re: music for a party

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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.

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