Staff Pix 4/8: Songs We Wish Got Played at Parties But Don’t
Ain’t no party like a Milk Crate party because a Milk Crate party don’t stop! The Milk Crate Staff steals the aux to play their favorite songs to boogie to that don’t usually get played at parties. Tune in Fridays from 1-2 EST to the Staff Pix radio show.
Lily Hartenstein
BULLETS by Kaytranada (feat. Little Dragon)
Mulling over this Staff Pix theme, I realized I’m out of touch with what is played at the traditional party these days—my nights out are either spent thrashing at a basement show or dancing at some smaller function thrown by a friend (read: gay art students). I assumed everyone knew electronic dance icon Kaytranada, but after a few conversations with peers and a Twitter poll I have been informed that few others know the genius that is 99.9%. In high school, it was my friends’ go-to soundtrack to blast on the way to the beach for some delinquent behavior, imagining the days we’d get to go to the grown up clubs. “GOT IT GOOD” crushes me with a wave of nostalgia the moment Craig David starts singing, “WEIGHT OFF” is a trippy masterpiece in collaboration with legends BADBADNOTGOOD, “GLOWED UP” may be my favorite Anderson .Paak feature of them all with its high energy and punching bass, but “BULLETS” has to be my pick if I was on party aux. Little Dragon’s dreamy voice is gripping over the classic house beat. You can dance to it, you can talk over it, you can let it motivate you to win a battle of pong to it, or pretend you can’t hear some annoying guy you’d wish would finally leave you alone over it. Play it on repeat at any function with any vibes and I guarantee you’ll be having fun.
Everly Orfanedes
came to my show by 100 gecs
Nothing makes me want to shake my booty harder at a party than “came to my show” by 100 gecs. Hyperpop hits its pinnacle of chaos with this simplistic, distorted track. The song is included exclusively on the 2020 album 1000 gecs and The Tree of Clues, as well as a multitude of remixed 100 gecs tracks. I am genuinely surprised 100 gecs does not commonly play at parties, because hyperpop should truly be a club or party staple. Inaudible lyrics and distorted synth are a combination built for dance perfection.
Izzy Desmarais
Song for the Dumped by Ben Folds Five
Not to be that person, but I truly do believe I was born in the wrong generation. I should have been born in 1978, like my mother, and enjoy my late teens/early twenties during the ‘90s. Her Saturday nights were often spent dancing at Lupo’s Heartbreak Hotel in Providence, RI when local alternative radio station WBRU deejayed. I am not a party person in 2022. I don’t like the music they play, I hate being so uncomfortably close to strangers, and I absolutely loathe being in spaces that look like they haven’t been cleaned in over a decade. But in 1997? I would be a completely different person. WBRU was one of the first radio stations to play Ben Folds Five, so I am absolutely certain that they would have played “Song for the Dumped” while deejaying at Lupo’s, but it’s definitely not on anyone’s party playlist now. I don’t understand why though. It’s loud, it’s upbeat, it’s angry - I can’t think of a better song to jump and sing along to.
Will Ingman
A Thousand Hours by The Cure
I’ll be the first to admit my preferences for music are, let’s say, non-conducive to most party environments. But, wind the clocks back thirty years, and that might not be the case. Put simple, I wish I was a ‘90s goth kid. To spend my formative years wasting away in a friend’s dingy basement, lamenting the crushing pressure of conformity, set to chorus-soaked guitar and Robert Smith’s funeral-dirge voice, oh! What a life that would be. I wish this song was played at parties, sure, but more than anything, I wish I was at those parties.
Sophie Severs
The Sideboard Song by Chas and Dave
Meet Chas and Dave, the British pop rock duo that spearheaded the “Rockney” style. “Rockney” is, essentially, rock and roll music that places a heavy emphasis on singing and speaking with a cockney accent. While many try to mimic their own cockney dialects, I assure you that Chas and Dave’s are truly authentic. “The Sideboard Song” should be a classic, as it is truly a sight to behold as people try to match Chas and Dave’s fast paced lyrics and vigorous tune.
Karenna Umscheid
Don’t Delete The Kisses by Wolf Alice
There is no experience in life I want more than to scream at the top of my lungs “Me and you were meant to be!” in a dirty Allston basement. “Don’t Delete The Kisses” might be the most perfect, exciting, electrifying track ever made. Its vocals switch from a near-monologue of infatuation and excitement, to vocalist Ellie belting out worries of love not being meant for her, and I want to scream every single part of this song into a sweaty, loud, abyss of a party. It encapsulates every messy feeling of crushes and a desire for romance into one perfect track. Its lyrics deserve to be echoed into the off-key screeches of a party crowd. My mission, in choosing this song and this staff pix theme, is to make “Don’t Delete The Kisses” popular enough to eventually become a staple of a party song. Stream it at every social function and I guarantee the experience will be unmatched.
Julia Norkus
Spinning by No Rome, Charli XCX, The 1975
When the beats of techno meet poetic lyrics, you get “Spinning” by No Rome, Charli XCX and The 1975. Conventional party bops involve indiscernible lyrics and bass that makes you feel like you’re being exorcized, but between the three magical minds that created “Spinning,” you get elements of danceability and lyrical genius that just make you want to get up and flail around rhythmically without feeling your heart implode. With a consistent chord progression throughout, you almost feel held by this song, and can almost take comfort in knowing that it’ll catch you even when you trip over the aux cord. Lyrically, it tells a story of being in your own world, whether that be good or bad, and allows you to just keep dancing in circles until everything becomes blurred.
Carina Pray
Águas De Março by Elis Regina, Antonio Carlos Jobim
Originating from Samba in the late 1950s and early 1960s, the concept of Bossa Nova is characterized by complex harmonies and improvised jazz-like rhythms and percussions. Bossa Nova is the genre I would just love to dance slowly on a beach to, it's so peaceful but also so upbeat and fun! I first discovered my love for Bossa Nova after being a fanatic of 1960s movies, especially those that came from the Cinema Novo movement in Brazil.
Kyle Woolery
Pop the Glock by Uffie
Uffie, the first lady of Ed Banger Records (home to the likes of Busy P, Sebastian, and Justice), truly changed the game with “Pop the Glock,” one of the quintessential party anthems of what has been retroactively dubbed the “indie sleaze” era—think American Apparel bodysuits, dirty ballet flats, bloghaus, and The Cobrasnake. Talk-rapping tongue-in-cheek (and heavily vocodered) rhymes atop a funky electro-hop beat courtesy of Ed Banger labelmate and former beau Feadz, Uffie embodied the image of the blasé party girl and single-handedly birthed an entire generation of similarly hedonistic electropop girls—from the Millionaires to Ke$ha to Charli XCX. This song is just so much fun; if it doesn’t make you want to “get low” and “do the tootsie roll,” I simply cannot trust you. Hopefully the imminent “indie sleaze” renaissance will prompt the reintegration of “Pop the Glock” into every party playlist because I literally need to hear this song playing at a social gathering at least once in my life.
Lauren Larking
Naked by Bickle
“Life can be a drag!” sings Travis Bickle on this upbeat tune about the undeniable urge to dance naked to your favorite song even in the midst of a slump. While you can’t quite fully strip on the frat party dance floor, this song might get you pretty close. Bickle only has three singles on spotify, with “Naked” being the first in 2020, but this disco-indie merged tune would revive a dead crowd towards the end of a night. Screaming and slurring the lyrics “This song sucks, turn it up!” with a bunch of strangers while slipping on the grimy floor would truly make my year.
Maura Cowan
Saving Me by Niko Rubio
Much of my (admittedly limited) experience with bigger parties has been frustration with the music played. I am unfortunately burdened by the habit of viewing any situation through a cinematic lens, and if the soundtrack and scoring aren’t correct, the world just doesn’t feel quite right. (Yes, I am aware that this is an incredibly annoying trait, but in my defense, your Honor, I do attend an arts school). For the perfect party playlist, I can’t help but turn to some of my favorite smaller pop artists, and I’m not sure I could get any better under that umbrella than Niko Rubio. Rubio’s light, dreamy tone and twinkling instrumentals create what is, in my opinion, the best kind of party atmosphere– the middle of the end, when the true crazy has begun to hit a lull but the energy is so right that no one is yet quite ready to leave.
Nora Onanian
Menteur by Témé Tan
Perhaps the best thing that taking high school French gave me is being introduced to “Menteur” by Témé Tan. I might only know how to translate small bits and pieces of the lyrics — for instance, the title and frequently shouted “menteur” means liar — but the coolness radiated by the singer’s vocal delivery and the band’s dancey, disco-infused sound speak for themselves. I’m someone more likely to dance along to music in a grocery store than in an environment where it’s expected like a party, but if “Menteur” came on, I don’t think I could resist grooving and clapping along to the infectious beat.
Adora Brown
Yoko Ono by Mob Rich
I have a tendency to live in a fantasy world, especially when it comes to television. This song was played in a Netflix original called Atypical and I have not stopped listening to it since. Two of the female main characters, both of whom are struggling with an attraction for each other, dance to Yoko Ono at a hotel party. It has a smooth, sexy drawl that allows it to be overlooked as your typical party song. Rather than aggressive, raunchy lyrics, the song is about longing and inspiration. Maybe I’m too much of a romantic, but if this song played at a party, someone is definitely falling in love.
Harry Bates
Shakedown Street by the Grateful Dead
I don’t feel like the Dead get enough credit for creating this absolute banger. It’s versatile, fitting the vibes of both peak partying and early morning groove. “Shakedown” carries easy lyrics and a magnificent, poppy bass rhythm that all come together to make this catchy concoction of musical love. It’s a great unifier to enhance an already great night. This Dead classic has everything needed of a party song, but it’s just missing you. So consider elevating your party’s cosmic vibrations at the next get-together, and take a ride down Shakedown Street!
Sarah Fournell
Fig In Leather by Devendra Banhart
This is perhaps one of my favorite songs to get down to, no matter the occasion. Whether it’s blasting in the background during a breakfast dance party or on a drive down the PCH, the funky guitar riffs and groovy percussion make for a tune that’s simply irresistible to boogie to. Banhart’s deep, inviting voice is like a familiar hand guiding you through a warm house party full of strangers about to become friends. However, the bridge about eating fruit is just odd enough to get me booed off the aux cord at the function.