New York DJ

In DJ-ing weddings in and around New York City for years, often we perform for couples who are very knowledgeable about music, and therefore don’t pick the usual classic (or sometimes cheesy) first dance songs seen on those generic, one-size-fits-all first dance lists on wedding websites. Often couples, especially in New York City, prefer a first dance song which is, of course, slow and romantic, but is a bit more subtle or less polished than the usual first dance staples – either in the music, the message, or both. These couples also tend to not want a first dance song that is overly-familiar, which we love – it’s great to be reminded that there’s people out there who would rather have NO first dance song than have a first dance song by Celine Dion!

You may be one of those more discerning couples, so we’ve created a list on iTunes located here of some great first dance songs of the alt-country variety that we’ve played for brides and grooms over the years as well as some other songs in this style that we haven’t played yet but we think would appeal to anyone who’s looking for a first dance song that’s pretty and sentimental but also completely shlock-free.

Pictured above is the cover of the self-titled album by Easmountainsouth, which includes one of my favorites songs on the list, "So You Are to Me." Its melody and vocal have that kind of inarguable prettiness that commands your attention, and the lyrics and spare production make it seem like a song written hundreds of years ago, born out of some long-ago lovers’ impending separation, like a soldier going off to war, or a traveler leaving for a long sea voyage. (Forgive me, I was an English major.) Another one of the songs in the list, "I Want You to be My Love" by Over the Rhine, I wrote about in a separate blog entry which you can check out here. And finally, another song on the list worth highlighting is "Fields of Gold" by Eva Cassidy, who makes the already pretty Sting song a hundred times prettier. By stripping down the production sheen of the original, Cassidy lets her absolutely lovely voice take center stage and makes the feeling of the song so much more powerful.

Over the past 20 years, Dean Wareham has established himself as a master of the dreamy, hazy pop song. In his first band, the much-lauded but rather short-lived Galaxie 500, then in his second, the more catchy but still often ethereal Luna, he was able to again and again conjure unusually lush, beautifully melancholy moods out of not much more than a shimmering, occasionally twangy electric guitar and langourous vocals.

In his current group, Dean & Britta, (a duo with his wife Britta Phillips), Wareham shows that he still has some outstanding dream-pop songs left in him. On Dean & Britta’s second album Back Numbers, the difference from his previous two groups is that while all remains rather gentle, the music here seems less moody and more consistently sunny.

Nowhere is this evident more than on "You Turned My Head Around," a cover of an obscure Lee Hazlewood & Ann-Margret duet. The Dean & Britta version, from the "la-la-la" at the start to the lounge-jazz xylophone to Phillips’ feathery vocals in the verses, evokes the sweet vintage pop of ’60s girl groups. But the chorus, which begins with Phillips so happily and so loudly belting out the word "baby", whips you right back to the present, and to the feeling of the absolute exhilaration at finding love.

If this kind of dreamy guitar pop is – or long has been – your preferred style of indie music, this is a tune you’ve got to at least consider for a first dance.

At many events where we perform, especially weddings, clients who hire us mention they’d like to hear some swing music at some point during the night. However, because there are many kinds of swing music out there, we often make sure to ask a few questions about what specific style of swing they’d like if a client is not quite sure.

The three kinds of swing we usually find clients want are either 1) mellow, very famous swing, such as Glenn Miller’s classic “In the Mood,” 2) swing that’s a bit faster but still pretty famous, like Louis Prima’s “Jump, Jive & Wail,” and 3) swing from the ‘90s revival of the wilder side of the genre, a good example of this being Big Bad Voodoo Daddy’s “You & Me & the Bottle Makes 3.” (Below you can listen to all three of these songs.)

How to know which one is the best for your guests? Well, if you’re including swing music as a pleasant reminder of your older guests’ youth for early night dancing, I’d suggest the first kind, since it’s the most accessible and mellow – and it even often will result in younger people who know how to swing dance joining the older couples. If you know you’ve got more than a few swing fans or swing dancers – both old or young – on your guest list, the first and second type would be appropriate – the more famous, gentler swing leads very nicely into the speedier tempos of songs like “Jump, Jive & Wail” but still does not inspire the lightning-quick, flip-the-girl off-your back, all-pro Lindy Hop swing dancer moves like those seen in the 1996 film Swingers, which went a long way to popularize the ‘90s swing revival. However, speaking of this very intense, more rockin’ type of swing, this may be perfect to include in your event if you’ve got a bunch of younger people attending who know how to swing dance well. Though we find people with these skills aren’t everywhere, we have seen a few really impressive swing dancers blaze through the wilder songs of the swing revival, like Brian Setzer’s boomin’ version of “Jump Jive & Wail,” or "You & Me & the Bottles Makes 3."

So go, daddy-o, and have a listen:

When you perform at as many events as we do, naturally you run into guests that know more about certain musical genres than others. Some want to hear the best-known tunes of a type of music to please a more mainstream crowd, while others ask you to bring out some deeper cuts to please a group of more music-savvy guests. Such is often the case with soul music – guests almost always want to hear some type of soul music at events, especially at weddings and corporate parties, but it’s the level of an artist’s or a song’s popularity which varies in our requests from clients. I’ll show you an example of how to choose the kind of soul tune you might want your guests to hear by highlighting two soul greats (who both, as a bonus, are popular but aren’t played to death at events): Charles Wright and Arthur Conley.

Wright and his group, the Watts 103^rd St. Rhythm Band, are known mainly for their 1970 song “Express Yourself,” which has been featured in many films and was famously covered by N.W.A. This mid-tempo tune and its classic horn riff fits great into any cocktail hour where soul is a component. Its gritty production – a much-missed staple of so much of the great soul and Motown from the late ‘60s and early ‘70s – goes perfect when a familiar song is needed, and the song never gets too harsh or “funked out” to ruin the rampin’ up vibe that the best cocktail hours establish at events like weddings or corporate parties.

If your crowd is looking for a deeper cut from Wright and the band, check out 1972′s “I Got Love.” It has the same gritty production, but is more laid back, and because of its romantic lyrics, it’s especially appropriate for weddings, either at cocktail hour or dinner. You might even get guests enjoying it and asking what it is, which is always great. Plus, the song can lead smoothly into many other genres, either funk, classic rock or more soul.

Have a listen to both:

Arthur Conley is best known for his 1967 hit “Sweet Soul Music,” a stompin’ anthem of a tribute to established soul giants of the time such as Wilson Pickett and Otis Redding. This extremely well-known song (you might not know it by name, but you likely have heard somewhere before) fits great into a playlist for a crowd who want soul music to dance to that is fairly mainstream, like the Isley Brothers, Stevie Wonder or Earth, Wind & Fire.

But, again, if your guests are looking for something a bit less popular, try Conley’s “Funky Street.” This song, from 1968, was not a tribute to famous musicians like "Sweet Soul Music" but instead a tribute to a place – an imagined and likely sweaty thoroughfare of groove & ryhthm. This tune has such a thick, sexy, accessible beat that it doesn’t have to be recognized by your guests for them to enjoy dancing along.

Here’s both, see what you think: