Day of Doom Playlist

First I'd like to thank a few music-related people without whom I wouldn't have gotten so many gracious comments about the music at my wedding. So shout outs to DJ Kool Hanz, my oldest brother, and DJ Drewski for hooking up the amazing sound system and light show. Shout out also to Hip Replacement trombonist and general awesome dude, Kris James, for taking care of the more important MC duties throughout the evening.

And since I've received so many compliments about the music, I thought it would be appropriate to give the entire playlist here. I don't know what good it will do, except to show the makeup of what has been declared "the best wedding dance EVAR." Maybe we can go so far as to burn off copies of the music for those who are THAT interested. I don't know. We can talk about that. :)

Some general comments:

I was warned and warned and warned and Amanda worried and worried and worried about having an iPod wedding. Now that it's all done, however, the only thing I can think of saying to all the naysayers is "BOO YAH, BITCHES!"

Then again, I wouldn't recommend and iPod wedding to just anyone. I am extemely confident in my expertise with iTunes, iPods, my intimacy with my music library, and my ability to obtain necessary tracks at cruch time. For some rube without these comforts who's just looking to save $1,500-2,000 bucks that he'd be spending on a DJ, I would say "tread this path at your own peril."

If you have a sound system you trust, someone who you know can operate an iPod and minor MC duties, and your own confidence in knowing what makes a good playlist, I'd definitely recommend an iPod wedding. Putting the music together was one of my only personal touches on the whole event. Yeah, there were battles of what "needs" to go in there (fucking Chicken Dance), and there were battles on how to prioritize requests from guests, it means something to me to know that just about every track in these lists means something to me. The profundity of each meaning varies, from obligatory to call-off-the-wedding-if-this-song-isn't-in-there.

So, anyway, the music. I decided to map out the reception revolving around MC duties. I made a playlist for each section of uninterrupted music. So Cocktail hour, then a playlist for the Grand March, then a playlist for Dinner before speeches, etc. etc. It's important to make sure "Shuffle" and "Repeat" are turned off in the iPod's settings so that these playlists play through without--duh--repeating or shuffling. That way, you choose the order of songs, hit play once, and everything sails smooth.

So, anyway (again), the music:

When I'm Nintendo 64

01 Pre-Dinner (18 songs, 1.2 hours, 104.8mb)
[Track # - Artist - Song - Album]
01) The Beatles "When I'm Sixty-Four" - Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
02) Johnny Cash "A Boy Named Sue" - The Legend of Johnny Cash
03) Herbie Hancock "Milestones" - Columbia Years 1972-1986
04) The Spinners "I'll Be Around" - Spinners
05) Silly Wizard "The Queen of Argyll" - Kiss the Tears Away
06) Howard Shore "Many Meetings" - The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Rings OST
07) Planxty "Cunla" - The Well Below the Valley
08) John Coltrane "Giant Steps" - Giant Steps
09) Radiohead "Let Down" - OK Computer
10) Kool & The Gang "Summer Madness" - Ganthology
11) John Coltrane "Summertime" - My Favorite Things
12) Planxty "Bean Phaidin" - The Well Below the Valley
13) Beck "Sing it Again" - Mutations
14) Howard Shore (featuring Isabel Bayradkarian) "Evenstar" - The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers OST
15) Bobby Womack "Across 110th Street" - Across 110th Street OST
16) Planxty "The Jolly Beggar" - Planxty
17) Stevie Wonder "For Once in My Life" - The Definitive Collection
18) Miles Davis "Milestones" - Denial

Not so White Wedding

02 Grand March (1 song, 4.1min, 3.9mb)
01) Billy Idol "White Wedding" - Billy Idol

My vote for the Grand March was Carl Orff "Fortuna Imperatrix Mundi, No 1: O Fortuna" - Carmina Burana. That would have been just... just... epic. Nope: vetoed by her. Instead, it was White Wedding, and several people in the wedding party didn't even remember. :(

So cool

03 Dinner 1 (14 songs, 1.2 hours, 118.1mb)
01) Miles Davis "All Blues" - Kind of Blue
02) The Beatles "Blackbird" - The White Album
03) Planxty "As I Roved Out" - The Well Below the Valley
04) Howard Shore "Concerning Hobbits" - The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring OST
05) Frank Sinatra "East of the Sun (and West of the Moon)" - The Golden Years
06) Beck "Feather in Your Cap" - It's All in Your Mind
07) Silly Wizard "The Valley of Strathmore" - So Many Partings
08) Dave Brubeck "Take Five" - Take Five
09) Opeth "Windowpane" - Damnation
10) Silly Wizard "If I was a Blackbird" - Wild and Beautiful
11) John Williams "Princess Leia's Theme" - Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope OST
12) Joe Henderson "Mode for Joe" - Mode for Joe
13) Planxty "'P' Stands for Paddy, I Suppose" - Cold Blow and the Rainy Night
14) Frank Sinatra "My Blue Heaven" - Legendary Concerts Vol. 3

--Best Speeches Ever--

So hot

04 Dinner 2 (16 songs, 1.3 hours, 117.2mb)
01) Peggy Lee "Fever" - The Best of Miss Peggy Lee
02) Planxty "Three Drunken Maidens" - Unknown
03) Opeth "Death Whispered a Lullaby" - Damnation
04) Silly Wizard "Wi' My Dog and Gun" - So Many Partings
05) Miles Davis "So What" - Kind of Blue
06) Planxty "The Blacksmith" - Planxty
07) Dave Brubeck "Blue Rondo a la Turk" - Unknown
08) Howard Shore (featuring Annie Lennox) "Into the West" - The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King OST
09) John Coltrane "Blue Train" - Blue Train
10) Silly Wizard "Fear a Bhata" - Caledonia's Hardy Sons
11) Frank Sinatra "Fools Rush in" - The Golden Years
12) John Williams "Parade of the Ewoks" - Star Wars Episode VI: The Return of the Jedi
13) Rod Stewart "Forever Young" - Out of Order
14) Planxty "Three Reels" - Unknown
15) Frank Sinatra "Begin the Beguine" - The Best of Vol. 2
16) Bill Withers "Lovely Day" - Lean on Me: The Best of Bill Withers

So hip

05 First Dance (1 song, 3.2min, 4.9mb)
01) Al Green "Let's Stay Together" - Let's Stay Together

We were originally torn between "Let's Stay Together" and The Spinner's "I'll Be Around," but upon further inspection of the lyrics of "I'll Be Around," we realized the song's message was basically: "Hey, yeah we're broken up. But if you ever want to you know... hook up booty call do it, I'll Be Arooooouuunnnd." So we thought "Let's Stay Together" had a somewhat more wholesome message for a wedding.

So...

06 Father Daughter Dance (1 song, 3.5min, 4.8mb)
01) Heartland "I Loved Her First" - I Loved Her First

Aside from a certain Hallmark, manufactured quality of this song, there's no denying the power it has over fathers who are proud, grown men. One such gentleman, who was at the wedding and who will remain unnamed [Editor's Note: Dave Schottenbauer], had to leave the room when this song started playing. There's definitely something to that that even I can't dis.

So junior high

07 Mother Son Dance (1 song, 4.7min, 4.4mb)
01) Jane's Addiction "Jane Says" - Nothing's Shocking

A weird pick for a mother son dance, but somehow fitting since she was forced to listen to the song, oh, about a million times through junior high. It was Mah's idea--though, I think she was kidding--and I loved the juxtaposition that helped illustrate a beautiful merging of two failry different families. That, and Mah and I ran out of time to find another song.

I'd do 'im. There. I said it.

08 Wedding Party (2 songs, 7.9min, 7.3mb)
01) Prince "Kiss" - Parade
02) James Brown "Get Up Offa that Thang" - Unknown

At the beginning of "Get Up..." the wedding party ran out and grabbed people from the crowd to join the dance. Halfway through the song, everyone did the same again. By the time the song was over, and the next playlist started, the dance floor was overflowing and stayed that way pretty much all night, as will be evidenced by the awesomeness of the following playlists.

Your Kung Fu(nk) is strong

09 Dance 1 (16 songs, 1.1 hours, 96.5mb)
01) Earth Wind & Fire "September" - September
02) Sister Sledge "We are Family" - The Definitive Groove Collection
03) The Isley Brothers "Shout" - The Essential Isley Brothers
04) Lee Ann Womack "I Hope You Dance" - Greatest Hits
05) Tower of Power "So Very Hard to Go" - What is Hip Anthology
06) Roy Orbison "Pretty Woman" - Classics Vol. 3
07) The Emeralds "Chicken Dance" - Unknown Uncared About
08) Bee Gees "Stayin' Alive" - Bee Gees Greatest
09) The Contours "Do You Love Me" - Unknown
10) David Bowie "Rebel Rebel" - Diamond Dogs
11) Kenny Rogers "Through the Years" - Share Your Love
12) Kool & The Gang "Ladies' Night" - Gangthology
13) Beastie Boys "Brass Monkey" - Licensed to Ill
14) Bobby Helms "My Special Angel" - Unknown
15) ABBA "Mamma Mia" - ABBA
16) Kool & The Gang "Celebration" - Celebration

Lord of the Ringos

10 Dollar Dance (6 songs, 21.4min, 35.1mb)
01) The Beatles "In My Life" - Rubber Soul
02) Ryan Adams "Two" - Easy Tiger
03) Billy Joel "She's Got a Way" - Cold Spring Harbor
04) Billie Holiday "Blue Moon" - Unknown
05) Van Morrison "Tupelo Honey" - Favourites
06) Tori Amos "You Belong to Me" - Mona Lisa Smile OST

Ugh. Mona Lisa Smile. Brutal. What wasn't butal was that we had to play this playlist twice since we were making bank. Another brutal thing is a nasty little Schottebauer wedding tradition of putting all Dollar Dance funds into a bottle of Karo Syrup. The (once) happy couple then gets to somehow retreive the money from the jar, rinse off the bills, wait for them to dry, and then try to explain to a poor teller why exactly the bills are so wrinkled and sticky when they deposit the cash.

Amanda and I won this battle, though. We just cut open the plastic bottle, rinsed, and wiped each bill before placing them in front of fan. The whole process took only about an hour. Amanda also told her family that we had to do it the hard way, just to let them have their satisfaction before knowing the easy truth. :D

Are you down wit' da boogie?

11 Dance 2 (44 songs, 3.1 hours, 251.1mb)
01) Kool & The Gang "Jungle Boogie" - Gangthology
02) Michael Jackson "Don't Stop 'til You Get Enough" - Off the Wall
03) McFadden & Whitehead "Ain't No Stoppin' Us Now" - McFadden & Whitehead
04) Glenn Miller "In the Mood" - Unknown Uncared About
05) Ella Fitzgerald "Night and Day" - The Cole Porter Songbook Vol. 1
06) Jackie DeShannon "Needles and Pins" - Unknown
07) Madonna "Vogue" - Madonna
08) James Brown "Super Bad" - Super Bad
09) The Brothers Johnson "Stomp!" - Stomp!
10) Bryan Adams "(Everything I Do) I Do if For You" - The Best of Me
11) Bon Jovi "Living On a Prayer" - Slippery When Wet
12) Jamiroquai "Canned Heat" - Synkronized
13) Peaches & Herb "Shake Your Groove Thang" - Unknown
14) Peter Cetera "Glory of Love" - Solitude/Solitare
15) The Bangles "Eternal Flame" - Everything
16) ABBA "Dancing Queen" - Dancing Queen
17) Prince "I Would Die 4 U" - Purple Rain
18) Stevie Wonder "Superstition" - The Definitive Collection
19) The Commodores "Easy" - The Ultimate Collection
20) Cyndi Lauper "Time After Time" - She's So Unusual
21) The B-52s "Love Shack" - Cosmic Thing
22) Earth Wind & Fire "Let's Groove" - Greatest Hits
23) Andre 3000 "Hey Ya!" - Speakerboxxx
24) Tower of Power "You're Still a Young Man" - What is Hip Anthology
25) Mr. Big "To Be with You" - Lean into It
26) Right Said Fred "I'm Too Sexy" - Good God Who Cares?
27) Michael Jackson "Remember the Time" - Dangerous
28) Bee Gees "Night Fever" - Bee Gee Greatest
29) The Scorpions "Wind of Change" - Crazy World
30) Etta James "At Last" - Unknown
31) Rick Springfield "Jessie's Girl" - Unknown
32) Rick Astley "Never Gonna Give You Up" - Wherever You Go
33) Barry White "Never, Never Gonna Let You Go" - Stone Gon'
34) Prince "Purple Rain" - Purple Rain

We had to stop the playlist at this point because it was after midnight. While we missed out on the last ten songs, it was already a great success, and what a better way to go than with "Purple Rain!" Here are the rest of the songs on the playlist that were forfeited:

So Pokorny

35) The Whispers "Emergency" - Anthology
36) Lionel Richie "All Night Long" - Unknown
37) Guns N Roses "Sweet Child of Mine" - Appetite for Destruction
38) The Police "Every Breath You Take" - Synchronicity
39) Weezer "My Name is Jonas" - Weezer
40) Michael Jackson "The Way You Make Me Feel" - Bad
41) Poison "Every Rose has its Thorn" - Open Up and Say... Ahh!
42) Journey "Don't Stop Believin'" - Escape
43) Night Ranger "Sister Christian" - Midnight Madness
44) Meatloaf "I'd Do Anything for Love (but I Won't Do That)" - Bat Outta Hell II: Back into Hell

Thanks again to everyone who thought the music was great, who helped make the music possible, and who danced--well or otherwise.

Mace... out.