danced to Billy Idol's "Dancing With Myself" at my wedding. With gusto. In little sock booties. It's not "Mony Mony."

― Daniel Peterson (polkaholic), Thursday, 3 November 2005 00:00 (nineteen years ago)

Junior Wells - "Gonna Cramp Your Style"

― ken taylrr never her (ken taylrr), Thursday, 3 November 2005 00:28 (nineteen years ago)

A good set is: "Draggin' the Line" (Tommy James) into "Spirit in the Sky" (Norman Greenbaum) into "Little Green Bag" (George Baker).

A more obvious (but still good) set, also on the 'oldies' side (excellent out of a slow song, if you plan to use ANY):
"I Can See Clearly Now" (Johnny Nash) into "Honky Tonk Woman" (Stones) into "Train in Vain" (Clash) into almost any old reggae thing, "Israelites" (Desmond Dekker) or something like that.

"Come and Get Your Love" by Redbone mixes well into "Express Yourself" by Charles Wright.

"The Funk Phenomenon" (Armand Van Helden) is good for a Daft Punky/Basement Jaxxy sort of set OR coming out of an '80s funk-r&b thing (Dazz Band's "Let it Whip" or Gap Band "Dropped a Bomb on Me"...."PYT" works great in this neighbourhood, too, and gets you away from the dreaded "Billie Jean"/"Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough" wedding curse)

The Stevie Wonder I like playing a lot is "Boogie on Reggae Woman"

others...

"Everlasting Love" (Carl Carlton)
"Rebel Rebel" (Bowie)
"Take Me in Your Arms" (Kim Weston)
"Bring it Back" (Moloko)
"Just One Look" (Doris Troy)
"Lovely Day" (Bill Withers) (maybe a bit too dinner-y?)
"Magnet and Steel" (Walter Egan) (ditto)
"Hit the Road Jack" (Ray Charles) (good one to start the night)

― s woods, Thursday, 3 November 2005 01:06 (nineteen years ago)

Umm. White Wedding by Billy Idol?

― Matt Carlson (mattsoncarlhew), Thursday, 3 November 2005 02:48 (nineteen years ago)

I know it was in some wedding movie recently, but "As" by Stevie Wonder is a fave here.

Late night, Talking Heads will RULE.

Also, James Brown tracks OTHER than I Feel Good. My brother recommends "Get Up, Get Into It, Get Involved", which, reportedly, was played at my wedding. I don't remember, but he said I was dancing.

― Big Loud Mountain Ape (Big Loud Mountain Ape), Thursday, 3 November 2005 16:25 (nineteen years ago)

I djed at a party last week and opened with "Flavoursaver" by Major Swellings (a Prins Thomas alias): very groovy, slowly building discotrack with nice trickeries built into it. Listen & judge for yourself... (16MB, 10 min. track).

― willem (willem), Thursday, 3 November 2005 21:41 (nineteen years ago)

Please, please, please play Mr Bloe Grooving with Mr Bloe! You simmply cannot go wrong with this one.

― Jez (Jez), Friday, 4 November 2005 13:17 (nineteen years ago)

Got married recently, people danced all night to stuff like -

"Love Train" - O'Jays
"Upside Down" - Diana Ross
"Love Rollercoaster" - Ohio Players
"You Dropped a Bomb on Me" - Gap Band
"Don't Stop Til You Get Enough", "PYT" - Michael Jackson
"Uptight", "Signed Sealed Delivered" - Stevie Wonder
"Get Ready", "Aint Too Proud to Beg", "Can't Get Next to You" - Temptations
"I Want You Back", "ABC" - Jackson 5
"Kiss" - Prince

...plus my brother singing "Footloose" on karaoke

Oh, and the closing song - "It's Raining Men" by Weather Girls - got some strange looks, but people were dancing...

― dave heaton (daveheaton), Friday, 4 November 2005 16:05 (nineteen years ago)

five months pass...

So far the most obscure track in my mix is Cristina's version of "Drive My Car". I'm pretty pleased with it overall, but I'm struggling with the slow songs and I need like 4 more to mix in before I start sequencing. As I look over it there's way more disco than I thought there'd be (I'm happy with this) and I may need to cut a few oldies tracks in favor of some newer stuff.

[As much as I do consider "Jerusalem" a "slow song" I don't think it'll cut it. I'm getting all the arty choices out of the way during cocktail/hors d'ouerves...]

Suggestions?

― blackmail (blackmail.is.my.life), Sunday, 30 April 2006 01:03 (nineteen years ago)

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