Songs I actually want to hear at parties

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A quick search on Spotify will lead you to party playlists filled with the same old stereotypical party songs. Though you may be thinking “What? No way, I always hear different things at every party,” so I am here to tell you that you are wrong. I put my theory to the test and looked up “party playlist” on Spotify, and each popular playlist that popped up looked almost exactly the same. Songs like “Mr. Brightside” by The Killers, “Fire Burning” by Sean Kingston, “The Spins” by Mac Miller, “Tongue Tied” by GROUPLOVE, and of course “Promiscuous” by Nelly Furtado were found in almost every one.

Now, I am not saying that these songs are bad or do not fit the vibes of a party, they certainly do. I am just saying that I am sick of hearing them! I have spent three years at Geneseo hearing these songs on the weekends with friends wondering when the people on aux were going to make a new playlist. If I were to create a party playlist, it would be amazing—for me of course. 

Of course I want people to dance and have fun, so I would not put on crazy niche songs that nobody knows. I would start with songs like “Breakin’ Dishes” by Rihanna, “I Touch Myself” by Divinyls, “Bags” by Clairo, “Moves” by Suki Waterhouse, and “Don’t Delete the Kisses” by Wolf Alice. These songs may not be popular on the radio, but I would say that the majority of people would know the chorus of these songs, or at least all the cool people I want to hang out with would. 

While some of those songs are a bit slower, you can still dance to them. Rap songs are very popular at parties because of their upbeat sound and heavy bass. I want to hear some better rap songs like “Bonfire” by Childish Gambino, “Word on the Streets” by Key Glock, “giving girls cocaine” by Lil Peep and Lil Tracy, “Law & Order” by BigXthaPlug, or—literally—any song by Tyler, the Creator. These are my insanely biased pulls and are not always popular among many people, so it is a good thing this is my party playlist and not theirs! 

I would, of course, have some songs to scream your heart out to, because that is a party staple when I am with my girls. Songs like “She Wouldn't Be Gone” by Blake Shelton, “Tattoo” by Jordin Sparks, “Chasing Pavements” by Adele, “Zombie” by The Cranberries, and “Creep” by Radiohead. These are not your typical scream-your-heart-out songs, which are usually about breakups, but instead cover a wider variety of emotions to which everyone can relate!

And what sort of playlist would this be if it did not include some covers–Glee covers? I would have to throw some of my favorites on there like “Smooth Criminal,” “Cough Syrup,” “I Say A Little Prayer,” and "River Deep, Mountain High.” These original songs on their own may not fit the party vibe, but I know all my Gleeks out there would appreciate hearing a little cover song at the function. 

Last but certainly not least, to top off the playlist I would throw a little rock in there, like “Hotel California” by Eagles, “Everlong” by Foo Fighters, “Animal I Have Become” by Three Days Grace, and “Sabotage” by Beastie Boys. Do these songs actually fall into the rock category? I am not entirely sure, but in my heart they do—and that is all that matters.