There is always the joke that people only play 1 of 3 songs on a guitar, but is there a song that would make you super happy to hear someone play?
I would be happier if they left
Oh hush you 🤣 I was tempted to say “besides nothing” but I was like, surely lemmings are more creative than that and I don’t need to say that!
“Nothing” is a good song to play man. The “party guitar” is just the “bluetooth speaker on a hike” in a different format. 99% of the time people would be happier with nothing, no matter how hype your song is. Even guitar virtuosos can bring down a party by demanding it become about their performance.
Throw some shit up on the shared shuffle playlist, and go on about your day.
4’33" by John Cage, on a loop.
Flight of the Bumblebee
Gerudo Valley - Ocarina of Time
Rock Lobster
Acoustic? You’d need something lively and familiar. A great option for country music is “friends in low places”. Oldies, “hound dog” can get a party bouncing. More modern pop, something like cee-lo green’s “fuck you” would work okay (there’s tabs for it, and I’ve heard it done on acoustic, and it did get a crowd going).
Electric, it’s way too open, but that’s more of a party killer because it’s just too loud for small settings and good conversation, which is what actually makes a home party fun. If you wanted loud music, you’d play stuff on a stereo rather than have one guitarist noodling and fucking around (and they will noodle and fuck around, guitarists can’t help it).
So, it’s really about the crowd, in other words. Unless the crowd is musically homogeneous, you gotta go with famous songs that cross genres because of the popularity.
what’s new pussy cat 26 times in a row
Cliffs of Dover or Through the Fire and Flames
Money for Nothing
House of the Rising Sun
Any song that ends with a guitar smash solo.
Todo: order bunch of cheap guitars, learn to play a song really badly, have friend take guitar and smash it at parties.
We can take turns being the guitar smashing hero and become legends.
Update: Amazon sells beginner guitars for $30.
They probably sound like trash, so even better.
Say It Ain’t So - Weezer
I’ve actually never had anyone try and play guitar at a party, it’s just some meme that never happens, so I’d probably even get a kick out of Wonderwall, but if I had to pick something… Probably any City & Colour song that’s already acoustic would work great
Running Down a Dream by Tom Petty
