Cocktail Party Playlist

We made three CDs for the engagement party. We wanted upbeat, celebratory music that wouldn't interfere with conversation. In other words, mood music, but I don't mean it in the dirty way. Here's what we came up with for the first CD.

Carla Bruni- Le Temps Perdu
Carla Bruni- You Belong to Me
Carla Bruni- Salut Marin
Carla Bruni- Tu Es Ma Came
Carla Bruni- J'en Connais
Carla Bruni- Those Dancing Days Are Gone
Carla Bruni- Notre Grand Amour Est Mort
Feist- My Moon, My Man
Paolo Nutini- Jenny Don’t Be Hasty
Feist- I Feel It All
Pink Martini- Hey Eugene
Ray LaMontagne- Three Days Gone
Ryan Adams- Two
Ray LaMontagne- Trouble
Blind Pilot- The Story I Heard
Ray LaMontagne- Shelter
Norah Jones- Thinking About You
Blind Pilot- Three Rounds and a Sound

There's a lot of French songs because we all know French things are classy and I wanted an elegant party. Some of the words to these songs aren't romantic, but as background music, we knew people wouldn't really be listening to the lyrics, so we were OK with that.

These were the songs we chose for the second and third CDs.

Van Morrison- Someone Like You
Natalie Merchant- San Andreas Fault
Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young- Blackbird
Dave Matthews Band- Love of My Life
Van Morrison- Moon Dance
Rolling Stones- You Can’t Always Get What You Want
Ben Harper- Diamonds on the Inside
Dave Matthews Band- Crash
David Bowie- Heroes
Blues Traveler- Hook
10,000 Maniacs- These Are the Days
Ben Harper- Steal My Kisses
Barenaked Ladies- Old Apartment
Alanis Morisette- You Live, You Learn
Traveling Wilburys- Everybody’s Got Somebody
David Gray- Babylon
Death Cab for Cutie- Crooked Teeth
Damien Rice- Can’t Take My Eyes off You
Rolling Stones- Beast of Burden
Sarah McLaughlin- Wild Horses
Dave Matthews Band- Where Are You Going
Indigo Girls- Power of Two
David Gray- Sail Away with Me
Dave Matthews Band- Lover Lay Down
Van Morrison- Into the Mystic
Sixpence None the Richer- Don’t Dream It’s Over
Death Cab for Cutie- I Will Follow You into the Dark

There are better versions of some of the above songs, but we didn't want to spend any money, so we just worked with MP3s that we already had.

Obviously this is the music that's to our taste, but when you're selecting music for your own party, I think the most important thing to think about is what kind of tone you want to set. Music has a subconscious effect on people, so the music you select will effect the mood of the party.

I like to start the music off kind of slow, so people are at ease as they're arriving and being welcomed into my home. Then I like to build up to the faster songs to create energy. Finally, as it's time for the party to wind down, I like to slow back down to relaxing music.

What are your favorite songs? How do you select music for your guests?