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I spent a week uploading 25 years’ of CDs to my computer, burning out the optical drive.  Tony and I spent several days over the course of several weeks researching music on youtube, iTunes, and various other internet sources.  I set up three playlists:

  • Rehearsal
  • Dinner
  • Dancing

We began by negotiating the dance mix, which started out at 8 hours.  I culled it down to four, we cut another two hours, and somehow we ended up with another half an hour being slipped back into the mix.  Then I worked on the dinner music, which we decided should be primarily love songs, old standards, and songs that would make good background music but allow for conversations.  We sneaked in a funny Jonathon Coulton song (a crooning, lounge version of “Baby Got Back”), and much to our amusement, only one person seemed to notice during dinner — our hyper-observant and beloved sister-in-law, whom you probably know from the comments here as Kawai’i. The rehearsal mix ended up being a hodge-podge of rejected dance music and dinner music — stuff we liked but that didn’t make the cut for the dance or dinner playlists for one reason or another.

Our goal was to include a mix of various generations and genres, including things that would appeal to the kids, our older guests, and the friends our age.  While we did try to keep the songs mostly wedding appropriate, we did not eliminate songs that were about break-ups (been there, done that) or other sometimes taboo subjects, and I didn’t worry overmuch whether the songs were written or performed by artists who were creepy, weird, or bad to women.  Yes, this makes me a fair-weather feminist, and our playlist probably needs to be vetted for mysogny.  But, still, it’s full of damn good music.

Here is what we ended up playing:

Rehearsal Playlist

I Want You, Kings of Leon
Felicia No Capicia, Louis Prima
Love is Here to Stay, Harry Connick, Jr.
Yellow Submarine, The Beatles
Girls Just Wanna Have Fun, Cyndi Lauper
(Nothing But) Flowers, Talking Heads
Achin’ to Be, The Replacement
Ob-la-di, Ob-la da, The Beatles
Road to Nowhere, Talking Heads
Lovefool, The Cardigans
Situation, Yaz
We’re a Happy Family, The Ramones
Penny Lane, The Beatles
Kung Fu Fighting, Carl Douglas
Promises, The Buzzcocks
Blackbird, The Beatles
When I’m Sixty-Four, The Beatles
Honeysuckle Rose, Lena Horne
Young Americans, David Bowie
Once in a Lifetime, Talking Heads
Bitchin’ Camaro, Dead Milkmen
Friday I’m in Love, The Cure
Rocket Boy, Liz Phair
Pretty Baby, Blondie
Can’t Hardly Wait, The Replacements
I Wanna Be Sedated, The Ramones
Pretty in Pink, The Psychedelic Furs
Do the Rump, The Black Keys
Stuck on You, Elvis Presley
Good Day Sunshine, The Beatles
Someone to Watch Over Me, Ella Fitzgerald
Being Around, The Lemonheads
My Boyfriend’s Back, The Angels
Girlfriend, Matthew Sweet
Movin’ Right Along, The Muppets
Space Age Love Song, A Flock of Seagulls*
Crawl, Kings of Leon
Annie Mae, John Lee Hooker
Don’t Be Cruel, Elvis Presley
You Won’t Fall, Lori Carson
Code Monkey, Jonathon Coulton
Just Like Heaven, The Cure
Kiss Me On the Bus, The Replacements
Read My Mind, The Killers
Poker Face, Lady Gaga
Angst in My Pants, The Sparks
Re: Your Brains, Jonathon Coulton (this used to be Tony’s alarm ring tone)
Noise Annoys, The Buzzcocks
Mambo Italiano, Louis Prima
Forget You, Cee-Lo Green
Spanish Harlem, Aretha Franklin
I’ll Be Seeing You, Billie Holiday
Just One of Those Things, Louis Prima
Add It Up, Violent Femmes
Proud Mary, Ike and Tina Turner
Let’s Call the Whole Thing Off, Harry Connick Jr.

Dinner Music

Crazy He Calls Me, Billie Holiday
You’re Nobody ‘Til Somebody Loves You, Dean Martin
My Baby Just Cares for Me, Nina Simone
Unforgettable, Nat King Cole
Baby Got Back, Jonathon Coulton
Maybe I’m Amazed, Paul McCartney & Wings
My Funny Valentine, Linda Rondstadt
Them Eyes, The Black Keys
Bueno Sera, Louis Prima
American Music, Violent Femmes
Embraceable You/I Got it Bad and It Ain’t Good, Louis Prima & Keely Smith
I’ve Been Waiting, Matthew Sweet
Bewitched, Bothered & Bewildered, Linda Rondstadt
I’ll Be Your Man, The Black Keys
They Can’t Take That Away From Me, Ella Fitzgerald
Senor El Gato, Kelly Hogan
Let’s Call the Whole Thing Off, Harry Connick Jr.
At Last, Etta James

Dance Mix

Lucky, Jason Mraz and Colbie Caillat (First Dance)
Rainbow Connection, Kermit the Frog (Parents’ Dance 1)
In My Life, The Beatles (Parents’ Dance 2)
My Daughter, Tom Wilson (Tony’s Dance with Bean)
Mahna Mahna, The Muppets (Sarah’s Dance with Bug)
Groove Is In The Heart, Deee-Lite
Brass Monkey, Beastie Boys
Peaches, Presidents of the United States
I’m Gonna Love You Too, Blondie
Into Your Arms, The Lemonheads
ABC, Jackson 5
Superstition, Stevie Wonder
The Lovecats, The Cure
Eaten by the Monster of Love, Sparks
There She Goes, The La’s
I Saw Her Standing There, The Beatles
Respect, Aretha Franklin
Son of a Preacher Man, Dusty Springfield
You Sexy Thing, Hot Chocolate
Peek-a-Boo, Siouxsie & The Banshees
Everybody’s Happy Nowadays, The Buzzcocks
Don’t You Want Me, The Human League
Dance to the Music, Sly & the Family Stone
I Know, Save Ferris
La Copa de la Vida, Ricky Martin
Just Dance, Lady Gaga
Goody Two Shoes, Adam Ant
Wanna Be Startin’ Something, Michael Jackson
I Want You to Want Me, Cheap Trick
Sunday Girl, Blondie
Punk Rock Girl, Dead Milkmen
A Million Miles Away, The Plimsouls
Istanbul (Not Constantinople), They Might Be Giants
Time Bomb, Rancid
Under Pressure, David Bowie & Queen
Walk Like an Egyptian, The Bangles
Good Girls Don’t, The Knack
Fat Bottomed Girls, Queen
Ring of Fire, Social Distortion
Dirty Laundry, Bitter Sweet
Don’t Be Cruel, Elvis Presley
TV Party, Black Flag
Shout (Pts. 1 & 2), The Isley Brothers
Love Shack, B-52s
Let’s Go To Bed (Live), The Cure
Walking on Sunshine, Katrina & the Waves

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*”Do you like A Flock of Seagulls?” “I can see you do.”