By default, I may need to be organizing the music for the wedding.
It will be immediate family only, a mix of Americans and Brits.
So, what goes on the playlist? I’m pretty fixed on “Islands in the stream” being the lead off; Nick Drake and Northern Sky will be appearing. “A thousand million reasons” by Colin Hay. Sunshine of your love, a bit of Danny Wilson.
So – no theme. Preferably good songs about love and good relationships. Genre not important. Don’t have to be big hits either.
It’s over to you Massive!
What you want is music that promotes romance, dancing and unimaginative adherence to the mindless, boring limitations of conventionality. I’d suggest:
Flippin’ Ada by The Harlem Gobstoppers
What’s That Stain by Marcia Braslorantanorvitch
Mustn’t Grumble by C-Soup
Cattle Prod by Seedyman
Can The Can The Can by Susie Quinto
Is This The Right Forum by Is This The Right Forum
Lutherian Promise by Tatlock
and
Gypsy Tranny by Ouch
That is an absolutely brilliant list, Gary.
But I got very depressed because I had not heard of a single one of these artists. Talk about deep cuts. I’m off to my local record shop this afternoon to try and acquire a copy of Cattle Prod by Seedyman.
“the wedding”: is this the one with Prince Harry and Miss Marple?
If so, can’t you just book Elton?
I get the impression that you are looking for mainly background music?
There are some decent playlists here http://www.digster.fm/romance which can be used as a starting point to be tailored to your needs. They are compatible with Spotify, Apple Music and Deezer, you just select your streaming app of choice.
We’ve started to compile a list of songs to be played during our wedding breakfast. So far, we’ve managed to whittle it down to about 100 songs. We’ve tried to go for a mixture of the obvious (e.g. The Beatles – Something, Madness – It Must Be Love, The Pretenders – I’ll Stand By You) to the obscure (Hefner – Hold Me Closer, Françoise Hardy – Le temps de l’amour, Blur – Young and Lovely) with a bit of classical and cheese thrown in.
Re: “with a bit of … cheese thrown in”
What’s on the playlist, Tony?
Ebeneezer Gouda?
Turkish Song of the Edammed?
Things Can only Get Feta?
As it’s a wedding, David Bowie’s Brie My Wife.
Cheddar The Devil You Know.
Stilton in love with you, surely?
Brie My Baby
Knowing Brie, Knowing You
Help Brie ( I think I’m falling)
Briecause The Night
Let It Be Brie
Brie Here Now
Lumme! Where’s CamemBurt Kocain when you need him?
For Emmental Reasons
Wake Me Up Before Taleggio
Chèvre Breath You Take
Things Can Only Get Cheddar
I Knew The Bride When She Used To Roquefort Roll
Gouda Be Loved (And Be Loved)
I say ditch the idea of trying to find songs where the lyrics are about love and relationships (which IS a ‘theme’ I think!) because you’ll just end up shoehorning in bad songs. ‘Love and Marriage’? Ugh.
Just go for what sounds good over speakers. No one will actually be listening to the lyrics.
I got married ten years ago and I prepared the BEST playlist that BLEW everyone away I PROMISE… but I’ve now lost it so I can’t help you. 🙂
You are probably right about no one listening to the lyrics – I remember being at a wedding and being astonished by some of the songs played [some of them are on the playlists I linked to above] The Police, Every Breath [stalker/serial killer anthem] No Doubt – Don’t Speak [I’m losing my best friend, I can’t believe This could be the end?] The Beatles Yesterday [all my troubles seemed so far away, now it looks as though they’re here to stay!! – did anyone give more than a passing thought to these songs?]
Depends what you want out of it: wonderful wedding day or did you check that playlist. Can’t go far wrong with this, tho’
or this, same album
Probably not this
Lots of (terrible) suggestions back here https://theafterword.co.uk/when-will-we-be-married-molly-what-shall-we-dance-to/ ,
Also there was another ‘first dance’ thread which must have been lost from the old place because I know I posted to it. David Baerwald “Walk Through Fire” if you’re asking, a vaguely romantic waltz.
And Baerwald’s ‘Dance’ is almost danceable, as long as you don’t listen too hard to the lyrics.
“You don’t believe in voodoo, do you ?” …”well I still went blind”
Then there’s Crowded House “Mean To Me”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lUQnY8aUYp0
“She came all the way from America”, although the following lines “now her parents are divorced, and her friend committed suicide” might be a little challenging. Maybe stick to “Something So Strong”, bit more on the point. “When You Come” might be back in the challenging end of the family spectrum.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: absolutely nothing involving guitars, unless wielded by Nile Rodgers. Weddings are Civilian Ground Zero.
Music that can be easily ignored by those who just want to eat, drink and chat but can also pleasantly surprise the more musically aware during conversational lulls.
Nothing too loud or lively while people are eating. Bad for the digestion and inhibits conversation. Remember it’s music for socialising to.
Save all the banging floor-fillers until after the ceremonials and the grub are done.
No need to banging floor fillers.
A short ceremony, and then drinks and the great Texas tradition of barbecue. So, good sounding, but also something that the music aficionado (there are a number of non civilians) would smile appreciatively at.
I Will Survive. The Cake cover version. Go on – I dare you.
Rule No.1 of party playlists – unless it comprises hits that everyone will know, it will go down like a lead balloon. This is apparently the law.
Good taste and the amount of time and effort you put in is irrelevant in all of this.
Dude, I have wedding DJed many times. This works.
SONG 1 – Something by Dolly Parton, preferably 9 to 5. You need to get women to dance. All women dance to Dolly Parton.
SONG 2 – Le Freak by Chic. Many people do not have a best of Chic in their record collection but they all know this. If they are up dancing any way, they will stay up for this.
SONG 3 – Superstition by Stevie Wonder. You need something cool but still acceptable. Everyone thinks this song is cool.
I see you are considering Nick Drake and Danny Wilson. I URGE YOU NOT TO DO THIS.
You need;
Single Ladies by Beyonce
Any Wham!
ABBA (seriously, you need ABBA at a wedding)
Crazy In Love by Beyonce (have a lot of Beyonce)
Have a Best of Motown to hand.
Also a best of the Rolling Stones.
Have a decent disco compilation. Make sure it’s got I Will Survive.
DO NOT PLAY ANYTHING THAT TWO THIRDS OF THE ROOM DOES NOT KNOW. THIS IS A TERRIBLE MISTAKE.
This. This. This. This.
Be careful with the Rolling Stones – remember there are GUITARS on their records. Maybe just stick to Sat and Sug. Honk is too slow. I once watched in astonishment as the dancefloor cleared at the first few bars of Start Me Up. Start Me Up!
And, as Hep has asserted, the Fabs will clear the floor faster than a fire alarm.
So will Bowie.
Yep.
Guitars – check.
White man – check.
In fact, check that last one twice.
Even Let’s Dance? You can claim Nile Rodgers in mitigation.
Oh good luck with that. Tapping people on the shoulder at the bar and saying, “Nile Rodgers is on this!”
“Who? We’ll be here until you turn that weird indie crap off…”
Just Banjos and Bagpipes allowed then?
Yes, and the odd zither.
Dobro, dude
Two more from Dobro Dude later, on Bob Harris Country.
My Baby Just Cares For Me by Nina Simone, if you need to bring things down a bit works.
If this wedding happens to be in the highlands or islands of Scotland? Shooglenifty go down well. This may seem random, trust me, my finest DJ “dropping a tune” moment was at the very end of a night in Orkney when I released this beast.
The crowd went NUTS.
So basically, have an idea of what your crowd wants. What you want? Counts for shit.
I’m getting a vibe of Abba, the Birdie song and the Macarena, anything by Black Lace, George Michael and/or Wham, some glam stompers maybe…
Not sure that ABBA, Wham and George Michael belong in the same sentence as the other three there, but yes, if that’s where the room wants to go then that’s what you do. Weddings are not about music.
Hahaha! Dude thinks some things in life are not about music!
In a maternity ward, an Afterworder looks into the eyes of his new-born child for the first time… he smiles with deep joy, because he’s thinking…. “I’m gonna do a great playlist about this!”
That reminds me of the Morrissey response to the question “What would you say to Colonel Sanders in heaven. His response was that he was a murderer and wouldn’t be in heaven (the Colonel, not Morrissey).
Any man who thinks playlist when he sees his new born is not the kind of man that would ever have sex in the first place,
Women are very very tolerant.
I’ve found.
“Anything by Black Lace.” Yes indeedy, except perhaps for Gang Bang.
Indeed. That’s one tune where my ‘nobody notices the lyrics’ maxim should be overruled.
I’ve never heard it. Is it a sensitive ballad giving an account of a drive-by shooting in the Bloods vs Crips wars of Compton in the late 1980s?
Hardly appropriate, I would think.
Have you never watched Rita, Sue & Bob Too?
I am amaze.
Unfortunately I have. Ughhh.
Nick Drake at a wedding! Ahhahahhahahahaha!
There are often snooty snickers on this site at civilians and the way they don’t understand “us”. At times like this I think they deserve to snicker at the way some of us really don’t understand “them” and are in a world of our own.
Oh yeah, Chime of A City Clock, that’s a bit funky. Put that on between the Vandellas and Kylie and see the floor go mental… as it instantly becomes emptier than the Gobi desert on an out-of season early-closing day.
Read my lips: NO GUITARS.
Nick Drake’s “At the Chime of a City Clock” may not be a dead-cert floor-filler, but at least it would go down better at a wedding than, say, “Black-Eyed Dog” or “Know”. Probably.
Actually, I’d dance to it, head swaying, arms flailing… which would clear the dancefloor in itself.
Last song must be Auld Lang Syne obv.
And if you decide to ignore all the sound advice above re civilians, you could do worse than sneak in ＭIchael Marra’s All Will be Well.
There will be no dance floor. Excluding the happy couple, 11 people of whom 3 are kids.
There will be standing around; there will be eating and drinking and talking. There will be no dancing.
Damn right. You should take some sort of weapon just in case anyone starts playing up.
“There will be no dancing.” – I hope this is on the invitation, along with “We’ll have no trouble here”
“Check all firearms in at security.”
From about 5 minutes in..
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5L7ckSPhPI8
Last year I actually started compiling a Spotify playlist aiming to create a set of cast iron classic tunes, the kind that are the perfect background music to enhance the mood of any room at any time, that are not intended to be floor fillers but just joyous songs that people can ignore if they want to, but would have anyone smiling and bopping their head who happened to be listening AND (crucially) would get a pass from the muso set by having JUST the right sprinkling of semi obscure and clever stuff.. The perfect playlist for all occasions in other words. I was going to make it a thread on here but I forgot and life moved on.
I got as far as 25 songs. Strangely the end (incomplete) result is heavy with Paul Simon, Stevie Wonder and Supertramp. Hmm.
For the enjoyment of everyone (and the horror of whoever I’m just about to make a mixtape for on the mixtape swap thing) here it is.
Wot, no Sultans of Ping? Brave man…
Don’t know if it has been mentioned but “Happy Together” by the Turtles fits beautifully (well it did at my wedding). Try and ascertain if the couple have a favourite song and bung that on too, “Have I told you lately ” by Van Morrison is a goodie too. Personally I’d leave Sid’s version of “My way” at home – tends to disturb the older guests !