Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: Looking for some music suggestions

This is topic Looking for some music suggestions in forum Film-Yak at Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE.

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Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 07-08-2010, 01:10 AM:

I have been asked to DJ a demolition derby at our county fair. I'm going to play songs between the heats -- there is always a 20 minute (or more) wait while the wrecked cars are towed out, and there's a 30-minute intermission while the heat winners get their cars doctored up for the championship. I'm guessing I'll probably need to play a total of about 75 minutes of music for the 3 hours of the event.

So I figure on playing a lot of good-timey, 70s rock but I also want to mix in some more current stuff. Upbeat = good, but rap = bad for this crowd. Anybody got any great suggestions?

Posted by Monte L Fullmer (Member # 2797) on 07-08-2010, 02:52 AM:

Rock and Roll era - 1958-1964 stuff! Or, some Southern Fried Rock like Skynyrd, Jack Daniels, CCR, et.al.

Posted by Kurt Zupin (Member # 2751) on 07-08-2010, 04:57 AM:

CCR - Anything by them
Sprinsteen - Again just about anything, I would go with the classics that everyone knows and also "Light of Day" A great rocking tune
Ram Jam - Black Betty
There's some really good "Rockin Country" out there now too

Just a few from this guy

Posted by Pravin Ratnam (Member # 1417) on 07-08-2010, 08:31 AM:

Play the Titanic song and have two guys recreate the Bruno cage match scene. OK I keed.

Rob Zombie stuff works well with such an event. Kickstart your Heart by Crue is obvious, but it works. You cant go wrong with classic GNR. Dope Nose by Weezer. Epic by Faith No more. Fuel by Metallica. Anything by Joan Jett(Do you wanna touch) or AC DC.

Mix it up with one of White Stripes or Killers uptempo tracks or Police and Thieves cover by Grohl(used in Reno 911) if you do not wish to be stuck in the 80s.

Posted by Chad Souder (Member # 343) on 07-08-2010, 09:37 AM:

I second White Stripes and Killers. Also Muse: Knights of Cydonia; Kaiser Chiefs: I Predict A Riot; Cake: The Distance. Mix that in what whatever Monsters of Rock CD you can find for $6 at your gas station and you'll be just fine.

Posted by Hillary Charles (Member # 769) on 07-08-2010, 10:49 AM:

For some reason, I'm thinking of tracks from the CD "Dirt Track Date" from the group "Southern Culture on the Skids."

Posted by Mark Lensenmayer (Member # 134) on 07-08-2010, 11:23 AM:

"Cotton Eyed Joe" by Rednex
"Yakety Sax" by Boots Randolph
"Hot Rod Lincoln" by Commander Cody
"Convoy" by CW McCall
"Beep Beep" by the Playmates
"Fun Fun Fun" by the Beach Boys
"No Particular Place to Go" by Chuck Berry
"Legs" by ZZ Top

Just about anything by Asleep at the Wheel.

For fun, try "Santa Drives A Hot Rod" by the Brian Setzer Orchestra

You could also bring the whole place down with "Dead Mans Curve" by Jan & Dean

Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 07-08-2010, 02:26 PM:

All good suggestions! (Well except "Convoy" maybe) [Smile]

Keep 'em coming!

Posted by Eric Robinson (Member # 2966) on 07-08-2010, 03:12 PM:

Bruce Springsteen for sure.

You can easily play Born in the USA for 75 minutes and no one will notice, just loop the part where he says "Born in the USA." The song normally repeats the phrase about a thousand times so no one will be able to keep count anyway.

Posted by Pravin Ratnam (Member # 1417) on 07-08-2010, 05:36 PM:

Springsteen: I think The River double CD has a few cuts that may fit the mood. Cadillac Ranch, Hot Rod, etc.

Bad Religion, Rancid, Ramones, Mighty Mighty Bosstones. Chelsea Dagger by the Fratellis has been overexposed at soccer stadiums, Blackhawks games in Chicago, so why not a Demolition Derby where the patrons probably haven't heard this song before. It's a fun song that gets the crowd involved.

Explore Glam Rock from the 70s.

For the women in audience. Celebrity Skin by Hole keeps them energized.

Posted by Bobby Henderson (Member # 840) on 07-09-2010, 12:31 AM:

Um, "Demolition Man" by The Police? Great tune, but maybe not everyone will get it.

Some other suggestions:
"Highway Star" by Deep Purple
"Step Up" by Drowning Pool
"Life in the Fast Lane" by Eagles
"I Can't Drive 55" by Sammy Hagar
"Cars" by Gary Numan
"Breakdown" by Foo Fighters
"Radar Love" by Golden Earring
"I Love It Loud" by Kiss
"Hit Me With Your Best Shot" by Pat Benatar
"Interstate Love Song" by Stone Temple Pilots

"Smack My Bitch Up" by Prodigy would be great to hear during a demolition derby, but that might be pushing it. Sure couldn't show the uncut music video!

Posted by Chad Souder (Member # 343) on 07-10-2010, 12:27 AM:

Weren't you looking for suggestions on somewhat more current stuff? Maybe I misread or thought so because the old stuff is so obvious.

Anyway, if you wanted to mix it up, you could add:

Fatboy Slim: Rockefeller Skank
Gorillaz: Feel Good Inc.
Gnarls Barkley: Crazy

And lastly -

Primus: Jerry was a Racecar Driver (not newer but so darn appropriate)

Posted by Bobby Henderson (Member # 840) on 07-10-2010, 01:10 AM:

I believe Mike wanted some "current" stuff but more than that:

quote: Mike Blakesley
70s rock but I also want to mix in some more current stuff.

Not to be too defensive over my own choices (or those of others offering suggestions), but Drowning Pool is most definitely a current band, not an old one. And I think "Step Up" is an excellent, yet pretty heavy, music choice for a demolition derby.

In defense of the classic rock stuff, I'm sorry but most classic rock beats the crap out of any new music these days.

I feel sorry for young people coming of age in this time due to the way the music industry keeps jerking off 1990 over and over and over again. 1990 is the last year the music industry had a genuine house cleaning of music styles. Everything produced since then has been derivative of stuff that was out in 1990. The music industry consists of only a handful or less of gigantic, global media companies who control the type of music content produced and distributed with a stranglehold. I believe the reason the music industry has been reeling in recent years has much more to do with how stagnant the industry has been creatively than anything related to music downloading/piracy. The music industry has been going through the motions for more than a decade and the customer has been calling them on it. Been there, done that. That shit is old. Hey music guys, how 'bout coming up with something new? Wall Street types can't fathom that.

I don't see anything wrong with being obvious in terms of music choices for a demolition derby. That kind of activity demands specific music choices. "Crazy" by Gnarls Barkley is a good tune (I even bought a legal MP3 of it from Amazon), but I don't think that song has any relevance at all with a demolition derby. That's a song about relationship struggles, not anything to do with cars, crashes, contests, fighting, being #1, etc. Classic rock provides a hell of a lot more thematically for that topic than any current music.

I do like "Jerry Was a Racecar Driver" by Primus. Also, "Jesus Built My Hotrod" by Ministry -but that might be a little too heavy for mainstream crowds.

Edit: "Tick Tick Boom" by The Hives would be a good "new" music choice for demolition derby action.

Posted by Pravin Ratnam (Member # 1417) on 07-10-2010, 06:13 AM:

You can never go wrong with Primus.
I think Kanye West and Daft Punk's Stronger would be great. I don't think the crowd , however rural it may be, would have a problem with it even if it is rap meets techno.

I don't think one needs to get all literal about the music choices. What's needed are cuts that drive or maybe just feed into the vibes at the event.

One's gotta remember that there will be quite a few women at the derby too. Maybe something like No Doubt's Excuse Me Mr. infuse some nice energy into the mix. Pixie's Debaser. Or if you want to put something with a lighter sound - "Here Comes Your Man" which is supposedly about the atom bomb being dropped on Japan, even if Black has said it was about earthquakes.

Bad Religion, Rancid, Mighty Mighty Bosstones have some crowd pleasing songs. Aerosmith's cover of Train Kepta Rollin All night Long.

Posted by Chad Souder (Member # 343) on 07-10-2010, 09:52 AM:

Pravin - You have an excellent taste in music. Mighty Mighty Bosstones "Someday I Suppose" actually came to mind, but it was another relationship song. You're right though - I agree that you needn't get too literal about lyrics or title. Those get drowned out by the motors anyway. I once watched fireworks and the musical accompaniment included Cake's "Short Skirt, Long Jacket." Somehow it fit perfectly. Feel the beat.

I forgot to add earlier: Save something by Chickenfoot for the final track, when you want them all to leave.

On a complete tangent, have you ever watched the Primus video for Devil went down to Georgia? I've probably mentioned it before. One of my all-time favs.

Posted by Michael Coate (Member # 757) on 07-10-2010, 11:59 AM:

A lot of great music has been suggested by everyone thus far. Here are a couple more that I think are car-themed and/or good songs in their own right.

Queen's "I'm In Love With My Car" (from "A Night At The Opera," 1975)
Rush's "Red Barchetta" (from "Moving Pictures," 1981)
John Fogerty's "Hot Rod Heart" (from "Moon Swamp," 1997)

And...when I think of car crashes and demolition, I think of the instrumental piece used during the mall sequence in "The Blues Brothers" (1980). Unfortunately, I do not think the cue is included on the movie's soundtrack album.

Posted by Martin McCaffery (Member # 37) on 07-10-2010, 12:33 PM:

Gotta keep with the demolition theme:

They're Letting Me Drive Again (The Theme From Steelyard Blues), which was a movie about demolition driving

Crawling From The Wreckage - Dave Edmunds (though Graham Parker, who wrote it, may have a version).

Crackin' Up: Nick Lowe. Not really about cars, but it'll work

If you need something a little moodier:

I'm Always Crashing In The Same Car by David Bowie

Posted by Tony Bandiera Jr (Member # 2365) on 07-10-2010, 02:05 PM:

"Final Countdown: by Europe (great lead-in to final event of the night)
"Danger On The Track" Europe
"I'm Not Driving Anymore" "Driven" motion picture Soundtrack
"Gimme Some Lovin" Spencer Davis Group
"Thunderstruck" AC/DC
"Livin On The Edge" Aerosmith

Some of the titles that I have used in the past at some motocross events.

Posted by David Favel (Member # 1125) on 07-18-2010, 01:52 AM:

As the cars leave - "Blitzkreig Bop"
Pepper in "White Riot" by The Clash?
Violent Femmes - American Music.
Gunners - Paradise City

Posted by Richard Hamilton (Member # 321) on 07-20-2010, 08:53 AM:

I heard this guy is pretty good! [beer]