My friends and I were discussing New Years Eve plans the other night and I realized that nobody wanted to commit to a plan…why? Because NYE is the most disappointing and frustrating holiday we have. It should be the best! It isn’t surrounded by mass consumerism, forced family time, or the need to cook. However, every body wants to see everyone else on NYE, hit every party and then you typically just end up at midnight trying to find your friends and without a kiss. So, I have decided that a better plan is buying a bottle of champagne, turning off the cell phone and having a dance party all by yourself. No pressure, stress, sparkly dresses, stupid hats, drunk people (except yourself), overcrowded bars and NO attempting to find a cab when the fun is over.
I’ve made you a playlist for your amazing solo dance party to begin at approximately 10:30 PM (I would suggest that you order pizza before everyone else does, so say 3 PM). The list builds as I predict the amount of champagne you have consumed.
New Years Eve Playlist 2016:
.
- “Dog Days Are Over” – Florence & The Machine
- You have to start with a song to get you pumped, but not start off raging or you’ll get tired before the pizza guy gets there. Plus, all you have to do to dance to this song is mimic the claps that make up the beat for the song… so you can get used to the fact that you are about to solo dance party into 2015.
- “Chelsea Rodgers” – Prince
- Do NOT be disappointed that you didn’t find “Party Like It’s 1999” on this playlist. Prince’s top songs are hits for a reason, they are perfection; however, “Chelsea Rodgers” is a fantastic song to get down too, and can start to make you feel funky. Now you’ve moved from clapping to a little head bobbing…feeling a little better about your decision to stay home. At 2:35, things really get good and it’s time to “speak on it horns…” The guitar solo that lasts only a few sweet seconds at the end will get you moving.
- “Good Times” – Chic
- This song holds a special place in my heart. Once on a weekend getaway, the CD player was broken and would only repeat this song over and over. I have chosen it for several reasons, the first being that with your phone off – you will likely start to miss your friends. So perhaps, you use this space to put in your own song that reminds you of friends, like this does for me. Plus, this song combines clapping and head nodding – and you can begin to throw in ridiculous disco moves.
- “Wanna Be a Baller” – Lil’ Troy
- Throw up some solid gangsta signs. Probably a good time to visit the whiskey closet.
- “All Shook Up” – Elvis Presley
- There can be no real love songs in this playlist or you’ll begin to search for the illustrious midnight kiss. So, go with a love song that sometimes makes zero sense, but is perfect for using the broom as a microphone and jamming. What is a fuzzy tree?
- “Layla” – Derek & The Domino’s
- There are all types of versions from this song (The Wynton Marsalis one being one of my favorites), but you need a chance to practice some sweet air guitar at this point in your dance party. Plus it is a sexy song, which will get you ready for the not-so-innocent dancing bound to come later in the evening. It also has a severe “slow” guitar section, which will give you a chance to have a little slow-dance, romance on NYE.
- “Electric Guest” – This Head I Hold
- If you need suggestions on dance moves for this particular song, don’t fret, the music video has plenty of gems. I would only recommend watching the first two minutes of the video, because then he takes a detour and kills a rat and it will definitely mess up the flow of dancing.
- “Footloose” – Kenny Loggins
- To be listened to, TWICE. To really dance to this song, you need to watch the original dance clip from the movie… so you can mimic it ALL. So your first go around, is watching the clip and then the second is going wild. Do not forget to run down your stairs going, “I thought this was a partayyyy, let’s dance!”
- “Dirty” – Christina Aguilera feat Redman
- Probably safe to assume that you are ready to party now due to the dancing and the champagne. So, it is time to pretend you are at club… clubs only play this type of music, so don’t freak out about my music taste.
Here insert your own stupid pop song, that you secretly love. I would personally recommend a mash-up of Katy Perry, perhaps go with Tommie Sunshine’s “Megasix Smash-Up.” OR, Pussycat Dolls with Snoop Dog, “Don’t Cha.”
- MORE 80s is needed – Go with “Whip It” by Devo – It’s super weird and at least you know the lyrics.
I have a confession for this portion of your dance party. I really enjoy screaming songs from musicals at the top of my lungs after a few glasses of wine. So I am hoping that you enjoy it as much as I do. I suggest that you stand on a chair and just really belt it out. My go to choices for this type of theatrical performance are The Origin of Love from Hedwig and the Angry Inch OR “Take Me or Leave Me” from Rent. If you do not know either of those tunes, I heard there was this Disney song from Frozen that everyone became obsessed with this year that might suffice here.
- “She’s so Cold” – The Rolling Stones
- It should be getting close to midnight, so use this song to get back to the head bobbing and ensure you don’t miss the countdown.
For the countdown, you need some powerful instrumental music. The dancing is over, you should be toasting your cat now. Again, two choices. You can go with something less traditional like Zappa’s Peaches En Regalia because holy shit what a fantastic way to enter 2015 in a coma from a wave of powerful sounds. OR, you can choose Beethoven’s 5th, the song that always calms me down despite it’s intensity.
Cheers!