Party Theming 101, Music Part VI

From last time ... if you want to DJ all of your music before the party so you don’t have to mess with song order or the starting and stopping of music sets or CDs during the party, here’s a way to set yourself up:

Once you have all the songs you want, arrange them from the beginning of your playlist all the way to the end. This is a pretty subjective activity –  the order is ultimately based on what you think sounds like a good mix. It is not the intent here to launch into a dissertation on musical theory, but suffice to say that it helps if you buddy up songs based on shared rhythms and musical keys. For example, The Police (from that 80’s party list) used a lot of Caribbean rhythms in their songs, so this band’s songs often pair well with other songs that also use Caribbean rhythms – for instance, in a straight 80’s mix you might want to put the Police song next to Right By Your Side by the Eurhythmics, most anything by UB40, or The Tide is High by Blondie.

On the other hand, if your party mix is a more eclectic, cross-musical-genres mix – that same 80’s rock/Caribbean rhythm Police song (Every Little Thing She Does is Magic, let’s say) may still fit in quite nicely right next to, say, a Calypso or Soca Carnival tune from Trinidad.  In the same cross-genre Caribbean-esqe mix, if you are also planning to add swing music, you could probably also get away with Mambo Swing by  Big Bad Voodoo Daddy or I’ve Got a Feeling by Lavay Smith and the Red Hot Skillet Lickers – both danceable swing songs with  a strong Caribbean undertow. Incorporate these, and you’ll have already used 3 musical genres within the space of less than half a dozen songs.  Odds are the tunes in question will play nicely together because they share some stylistic elements, all the while improving the variety of your playlist. At this point, if there are a few couples who like to Swing dance on your list of party guests, you have now just given them something to really cut a rug to besides the Caribbean reggae or 80’s selections some of the other guests are dancing to. Score!

Of course, being your own DJ is not without the occasional musical issue. Say you’re working on party music for a Voodoo-themed Halloween party. You have Voodoo by Godsmack in there – obvious choice, yes? – and the New Orleans jazz number Blue Drag, by the Jazz Vipers. Uhhhh … both great songs that go with your chosen theme well, but chances are they are not going to play nicely together and you’ll have to separate them before someone gets a black eye. There’s not a cut and dried solution that will work for everyone here – maybe inserting the jump blues piece The Man with the Hex by The Atomic Fireballs will work as a foil to the morose intensity of the Godsmack number, while easing your playlist a bit more gently into the skanky Blue Drag – and maybe it won’t. Maybe you’ll need several songs between these two before you are satisfied. Its your party music; you know best how to make it work for you, your event, and your guests.  And, while it will require a little thought, you shouldn’t have to kill too many brain cells to create an exciting musical soundtrack for your main event.

One little side benefit of musical variety: Its another opportunity to save a little money. Unless you’re Caribbean or a serious fan of music from the Caribbean, you probably don’t have much actual Caribbean music in your personal collection. You could either buy enough albums of Caribbean music for your summer party, or instead get one (or two, tops), and then fill in the rest of your party playlist with Caribbean-inspired music from other genres already in your music library, as noted in the above example. With a wide enough base of music in your musical library, you might just be able to combine and recombine your available music to fit several possible party themes, with only minor additions each time to help personalize them a bit.  The less money spent on music, the more you have for getting door prizes, having an ice luge delivered on party day, buying more booze, whatever. More bang for the party buck!