Defying Gravity — Kristin Chenoweth & Idina Menzel
Human — The Killers
Immigrant Song — Led Zeppelin
Janie’s Got a Gun — Aerosmith
Hysteria — Muse
Jiggy with Reels — Poxy Boggards
Love and Wonder (Club Edit) — DJ Earworm
The Covenant (One Final Effort) — Martin O’Donnell and Michael Salvatori
Knights of Cydonia — Muse
Nine in the Afternoon — Panic! at the Disco
Going To California — Led Zeppelin
Dance the Night Away — Van Halen
Rock and Roll All Nite — Kiss
South Australia — The Pogues
Short Skirt Long Jacket — Cake
Jump — Madonna
Jump — Van Halen
Supermassive Black Hole — Muse
Such Great Heights — The Postal Service
Uprising — Muse
Mr. Brightside — The Killers
God’s Gonna Cut You Down — Johnny Cash
Fear An Bhata — Connie Dover
When The Levee Breaks — Led Zeppelin
Timebomb — Beck
Viva La Vida — Coldplay

I used to DJ a lot of dances in high school (you know, back before everything got so ridiculously formal and commercial) and my giant bible of CDs was an expensive but worthwhile investment. A friend and I would tag team so we could spin and dance, and we had strict rules. Requests trump prepared playlists, period. If you pick a stinker and it clears the floor, swallow your pride and change it ASAP. Play three or four fast songs and then throw in a slow dance, but pick slow songs shorter than four minutes long. (Anybody remember the social agony of trying to make small talk through the long version of November Rain?) In fact, as a general rule, try to change up what’s going on often. Perfect dance songs are two and a half minutes long, three tops. And first and foremost, don’t play the stuff you like if it isn’t what the crowd wants to hear.

This is a little different — I need to provide ambient happy sound for people in a way that stimulates good vibes and friendly conversation and a general hum of energy, but I can’t pick songs that are too noisy or obtrusive. They need to be there to contribute to the background but not actually draw attention. Even trickier, I won’t be there to make adjustments as I’ve got a plane to catch later on. So let’s get the constraints . . . hmm humm hrmmmm . . .

Genres: Electronica, Classic Rock, Blues, Funk, Soul, Indie, Shibuya-kei, and just a dash of New Wave and Glam for flavor.
Constraints: Must be happy and energetic but not attention-grabbing. No screaming, no foul language, no overtly sexual language. Must be able to last several hours without requiring attention or a second thought. Not too many of any one artist so we can just hit random and let her rip.

So here’s what we ended up with:

Can’t Take My Eyes Off You — Muse
Hungry Like the Wolf — Duran Duran
Short Skirt Long Jacket — Cake
Drive My Car — The Beatles
Modern Guilt — Beck
Rock The Casbah — The Clash
Help Me, Rhonda — The Beach Boys
That’s Too Bad (Byron Jam) — Donavon Frankenreiter
Viva La Vida — Coldplay
Such Great Heights — The Postal Service
Wonderful Night (feat Lateef) — Fatboy Slim
Different Colors — Fantastic Plastic Machine
Nothing Better — The Postal Service
Good Vibrations — The Beach Boys
My Mustang Ford — Chuck Berry
Dance the Night Away — Van Halen
Susie Q — Creedence Clearwater Revival
Here It Goes Again — Ok Go
Ramble Tamble — Creedence Clearwater Revival
Human — The Killers
Que Onda Guero — Beck
Higher And Higher — Jackie Wilson
Middle of Nowhere — Hot Hot Heat
And The Beat Goes On — The All Seeing I
Journey Of The Sorcerer — Eagles
Clark Gable — The Postal Service
Black Tambourine — Beck
Code Monkey — Jonathan Coulton
Up Around The Bend — Creedence Clearwater Revival
E-Pro — Beck
Numa Numa — O-Zone
Twiggy Twiggy — Pizzicato Five
Ain’t No Mountain High Enough — Marvin Gaye
Runaway — Jamiroquai
Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da — The Beatles
One Way or Another — Blondie
Let’s Stay Together — Al Green
Canned Heat — Jamiroquai
Electric Lady Land — Fantastic Plastic Machine
Move By Yourself — Donavon Frankenreiter
You Must Learn All Night Long (Dauerfisch Remix) — Fantastic Plastic Machine
Sudden Stars — Stereolab
We Will Become Silhouettes — The Postal Service
Bobby Dazzler — Sons Of Silence
Sweet Pea — Amos Lee
Mustang Sally — The Commitments
September — Fantastic Plastic Machine
Delta Sun Bottleneck Stomp — Mercury Rev
Frank Sinatra — Cake
Something Happened To Me Yesterday — The Rolling Stones
Brown Sugar — The Rolling Stones
Robot Rock — Daft Punk
All Summer Long — The Beach Boys
Coconut — Harry Nilsson
Bandages — Hot Hot Heat
Love and Wonder (Club Edit) — DJ Earworm
Love Like Rockets — Angels and Airwaves

“Song For the Dumped” – Ben Folds Five
“It Ain’t Me, Babe” – Bob Dylan
“I’m Still a Guy” – Brad Paisley
“Walk On” – U2
“Perhaps, Perhaps, Perhaps” – Cake
“I’m so Lonesome I Could Cry” – Johnny Cash (Sorry Hank, Johnny was better)
“Why Don’t You Get A Job?” – The Offspring
“The More You Ruv Someone” – Original Broadway Cast
“Drifting” – Harry Connick, Jr.
“Tusk” – Fleetwood Mac
“Friend Is A Four Letter Word” – Cake
“Help Me, Rhonda” – The Beach Boys
“Mr. Brightside” – The Killers
“If Love Is A Red Dress” – Maria McKee
“Moscas En La Casa” – Shakira
“Mustang Sally” – Wilson Pickett
“Second Hand News” – Fleetwood Mac
“Dreams” – Fleetwood Mac
“Never Going Back Again” – Fleetwood Mac

Aw hell, just put the rest of Rumours on there.

“Supermassive Black Hole” – Muse
“Nightswimming” – R.E.M.
“Stay (Wasting Time)” – Dave Matthews Band
“Ain’t Misbehavin’” – Count Basie
“Come By Me” – Harry Connick, Jr.
“Send Me a River” – The Cottars
“Lay Lady Lay” – Bob Dylan
“The Geeks Get the Girls” – American Hi-Fi
“All The Small Things” – Blink-182
“Starlight” – Muse
“Short Skirt, Long Jacket” – Cake
“Foreplay / Long Time” – Boston
“You’re The Boss” – The Brian Setzer Orchestra
“Mi Le M’ Uilinn Air Mo Ghlúin” – Karen Matheson
“Ticks” – Brad Paisley
“Hungry Like the Wolf” – Duran Duran (although the Reel Big Fish cover is nice too)
“I Believe In A Thing Called Love” – The Darkness
“Hooked On A Feeling” – Blue Swede