The Wedding Playlist

I have the good fortune of being asked to DJ the wedding for two of my friends, and had the opportunity to create a wedding playlist. This is something I had done for my own wedding a few years ago, but then I was pretty much working on my own tastes and preferences. In mulling through my vast musical library, I was able to develop a good working playlist that could easily be modified for future use.

A good playlist is both diverse and adaptable. I tried to include a little bit of everything in here, classic and modern (the songs in this list date from 1956 through 2008). Stylistically they include rock, country, R&B, soul, big band, and Latin. It also included a good mix of classic songs that are universally known and loved with some more obscure tunes, which will keep things from getting too stale, as people enjoy music they're not familiar with.

If you're unfamiliar with anything on this list, I'd urge you to check it out. It's ALL good music. And if you find yourself DJing a wedding, or planning music for your own, here's a good place to begin.

Romantic Songs:

Marc Cohn – Dig Down Deep

Marc Cohn – True Companion

Richard Marx – Right Here Waiting

Richard Marx – Now and Forever

No Vacancy – Heal Me, I’m Heartsick

Aerosmith – Don’t Want To Miss A Thing

Aerosmith – Angel

Aerosmith – Amazing

Allison Krauss and Union Station – When You Say Nothing At All

Bap Kennedy – I’ve Fallen In Love

Brian Setzer Orchestra – Sleepwalk

Cheap Trick – The Flame

Clint Black – Something That We Do

Cyndi Lauper – Time After Time

Dana Glover – It Is You I Have Loved

Elton John – Can You Feel The Love Tonight

Eric Clapton – Danny Boy

Five For Fighting – All I Know

Foreigner – I Want To Know What Love Is

Garth Brooks – Shameless

Garth Brooks – To Make You Feel My Love

The Beatles – Something

Jason Mraz – I’m Yours

Jason Wade – You Belong To Me

Jeff Buckley – Hallelujah

Joey Ryan – Like A Cloak

Joey Ryan – Island Rain

John Lennon – Grow Old With Me

Bon Jovi – Always

Journey – Faithfully

Journey – Open Arms

Loggins & Messina – Danny’s Song

Marvin Gaye – Let’s Get It On

Nat King Cole – When I Fall In Love

Natalie Cole & Nat King Cole – Unforgettable

Nick Lowe & Elvis Costello – Baby, It’s You

Nickel Creek – Out of the Woods

Nitty Gritty Dirt Band – The Broken Road

Norah Jones – Don’t Know Why

Norah Jones – Come Away With Me

Paul McCartney – Maybe I’m Amazed

Percy Sledge – When A Man Loves A Woman

Pete Townshend – Let My Love Open The Door

Peter Cetera – You’re The Inspiration

Peter Gabriel – In Your Eyes

The Pretenders – I’ll Stand By You

Rod Stewart – Forever Young

Rod Stewart – The Rhythm of My Heart

Rodney Crowell – What Kind of Love

Rufus Wainright – Hallelujah

Santana – Manana

Sarah McLachlan – Angel

Sheryl Crow – I Shall Believe

Simon & Garfunkel – Bridge Over Troubled Water

Sophie B. Hawkins – As I Lay Me Down

Steve Earle – Somewhere Out There

Steven Curtis Chapman – I Will Be Here

Stevie Wonder – I Believe (When I Fall In Love With You It Will Be Forever)

Straight No Chaser – You Send Me

The Bangles – Eternal Flame

The Beach Boys – God Only Knows

The Beatles – If I Fell

The Beatles – And I Love Her

The Cars – Drive

The Mavericks – All That Heaven Will Allow

The Script – The Man Who Can’t Be Moved

Tom Petty – Angel Dream

Tracy Chapman – For You

U2 – The Sweetest Thing

Van Morrison – Have I Told You Lately

Van Morrison – Someone Like You

Van Morrison – Moondance

Elvis Costello – She

Clint Black and Lisa Hartman-Black – When I Said I Do

Party Jams:

Aiyesha Woods – Happy

Blues Traveler – Carolina Blues

Blues Traveler – Maybe I’m Wrong

Bob Seger – Old Time Rock ‘N’ Roll

Booker T. & The MGs – Green Onions

Bruce Springsteen – I Wanna Be With You

Carlos Santana – Foo Foo

Carlos Santana and Rob Thomas – Smooth (Dance Mix)

Eddie Floyd – Knock On Wood

Fountains of Wayne – Better Things

George Harrison – What Is Life

Hootie and the Blowfish – I Will Wait

Huey Lewis and the News – Some Kind of Wonderful

Jet – Are You Gonna Be My Girl

Johnny Hoy and the Bluefish – Cadillac

Johnny Hoy and the Bluefish – Film Noir Angel

Kid Rock – All Summer Long

Los Lonely Boys – Heaven

Matchbox Twenty – Disease

Mike and the Mechanics – All I Need Is A Miracle

Robert Palmer – Bad Case of Loving You

Rolling Stones – Miss You

Sam & Dave – Hold On, I’m Comin’

Sam & Dave – Soul Man

Sheryl Crow – Soak Up The Sun

Stevie Ray Vaughn – The House Is Rockin’

Stevie Ray Vaughn – Pride and Joy

Stevie Wonder – Signed, Sealed, Delivered (I’m Yours)

The Beatles – I’ve Just Seen A Face

The Beatles – Drive My Car/The Word/What You’re Doing

The Beatles – Long Tall Sally

The Cars – Just What I Needed

The Cars – You Might Think

The Honeydrippers – Rockin’ at Midnight

The Proclaimers – I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles)

The Romantics – What I Like About You

Tom Cochrane – Life Is A Highway

Train – Hey Soul Sister

Warren Zevon – Raspberry Beret

Willie Nelson – Maria (Shut Up And Kiss Me)

Wilson Pickett – In The Midnight Hour

Carlos Santana and Alex Band – Why Don’t You and I

Eddie Money – Two Tickets to Paradise

Unnamed Source Says Cheney Son of Satan

Washington, DC - A high-level Bush administration source speaking on condition of anonymity today said former Vice-President Dick Cheney privately confessed being the illegitimate son of the Lord of Darkness.

"It was kind of sobering, to know that I was working so closely with that kind of evil. I was a little unnerved before, when I simply thought he had sold his soul to Satan for some Marlboros and Halliburton stock, but for him to actually be the son of Satan really frightens me."

When asked if the story might have just been a typical Cheney fabrication, the source was adamant.

"All of us in the administration could tell when the VP was lying. This wasn't simply a case of saying that Iraqis were directly involved in 9/11 or that there were bunkers full of WMDs. He was SERIOUS about this. I mean, good God, he shot his best friend in the face! He brags about it! He has pictures in his wallet of his best friend bleeding profusely, pockmarked with buckshot. What kind of person does that? And why was he using buckshot when he was hunting quail? He's evil, I tell you."

Pressed further, the source cited instances of unholy ceremonies at Number One Observatory Circle:

"I was at the Vice-Presidential residence late one evening, as I attempted to get up to go, Mr. Cheney looked at me with his evil eye and I was paralyzed. He took me to a large room, where he cut the throat of a live goat over an altar covered with pentagrams. He rolled around in the blood, laughing maniacally. I understand it was the same room that Joe Biden now uses for his keggers."

Vice-President Biden wouldn't speculate on what may have gone on at Observatory Circle during Cheney's tenure there, but did admit to replacing the "heavily-stained" carpet in the kegger room upon moving in to the Vice-Presidential mansion in 2009.

Mr. Cheney did not return repeated calls for comment.

"Sham Rock Special 2011" - The Playlist

It's winding towards the end of St. Patrick's Day... and also towards the end of my annual St. Patrick's tradition... the "Sham Rock Special." If you're not familiar, I'll post the description from the event page on Facebook:

The "Sham Rock" Special is a celebration of faux-rock music every St. Patrick's Day. It began in 2010 when news came down shortly before St. Patrick's Day that ABBA had been inducted into the Rock & Roll hall of fame. Initially only noticed by a couple of radio professionals and self-professed music geeks, it's growing to an event for rock fans everywhere to discuss the dilution and homogenization of rock music by encouraging enthusiastic debate about the boundaries of the genre.

Despite that description, this really is all about having fun and enjoying a day of bad "rock." So put up your favorite Elton John song (or ABBA... or Bon Jovi... or Monkees... whatever your taste may be), kick back, relax, and keep the debate civil.

The event was open to the public, with several people invited to post and include their selections. As of 9:17 (CDT) this evening, here is the playlist by artist, song, and the Sham Rocker who posted them:

ABBA - Dancing Queen (Eric Wolfe)

Bruce Willis - Respect Yourself (Chas Andrews)

Starship - We Built This City (Eric Wolfe)

Don Johnson - Heartbeat (Chas Andrews)

Eddie Murphy - Party All The Time (Angela K. Marvin)

Falco - Rock Me, Amadeus (Eric Wolfe)

David Hasselhoff - Jump In My Car (Chas Andrews)

Thomas Dolby - She Blinded Me With Science (Eric Wolfe)

Leonard Nimoy - The Ballad of Bilbo Baggins (Chas Andrews)

William Shatner - No Tears for Caesar (Chas Andrews)

O-Zone - Numa Numa (Wendy Ribelin)

Big Time Rush - Oh Yeah (Wendy Ribelin)

Edward Furlong - Hold On Tight (Chas Andrews)

WHAM! - Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go (Eric Wolfe)

Elton John - Club at the End of the Street (Eric Wolfe)

Bad Company - Rock and Roll Fantasy (Stephen Wolfe)

The Kinks - A Rock 'N' Roll Fantasy (Stephen Wolfe)

Hall and Oates - Maneater (Eric Wolfe)

David Cassidy - Rock Me, Baby (Stephen Wolfe)

Billy Joel - Uptown Girl (Eric Wolfe)

Hanson - MMMBop (Eric Wolfe)

Rod Stewart - Da Ya Think I'm Sexy (Eric Wolfe)

Some of these require explanation, but I'll leave it to the poster to justify why things made the list. Feel free to add your own list or discuss this years "Sham Rock" playlist below or on the event page: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=133091153430936

Make your reservations now for Sham Rock 2012. I don't expect tickets to sell wildly... I'm not even SELLING tickets... but it's good to have something to look forward to, even if it's something completely ridiculous.

You Never Can Tell

I have a number of friends with romantic difficulties at one of the rare times I'm not overly concerned about that area of my life.

Peter Wolf expressed the opinion (later re-popularized by Adam Sandler) that "Love Stinks."

What stinks about love is that you never can tell. You don't know instantly if you've met "THE ONE." You only learn with effort if a person is worth the effort. You only learn if the risk is worth it by actually taking the risk. I've had a LOT of failed relationships. Much more than my share. I could claim to have wasted most of the last decade on relationships that didn't pan out.

On the other hand, you really DON'T know instantly if you've met the one. Something might not initially seem worthwhile, but will prove itself worth the effort. What keeps me rolling when I should have given up on love YEARS ago is the knowledge that someone is worth that effort. Not only is someone out there worth that effort... someone is out there that is worth all the effort I've wasted on other women.

The whole thing is a crap-shoot... which is frustrating to many, but fascinating as well.

Craig Ferguson, speaking about something entirely unrelated, may have said it best: "Between safety and adventure, I choose adventure. Every time."

What stinks about love is that you never can tell. It's also what makes it great.

Drama Major

Nothing but drama. Drama, drama, drama. Like the list of "Best Picture" Oscar winners. Drama, drama, drama, comedy, drama, drama, drama, and more drama.

Blog posts have gotten harder to write because everything I post starts another round of drama. I already lost one friend to this blog, and last week I found a section of one of my posts taken out of context to make me out to be a jerk.

I've been debating whether or not to respond. I had decided to, then I decided not to. It's a real dilemma. There is a part of me that thinks if they want to take things so personally and turn everything into a visceral, vitriolic battle, then to hell with them. But there's another part of me that wants to keep things peaceful and civil.

There's an old bit of wisdom that says "to thine own self be true." There's another that says "blessed are the peace-makers." Those things seem to be in direct contrast to each other.

That being said... a few clarifying comments. When a comment in this blog is labeled "This comment has been deleted by the author" that means the comment was deleted by the author of the COMMENT, not the author of the blog. I have not yet deleted anyone's comments other than my own. Even the absolutely idiotic ones. I'm not one of those people who tries to sanitize everything to put myself in the best light, and in SOME instances, I've decided it's best just to leave the comments up because it makes the author of the comment look like an idiot, when they're trying to make me look that way. If you want to write your own punishment, I'll be more than glad to leave it for others to see.

In regards to the "Open Letter:"

Sarcasm:

noun

[mass noun]

• the use of irony to mock or convey contempt:she didn't like the note of sarcasm in his voice

(courtesy of the Oxford English Dictionary)

In regards to the "Battle of the Sexes:"

I have made my point abundantly clear numerous times within the post and the comments directly following the post. If you still wish to twist and misconstrue it, it's a matter of willful ignorance at that point.

Either way, I don't have time for the drama. I have too many LEGITIMATELY dramatic things going on in my life. I don't need any more created for me. If anyone wants to be offended by this, be my guest. Feel free to make your point below... or on your own blog... or wherever else you wish. But, frankly, I'm done caring. This is a place for me to write about things that matter to me, which is what I'm going to continue to do. I'm done with the debates and the drama. Drama queens are welcome to try the Lady MacBeth act elsewhere. I'm not taking auditions.

Blowing Smoke

I made a post last night, following a heated and protracted debate on smoking, during which I had lung cancer wished upon me and responded in an INCREDIBLY vitriolic way. I had kept it up until now, but after a concerned e-mail from a valued friend, I decided to remove it and simply post my thoughts on the issue at hand.

Firstly, I need to address the debate for those who read it. I began speaking of some statistics that I'll state later, following which the person in question wished that I would catch lung cancer. I responded by calling her something unsavory through several posts in a protracted debate. I should have been smart enough to not allow myself to be provoked into making myself look like an idiot. I'm not always the smartest person in the world. I have a short fuse and I don't suffer fools gladly. And, while I don't believe in astrology at all, I fit the textbook definition of a Libra, if someone does something unjust or evil, I'll pull out all the stops to call them out on it, even if my own actions in doing so are unjust or evil. It's wrong of me, and I genuinely regret it.

NOW, to the point at hand:

New York City is planning a vote on a bill to ban smoking in public OUTDOOR places. This is on top of an indoor ban several years ago, because of the alleged dangers of secondhand smoke.

The numbers on secondhand smoke are twisted, abused, and hyperinflated. One true claim is that exposure to secondhand smoke will increase your odds of catching lung cancer by 25%. This claim is 100% true. But what does it MEAN? It INCREASES the odds from 10 cases per 100,000 to 12.5 cases per 100,000. An increase of 2.5 per every 100,000 or 25 per million. That's an actual increase in population of 0.0025%. There's 300 million people in the United States. roughly 40% of us smoke (so we can't be included in secondhand smoke statistics), which leaves a base of 180 million. 25 in every million of those leaves 4,500 cases of secondhand smoke.

This is a tragic figure... but let's put it in perspective: 33,808 people died in 2009 as a result of drunk driving. In 2007, the most recent year I could find figures, handgun violence killed 12, 632 people.

Now, here's the real kicker. That 4,500 cases of lung cancer caused by secondhand smoke ISN'T EVEN AN ANNUAL FIGURE. That's the number of people who, at some point in their life, will develop lung cancer. To get an annual figure, I've divided that 4500 by the average life expectancy of 74 years, and I come up with 60.8108(and a long string of decimal places) instances per year. FEWER THAN 61 instances a year. For this, 120 million smokers in this country are having people wish death upon them, and their right to enjoy their vice eroded.

My question to the anti-smoking establishment is this: What are you doing about the REAL dangers in life? Are you so uppity about alcohol? How about fried foods? Handguns? Domestic violence? Trichinosis? ANY of the other thousand things more harmful than secondhand smoke?

This is America. You have the right to not like smoke... and I have the right not to care. What you do NOT have the right to do is to create an entirely fictitious hazard to public health and use it to ban those vices that are different than your vices.

There are those who argue that the NYC bill doesn't ban smoking or tobacco. The city enacted an indoor smoking ban years ago. While I don't entirely agree with indoor smoking bans, I can understand them. Certainly when there are people indoors with allergies and asthma who can be affected even if they don't count among the lung cancer statistics. Now the city is attempting to ban smoking OUTdoors, where the smoke dissipates quickly in the open air and is blown away on the breeze. So, it's true, they're not banning tobacco. That would be un-American... but when you ban someone from smoking indoors or outdoors, it really has the same effect. I suppose, if you can find one, you'd be free to light up in an underwater cave in NYC.

If you want to ban smoking for the presumed (and non-existent) dangers of secondhand smoke, you need to ban all of the other activities and substances that take more than 61 lives per year. If you do anything less, you're a hypocrite. You're banning this substance because you don't like it, rather than because of any legitimate danger to the public.

Feedback always welcome.

A POW in the Battle of the Sexes

It's 1:40 in the morning, and I'm finding it impossible to sleep. I was going to write this tomorrow with a clear head... but Sudoku and old radio shows on the MP3 player aren't doing their usual tricks. I have too much on my mind. Maybe writing tomorrow's blog will help me to relax.

It seems that the age-old "battle of the sexes" has escalated into a full-blown war lately.

This morning, there was a message in my inbox from my most recent ex. She had blogged about a fight we had months ago, and her struggle with compromise. It was not vitriolic, it didn't set me off or even upset me. What DID upset me was that the last time I had reached out to this particular ex, a short note to wish her and her family a merry Christmas, I was harshly rebuffed for adding undue stress to her while she was preparing for finals. I shrugged, muttered something about a horse she rode in on, and went on with my life.

In discussing this with another friend, it evolved into our ongoing discussion of the battle between the sexes. In the past several months, from this friend and other women, I've heard so many generalized explanations of male behavior that I just don't fall into. It's hard to decide if this means that I'm just incredibly atypical or if women just have NO clue about men.

Possibly both.

Let me say, I fall into many stereotypes of men. I enjoy James Bond movies. Steak and sex would probably top my wish list most days. I would consider reading a Harlequin Romance novel to be a violation of my 8th amendment rights. And if professional Baseball or college basketball are in season it's quite possible that conversations with me will drift back to how the Salukis are playing or the strength of the Cardinals bullpen.

However, there are many that miss the mark COMPLETELY with me. I'm not "macho" by any stretch of the imagination. Outside of Bond movies, I really could care less for the entire "action" genre. And most years, I have far more interest in the commercials and halftime show than the actual Super Bowl itself.

A friend of mine has developed the "Microwave/Crock Pot" theory of gender relations. "Men are microwaves, women are crock-pots." By this she means that men look at a women and instantly pass judgement on a purely physical impression, while women take the time to contemplate men before making a final decision. Perhaps it's just me, but I find the whole theory simplistic and more-than-slightly offensive. Maybe a cerebral man is also against stereotype, but I've come to the conclusion that further analysis is always in order before a final decision is made.

I've met women who I found to be absolutely BEAUTIFUL, and was bitterly disappointed to find later that they were entirely a waste of my time. On the flip side of the coin, I've known several women (as friends and romantically) who I was rather indifferent about at first that grew on me over time.

One of my dearest friends is a punk/goth half-Blackfoot girl I worked with once. Ordinarily, on first impressions, I wouldn't strike up a conversation on the initial assumption that we would have nothing to talk about. One day, with my MP3 player on and my nose stuck in a book, she decided that she'd try to bring "stand-offish" me "out of my shell." She was funny and interesting and far more into The Who and The Stones than Marilyn Manson. We quickly became inseparable friends.

I know of several women who complain about how hard women have to try for men. That they have to get "dolled up" and make themselves look great for men because this is what we're going to judge them on. I won't pass judgement on this. I'm sure there's some truth to it. I also know what MEN go through on account of women. Men can throw themselves at women, doing everything short of begging while women pull out a checklist only three pages slimmer than the Manhattan phone directory, looking for a reason to disqualify us (BTW, for the idiots out there, I meant Manhattan, NYC, and not Manhattan, KS).

Finally, quite frankly, I'm getting really damn tired of apologizing for every inequality perpetuated by my gender. The friend I was debating with today shared a YouTube clip about how men start the wars and are, in essence, responsible for most of the evils in the world. The same friend mentioned the fact that for every dollar a man earns, a woman earns 76 cents.

It's a cogent sociological point, but on an interpersonal scale the argument falls apart. I sincerely doubt that any woman reading this is now, or has ever been, with a man who was PERSONALLY responsible for any crimes against humanity. I know, on a personal level, I've committed none. I'm really tired of being equated with Genghis Kahn, Adolf Hitler, and Justin Bieber simply based on the fact that we all have the same kind of genitalia. Men don't equate all women with Lucrezia Borgia, Eva Braun, and Lorena Bobbit.

The whole war is asinine and juvenile, and I'm bowing out. I elect to judge a person based on THAT person. Not based on other people of the same gender who have enslaved people, broken my heart, or kicked my dog.

All I ask is the same common courtesy.