party archive at My Bar, Your Bar

By popular request, I’ve been asked to include more things musical in my posts. And because this is my site and your site, I listen. So here’s the first of what I’m sure will be many music related posts.

If your like me, music plays a huge part in setting the atmosphere for a party. The right playlist can set the mood and propel a get together of friends and acquaintances to a better place. My ingredients for a great playlist include attention to track order, pacing, and recognition. Basically, it’s weaving the right songs together in the right order in the right setting. For thirty-somethings and twenty-somethings, I prefer cocktail party music with an electronic element. I realize that some purists out there prefer reaching back to the “rat pack” to soundtrack their shindigs, but I like to keep to fairly modern. I prefer to have a solid mix of familiar and unknown songs. This way no one gets too distracted with the huge hits and/or overplayed songs (most of which aren’t any good anyway) and turn your cocktail party into karaoke night. I feel the playlist featured below has all the elements that I consider important. But I’d love to get anyone’s feedback on the song selection, order, or just alternate playlists that you may have used that fit the same mold.
Days go by - Dirty Vegas, The playlist starts with a mid-tempo, mellow track that first got popular due to its use in a Mitsubishi commercial. The album is consistently good from start to finish and keeps the same moderately driving downbeat vibe throughout the disc.
Surfing on a Rocket - Air, French duo Air contribute track 2 with a strong electronic vibe featuring distant female vocals and sparse, reverb-laden guitar over an aggressive drum track. It works to turn up the tempo slightly from the first track. Another great track licensed out to “the man”. This tune was featured in a Nissan Armada ad.
Psyche Rock (Fatboy Slim Malpaso Mix) - Pierre Henry, Ah, Fatboy Slim. When you really want to take the party to the next level, his big beats are perfect. Straight from this fantastic remix album, “Psyche Rock” is a propelling song featuring driving guitars, big drums, and church bells. By the time it ends, the song has dissolved into a fuzzy guitar mess, only to morph into a faux reggae tune featuring a mariachi band in the background. Brilliant!
Crazy - Gnarls Barkley, Who doesn’t love this song? Now a massive hit, “Crazy” has been covered by everyone from indie bands to folk artists. And why not? The song is insanely infectious and can’t seem to be stopped. This is the song that people will finally stop saying, “This sounds familar…” and start mouthng the chorus.
The Mating Game - Bitter:Sweet, A new entry in the trip hop genre. Another tune featured heavily in a couple of TV shows and in a Korbel Champagne commercial. Slightly funky, the track features a punchy horn line and enticing female vocals describing the current state of the singles scene.
I Took a Trip on a Gemini Spaceship - David Bowie, The Thin White Duke contributes a dancey, uptempo tune. Don’t worry about the semi-cheesy sci-fi lyrics, they are overrode by his vocals delivered in his usual suave and sophisticated style. The whole album is his strongest in years and has some great guest artists.
You Grow More Beautiful - No-Man, One of the first bands to do the 80’s retro thing, No-Man has a great knack for being catchy and emotionally grabbing at the same time. The track has a slight funky feel during the verses that turns into a big, arena-filling chorus, a la many other British bands like OMD, Erasure, or Simple Minds.
Enjoy the Silence (7″ Version) - Depeche Mode, Speaking of the Eighties, here’s one of the decades’ best. They released this remix of their classic in 2004. Another song that should be familiar most of the thirty-something party goers, this tune is always a hit.
Evolution Revolution Love - Tricky, One of my favorite trip hop artists, Tricky brings in Ed Kowalcyzk from the rock band Live to sing the choruses. One of the more aggressive beats in the playlist, it features Tricky’s part rap, part reggae chant through the verses. The album as a whole is solid and features a variety of guests working with Tricky’s ADD when it comes to musical genres.
High Roller - Crystal Method, From one of the best albums of 1999, “High Roller” provides an interesting sonic break from the mostly vocal songs that precede it. The song has attitude with its thick analog keyboards and fat bass lines. It provides a nice segue into the next track.
Daybreaker - Beth Orton, From an extremely eclectic album, this track pairs Beth Orton and the Chemical Brothers together. The result is a mildly funky song with chartreuse-style vocals. It slows the pace down somewhat but adds a sonically interesting break from the previous tracks.
Midnight in a Perfect World - DJ Shadow, Similar to the Beth Orton track before it, DJ Shadow provides a big, strong beat with vague, unintelligible vocals. Another track that sits perfectly in the background but rewards those who turn their ear to it.
Missing (Todd Terry Remix) - Everything but the Girl, Back to the familiar, most people know this song as it was a club standard in the mid 90’s. Similar in feel to the Dirty Vegas track, it turns the tempo up from the previous two songs.
Strict Machine - Goldfrapp, The sound continues to build with the energy from Goldfrapp. Originally a trip hop act, recently they’re morphed into more of a standard electronic pop sound. Their songwriting has always been top notch and this song is no exception. It’s a great, catchy track with a solid groove. And yes, you heard it in the LG Chocolate cell phone commercial.
Feel Good, Inc. - Gorillaz, Another hit, the Gorillaz track has two strong pluses going for it: a guest appearance by De La Soul and the fact that it rips off the chords and melody of a U2 song (”Staring at the Sun”). It has an undeniable groove and makes a great backdrop.
Afro Lover - James, This band is one of the most underrated English groups ever. Produced by sonic wizard Brian Eno, this album is the perfect mix of brit-rock and electronic music. Genius from start to finish, the selected track keeps the tempo strong and drives the music hard with big guitars and rockin’ production.
Be Thankful for What You Got - Massive Attack, These guys are one of the pioneers of the trip hop genre. This track is from their debut album. It turns the playlist tempo down a notch or two but still maintains a strong groove. The song has a great retro vibe that conjures up 60’s soul with a Marvin Gaye-style but updates it for the 90’s.
We Are All Made of Stars - Moby, Everyone knows Moby. He offers a wide variety of sonic pallets to choose from. This is from the follow up album after his massively played “Play” album that saw its songs endlessly licensed to countless commercials and movies. This track features the man himself on vocals paired with a great guitar line.
Shoulder Holster - Moorcheeba, Probably one of the most uplifting and positive groups in trip hop, it’s odd that they have a track called “Shoulder Holster”. The song is from Moorcheeba’s second album, “Big Calm” which I consider their best. Part trip hop, part lounge, the track is a great upbeat tune that is smartly written. It also happens to be the only song with sitar in this playlist.
Such Great Heights - Postal Service, This group is the alter ego of Death Cab for Cutie’s Ben Gibbard. The song is a nice blend of electronic sounds and pop songwriting. The cheesy, 80’s drum machine sound just adds more charm to the song. A nice ending to the playlist on a somewhat down tempo note.