Neutron Dance!

Chart topping in their days, the Beverly Hills Cop I and II soundtracks were the inspiration for this Fifth Friday (5/29). When mixed together these movie soundtracks created a very upbeat, 80’s dance experience – not unlike the movies themselves. 80’s pop blended with 80’s electronic and rock to create the perfect time capsule. We cheered and sang and danced to  2 songs each from Patti LaBelle and the Pointer Sisters, respected divas at DDPP, as well as several other ‘Top 10’ songs/artists.

The surprise song for me was ‘Gratitude’ by Danny Elfman, the video is even surprising (good):

We dance again in 6 short days! The first Friday in June is the 5th and our third Rock of Ages challenge is being answered by DJ AC/DC. This mix will truly have something for every dancer so it is a great ‘first time’ experience. So, we hope to see some newbies!

Rock of Ages #2

At our last dance party, on Friday May 15th, DJ Prisoner took up the challenge to create her own playlist based on The Den Mother’s Rock Of Ages  challenge from last March.  Click HERE to see that March playlist again.  The format: create a collection of an hour’s worth of dance music using songs from each decade since the 1950s–and don’t duplicate any songs from the DDPP-Akron song database.  As you can see from the set list below, that means DJ Prisoner provided two songs from the 1950s, three songs from the 60s, three from the 70s, etc. up until the current decade.  What songs would you put in your own version of the Rock of Ages Challenge?

As you can see, we danced to early rock n’ roll from the 1950s, Motown’s The Temptations from the 1960s, funk from Sly and the Family Stone as well as disco from Lou Rawls in the 70s, a rave hit from The Shamen and a hip-hop classic from Public Enemy in the 90s, and a throw-back rockabilly hit from JD McPherson in the current decade. There was a little something for every taste in our last playlist!  Are you inspired to take up the Rock of Ages challenge?  Speak with Juniper after the next dance party to get added to the schedule.

What’s up next?  We’re lucky because the month of May offers us another chance to dance–we have a fifth Friday: May 29th.  Fifth Friday dance parties mean we dance to a movie soundtrack.  So we’re all looking forward to gathering on Friday, May 29th, 8pm at Martell’s to re-live the best music moments from the movie Beverly Hills Cop.  Practice up your Neutron Dance because it’s gonna be a fun night!  See you on the dance floor.

More International Flair

In case you missed it, last week’s dance party was the second one in a row to highlight music from around the world.  DJ Balkan Comrade rocked the house with dance tunes from the Bulgarian folk/pop scene, India’s pop charts, and a few American hits as well.  Maybe you couldn’t sing along to each and every tune– but that can’t stop us from dancing!  It was a fun and festive night–with pretty good attendance–as we sweated and swayed on the dance floor.  As the weather gets warmer, we open up all the windows, and remember to utilize the drinking fountain more regularly.  Thanks so much to DJ Balkan Comrade for volunteering her time and providing us with another memorable, awesome Friday’s night.  DJ Balkan Comrade’s complete playlist:

As the weather gets nicer and people’s schedules become more open, don’t forget to mark off your Friday nights as dance party nights!  Remember, we always dance on the 1st, 3rd, and (when there is one) 5th Friday of every month.  Our next dance party is Friday May 15th (the 3rd Friday of May.)  As usual, we’ll meet at Martell’s and music will start at 8pm.  Our next deejay will be DJ Prisoner–she’s created a follow-up response playlist to The Den Mother’s previous “Rock of Ages” set.  That means the playlist is generated from two (or three) songs from each decade starting with the 1950s until the present.  The added challenge of including songs that have not yet appeared in our dance party song database is also accepted.  It should be another awesome night.  We hope to see you there.

Don’t forget: this month also proves to include a 5th Friday on the calendar–Friday, May 29th.  We’ll be dancing to the soundtrack of the movie Beverly Hills Cop.  Remember “The Neutron Dance” and “Axel F?” You don’t want to miss this opportunity!  See you on the dance floor.