My friends Jill & Nicki are getting married, thanks to a stroke of fairness from the New York state legislature.
Jill called a few days ago, and asked if I had any song suggestions for the DJ at their reception. Specifically, she asked for country songs, believing that that style was my forte. Well, if you’re talking Hank Sr. or Johnny Cash, yes…but songs of cheatin’ and killin’ just aren’t right for a wedding reception.
Setting aside genre—and gender, for that matter—the big thing she wants is dance music. “I want that dance floor to be full all the time. People of all ages, who like a lot of different styles. We’re pretty eclectic, so give us what ya got!”
Let’s face it, no one can win an eclectic throwdown. I toss out a Brinsley Schwartz tune, only to be rebuffed by one from Michelle Shocked. I match you for Leadbelly with a little Caetano Veloso, and Tom Waits for the 13th Floor Elevators. It goes on and on, and we are both impressed. Meanwhile, people are standing around waiting for us to pick a record they can dance to. So, here are my picks, just in case Jill & Nicki ask me to run the whole show. And really, shouldn’t they?
Come Dancing—The Kinks
Of course this song is a shameless invitation to dance.
Recounting the mutability of life as depicted by the “local palais”-cum-bowling alley-cum-car park-cum-supermarket, Ray Davies used his nostalgia streak to score a late career hit with the Kinks. And in a brilliant stroke of subtlety, he had DJs talking dirty every time they introduced the song.
It’s not so much about nostalgia as it is about his older sister’s sex life, and his awareness of it through his voyeuristic activities. After relating the numerous times that her boyfriends took her out for a dance—replete with the expected climaxes—he wonders if she’d actually come dancing with him. “Come on, sister, have yourself a ball,” he encourages, with perverse slyness.
I said above that this song is a shameless invitation to dance, didn’t I?
Yet, somehow, it never loses its innocence. Perhaps because it’s “only natural” for one to come dancing.
Cabaret—Louis Armstrong
A swingin’ song from a swingin’ show. Sure, we could focus on the ideas of gender identity at the core of the story. Or we could dance with absolute oblivion, leaving behind the knitting, book, broom, and prophets of doom. After offering us wine, a band, and a horn, Louis offers us a table. Take the first three, leave the fourth, and spin on the floor. If indeed all the world is a stage, and life is a cabaret, then we must all be dancers. Don’t worry about the faulty syllogism. Just start celebrating.
Givin’ It Up for Your Love—Delbert McClinton
What’s he givin’ up? Ever’thang. That’s love alright. With a funky white boy groove that shows you that he means it.
Need You Tonight—INXS
From Michael Hutchence’s seductively whispered command of “come over here,” to the in-and-out guitars and the pulsating bass line, this song is drenched in sexuality.
“Slide over here,” he tells her. Why? Is it because her moves are so raw? Because she makes him sweat? Or because he can’t think?
He probably just wants her to come dancing.
Are You Gonna Be There (At the Love-In)?—The Chocolate Watchband
How does one make their mark at a love-in? By defying all the trendy nonconformity, that’s how. By doing something meaningful and permanent. By following this simple bit of advice: “Design the laws that gonna govern your fate.”
It certainly won’t hurt if your song roars as much as it swings, which is the case here.
Get Up Offa That Thing—James Brown
You’re never gonna make your mark at the love-in if you don’t get up offa that thing.
(Do The) Instant Mash—Joe Jackson
It’s all been carefully programmed, from the supermarkets, to cinematic robots, to loosening one’s tie at ten o’clock in the disco-rama. It’s so easy: Lift hand, flick wrist, drop hand, turn around. Just like stacking all those cans. Purposefully designed stimuli await your predictable responses today!
But on the other hand, Joe’s directive to “heat it, beat it, eat it, turn around” sounds like a true moral imperative. It’s better to be safe than sorry, you know.
Friction—Television
“I don’t wanna grow up, there’s too much contradiction” are words that resonate no matter one’s age. And ventriloquism is creepy, no matter one’s age. Silence is spreading as men dig holes. The singer’s eyes are like telescopes as they see everything backwards.
Setting aside the striking visuals, there’s a lot of funk behind this glorious piece of intellectual punk. Fred Smith’s bass line beckons your own bottom end while your upper limbs instinctively follow Billy Ficca’s cymbals. Tom Verlaine’s unhinged vocals are valiantly balanced by his broken-rules guitar work. Richard Lloyd’s slashing riffs and rhythms provide more than enough substance for improvisational dancing in a dirty crowded bar. Or at a more refined Rhinebeck wedding.
Gone Pie—Patti Smith
“Hey there, come and take a walk with me. Stroll into infinity. We’ll stroll along until the dawn is gone.”
Tony Shanahan’s snaky bass figure leads us through Lenny Kaye’s Escher-like guitar staircase. Through the trance-like music, Patti weaves her walk, strolling into a light where “life goes on and on, on and on, hey.” She suggests that we opt for another slice of this pie called life. It wouldn’t be right to argue with a poet who can probably kick your ass.
East Easy Rider—Julian Cope
Technically, the song references the lack of rear suspension on a chopper, to which Peter Fonda attributes his wonky back. Musically, though, the song references a groove you could drive a truck through, and Julian demonstrates what it must sound like when God sings.
(Wish I Could Fly Like) Superman—The Kinks
Into the late 70s miasma of disco machismo came this song. The protagonist is a fun-house-mirror image of the Travolta-inspired Adonises, those with their shirts unbuttoned to their navels, their chains and pectorals shimmering under the mirrored ball. He looks at his puny 126-pound self every morning and has to dress quickly to avoid depression. He wants to fly—in order to take his girl away from the crumbling world around them—but he can’t even swim.
However, as in most things Kinks, there is a bit of irony: According to the ever-trustworthy Ray Davies, the song “knocked the balls off everything else” being played in the disco. Which is why I think it’s well-suited for a wedding between two women.
Beast of Burden—The Rolling Stones
If there’s a dance floor, this song is required. Hopefully, people are good and sweaty by now, too.
Fooled Around and Fell in Love—Elvin Bishop
A perfectly romantic song, with Mickey Thomas testifyin’ about how he gave up the freewheelin’ lifestyle after he found his true love. He wants everyone to know that he has reformed himself, no longer being the user and slut he once was. What better theme for a slow dance?
Let Me Play with Your Poodle—Marcia Ball
Poodles come in different colors, shapes, sizes, and genders. You can trim, shave, and coif them any way you wish! Just remember to keep yours clean.
Got to Give It Up, Pt. 1—Marvin Gaye
You know it’s true love when someone rescues you from being “too nervous to really get down.”
And it’s about time we had some cowbell in this set.
Not Enough Time–INXS
A technical note here: The tight miking on the hi-hat creates an extremely intimate atmosphere. You can hear not only the ‘ting’ of the drumstick on the upper cymbal, but the resonance between it and the lower cymbal. When the cymbals are slightly parted, you feel the sizzle. It’s like you’re inside the hi-hat.
When the first guitar comes in around the 45-second mark, you can sense that it’s just barely being touched, caressed with precisely controlled passion. Combined with Hutchence’s vocals, it puts the entire song on simmer.
The lyrics cook, too, transcending their simplicity. It’s easy to say, “there’s not enough time for every kiss,” and have it sound hopelessly common. But coming from Hutchence, wrapped in the tight sensuality of his band’s playing, the words are an irrepressible, sensual manifesto. “In our fight against the end, making love, we are immortal.” A new thought? No. But it’s still wonderful beyond words.
It’s Happening With You—k.d. lang
Is there a more fitting cordial than this Limoncello Euro-dance-pop ode to love and cake, complete with a funked-out, koto-driven Japanese interlude? If so, spin it!
Jill & Nicki, much love to you both. And may you stroll infinitely.
