music for a party

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So, what type of music do you play at parties?

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It depends, if it is like a smaller BBQ get together, a combo of ABB, Grateful Dead, Phish, WSP, Railroad Earth, SCI, Gov't Mule, moe., etc to get a good vibe going. Rolling Stones are also great for that

If there is a bunch of tasteless women there, Project Pat radio on pandora. I also have a MLK Day playlist stacked with gangsta beats that seems to do well in a party setting.

If it isn't a dance party you can go wrong with some Funk classics like The Meters, Parliament-Funkadelic, Bobby Womack, James Brown, etc. If it is more calm than that put on some Al Green slow jams

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I won't play any of that

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Yeah I didn't read the OP

Drop some Earth Wind & Fire as well. They love that shite

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beatles

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No one listens to them at parties dude

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I have a very large playlist that I put on random: it's a mix of 80s pop/new wave, 90s alt/indie, 60s rock, and a heavy dose of soul. Everyone likes Motown, and if they don't, they are a horrible person. A light sprinkling of popular hip hop, and the mix is ready to go. Even if you can't please everyone, keep it fairly close to the mainstream with some occasional personal faves of your own to spice the mix up. People will listen to a Pavement song if its immediately followed by the Beatles or something like that.

You want it to blend into the background, so familiar tunes are the best with that periodic moment where someone looks at you and says something like "I haven't heard that song in ages. I used to love that song." That happened at my July 4th cookout when a buddy of mine recognized the opening riff of Take the Skinheads Bowling.

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Any suggestions for specific bands to add into the rock mix? I bet we are around the same age (40). Although the bulk of attendees will be 32-38, so slightly off that age range.

I have existing playlists - rock, 80s/dance, folk - but feel as though I can improve. I have never gotten complaints but I have a excruciating hard time figuring out what other people want to listen to, outside of my close friends. So many of my friends listen to the radio, not XM, but actual FM channels. WTF?

Kenny frickin' Loggins

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Any suggestions for music that will be accessible to a large age range (25-60), and a relatively diverse crowd (hippies, yuppies, anarchists, DINKs - all white though so not really diverse)

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It is funny how some people really care about what kind of music is on and some don't give a frick at all.

I was playing basketball the other day with strangers. Someone had a JamBox and was blaring dubstep. I asked a few of the guys "who likes this bullshite?" and one of them got kind of mad and said "I don't care man - it's just music."

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It is funny how some people really care about what kind of music is on and some don't give a frick at all.

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The music is key. The people who don't care really do care, they just don't realize it.

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Put some zydeco in there definitely... Especially late in the playlist when everyone is buzzed and wants to move around.

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no one outside of LA knows what zydeco is. Let alone my hick arse IA friends.

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Any suggestions for specific bands to add into the rock mix? I bet we are around the same age (40). Although the bulk of attendees will be 32-38, so slightly off that age range.

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I think you can never go wrong with the Stones, Zeppelin, CCR, the Beatles, the Police, and the Who. Personally, I'd throw in some Cheap Trick, Big Star, and T Rex, but that's more my personal taste. I hate 80s hair rock, but don't be afraid of Bon Jovi or Def Leppard for a taste of nostalgia. Hell, even a Poison song is okay in the right context.

The key is that you want the bulk of your playlist to be stuff that everyone generally agrees on, so when you sprinkle in, say, a Richard Hell song (Blank Generation is awesome, BTW), it doesn't irritate the people who don't know it. In a second, you're right back to Layla.

A big party mix is not when you going diving in your back catalog for obscure nuggets. You can throw one or two on there, but be judicious. Also, you can never go wrong with some 50s rock. Put on some Chuck Berry or Buddy Holly. Del Shannon is legit.

And 30/40 somethings aren't gonna dance, but it doesn't hurt to have some good dance tracks. Everyone likes Hey Ya and Groove is in the Heart. I normally have some Tribe Called Quest on any party playlist, as Low End Theory was handed out to all incoming college freshmen in 1994.