MUSICAL MUSINGS
by Josh Hosler
October 5, 2004
BUILDING THE PERFECT HIGH SCHOOL DANCE
It's been a long time since I grooved to Prince, the B-52s, and Bob Seger in my high school cafeteria. Nevertheless, the principle is the same.
Gone are the days of "Stairway to Heaven" as the last "slow" dance, but it's still important to have a big closer. We don't "Bust a Move" anymore, but we can "Just Lose It." I volunteer for quarterly church youth weekends, and someone has to do the dance.
Now, some voices in the past have suggested that we scrap the secular stuff and have a dance full of "Jesus music," or at least start leaning in that direction. And yes, when "Stomp" by God's Property was all over Rhythmic CHR in 1997, you bet I played it! But these days we have "Meant to Live," "Jesus Walks," "Heaven"—great songs all, but not very danceable. I've settled on playing music that the more conservative staff members won't jump down my throat for playing; I learned my lesson in 2001 with Shaggy's "It Wasn't Me."
So when I sat down last night to build the playlist for this coming weekend's dance, there were certain principles I had to uphold, and the "clean" factor was just one of them. These days, every high school dance I design needs the following elements:
1) The Big Opener. For a long time, it was "Sandstorm" by Darude. But there's not much in the way of techno crossover right now, so I rely on lyrics. What better song to kick off a dance than "Let's Get It Started" by Black Eyed Peas?
2) Variety of style. These days, it's actually possible to do Top 40's Pop-Rock-Urban, Pop-Rock-Urban thing. So Ashlee Simpson, Modest Mouse, and Destiny's Child make for a great set.
3) One or two for the staff. The kids appreciate '80s music, too, and "Love Shack" hasn't even begun to fade after 15 years. This time, I've got a different trick up my sleeve: "1985" by Bowling for Soup, followed by "Take On Me" by a-ha—for those of us on staff who really do believe those were the good ol' days.
4) An unexplainable local favorite. In our case, it's "Jump On It" by Sir Mix-a-Lot. Yes, I know His Booty Highness is from Seattle, but I never heard this song on the radio even here. It peaked at #97 on the Hot 100 eight years ago, and that was back when most of the songs on that chart weren't radio hits. But for some reason, all the kids in the Pacific Northwest love this song, and they even have their own little dance that goes with it.
5) A couple new, instant smashes. It's just my good fortune that both Eminem and Destiny's Child have hot new releases that are recognizable and loveable on first listen. And I'm grateful to Eminem for not filling "Just Lose It" with bleeped-out curse words. Thanks, Slim Shady—I love your new record. I'm also keeping U2's "Vertigo" up my sleeve for late in the dance, if there's time.
6) A token country song. Back in 1996, it was "Any Man of Mine." This summer, it was "Redneck Woman." This weekend, it'll be "Save a Horse (Ride a Cowboy)." Actually, I think this song has more sexually explicit lyrics than anything else I'm going to play in the whole dance. I guess I figure people will forgive me because it's country.
7) Several never-fail gold songs. There was a time in the late '90s when nobody would touch "Macarena." But two generations of high schoolers gave graduated since then, and now, you can't have a dance without it. "Electric Boogie" by Marcia Griffiths is the other kind of gold: a chart failure that was always a hit in the clubs, thanks to the "electric slide." These are the two most important songs of this type, but I'm also throwing in "Dancing Queen," "Y.M.C.A.," and "Summer Nights."
8) Six slow songs, in three two-song sets. Dig these slow sets: "Breakaway" by Kelly Clarkson into "My Place" by Nelly ... "One Thing" by Finger Eleven into "If I Ain't Got You" by Alicia Keys and Usher ... "My Boo" by Alicia Keys and Usher into "The Reason" by Hoobastank.
After that last set, the lights come up, the "make-out patrol" goes off-duty, and we send the kids off to the final session of their small discussion groups. They'll probably close with some sort of meditation—in the dark, with a candle. There may be deep confessions and tears, or they may leave the lights on and play a wacky game for an hour and a half. In the morning, they'll come back for church with their host families before we all hit the road. I love doing the dance, but the entire weekend is always rewarding.
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