The Wedding Song

Katie is posting about the wedding already. This… this unnerves me.

She posted a bunch of details (http://katieadb.wordpress.com/), but I’m still stuck on the first dance.

I keep telling myself we’ve got time before a decision has to be made, and that’s true enough. But I also need to go to dance lessons, so… the first dance at our wedding needs to be to a cool song. Katie is rolling out name after name of bullshit country music, and part of the problem is that our music tastes only overlap in one place: The Boss. A consistent classic.

So while we both love Bruce Springsteen, our tastes fall either side of him. I like metal, melodeath, darkwave, industrial… She likes country music and a bunch of stuff that I can’t even identify, let alone quantify. All I know is that when she’s playing music, I can’t hear any keyboards; the drummers seem to fear going fast; and most confusing of all, the guitars aren’t even plugged in.

You have guys singing slowly about losing girls in the war, and American weirdos going on about Jesus. I think they might even be Republicans.

So, y’know, fuck that.

Of course, the obvious choice would be to choose a Springsteen song, but most of those are monumentally depressing. I mean, have you heard The River? Glory Days? Hell, even Dancing in the Dark? This is a summer wedding in the Irish countryside, not a funeral for the American Dream. Of course, it being in Ireland, you can guarantee it’ll be absolutely pissing down with rain. But I digress.

We agreed to make a list of 5, and move on from there.

Here’s mine, and whatever happens, all of these better get played on the big day or I’m calling it off, for real. That’s the compromise for me not having any Metallica, In Flames or Monster Magnet on the list. Leaving them off was a true trial.

Pete Townshend – Let My Love Open the Door.

• One of my favourite songs, and definitely one for the reception. Maybe not first dance material, though.

The Smashing Pumpkins – Tonight, Tonight

• One of the bestest and emotionalest songs ever written ever, by anyone, ever, in all of history, ever.

The Wedding Present – (Come Up and See Me) Make Me Smile

• It’s just wicked-cool. Shut up.

Mumford & Sons – The Cave

• We both heard this for the first time when we were in the car driving back from the airport after Black Library Live. Not only is it a great song, but it has fiddly-violinny stuff in the background of the later choruses that may appease the Irish natives.

Take That – Rule the World

• Now Take That are in their 30s and free of the irritating one, they do some really killer songs. And this was the theme to a great fillum, Stardust. (The book was better. Ahem.)

See? Not a single Metallica, Monster Magnet or In Flames song on there. This is me behaving. This is progress.