69 replies to this topic

[Robin]

Jim and Greg are interested in hearing your thoughts on wedding music. What's the best wedding song? What's the song that makes you want to exit the ceremony? Email interact@soundopinions.org or post your thoughts here, and they may read them on the air.

[Rob Gordon]

Ha. Well, this is up my alley. 22 years in the biz with the slogan "no cheesy DJ's". I'll get back to y'all.

[nobodies]

worst (all sort of obvious): "Last Dance"; "We Are family"; "YMCA"; "Macarena"; "Celebrate"; etc. That said, I still sort of dig the "Electric Slide" simulataneous tie for best and worst at my wedding: dj played "Stroke Me" for the mother/son dance. Would have been funny if it wasn't me.

[musicgurl]

A friend who is a wedding photographer told me that at about 80% of the weddings she attends the song "Strokin" by Clarence Carter is played. WTF? To me the worst song is "Always & Forever" by Heatwave. I swear it's played at every African American wedding and it's just tired.

[Mr.Nobody]

Best:Something,Wonderful Tonight,etc. Worst:Going To The Chapel,YMCA,Macarana,Funky Chicken,Suddenly(It's my parents wedding song and I'm sick of hearing them sing it.),and just about any song that's about marriage.

[Max Power]

My wife and I had "can't take that away from me" as our song. However, a friend once said that she was at a wedding where the couple's song was R.E.M.'s "Flowers of Guatamala." She said that it worked suprisingly well despite to lyrical message (U.S. foreign policy in Latin America).

[TSLOW]

getting married shortly. our song? "As" by Stevie Wonder. Dig that. Lyric wise, soul wise, doesn't get much better my friends.

[Rob Gordon]

As for worst. A current choice would be the Cha Cha/Casper Slide. I would put most line dances in that category.

Best? Well, as far as recent songs that are guaranteed to work well there's Usher's Yeah.

Best is just too hard though. I mean, I find myself pulling out songs I've never played or rarely play, week in and week out, that work and are good. If I weren't able to do that I wouldn't be in the business.

If I had to name some standard good ones that also work well there's...

James - Laid
New Order - Bizarre Love Triangle
Frankie Valli - Can't Take My Eyes Off Of You
any number of Motown songs
Abba - Dancing Queen


I could go on and on.

[AFTERSHOCK]

As a former wedding DJ (shudder!) I can honestly say that the only good music I ever got to play was during the dinner / cocktail hour. I could experiment with Jazz throughout the entire time, before I had to start the whole pandering to the dancefloor fulla people who never went to a real nightclub.

[Rob Gordon]

Very true about being able to play cool music during cocktail, dinner and post dinner. But to scoff and say that popular music is not good is foolish. Insinuating that anyone who's never been to a trendy dance club isn't hip is missing the point of a wedding reception. It's about the comaraderie of friends and family on the dance floor having a good time. Not how hip one is in dancing to the latest house music. And, as often as I've played certain songs...even one's I'd consider awful..., to have a full dance floor enjoying themselves makes it all worth while. If you can't appreciate that it's no wonder you're not in the business. PS. Please shrink your sig comic, it's too large.

[elcorazon]

Very true about being able to play cool music during cocktail, dinner and post dinner. But to scoff and say that popular music is not good is foolish.

Insinuating that anyone who's never been to a trendy dance club isn't hip is missing the point of a wedding reception. It's about the comaraderie of friends and family on the dance floor having a good time. Not how hip one is in dancing to the latest house music.

And, as often as I've played certain songs...even one's I'd consider awful..., to have a full dance floor enjoying themselves makes it all worth while. If you can't appreciate that it's no wonder you're not in the business.

PS. Please shrink your sig comic, it's too large.

very true. I love weddings and the music, when done well. it's a good time. I love a lot of the "standards". Who hasn't danced to "Brown Eyed Girl" at a wedding? or "I Saw Her Standing There" or "Twist and Shout"? I do hate line dances though. Don't like being told how to dance.

Weddings are about friends, family, kids, etc. not about the coolest music. trails is otm, here.

[Rob Gordon]

Thanks Elc. And speaking of Van...yeah...so many good choices from him in both the upbeat and slow dance categories. Same goes for Ray Charles.

[nobodies]

Very true about being able to play cool music during cocktail, dinner and post dinner. But to scoff and say that popular music is not good is foolish.

Insinuating that anyone who's never been to a trendy dance club isn't hip is missing the point of a wedding reception. It's about the comaraderie of friends and family on the dance floor having a good time. Not how hip one is in dancing to the latest house music.

And, as often as I've played certain songs...even one's I'd consider awful..., to have a full dance floor enjoying themselves makes it all worth while. If you can't appreciate that it's no wonder you're not in the business.

PS. Please shrink your sig comic, it's too large.

Thanks for posting that. Completely otm.

I was at a wedding two weekends ago, and the dj pulled out "Sweet Child O Mine." While I'm still a guns and roses fan, I'm pretty sick of that song. However, watching my wife pull out her drunken axl snake dance was pretty rad. Cliche? Yes. Fun as hell? Most certainly.

Also, I'd say the consistent MVP at virtually every wedding I've attended over the last two or three years has been Kelly Clarkson's "Since You Been Gone."

[JeffTweedysFatStomach]

Jesus Christ guys Brown-eyed girl? Guns N' Roses? Kelly Clarkson? These songs are about as fun as getting beat over the head by a baseball bat. I'm getting married next May and I am really not sure what I'm going to do about the music. I'm thinking of asking a musician friend to play and then creating a playlist for the rest myself. I just don't think I can stand to hear bad wedding music at my own wedding, no matter how much my tonedeaf family may want to hear it.

[elcorazon]

Jesus Christ guys

Brown-eyed girl?

Guns N' Roses?

Kelly Clarkson?

These songs are about as fun as getting beat over the head by a baseball bat.

I'm getting married next May and I am really not sure what I'm going to do about the music. I'm thinking of asking a musician friend to play and then creating a playlist for the rest myself. I just don't think I can stand to hear bad wedding music at my own wedding, no matter how much my tonedeaf family may want to hear it.

yeah, dude, cuz it'll be so rad to blast "Misunderstood" at the wedding while all the guests have confused looks on their faces. that'll be AWESOME MAN.

[Rob Gordon]

Jesus Christ guys

Brown-eyed girl?

Guns N' Roses?

Kelly Clarkson?

These songs are about as fun as getting beat over the head by a baseball bat.

I'm getting married next May and I am really not sure what I'm going to do about the music. I'm thinking of asking a musician friend to play and then creating a playlist for the rest myself. I just don't think I can stand to hear bad wedding music at my own wedding, no matter how much my tonedeaf family may want to hear it.

yeah, dude, cuz it'll be so rad to blast "Misunderstood" at the wedding while all the guests have confused looks on their faces. that'll be AWESOME MAN.

Exactly. It's like that caller on Sound Opinions last week in talking about the new Girl Talk and how he's going to have multiple songs played off it at his upcoming wedding. As cool as that album is and, oh so danceable, only a handful of people will dance to it.

Your wedding may be a hip soundtrack but the dance floor will be quite empty.

You can still have good music but it's got to be fairly recognizable.

[M_Rots]

Worst, or most cliched, "Butterfly Kisses" while the father of the bride dances with his daughter.

Best? I never seem to go to fun weddings where people play good music. (My family are all Baptist and Southern Methodist and you know Baptists and Southern Methodists won't fuck standing up b/c someone might think they were dancing.)

I went to one where the bride's 16 year-old sister had just dropped the bomb on her parents that she was pregnant, so the bride's Dad requested that part of Tommy where they all go, "A SON! A SON!" And kudos to the DJ for having Tommy at a wedding reception.

Oh, crap. Is that from "A Quick One"?

My best friend some years ago swore he was going to have the Stones' "Dear Doctor" played at his wedding. Classy.

[Rob Gordon]

Oh yeah, Butterfly Kisses. Just awful. Manipulative, maudlin. In fact, in the modern country genre, every year some artist makes a song that is geared toward father/daughter dance. There's a brand new one. I forget the name but I know a bride has already asked me to play it in a few weeks.

[M_Rots]

Oh yeah, Butterfly Kisses. Just awful. Manipulative, maudlin.
In fact, in the modern country genre, every year some artist makes a song that is geared toward father/daughter dance. There's a brand new one. I forget the name but I know a bride has already asked me to play it in a few weeks.

SO in addition to the obligatory bad Xmas album, modern country singers are now required to churn out a maudlin father-daughter ballad? Which is probably meant to be a hybrid of "Blaze of Glory" and "Desperado"?

Don't any of these people (the country acts) know how badly they're getting screwed, given the glory of their heritage? I mean, can't they go and listen to Hank, Sr. and get the clue they're getting a raw deal playing music influenced by Bon Jovi and The Eagles?

[nobodies]

Jesus Christ guys

Brown-eyed girl?

Guns N' Roses?

Kelly Clarkson?

These songs are about as fun as getting beat over the head by a baseball bat.

I'm getting married next May and I am really not sure what I'm going to do about the music. I'm thinking of asking a musician friend to play and then creating a playlist for the rest myself. I just don't think I can stand to hear bad wedding music at my own wedding, no matter how much my tonedeaf family may want to hear it.

yeah, dude, cuz it'll be so rad to blast "Misunderstood" at the wedding while all the guests have confused looks on their faces. that'll be AWESOME MAN.

It's your wedding;your first concern should be making your wife and you comfortable and happy; and you know your guests.

However, I know I'm happy and comfortable when all my guests are drunk and dancing; and they wouldn't be drunk and dancing if I had a musician playing obscure and/or non-danceable tunes along with my playlist of personal favorites (well my friends would still be drunk, but they'd be drunk hanging out in the smoking lounge or outside).

That's not to say you need a cheesey wedding dj. Many venues nowadays let you just bring in an ipod and run playlists. But you may want to consider some crowd pleasers even if you don't like them. Just something to think about.