New York DJ

While it’s rare that we spin exclusively current Top 40 at any event, it’s also rare to not play several current Top 40 songs at an event, either. While many of us – especially here in New York City – have our pet preferences for music we’d love to hear at an event, be it in the background over a drink, or that would quickly get us out to the dancefloor, there’s a few genres of music out there where cultures and genders and ages can meet happily. One of the biggest of these is Top 40 – basically, the ubiquitous pop, rock, R & B and hip hop tunes that you hear on the radio, blaring from a passing car on the street, or being pumped down at you from the ceiling of a Rite Aid.

Some people are totally at ease with Top 40 and love featuring it at their events, but, this being a city of many tastes, opinions and cultures, others have a negative or more complex relationship with this music: Some look down on it and think it’s all shallow. Some like a lot of it, but only after a certain number of drinks loosens them into open-mindedness. And some have to firmly emphasize that they like only one or two mainstream artists, but that's it, and the rest, as I've often heard this kind of person say, are crap. Now, I understand. Those who are a bit reticent toward Top 40 have a good point about its disposability and its seemingly cynical focus-grouped origins – many of these songs are quite bland, or, because the songs are often played everywhere, when you hear a good one, you may quickly tire of it from hearing so much.

But, just like Hollywood will often get it right and produce a couple of great mass-market blockbusters every year that most of us agree are very good, there’s always more than a handful of Top 40 tunes from every year that are more than just guilty pleasures or songs you will only let yourself enjoy when you’ve had a few too many drinks. Sometimes, these radio-friendly hits have great dance beats, fresh and catchy melodies, a new and exhilarating sound, a fun or sexy feel, or all of these qualities. Yes, it might be hard for some of the Lower East Side or Williamsburg hipsters to admit, but songs targeted for mass consumption are quite good at times, and their accessibility, simplicity and “bigness” are often exactly what is needed to liven up an event, and bring different types of people together to so willingly share a vibe – whether it’s a song that gets the hips moving at a cocktail hour, provides lyrics to sing along with at a dinner, or makes a lot of people rush out to the dancefloor at once.

Here’s 20 of the songs released in the past year or so that have really proven to excite the crowds we’ve spun for at all kinds of events – from West Village fashion shows to multicultural weddings, from huge midtown corporate parties to smaller, more exclusive private events. There is some variety to the genres here as well – though dominated by R & B, some crunked-out southern hip hop (Lil' Wayne), retro British female soul (Duffy) and indie rock (Ting Tings) also made the list. As a bonus, most of these songs will likely continue to go over well for the early part of 2009, and perhaps some will have a shelf-life that’s even longer. And our winners are (in no particular order):

1) Single Ladies (Put a Ring On It) – Beyonce
2) Dangerous – Kardinal Offishall ft. Akon
3) Human – Killers
4) Forever – Chris Brown
5) Disturbia – Rihanna
6) Don’t Stop the Music – Rihanna
7) Got Money – Lil’ Wayne ft. T-Pain
A Milli – Lil’ Wayne
9) Shut Up and Let Me Go – Ting Tings
10) Paper Planes – M.I.A.
11) Bleeding Love – Leona Lewis
12) Mercy – Duffy
13) Womanizer – Britney Spears
14) Green Light – John Legend ft. Andre 3000
15) American Boy – Estelle ft.Kanye West
16) Whatever You Like – T.I.
17) I Kissed a Girl – Katy Perry
18) Hot & Cold – Katy Perry
19) Just Dance – Lady Gaga
20) No Air – Jordin Sparks

In our continuing desire to encourage those planning events to include music from other cultures – especially when they know there will be a significant number of guests from other cultures present – we’d like to give you a basic introduction in how to include Korean pop music (often referred to as “K-pop”) at your event. K-pop is a fun, generally upbeat but very wide-ranging genre in its sound, and in the past decade it has been growing in its exposure to American audiences and it has even broken into the American Billboard pop charts.

When many think of Korean music – especially if they have no exposure to what modern Korean pop music sounds like, stereotypes from movies and television may make them think of cartoonishly traditional music – somehow there’s the sound of soothing pipes, or mystical drum rhythms, right? Well, no. In fact, not at all, thankfully. Korean pop music couldn’t be further from a sound that’s seen as stereotypically, traditionally “Asian.” While the styles of modern Korean pop are varied, it’s a quite accessible genre – often being very catchy and danceable, and at times the lyrics even are partially sung in English. And while K-pop is commonly used as a term to include straight-ahead pop groups (Wonder Girls, pictured at top) and artists with an R & B-influenced sound (the singer Rain, pictured furthest below) or a hip-hop-influenced sound (the group DJ Doc, pictured at middle), the K-pop mood in general feels like a nicer, slightly warmer version of today’s American pop music genres. A derisive stereotype I’ve heard at times among those who have a bit of familiarity with K-pop is that it tends to all sound like too-sugary bubblegum pop, but today that’s not accurate at all. K-pop isn’t all overly sweet, but it is often a bit more friendly-sounding - snotty diva or coarse, ego-consumed rapper personas don’t seem as prevalent as they are on the current American charts.

This background info is all to reassure you of one thing – you shouldn’t hesitate to include Korean pop at an event where it’s requested, or where you think it might work! In our experience, this is especially true if you’re having an event with younger Korean guests – approximately those between the ages of 20 and 40. Whether it’s a half-Korean wedding reception or a corporate party where many of the employees are of a Korean background, including some K-pop will definitely raise the energy of the event to a higher level. We’ve found at events where we’ve DJ-ed K-pop for Korean guests that that the younger crowd always appreciates it, especially toward the end of the event, when they’ve had a few drinks and we pull out some K-pop from a decade or a decade-and-a-half ago and take them on a refreshing nostalgia sing-a-long trip. As a plus, often younger guests who have Chinese or Japanese backgrounds likely will recognize some of the bigger K-pop hits from now and the past ten or so years, as K-pop artists are often marketed to China and Japan.

It’s understandable to be a bit intimidated, though, by the prospect of including music that is not well-known in the U.S. at an event – you don’t want to risk the energy of the party or reception being sapped because of a wrong choice in Korean music, or one that isn’t considered cool to your younger Korean guests. And while no one wants to embarrass themselves by unknowingly playing the Korean equivalent of Weird Al or Richard Marx when it’s time to dance, with just a little effort at K-pop research you can make the right choices and bring a lot more excitement  to your event.

So, how do find out the right kind of artists and songs? First, simply ask your guests if they’d like a few K-pop songs and/or for some names of artists they like. Also, make sure to ask your DJ how familiar they are with the Korean music and what they would suggest that works for younger Korean guests. And, of course, it’s always quick and easy to do a little on-line research yourself on who the hot groups are in the world of Korean music today. And while this music is sometimes not available to users of the American iTunes store, in our experience, if asked, guests wanting this music at their event will know where to find it and provide you with it.

Here’s some examples of K-pop that we often spin: The first song is a 2007 hit by the Wonder Girls, “Tell Me,” an example of a Korean pop song that is fun, danceable and very accessible to American ears, featuring a dash of an ’80s retro freestyle sound. Next is “Run to You” by hip-hop group DJ Doc, an insanely catchy party anthem from the late ‘90s that now and then sounds like it could be could be the Asian cousin of House of Pain’s “Jump Around.” Last is a tune from 2008 by Korean superstar Rain called “Rainism,” a song that’s both edgy and smooth, and at times echoes Justin Timberlake and newer Kanye West.

Wonder Girls – Tell Me

DJ Doc – Run To You

Rain – Rainism

Well, the New Year is almost here and along with midnight kisses, champagne, and Auld Lang Syne often comes the tradition of watching the ball drop in Times Square. So with New York City in many people's mind's tonight, we thought this a perfect time to bring you a mix of great New York City songs for your events to not just feature at year-end events, but throughout the whole year.

Often at events located in or near the city, no matter what time of the year, we find that playing a few songs that reference New York in some way add an extra sentimental touch, both for those who live here or nearby, and those who have come to the event from out of the state or out of the country. The great thing about the city is that there's been so many songs in so many styles written about it, so therefore we've chosen songs are from a wide range of genres – jazz, soul, rock, folk, indie pop, reggae, hip-hop, merengue, and more. The songs are also from a wide variety of moods, some quiet, some loud, some in between, so you'll find many songs here to everything from a small dinner gathering to a huge corporate party. Many of these songs even helped define these genres they come from. Some of these are classics you've heard many times but still love and would want to hear many more times, some are newer and likely completely unfamiliar, some are only songs you want to hear when drunk, but all feature the city as a central part of the tune and capture an essence of the Big Apple in their own memorable way.

Here is the list of the songs included in the mix (arranged in a consecutive order, generally, of rising party-ability):

1. Take the "A" Train – Duke Ellington
2. Let Me Off Uptown – Mel Tormé
3. The Brooklyn Bridge – Mel Tormé
4. Manhattan – Ella Fitzgerald
5. Autumn In New York – Frank Sinatra
6. Spanish Harlem – Ben E. King
7. Brooklyn and Jamaica – Morgan Heritage
8. Take the L Train (To Brooklyn) Brooklyn Funk Essentials
9. Breakfast In NYC – Oppenheimer
10. Walk on the Wild Side – Lou Reed
11. Going Home – Luna
12. NYC – Interpol
13. Coney Island – Death Cab for Cutie
14. Wintering in Brooklyn – The Last Town Chorus
15. The Only Living Boy in New York – Simon & Garfunkel
16. The 59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin' Groovy) Simon & Garfunkel
17. The City – Joe Purdy
18. Fairytale of New York – The Pogues feat. Kirsty MacColl
19. Angel of Harlem – U2
20. New York, New York – Ryan Adams
21. Broadway – Goo Goo Dolls
22. New York City – They Might Be Giants
23. Rockaway Beach – The Ramones
24. Rockin' the Bronx – Black 47
25. Brooklyn – Mos Def
26. South Bronx – KRS-One & Boogie Down Productions
27. New York New York – Grandmaster Flash, Melle Mel & The Furious Five
28. No Sleep 'til Brooklyn – Beastie Boys
29. Brooklyn's Finest (feat. The Notorious B.I.G.) – Jay-Z
30. Big Pimpin' (feat. UGK) – Jay-Z
31. Across 110th Street – Bobby Womack
32. Native New Yorker – Odyssey
33. Arthur's Theme (Best That You Can Do) – Christopher Cross
34. New York Soul – Ray Barretto
35. Funky Broadway – Wilson Pickett
36. 110th St. & 5th Ave. – Tito Puente
37. Un Dia en New York Los Hermanos Rosario
38. Fiesta en el Bronx – Frank River
39. NYC Beat – Armand Van Helden
40. New York City Boy – Pet Shop Boys
41. I Love New York – Madonna
42. I Love NYC – Andrew W.K. 
43. New York State of Mind – Billy Joel 
44. Theme from New York, New York – Frank Sinatra

So, as Frank Sinatra sings in his famous rendition of "New York, New York," let those little town dreams melt away and go listen to the mix here.

It’s a few days after Thanksgiving, and, like most everywhere else in the country, in New York City the usual Christmas songs are starting to be played at establishments everywhere there's a sound system, from the tiny bodegas to the biggest department stores.

We know there’s plenty of you out there who don’t want to hear that same old, one-size-fits-all mainstream radio template of holiday songs that essentially boils down to a heavy dose of mid-century crooners with a splash of Paul McCartney or Mariah Carey thrown in now and then. So, we’ve put together an iTunes mix of about 40 excellent Christmas songs, most of which you likely haven’t heard at all. While some of these tunes are traditional Christmas songs that have been covered by newer artists and others are original Christmas songs that have received little or no mainstream radio airplay, taken together, all these songs cover a very  wide range of genres. The only criteria for the mix was that the songs be memorably well-performed, rather unfamiliar or underplayed, but also accessible. In other words, this mix is comprised of music you might hear at a party where the DJ is playing fresh Christmas songs to satisfy all kinds of musical tastes.

To that end, we’ve arranged the mix like you’re arriving at the start of a party: We begin with some ambient tunes, then things pick up from there, building intensity as we move through alt-country, indie pop, loungey electronica, jazz, soul, reggae, soca, salsa, meringue, Latin pop, hip-hop, and rock. Hopefully, after you’ve listened to the mix, you’ll feel good that there’s a lot of fresh Christmas music out there of many styles, and by artists you might not have known had risked potential embarrassment to record Christmas songs!

Some highlights of the mix include the Cocteau Twins' dreamy take on "Frosty the Snowman," which manages the difficult task of sounding ethereal and otherworldly while remaining faithful to the song's simple melody; a remixed version of "Santa Claus is Coming to Town" that uses thick beats and well-placed horn samples to do a great job of sexing up this often-played song (featured on the album Merry Mixmas that's pictured); and Soca General's "Santa Bring de Soca," a quick, happy burst of tropical-sounding festiveness that will surely get you to look for a place to put your winter coat if you hear the song while anywhere near a dance floor.

So, throw some of the songs from this mix on your iPod, and you might even be able to get through the whole season without even hearing "Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer."

You can listen to the mix here.