New York DJ

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.

There’s certain songs that are commonly played at all kinds of events that get a wide range of guys onto the dance floor – especially after they’ve had a few drinks. These anthemic songs are ones that you probably know work well to get the dance-floor male bonding going – the jock jam staple “Jump Around” by House of Pain, Nirvana’s grunge masterpiece “Smells Like Teen Spirit,” or the fist-pumping, partying call-to-arms of “Rock and Roll All Nite” by Kiss.

But beyond these familiar “go-to” songs that DJs often pull out, we’ve found that on the internet there really isn’t a lot more original or fresh choices of music recommended to get guys a little charged up at events.

Sure, plenty of playlists will say you should crack out those songs that you’d think might work from seeing guys party to them in movies, like Bachman Turner Overdrive’s “Takin’ Care of Business” or Steppenwolf’s “Born to be Wild.” But in actual practice, we’ve found that these songs feel much too tired and predictable to work. Even when drunk, most guys still have some sort of judgment when it comes to being lame. They might become a bit stupid after 4.5 beers, but they usually won’t become lame.

However, there are songs that we’ve found work really well to get guys on the dance floor that you might know but haven’t heard a million times before, or might not even think would work to up the energy of an event.

Here’s a mix of ten songs in a range of genres that are “battle-tested” in that we’ve found guys love them when played at the right time. With some of these songs it’s easy to see what guys like about them: both the near-Gothic cry of “the world drags me down” from The Cult’s “She Sells Sanctuary” and the confrontational declaration "fuck you I won't do what you told me" from Rage Against the Machine's "Killing in the Name" are quite cathartic for many guys to shout along with, and “Scenario” by A Tribe Called Quest is a more raw, more "street-cred" version of “Jump Around.” But with other tunes, like Rush’s “Limelight”  or Living Colour’s “Cult of Personality” the appeal isn't as easy to pin down, other than it might be simply be that the song rocks.

Usually, our mixes are longer than only ten songs, but in this case, we tried to only include songs that, in our experience, tend to only be danced to by guys. Yes, there's plenty of songs that are nearly "guy-only," but that some girls like just as well, such as a lot of '80s heavy metal or '90s punk/ska like the Mighty Mighty Bosstones or Rancid. The songs on this mix are songs that pretty much exclusively produce a response from guys, just as "Dancing Queen" almost exclusively produces a response from girls. See? Now you get it – simply put, songs that usually strictly appeal to guys and get them dancing without any girls around, no less, are not that easy to find. But when you do find them, they're great to bring out when your event needs a little male bonding.

During events, we’ve found that for many guys, getting "into" songs such as these need not result in them being  inspired to form a mosh pit, or do an impromptu break dance cheered on by old college buddies. Sure, this amount of intensity is fun and often welcome, but also it’s just as cool to see a song allowing a bunch of male friends to have nice genuine, and even rather well-behaved moment of dancing together, or simply to inspire the nodding of some heads and maybe a little air guitar together while they have a drink at the bar or catch up while eating dinner.

Yes, despite what those new-ish punny, headline-catching books about “brocabulary” and “bromance” suggest, the act of guys having a good time together can indeed can be subtle now and then.

So go for it, guys (and girls, of course) – have a listen.