Common Ground

What do you listen to?

Common Ground

Postby iMURDAu » Tue Aug 01, 2017 9:59 pm

Trying to come up with a title for this topic.

You get a bunch of people together. Not all of them have the same tastes in music. Different genres, eras, artists, are preferred. But there has to be something you can put on without making anyone roll their eyes or cringe.

This came from multiple discussions at work about the music that plays overhead. Of course the opinions vary but there's usually common ground. Oooo topic title found.

What would you choose to play for a crowd of 10-15 random people? That won't offend or disgust anyone! There may be grandmothers or leaders of faith or preaching grandmas in your random crowd!

It can be a song, an artist's discography, an album, a genre, etc.

I have an album for an answer but I need to think on it more. I'm not sure it's for everyone and I haven't listened to all of it in quite a while. Ah fuck it, Mary J. Blige - What's the 411? Catchy hiphop beats underneath a soulful singer with a good voice. Can't get mad listening to that.
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Re: Common Ground

Postby Grimstone » Tue Aug 01, 2017 10:18 pm

I typically listen to classic rock but lately I've found myself listening to more relaxing/ambient music at night to help me sleep.





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Re: Common Ground

Postby ghijkmnop » Tue Aug 01, 2017 10:27 pm

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Last edited by ghijkmnop on Thu Mar 14, 2019 6:25 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Common Ground

Postby skrotkanon » Tue Aug 01, 2017 11:20 pm

Maybe Leonard Cohen - You want it darker ?
It's very calm and soothing and should work well as a backdrop. It's also amazingly good, which helps. :p
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Re: Common Ground

Postby JamishT » Wed Aug 02, 2017 9:15 am

The setting is a wedding reception, in the backyard of a mansion I may or may not own. There's a bunch of tables under a large tent, and to the side of the big friggin' fountain there's a slightly raised dance floor with LED panel wall sections and moving head stage lights strategically spaced around it. The music is pretty loud to the floor, but in the tent you can hold a conversation at a normal volume. You get it. I'll put down the artist/title so you don't have to load them all just to see what I chose...

I'd probably lead off with "I Wanna Dance With Somebody" by Whitney Houston

then throw the "Never Gonna Give You Up" by Rick Astley

curveball (you'll have people laughing at the rickroll and people just enjoying that 80's goodness), but then I'm gonna give them what they didn't know they wanted, "YMCA" by The Village People

People are getting a little wore out with actual dancing, so lets give them a chance to sing to each other with "Don't Stop Believin'" from Journey

We're basically stuck in the 80's so I might as well throw in this one, to get people slow dancing/singing to each other to "Nothin's Gonna Stop Us Now" by Starship

Well now most people are tuckered out/grabbing some food and drinks, so I'll let them chill to this retro sounding track "Arcade Summer" by FM-84

And let's let them chill for a little longer and get them out of past decades at the same time with a personal favorite "Sparkling" by Eisley

BUT NOW WE'RE BACK TO DANCING BABYYYYY ("Dust Hymn" from Purity Ring)

Ooh yeah baby, let's pretend like we know how to dance to this newfangled music like "Never Ending Circles" by CHVRCHES

I'mma slyly slide in a Christian band, because I CAN. ("BZRK" by Family Force 5)

Now for one that most people know (although I might play the radio edit to avoid offense), "I Love It" by Icona Pop

To continue with the ones that people know, let's toss it back just a bit to "Tik Tok" by Kesha

Then just offend some uptight grandmas even more while we're at it (but let's be real, they fell asleep a while ago) with "Bang Bang" by Jessie J, etc.

And then maybe one more hit from the past decade, Lady Gaga's..."Bad Romance"

I going to reinforce the romantic love theme with a track from Charli XCX's latest album that I dig, "ILY2"

Annnnd now we're bringing it down for some slow(er) dancing to a nice Canadian girl's song "Run Away With Me" (by Carly Rae Jepsen)

And let's slow it waaaay down for some close dancing, country style with "Then" by Brad Paisley (in case you inexplicably hate him, he doesn't get money from any of the views on this video)

I might as well make a country/slow dance section, it makes for a good break ("I Don't Dance" - Lee Brice)

Maybe one more, WHY NOT? ("Head Over Boots" - Jon Pardi)

OI! YOU DIDN'T THINK I COULD KEEP IT COUNTRY AND BRING BACK THE GROUP DANCING? OOOOOOH LAWDY! ("Cotton Eyed Joe" - Rednex)

Let's get some generic white people dancing and mumble singing to The Macarena!

Stick with super "exotic" dances most people somewhat know! Like the Conga!

You know what you should do with all that excess cheese from past couple songs? Shake. It. Off.

UH-OH, curveball time! Gonna bust out some classic Christian Rap that will actually make people dance ("Tennessee Bwoys"- Grits)

We're getting to the end of the night now, it's time to get the somehow remaining old people outta here, and to annoy a lot of other people into leaving. With P.O.D., naturally. ("Rock The Party")

Okay, one more crowd favorite, just for hardcore party people about to drive home ("Danger Zone" - Kenny Loggins)

NOW GO HOME! GET OUT! Let the sound of Demon Hunter lead them home! However, this will result in the revealing of who the metalheads in the remaining crowd are.


And there you go, that's what I offer in the way of a Common Ground playlist. Did I do okay, because I really don't know!
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Re: Common Ground

Postby iMURDAu » Wed Aug 02, 2017 10:29 am

Idk about anyone else but 3 country songs followed by the Macarena, Conga, and Shake It Off would turn me off but you had to set it at a wedding didn't you? I think that's a good playlist for the situation, anybody else have thoughts on it?

Beyond Unqualified Sidebar:
Jamish, if you get married and buy a mansion and stuff like that you might want to tell the IRS. The whole "may or may not own" won't help your case in court. Oh and I imagine your large tent being a bit larger than my house. And how do you keep birds away from your fountain? It's so pristine but obviously aged. Mmm maybe not your fountain....
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Re: Common Ground

Postby JamishT » Wed Aug 02, 2017 8:50 pm

What if there was a little announcement type of thing between the country and the Macarena? I probably should also throw in the Cha-Cha before the Macarena though.

Oh the mansion in this situation is rented for the night. I'm not having my stuff in harm's way! Nor am I letting the people know where I actually live. The IRS ain't giving me no bill for that particular mansion, although they might be interested in the one I'm building on a hill in the middle of nowhere, Ohio.
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Re: Common Ground

Postby cmsellers » Thu Aug 03, 2017 5:54 pm

See, my music for the most part is the stuff that grandmothers already like. In a crowd full of old people and preachers I'd play Merle Haggard.



But that's not common ground, since my brother absolutely hates Merle Haggard, while my father dislikes him and my mother barely tolerates him.

There are four artists I know of that pretty much everybody likes.

Creedence Clearwater Revival (avi is literally the only person I've met who doesn't like them, and that's only if you count autistic robots as people.)


Bruce Springsteen (I've literally never met anybody who didn't like Bruce Springsteen, though anecdotally not liking him is a good test for sociopathy)


Johnny Cash: I met one girl who seemed to have everything in common with me. She rejected me, and then I found out she didn't like Johnny Cash and realized things wouldn't have worked out anyways.


The previous three are hipster-safe, however if you have a hipster-free gathering (which you should), Neil Diamond should be a safe bet.


I've never met anybody who disliked Carly Simon's "You're So Vain," but I've also never met anyone who could name another song she did.


And most people like a handful of Leonard Cohen songs, such as "Hallelujah" and "Suzanne," though none of my my favorite Leonard Cohen songs ("The Future," "Democracy," "First We Take Manhattan," and "Anthem") is grandparent-safe.

@JamishT: that playlist would seriously make me consider DJ-cide.
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Re: Common Ground

Postby jbobsully11 » Sun Aug 06, 2017 5:51 am

cmsellers wrote:Bruce Springsteen (I've literally never met anybody who didn't like Bruce Springsteen, though anecdotally not liking him is a good test for sociopathy)

I'm not a fan of his more popular stuff, but I've been told that he sang a lot of good songs that aren't as well-known.
I've never met anybody who disliked Carly Simon's "You're So Vain," but I've also never met anyone who could name another song she did.

Most people don't know "Coming Around Again," "In the Wee Small Hours," "The Stuff That Dreams Are Made Of," her and her kids' version of "The Itsy Bitsy Spider," or "Mockingbird" with James Taylor? (Among others; my mom has at least one album of hers. Probably several.)

Anyway, keeping in mind that I'm notoriously bad at predicting what songs other people might like, I think I'd mostly go with upbeat radio songs that a lot of people may have heard (probably from the '60s-'00s), like The Lovin' Spoonful's Summer in the City, Cherish by Kool and the Gang, Let Me Love You Tonight by Pure Prairie League, or possibly Absolutely (Story of a Girl) by Nine Days. I'd have to think about what else I'd play, but I don't think too many people's ears would bleed at this point.
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