Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with music and dance

"Safe" song with a driving beat for Best Buddies video

UMDirector — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 10:58:17 -0800

Looking for a song with a beat like Tik Tok by Ke$ha or Tonight's Gonna be a Good Night by Black-Eyes Peas but without references to drinking or "language" for a video. I volunteered to produce a video for Best Buddies and rather than the typical inspirational stuff they use I am trying to create something that is a bit more "cool" and "fun", not as much Goo Goo Dolls "Give a Little Bit", which they use too much. So both those songs have a great beat and are fun...looking for something like that but that won't risk offending...any thoughts? Bonus points if it has an inspirational message...

Recommendations for DJ samples/songs ala Fatboy Slim?

heatherfl — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 18:30:56 -0800

My husband mixes dance music using Fruity Loops. I want to get him some CDs for Christmas for samples -- particularly stuff that sounds like Fatboy Slim. Help? I can buy loops already sampled or I can buy songs for that he can sample himself, it doesn't matter.

This song is a good overview of what FBS sounds like and what I'm looking for:
Mad Flava

There's a lot of retro sounding piano and brass, some funky bass/guitar, syncopated percussion, a bit of synth/electronica, and non-rap but rhythmically interesting vocals. If you're familiar with Fatboy Slim, you know what I mean!

FYI, I already got him "The Ultimate DJ Sample Box" which has actual Fatboy Slim samples. Just looking for supplemental goodies now.

So what should I get for him, music experts?

Thanks so much!

Creative ideas for a party

Kateruba — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 20:56:11 -0800

What short, creative performances can guests put on at my party to entertain themselves? I'd like to have a holiday party. But not just another dinner party or a drinking party. I'd like all of my guests to put on little performances - whether that would be a short skit, dance/music, puppet show, parody, magic tricks, telling some jokes, monologue, poetry reading, juggling, sword swallowing - whatever! I just would like everyone to do something entertaining and creative, my expectations are pretty reasonable, I don't expect everyone to prepare and practice like prima ballerinas...

I am always ambivalent about hosting parties - so much stress in organizing and making sure everyone has a good time! And I am especially doubtful about hosting this one. Even though most of my friends/acquaintances are a creative bunch, a lot of my potential guests find my party idea intimidating. They are either shy or have no idea what to do for this "assignment", and hence are unsure whether they will attend at all :(

I'd love some suggestions for this which I can offer to my friends to make them less intimidated and more enthusiastic. Ideally, they would have all or any of the following qualities: creative, suitable for shy people, do not take much time or effort to prepare for.

And what would I do for my part? I would do something similar to Isabella Rosselini's Green Porno "Nothing Porno about it!" as she says. In the series, Rossellini enacts the mating rituals of various insects and other animals (including the dragonfly, spider, bee, praying mantis, squid, snail and housefly) with cardboard cut-outs and foam-rubber sculptures (wikipedia) - the result is very whimsical and reminiscent of an elementary school play in its aesthetics! If anyone is intrigued, you can view all of the episodes on

How much memorization does art dance performance require?

Joe Beese — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 18:52:35 -0800

How much memorization does art dance performance require? I assume it varies between genres - and between roles within genres. But can useful generalizations be made about how much performance data retrieval per minute is involved compared with, say, playing in a symphony orchestra?

Looking for an alternative nightclub in chicago

bwilms — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 16:22:50 -0800

Going to chicago this weekend and would like something other than the standard club. Where should I go? My wife is headed to Chicago with some friends and wants to go dancing Friday, Saturday, or Sunday night. She's looking for a place that plays more indie/alternative/80's dance music and not the standard clubbing stuff. I have heard that there isn't much, but NEONightclub.

Need inspiration for hip hop dance moves and music.

AV — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 07:51:09 -0800

Help me win a dance-off at my hip hop class next week - or at least not make a fool of myself. Need inspiration for dance moves and music. I’m taking a beginner’s hip hop class and the instructor announced that we will be having a dance-off next week. We’ve been given choreography up to a point and we’re supposed to come up with our own ending. We can pick our own music.

I’m quite up to the challenge, but as my dance background is in ballet I’m needing some inspiration for finishing the routine. Also, scrolling through my mp3s it occurs to me that all my hip hop is at least five years old. I’m hoping you can point me to videos (music videos, tutorials, whatever) of some good dance moves and to some hip hop music to do the routine to that isn’t as outdated as what I’ve got now. Or anything really.

HELP! Need Wedding Playlist!!

madmamasmith — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 01:35:50 -0800

HELP! I am (was) using my ipod instead of a DJ for my wedding that is in 10 days and it just CRASHED! It synched to my computer without warning and now all my wedding playlists are GONE! I'm a dope and only very recently started using an external hard drive...long story short I need help to rebuild my wedding playlists. With the stress of the wedding planning I cant even remember to poop, let alone the collection of music ive been building for years!! I would appreciate ANY and ALL recommendations but I need the most help with the dance portion. I love all kinds of music from all eras and I want to make sure there are some dance hits from my school days ie TLC, SWV etc but I also want to play some newer hits and I am suffering serious brain fart. I'm also 6 months pregnant so I have baby brain as they say.

So far my playlists are thus (in a nutshell)

Preceremony/seating:

sun kil moon, joni mitchell, elvis, alasdair roberts, some instrumental stuff etc., peter gabriel

Dinner/Cocktail:

cocteau twins, yo la tango, van morrison, fleetwood mac, sufjan stevens, nina simone, otis redding, nuetral milk hotel

Dancing:

MGMT, MIA, Soldia Boy, JAson Derulo, Kool & the gang, outkast, madonna, pssion pit, cure, aha, TI, iggy pop, peter bjorn and john, daftpunk, the knife, george michael.......

What music should I play at the teen Halloween dance?

40 Watt — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 08:54:20 -0800

I've volunteered to DJ a teen Halloween dance/costume event sponsored by the library I work at, and held at the local art museum. Unfortunately, I didn't quite think about what that meant in terms of music, and now I'm stumped as to what kinds of music I should bring. My usual DJ sets are electronic and ambient music, and (NOT TOP40-IST) I never listen to the radio so I'm blissfully ignorant of what teh kidz are listening to these days. What should I play at this dance that your average teen is going to like? This event usually draws about 150 kids, ages 13-18 and spanning a pretty wide range of high school archetypes and social/economic strata, as might be expected from an average-sized semi-urban Midwestern town. I know I'm not going to please everyone, but I need to feel like I'm doing my job and have at least a good fraction of the kids dancing for most of this thing.

I found a few older AskMe threads (here for example), and while I've already gotten some of those songs (Cha-Cha Slide, here we come!) I'm thinking even a few years can make a huge difference in what kids like at these things. I'm asked my Teen Advisory Board and teen patrons for suggestions but didn't get many. I turn to you, AskMe denizens, for help rocking the proverbial house.

Bonus points will be given for songs which won't get me fired or strung up by my library board or the public at large.

My neighbors will kill me if they hear "PYT" one more time.

zoomorphic — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 10:37:48 -0800

I need to update my dance-y indie music selection. My playlist is so 2007. Due to a change in jobs, I no longer listen to Pandora/Last.fm stations, so my awareness of recent music has plummeted. I like a pretty wide range of songs, but right now I'm specifically looking for upbeat, catchy indie music that I can play on a Friday night when friends come over for a drink, or for when I bring my iPod on a run. Right now this playlist includes stuff like MGMT, Black Kids, the Tings Tings, Handsome Furs, old Michael Jackson, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, etc. This question was interesting but still too electronic-heavy. As I am the most predictable, low-brow listener when it comes to locating the most single-ish single on an album, it would help plenty if you could specify songs rather than just albums and artists.

My roommates, friends, and headphones thank you in advance!

Classical/dance music crossovers?

gwenlister — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 11:10:22 -0800

I like pop/hip-hop/R&B/dance songs with samples from easily recognized classical pieces but that tie together smoothly (ie. "When I get you alone" by Thicke). I prefer if the end result has a fast-ish tempo. Any suggestions?

What's this musical technique called?

desjardins — Sun, 02 Aug 2009 12:47:38 -0800

What is the musical technique called whereby the music starts slow/quiet, builds to an, um, climax, and then, um, releases? This is most prevalent in dance/trance music. Examples within. Lasgo, "Surrender" (YT Clip)
Basshunter, "All I Ever Wanted" (YT clip)
Guru Josh Project, "Infinity" (YT Clip)
Alice Deejay, "Better Off Alone" (YT Clip)

(Clips may take a second to load.)

I think this question references a similar technique.

Song recommendations utilizing this technique very welcome!

Similar songs of Jennifer Lopez's "Let's Get Loud"

yoitsfrancis — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 22:33:54 -0800

Hi, I would like to know song's that are similar to Let's Get Loud. By similar I don't mean songs by Jennifer Lopez. By similar I mean songs that have the same musical structure, beat, flow, rhythm and genome attributes (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Music_Genome_Project_attributes). I have no access in Pandora's music service so I need specific answers. Song titles and artist's name will do. Thanks in advance for any help on this matter.

Where do you dance if you missed the Electric Daisy Carnival?

theiconoclast31 — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 23:03:18 -0800

Is there a rave subculture, and how can I get in on it? When I was in Holland, I met some people at my youth hostel who took me to some fantastic parties. Specifically, I remember a party held in a boat and each floor would have DJ's spinning a different kind of music. (So like, top floor was house, middle was drum n' bass, etc.) It was fantastic, and I've since become interested in everything electronic music.

Also bonus points for folks who know details of the rave scene in the bay area, because that's where I am for the summer. More general anecdotes and advice also welcome.

Help me create a 1989 NYC House/Club Music Playlist

Senor Cardgage — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 12:54:27 -0800

Let's pretend it's 1989 and I'm putting together a playlist of classic NYC Limelight-style club anthems. I want piano drops, I want (not-too-cheezy) diva vocals, I want sweet (read: UNmonotonous) House Music. First of all, I want to thank everyone that participated in my last massive playlist project (http://ask.metafilter.com/121944/In-which-you-help-me-to-compile-the-greatest-Sunny-70s-AM-Radio-Playlist-The-World-Has-Ever-Known) and hope that I can find similar success here.

So then, let's pretend it's 1989 and I'm putting together a playlist of classic NYC Limelight-style club anthems. I want piano drops, I want (not-too-cheezy) diva vocals, I want sweet (read: UNmonotonous) House Music in a Masters at Work kind of vein.

Here's a few tracks to guide the way:
Black Box - Everybody, Everybody (really any Black Box actually)
Neneh Cherry - Buffalo Stance
Robin S - Show Me Love (yes its '93, but this aint a Civil War re-enactment. Im looking for a VIBE)
Technotronic - Pump Up the Jam
Soul II Soul - Back to Life
Deee Lite - Power of Love

I'll even take some 1991 New Jack flavored stuff like Tara Kemp.

Hopefully this gives you an idea of the feel Im going for.
I was in school in Nebraska at the time, so god knows I probably fudged some genres and descriptors and such, but I think you get the idea.

So lay it on me kids. 88,89,90,91,92,93. It's all good.
I just wanna make a mix that makes me feel like Im dancing on a speaker stack in an oversized BOY London shirt wearing a cycling cap and blowing a whistle to the beat in the late 80s/early 90s.
I know Ive listed the most "pop" stuff, but Im also down for some early rave (think Zoo Rave/Rave til Dawn) tracks as well. Like Army of Lovers, Opus III.

Can anyone help with this?
And as with the last time, links to the mix(es) WILL be made available at the end of this. ;)

60s/70s underground dance party

hpliferaft — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 20:43:46 -0800

Suggest underappreciated music for a 60s/70s dance party. I'd like to put together a playlist with songs like this:
Can - Vitamin C
The Hygrades - In the Jungle
Demian - Windy City

Please suggest to me some music that fits this set of criteria:

-from the 60s or 70s
-not too well known -- slightly out of the mainstream; covers; alternate takes or maybe b-sides of better-known recordings
-able to get people bumping on the dance floor

Need some popular dance music recommendations.

Bahro — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 21:40:22 -0800

I have been enlisted to DJ a high school dance. I need some cool, danceable music that I won't feel ashamed for playing. Now, I myself am a high school student, but my musical tastes deviate a little from what most of my compatriots would consider danceable. Whereas they listen to Basshunter, I listen to Selected Ambient Works 85-92, for example. However, I cannot play music that people will not like. Some suggestions? These are some songs from what I have right now (I have about 70 acceptable songs, but want some more):

M.I.A. — Paper Planes. This is pretty much perfect. Both mainstream and indie appeal (though we are starting to get annoyed at its popularity), and fun to dance to.

MGMT — Electric Feel (Justice Remix). Same thing. Perfect.

Crystal Castles — Black Panther

Chromeo — Fancy Footwork

Soulwax — NY Excuse (Justice Remix). This is the kind of thing that my friends and I really dig, but I'm not sure how danceable it is, or how much the general population would like it.

Rihanna — Don't Stop the Music. See, I'm not above playing what's popular! But, this and Lady GaGa pretty much sum up my entire knowledge of popular dance music.

MSTRKRFT — Easy Love

Ian van Dahl — Castles in the Sky. If this song wasn't so damn catchy I wouldn't play it. This is the kind of thing I want to avoid, cheesy McTrance, as Ishkur might say.

Hercules and Love Affair — Blind. I like this. Not so sure how it will go over.

Cut Copy — Out There On the Ice. This is good, but a little too synthpoppy for me.

The Evolution Control Committee — Rocked by Rape. Alright, maybe I won't play this one.

Similar song to Christina Aguilera's Candyman

artifarce — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 19:51:50 -0800

Similar-in-style songs to Christina Aguilera's Candyman? I'm helping plan a wedding dance list, and this modern boogie is a lot of fun, but I don't want to be the one that drops "he makes my cherry pop" into this particular dance hall. In other words, it should be clean too. I've searched the "neoboogie" tag a bit on last.fm, but there's a lot of boring songs there to wade through. I want something hip, fast, and that would make both the old and young generations stand up for a little swing dancing. I'm not explicitly looking through music from the last 10 years, but it'd be preferable. Good covers are great too.

Best software for newbie DJ

wildrain2008 — Mon, 26 May 2008 19:52:35 -0800

Best software to start mxing and creating my own dance tracks? I've always been a fan of music especially downtempo/triophop/chill/trance and progressive house. I have some extra cash in my "hobbies" account and would love to start creating and mixing my own dance music and who knows where that will lead..

What is the best software/website/guide to start off with? The only stuff I've played around of the years was acid pro to fix mp3s that sounded a bit off.

All advice is welcome.

PS. one f my favorite dtemp hubs is www.somafm.com "fat free"

Dance Music By People Who Hate Dance Music

murphy slaw — Fri, 16 May 2008 11:02:14 -0800

I recently rediscovered the song "Man, It's So Loud In Here" by They Might Be Giants, and the delicious juxtaposition of the New Order/Pet Shop Boys pastiche of the music and the sardonic treatment of club culture in the lyrics leads me to my question: What are some other songs that sound like typical dance music but which have lyrics that are critical of dance music or club culture in general?

Saxy Miami Dance Song

i love cheese — Sun, 27 Jan 2008 15:40:03 -0800

What was the dance song I heard this week on Miami radio that had a few sax notes in the chorus? I was driving around Florida this week, and in the Miami area (but not near Tampa or Orlando), I kept hearing a catchy dance song on the radio. The female singer was singing with either an island accent or in Spanish, and during the chorus there were a few sax notes. What was it?

Stranger Danger!

boreddusty — Wed, 14 Nov 2007 12:05:22 -0800

I'm looking for a electronic/dance song from probably the late 90s or early 00s that has the words "Stranger Danger" repeated in a male robot voice. Any ideas? From what I can recall, it was a deeper vocoded/"robot" voice that repeated the phrase two times, rhythmically, like so:

Strane - Ger
Dane - Ger

It's probably an older song, maybe late 90s/early 00s. Sorry that I can't give more information. Google turned up nothing except this, which is enjoyable but not what I'm looking for. Thanks!

I need music to breakdance to!

tumbleweedjack — Fri, 09 Nov 2007 15:56:13 -0800

I need music to breakdance to. I'm taking a breakdance class and I'm having fun but it's hard for me to practice at home because I don't have a huge selection of anything danceable. I'm open to any style of music that fits breakdancing, but please nothing too 'gangsta' as it is totally not my style (my style: gay white-washed Iranian 20-something)

Help us with dance music for a wedding!

k8t — Sun, 22 Jul 2007 16:36:04 -0800

Dance music for a wedding! Please help. You've already helped with the "mingle" music, but now we wanna get our dance on. '70s, '80s, indie, light on the hip hop. It needs to work for all ages, but doesn't have to be totally sex-free. We don't want any YMCA or Macarena. PLEASE HELP!

Feel like bestowing me with a snappy DJ moniker?

freudenschade — Sat, 23 Jun 2007 13:30:05 -0800

DJ name me, if you please. So I just got asked to guest DJ a little dance night my friend puts on in Toronto. Well, more like fake mp3-type DJing, but I'm okay with that for now. Here's my point: I've only got a couple weeks to prepare, but most importantly, I'm missing a DJ name. Hit me, people! [If it helps, I'll be playing dancey indie electro type stuff to hipsterish mid-twenties urban types. I don't have a complicated haircut or anything though.] Have some fun with this!

help me name a column about dance

dydecker — Mon, 11 Jun 2007 13:42:15 -0800

What is a good name for a monthly column about dance music? Any suggestions appreciated. The column has a focus on new music, more about trends and the state of play rather than strictly releases. It would be nice if it could catch a hint of that in the title, but not strictly neccessary.