New York DJ

With some genres of music, a DJ is able to almost put a blindfold on and pick a song that most people in a crowd will like. Current top 40 hip-hop is one of these styles, as is mid-century jazz standards – these genres may sound a lot different and may often be used for different moods, but since so many songs from each of these styles are well-known, sociable, and often made for dancing, there’s a lot of great options to choose from. But with other genres, a DJ doesn’t have this luxury, and needs to comb through a lot of music before they are able to find a song that feel right for the moment.

Unless you’re having a theme party involving it, classic rock tends to be one of these genres. Some people might say it doesn’t have any place at an event, since the harder kind of classic rock is too full of ear-piercing electric guitar noodling, or since the progressive rock within the style is too full of clunky and awkward fantastical themes. While we have found through years of experience being DJs in New York City that classic rock does indeed have a place at events, we have seen that you do need to be quite careful about what songs you pick – Zeppelin may rule, but “Dazed and Confused” might daze and confuse most guests at most events, and not many women have ever danced to Rush. However, if you’re looking for a sexy, unpretentious vibe that will  energize a wide range of ages at an event, some deftly-chosen classic rock songs can absolutely hit the spot.

At many events there are classic rock staples that are played, like Lynyrd Skynrd’s “Sweet Home Alabama” or AC/DC’s “You Shook Me All Night Long.” We’ve put together a playlist on iTunes of 25 songs that span the genre, though it digs a little deeper and wider, and includes songs you know but don't hear everywhere – many of which we’ve found enliven crowds at all kinds of events, and at all kinds of moments during events.

Classic rock as a style is rather loosely defined, so we’ve gone with what most radio stations and fans have come to define it as – roughly rock a bit “heavier” in sound (and sometimes theme) than pop, and released during the 20-year span from after the Beatles’ early years in the mid ‘60s, to the rise of glam metal in the beginning of the ‘80s. That may sound a bit restrictive, but if you listen to the list you’ll find a surprising range of sounds – from the festive salsa feel of Santana’s “Oy Como Va” to the new wave vibe of The Cars’ “Let’s Go” to the crunchy riffs and rapid-fire lyrics of Aerosmith’s ode to bad-ass cool, “Walk This Way,” a tune now forever linked in most people’s minds to old school hip-hop thanks to the mid ’80s re-working of the song by Run DMC. There’s also some stuff that some might think is more pop, and falls just outside the borders of classic rock, like the Turtles’ “You Baby” and Blondie’s “The Tide is High,” but we’ve found these songs work well in a classic rock block of music, so we included them. But don’t worry – there’s multiple Beatles, Stones, and Led Zeppelin songs on the playlist, too.

We’ve arranged the playlist in the order below, with roughly with the more mellow stuff in the first half, and the more “party” stuff in the second. Have a listen here, dude…

1. Fool in the Rain – Led Zeppelin
2. Get Back – Beatles
3. She’s a Rainbow – Rolling Stones
4. Ooh La La – The Faces
5. You Baby – Turtles
6. Let’s Go – The Cars
7. Beautiful Girls – Van Halen
8. Can’t Explain – The Who
9. Day Tripper – Beatles
10. Swingtown – Steve Miller Band
11. Brass in Pocket – Pretenders
12. Hey Hey What Can I Do – Led Zeppelin
13. Southern Cross – Crosby, Stills & Nash
14. Sugar Magnolia – Grateful Dead
15. Instant Karma – John Lennon
16. The Tide is High – Blondie
17. Miss You – Rolling Stones
18. Long Train Runnin’ – Doobie Brothers
19. Oy Como Va – Santana
20. La Grange – ZZ Top
21. Walk this Way – Aerosmith
22. Action – Sweet
23. Radar Love – Golden Earring
24. Surrender – Cheap Trick
25. Rock and Roll All Nite – Kiss

“Tengo La Voz” (in English, “I have the voice”) is a spicy, swingin' instrumental that takes a traditional-sounding brassy, upbeat Mexican melody and, with a touch of thick beats, a few samples and other subtle electronic flourishes, gives it a kick in the pants to make everything more fun and festive for all kinds of ears.

Nortec Collective is a four-member band that's part of a small but critically-acclaimed scene of young Mexican groups (two others worth checking out are Mexican Institute of Sound and Kinky) that combine traditional Mexican music and rhythms with modern electronic sounds. These sounds can range from something as thorough as throwing bigger beats under traditional instruments to give an entire song more punch, to more whimsical touches, like adding in sampled vocal riffs from old Mexican radio shows from more than a half-century ago. Generally, the aesthetic of these groups somewhat mirrors that of American indie pop, as the programming and production is often used not to make a sound that is over-polished and sleek, but instead to bring a sense of quirkiness and playful surprise to freshen up familiar genres. The name Nortec Collective comes from a combination of “Norteno” (a traditional, often rural form of Mexican music using 12-string guitars and accordions) and “techno.”

“Tengo La Voz,” from Nortec Collective’s album Tijuana Sessions Vol. 3 (pictured), is not an outright dance song, yet because its fun mood is sure to move some hips, it's perfect for “teasing” a Latin vibe you might have coming up at your event, like if you’re playing some Merengue, Salsa, Latin pop or Reggaeton and you want to put it in your guests’ heads and feet that they’ll be dancing to flavors like this later.

More generally, though, the song is great for any moment in your event where you plan to have people mingling, such as a cocktail hour at a wedding, or an interlude at a fashion show or art opening, or at any kind of meet-and-greet event, as the song’s uptempo, catchy horn riffs, steady beat, and its sturdy vibe of sunniness make it perfect background for sipping a drink and chatting it up. Plus, the song never gets too brassy that it becomes shrill, or too experimental that it becomes intrusive, or too "Latin" that it becomes intimidating or exclusionary for those whose tastes might be a bit more conservative. "Tengo La Voz" has a rare balance of just enough brass, quirkiness, and traditional Mexican festiveness, but not too much of either – and as a result it's especially accessible. But at the same time, while it remains in the background it also adds a burst of spice to the atmosphere of the event – so much so that, at only three-and a-half-minutes, you might want to play it twice in a row.

Nortec Collective – Tengo La Voz

At most events where we spin, there’s guests with musical tastes that are more adventurous, and there's those guests with musical tastes that are more mild. To please both of these groups, you either have to toggle between styles a lot, or you have to find songs that at the same time can excite both groups but also still feel fresh.

An excellent example of a rare song that perfectly does this is actually one that's about 25 years old – the French singer Sylvie Vartan's cover of the Beatles' classic "Twist and Shout." Vartan's version (from the 1964 EP pictured) manages to be both instantly familiar and charmingly different at the same time – an old favorite that you've heard many times, yet also never heard at all.  

Vartan, originally from Bulgaria, and who was about nineteen when she recorded the song, was one of the most prominent stars of the female-fronted "ye-ye" scene. This musical trend in early to mid-1960s France consisted of attractive young women dressed in the most stylishly "mod" fashions of the day singing about first loves and first break-ups with an attitude that mingled innocence with an often edgy, up-front sexuality.

“Twiste et Chante” keeps the melody and speed of the iconic Beatles song, but it doesn’t try to match the intensity of the well-known raw guitar and vocal sound. Instead, the pretty French lyrics and Vartan’s playful vocals take the spotlight, with only, it seems, drums and cymbal accompaniment and a few female back-up vocals. The whole effect gives the song a more sly, more jazzy, and more, well, stereotypically French, vibe.  

The impressive thing here, though, is that this lighter treatment of the song never feels like fluff. While there may not be any gritty guitar distortion like in the version you're more familiar with, there is some grit to Vartan’s vocals. Her late-teenage voice is unusually deep and mature-sounding, and, possibly from her Bulgarian roots, there’s a husky, slightly guttural accent in her French. Regardless of wherever her vocal performance comes from, it’s what makes the song a success. The rollicking wildness of the original Beatles song is exchanged here for a wily sexiness that's impressively satisfying. The song might even leave you thinking that in those French lyrics, when Vartan sings about Twisting and Shouting, that maybe she’s describing something more provocative than simply shaking it up, baby, and working it out. Ooh la la!

Sylvie Vartan – Twiste et Chante

When we meet to talk with clients about music for their event, often the first thing we notice is that they've already dejectedly decided the music they really like and want to hear won't be able to be played at their event.

It may be a designer in a fashion show thinking that the music she wants to use for her fashion line will be too ethereal a sound to keep the audience interested. Or a couple who loves moody acoustic indie pop but thinks it would be too much of a downer to play a little at their wedding Or an organizer of a corporate party who worries that the employees won’t dance because they tend to like raw Southern hip-hop and their bosses wouldn’t. Whatever the case, whatever the event, it seems this kind of unfortunate premature musical censorship is everywhere.

It often comes from a good place of common sense or consideration, like an organizer at a art opening knowing that prospective buyers might not want to hear his beloved deep cuts of ‘70s classic rock all night long. But some of our clients’ decisions that their favorite songs or genres won’t work comes not from a good place at all, but instead from having met with conventional, unimaginative DJs that tend to work for bigger, more cookie-cutter DJ companies. We’ve heard from these clients that some of these DJs have told them straight up that the only way to get a party movin’ is to play disco all night.

Whatever the reason for clients' doubts in the music they love, one of the first things we tell them – no matter what their event –  is to open up their mind, revisit their CD collection or iPod, and make their “dream list” of songs they want to hear, with no censoring allowed. Put anything in you would love to hear. Not only does it make the process of selecting music easier, but also more fun. It will get you excited about the possibilities of hearing this music, as opposed to nixing songs right away and feeling frustrated that the soundtrack to the event is already not what you would like.

Now, will all these "dream songs" end up making the cut when the event arrives? Sometimes many of them do, sometimes they don't. But what always happens is that when we see these “dream lists” and talk a bit with the client to see what music is most important to them, we can then use our experience in knowing what of these songs will work given the mood that is wanted at the event, as well as what kind of guests will be there, and what kind of structure the event will have. Then we can suggest which songs to keep, which to think about not using. For example, a pair of melancholy indie songs at the more sedate moments in a wedding can feel absolutely right and even moving. So can a set of obscure hardcore punk during the more boisterous moments of a corporate party. And even a little experimental progressive rock can enhance the feeling of an art opening, if played at the right time.

By far, many more of the songs you really want at your event then you ever think you can play are actually able to be fit in, but not only that, they can be made to add to the atmosphere of the event. But to do it, you have to begin by letting the DJ know what you really want to hear. And if that DJ looks at your list, smirks, and says something about how you can't have a party without having "the Y" on your list, well, you know the time has come to find a different DJ.