"Punk for Parents" iPod playlist • Offbeat Wed (was Offbeat Bride)

It's time for another Real Offbeat Playlist — this time it's Becca's! Becca and Adam had a rock ‘n' roll wedding and tried to tow the line between the music they loved and making all their guests happy.

Music was super duper important to us. We just could not imagine leaving song choices in anyone's hands, which made doing an iPod reception the obvious choice. Having more experience playing shows and dealing with gear, I gave Adam the job of finding somewhere to rent a PA and a mic. From what he told me, it wasn't that hard to find. Aside from the PA and mic, the only other thing we needed was an MC. My friend and usher, Allegra, agreed to do it. So all that was left was the music …

Adam and I met and bonded over our love of punk. So the big question when it came to wedding music then became: “How do we play our favorite love(ish) songs… and not have our parents covering their ears, annoyed?” Our game plan was to divide the playlists as follows:

Ceremony music: whatever we wanted 🙂
Cocktail/dinner music: our favorite punk (and some non-punk) songs, which we would play at a low volume so people could converse
First dance
Father-daughter dance
Dancing music: mostly rockabilly, 80s, new wave, and early rock ‘n roll. Basically, songs we liked that were danceable and parent-friendly. We threw in a few early 90s pop songs as well.

It seemed to work out incredibly well, other than my dad complaining that “Baby got back” was inappropriate for the kids (as well as another song in the dancing section — can you guess which one?).

There was a slight snafu with our fantabulous MC starting with the wrong playlist. This leads me to my last piece of advice: load your iPod with ONLY your wedding playlists. And have a back-up iPod also loaded with only the wedding playlists.

On to the music …

Pop Punk Bride's iPod reception tips + playlist

Our music-related posts always get the most attention and feedback. Clearly, y'all are looking for MOAR music inspiration. We've decided to start a new feature:... Read more

Ceremony:

Officiant, groomsmen, and groom walk out: “I Will Dare” by The Replacements (hear it)
Flower girl and bridesmaids walk out: “Question” by The Old 97s (hear it)
Bride and parents walk out: “Chapel of Love” by the Dixie Cups (hear it)
Recessional: “… And I Will Be With You” by The Mr. T Experience
Extra stuff for while people are leaving: “Oh oh I love her so” (hear it), “She's the one” (hear it), and “I wanna be your boyfriend” (hear it) by The Ramones

If you know the lyrics to the first three songs, you may have noticed that they progress from just-starting-to-date to proposal to getting-married. Awww.

The story behind the somewhat-out-of-place “Chapel of Love” is that back when I was an ice skater, that song was always played during ice shows to signify a marriage. All of us would always end up in the back, standing by the curtain, tapping our feet and waving our hands. Basically, it made me laugh.

Cocktails/Dinner (best of):

“Million Bucks” by All (hear it)
“The Boy Done Good” by Billy Bragg (hear it)
“Gemini” by Connie Dungs (hear it)
“All Mine” by Dance Hall Crashers (hear it)
“Sealed with a Kiss” by The Eyeliners (hear it)
“Good Good Things” by The Descendants (hear it)
“Let's Do It” by Greg Graffin and Joan Jett (hear it)
“80” by Green Day (hear it)
“Under the Hedge” by Ted Leo (hear it)
“When I'm with You, I'm OK” by Ultimate Fakebook (hear it)
“Song for a Mix Tape” by The Ataris (hear it)
“Destination You” by Material Issue (hear it)
“Do Your Feet Hurt” by MxPx (hear it)
“Totally” by Screeching Weasel (hear it)

First Dance:

“I'm a Pretender” by The Exploding Hearts (hear it, watch it)

Father-Daughter Dance:

“Forever Young” by The Pretenders (hear it)

Dancing! (best of):

“Into the Groove” by Madonna (hear it)
“Oh Boy!” by Buddy Holly (hear it)
“Stand By Me” by Ben E. King (hear it)
“Sheena is a Punk Rocker” by Full Blown Cherry (hear it)
“Girls Just Want To Have Fun” by Cyndi Lauper (hear it)
“Hairspray” by Rachel Sweet (hear it, buy it)
“Vacation” by The Go Go's (hear it)
“Should I Stay or Should I Go” by The Clash (hear it)
“Come on, Let's Go” by Ritchie Valens (hear it)
“Brown-eyed Handsome Man” by Wanda jackson (hear it)
“He's All Mine” by Kim Lenz and The Jaguars (hear it)
“What's Inside a Girl?” by The Cramps (hear it)
“Veronica” by Elvis Costello (hear it)
“Luv Luv Luv” by Pansy Division (hear it, buy it)
“And Then He Kissed Me” by The Crystals (hear it)
“Alex Chilton” by The Replacements (hear it)
“I Love Rock ‘n Roll” by Joan Jett (hear it)
“Ain't That a Shame” by Fats Domino (hear it)

“Hey Muchachita” by Big Sandy and His Fly-rite Boys (hear it)
“Do You Wanna Dance?” by The Ramones (hear it)
“Save the Last Dance for Me” by The Drifters (hear it)

Now, bring it on! We all want to hear your kick-ass playlists! Spandex-clad hair metal? Film noir? 40s big band? 90s trance? Send us YOUR offbeat playlist!