Comments on: Slowdancing through two decades of tunes...

Question: Slowdancing through two decades of tunes...

Sully — Fri, 01 May 2009 09:25:19 -0800

I run a Slowdance Night every few months, complete with dancecards, a mirrorball, and designated dancers (for the wallflowers). It's a fabulous time, but here's my problem. The music that hooks my nostalgia ends in the late 80's, early 90's. After that, for some reason, I kind of stopped listening to music. Thus, my playlist climaxes with a lot of 80's songs. But I've been noticing the demographic has been skewing younger the past couple of dances. Could you suggest some slowdance songs and ballads from the last two decades that I might dovetail into my established set? Thanks.

By: prefpara

prefpara — Fri, 01 May 2009 09:50:59 -0800

SWV - Weak

Mariah Carey - My All

TLC - Red Light Special

Boyz II Men - I'll Make Love to You

By: phunniemee

phunniemee — Fri, 01 May 2009 10:11:57 -0800

It wasn't a middle school dance without Savage Garden's Truly, Madly, Deeply.

By: ocherdraco

ocherdraco — Fri, 01 May 2009 10:13:00 -0800

4 P.M. – Sukiyaki*

*When I was in middle school in the '90s, I had no idea this was a cover of a famous Japanese pop song:

The title, sukiyaki (which is a Japanese steamboat dish), has nothing to do with the lyrics or the meaning of the song; the word served the purpose only because it was short, catchy, recognizably Japanese, and more familiar to most English speakers (very few of whom could understand the Japanese lyrics anyway). A Newsweek columnist noted that the re-titling was like issuing "Moon River" in Japan under the title "Beef Stew."

By: Ironmouth

Ironmouth — Fri, 01 May 2009 10:27:40 -0800

They might be coming for what you're already playing. Its their sixties, don't you know.

By: dpx.mfx

dpx.mfx — Fri, 01 May 2009 10:29:31 -0800

Man, that seems like a really broad question. Here's some that come to my mind after googling around a bit:

Luther Vandross, Here and Now
Everything I Do, I Do For You - Bryan Adams
It Had To Be You - Harry Connick, Jr.
My Heart Will Go On(from Titanic) - Celine Dion (and various other Celine hits
I Will Always Love You - Whitney Houston)
Save The Best For Last - Vanessa Williams
I Could Fall In Love - Selena
Right Here Waiting - Richard Marx
Tears in Heave - Eric Clapton
I will remember you - Sarah McLaughlin

Something by Mr. Big, but I can't think of it's name right now?

By: annaramma

annaramma — Fri, 01 May 2009 10:31:21 -0800

Ahhh, taking me back to school dances . . .

No Ordinary Love - Sade
Kiss of Life - Sade
Don't Let Go (Love) - En Vogue
Right Here Waiting - Richard Marx
Tears in Heaven - Eric Clapton
Giving Him Something He Can Feel - En Vogue
That's the Way Love Goes - Janet Jackson
Kiss From A Rose - Seal

By: alynnk

alynnk — Fri, 01 May 2009 10:31:52 -0800

Don't Speak by No Doubt
I'll Be and I Could Not Ask For More, both by Edwin McCain
(Everything I Do) I Do It For You by Bryan Adams
Save The Best For Last by Vanessa Williams
You're Still The One by Shania Twain
Fallin' by Alicia Keys
Iris by Goo Goo Dolls
Brighter Than Sunshine by Aqualung
The Luckiest by Ben Folds
The Blower's Daughter by Damien Rice
Mad About You by Hooverphonic
She's The One by Robbie Williams
You and Me by Lifehouse
Lucky by Jason Mraz
I'll Be Your Baby Tonight by Norah Jones
More Than Anyone by Gavin DeGraw
Make You Feel By Love by Adele
Like A Star by Corinne Bailey Rae
I Will Be by Leona Lewis

By: annaramma

annaramma — Fri, 01 May 2009 10:32:26 -0800

dpx.mfx, is it To Be With You?

By: knile

knile — Fri, 01 May 2009 10:45:52 -0800

Extreme - More Than Words
All-4-One - I swear
N sync - A Little More Time On You
Sarah McLachlan - Ice Cream
James Blunt - You're Beautiful
John Mayer - Your Body Is A Wonderland

Also, the Garden state soundtrack.

I could go all day with this, but I should probably get work done & I'm sure the hive mind has lots of good suggestions for this one!

By: craven_morhead

craven_morhead — Fri, 01 May 2009 10:48:54 -0800

Time of your life, Green Day

By: soelo

soelo — Fri, 01 May 2009 10:49:03 -0800

Come Away with Me - Norah Jones
The First Cut is the Deepest - Sheryl Crow's Version
Leavin on a Jet Plane - Chantal Kreviazuk's version
Wicked Game - Chris Isaak
More than Words - Extreme
Picture - Kid Rock and Sheryl Crow
I Try - Macy Gray
Stay - Shakespear's Sister (1992, it may already be on your radar)

IMHO, power ballads are good for slow dancing, so I'd say put some Aerosmith, I Don't Wanna Miss A Thing, Crazy, Cryin or What it Takes.

Lastly, you may want to have a place people can request songs, too.

By: Kellydamnit

Kellydamnit — Fri, 01 May 2009 10:53:45 -0800

How young is skewing younger? like, 30s? or 20s? I'm almost 30 and a few of these songs were around when I was in high school or younger. If your crowd is starting to fill up with folks in their early 20s they'll be just as retro to them.

Why not put out a request clipboard and see what they want to hear, or check the top-40 charts for current popular slow songs?

By: Sully

Sully — Fri, 01 May 2009 11:08:53 -0800

Kellydamnit - Because the local university papers have kindly given us some coverage, we're getting like, 18 to 25 year olds. And Slowdance Night is meant to tap into that particular place where you're having your first few slowdances ever. For instance, my first slowdance with someone was to Tiffany's "Could've Been", and so that song will be special to me for the rest of my life. I'm looking for those songs that are special to the people just starting to come to Slowdance Night. One of the songs we like to play is "Tracks of My Tears", and while I know it and like it, it doesn't have its hooks in my nervous system the way songs of the 80's does because those were my formative years.

A request clipboard is certainly a great idea and we'll do it at the next one! Thanks.

By: kristi

kristi — Fri, 01 May 2009 11:26:04 -0800

"Pullin' Back the Reins" - k. d. lang (and maybe "Constant Craving", but "Reins" feels more torchy to me)
"If I Were the Man You Wanted" - Lyle Lovett
"Overlap" - Ani DiFranco

By: fiercecupcake

fiercecupcake — Fri, 01 May 2009 11:26:18 -0800

You probably already have it on there, but "Unchained Melody" was my first slow dance and I will remember that forevah evah.

By: anthom

anthom — Fri, 01 May 2009 12:02:09 -0800

"All My Life" - K-Ci and JoJo
"How Do I Live" - LeeAnn Rimes
"I Wanna Be With You" - Mandy Moore

Man, this thread is sounding more and more like the most gloriously cheesy compilation album ever advertised on late-night tv.

By: yawper

yawper — Fri, 01 May 2009 12:16:41 -0800

This I Promise You - N'Sync
I'm With You – Avril Lavigne
Hero – Enrique Iglesias
Collide – Howie Day
Don't Wanna Miss a Thing – Aerosmith
By Your Side – Sade
Secret Garden – Bruce Springsteen
Feels Like Home – Chantal Kreviazuk
I Need You – Leann Rimes
One - U2
Freak Me - Silk
Push - Matchbox Twenty
Without You - Mariah Carey
Come Undone - Duran Duran
I Could Fall in Love - Selena
Making Memories of Us - Keith Urban
No Air - Jordin Sparks/Chris Brown
Don't Matter - Akon
Gravity – John Mayer
(You Want to) Make a Memory – Bon Jovi

If you're looking for something very current, try Halo by Beyonce.

And I know these are early 90's tunes but in my time, no high school dance was complete without Nothing Compares 2 U by Sinead O'Connor and Listen to Your Heart by Roxette!

By: patientpatient

patientpatient — Fri, 01 May 2009 12:19:04 -0800

I believe the Mr. Big song is "Be With You".

Also:

Boys II Men - "It's So Hard to Say Goodbye...To Yesterday" and 'End of the Road"
Sarah Maclachlan - "I Will Remember You"
Def Leopard - "Two Steps Behind"
PM Dawn - "I'd Die Without You"
Tonic - "If You Could Only See"
Lisa Loeb - "Stay"

BTW, I think this concept is awesome!

By: knile

knile — Fri, 01 May 2009 12:21:06 -0800

Donna Lewis - I Love You, Always Forever (gets a bit quicker in the middle, which may or may not work for your purposes)
Monica - For You I Will
Boyz II Men & Mariah Carey - One sweet Day
Train - Drops of Jupiter
Counting Crows - Round Here
Dave Matthews Band - Crash Into Me
Phil Collins - You'll Be In My Heart
Seal - Kiss From A Rose
Shakira - Underneath Your Clothes
DJ Sammy & Yanno featuring Do - Heaven (Candlelight Mix)

By: wcfields

wcfields — Fri, 01 May 2009 12:25:19 -0800

I'm going to guess that Procol Harum - A Whiter Shade of Pale is a staple of any slowdance night.

If you haven't explored the world of Reggae, Dub, Dancehall, Calypso/Soca (Try Lord Kitchener), now might be a nice time to start. Some suggestions I could offer would be stuff from the Wackies Catalog like Love Joys, Horace Andy. Or check out some of the Studio One artists: Jackie Mitto or Sugar Minott.

Or you might want to explore early hip-hop like ESG or Newcleus which may not be SLOW dancing but you can dance close to someone with the slow beats.

By: mattbucher

mattbucher — Fri, 01 May 2009 12:32:29 -0800

Always and Forever - Whistle version
The Glory of Love - Peter Cetera

By: knile

knile — Fri, 01 May 2009 12:33:00 -0800

I don't know if Matchbox Twenty's "Push" fits? It's a bit too violent, lyrically & musically. YMMV.

By: yawper

yawper — Fri, 01 May 2009 12:53:31 -0800

Yeah, you're right, knile. I love that song, but have never been in a position to slow dance to it...and now that I think of it, it doesn't really fit.

By: Sully

Sully — Fri, 01 May 2009 13:07:20 -0800

Wow. These are all great suggestions.
Thank you all so much.
I'm going to have a lot of fun
investigation with this list!

It's funny, yeah - when you look at all the
songs together, it might look really cheesy.
But when you're slowdancing with someone
to it, it doesn't feel cheesy at all. It's quite
lovely. We've put on 9 of these nights so
far and each time it's quite wonderful.
The cheese, I suspect, helps people not
take it too seriously. And you might expect
that a room full of hipsters would treat
the whole event ironically, but there's
nothing ironic when you're dancing with
a stranger. You're scared, exhilarated.

By: mattbucher

mattbucher — Fri, 01 May 2009 13:19:20 -0800

I Wanna Be Your Man - from the Love and Basketball soundtrack

By: contrariwise

contrariwise — Fri, 01 May 2009 13:31:05 -0800

Your Armor - Charlotte Martin
Waiting in Vain - Annie Lennox
Iris - Goo Goo Dolls
So Much - The Spill Canvas

By: willmize

willmize — Fri, 01 May 2009 14:40:18 -0800

I'm not there but I want to request Roxy Music's "Avalon". It was always the last dance of the night at a club I used to go to in the 80's.

By: SassHat

SassHat — Fri, 01 May 2009 17:23:54 -0800

Boyz II Men "I'll Make Love to You" immediately came to mind. Or "On Bended Knee."
Actually, can you please just put on "II" and play it until the album is over?

Also, any kind of slow jam/ballad from:
Seal, BoneThugs-n-Harmony, Backstreet Boys, NSync, 98 Degrees,
En Vogue, TLC, Christina Aguilera, Britney, Mariah Carey, Janet Jackson

Overall though, I think 80s songs are fine, people in their early to mid twenties were little kids at the time, but would certainly feel nostalgic slow dancing to, say, a ballad from the Dirty Dancing soundtrack, or Top Gun, etc.

By: OneOliveShort

OneOliveShort — Fri, 01 May 2009 18:36:17 -0800

Either of Zero 7's "Somersault" or "Destiny" would make nice dancing with a pretty stranger.

I too like the concept.

By: sparrowdance

sparrowdance — Fri, 01 May 2009 19:50:44 -0800

Rickie Lee Jones singing ballads, like

Spring Can Really Hang You Up the Most
Up the Lazy River (with Louie Armstong!))
On the Street Where You Live

Just about anything by Norah Jones

Eva Cassidy:

Fields of Gold (and the original by Sting)
Autumn Leaves
I Know You by Heart

By: sparrowdance

sparrowdance — Fri, 01 May 2009 19:54:25 -0800

ps~I love that you do this! What a cool thing!
I also read about your strip tease spelling bee....got a ways to go to convince friends to set one up...I think they're just afraid we're too good at the spelling thang!

By: lemuria

lemuria — Fri, 01 May 2009 19:56:06 -0800

Mazzy Star - Fade Into You

By: EmilyClimbs

EmilyClimbs — Fri, 01 May 2009 21:08:36 -0800

Thanks to your question, I have discovered that apparently Boyz II Men and All-4-One have their "hooks in my nervous system." I'm not sure how I feel about that...

Late 90s:
Iris, Goo Goo Dolls
I Will Remember You, Sarah McLachlan
How Do I Live, Leann Rimes
I Don't Want To Wait, Paula Cole
I Don't Want To Miss A Thing, Aerosmith
My Heart Will Go On, Celine Dion
Bitter Sweet Symphony, The Verve
As Long As You Love Me, Backstreet Boys
Candle In The Wind 1997, Elton John
Un-Break My Heart, Toni Braxton

Mid 90s (probably only works for the older end of your group):
It's All Coming Back To Me Now, Celine Dion
One Sweet Day, Mariah Carey and Boyz II Men
Because You Loved Me, Celine Dion
Wonderwall, Oasis
Kiss From A Rose, Seal
On Bended Knee, Boyz II Men
I Can Love You Like That, All-4-One
Have You Ever Really Loved A Woman?, Bryan Adams
I'll Make Love To You, Boyz II Men
I'll Stand By You, Pretenders
I Swear, All-4-One
Baby I Love Your Way, Big Mountain

By: radioamy

radioamy — Fri, 01 May 2009 23:14:52 -0800

Man, looking at these songs brings back all sorts of weird memories of middle and high school dances. And I'm 25, so apparently you're getting good results!

I always thought "I'll make love to you" was a really awkward song to play at a dance, and I used to hide in the bathroom whenever it played.