When we post “shit list”s it’s usually ’cause they’re undeniably shitty. (Greatest Punk Albums, anyone?) But College Humor‘s suggestions for best songs to belt while blasted ain’t bad! Their criteria included: immediately recognizable opening, easy to remember lyrics, and killer solo for air guitarring (their words, we approve). Here’s the list (via Whitney):
5. “Paradise City” – Guns N’ Roses
4. “Baba O’Riley” – The Who
3. “Sweet Home Alabama” – Lynyrd Skynyrd
2. “Livin’ On A Prayer” – Bon Jovi
1. “Don’t Stop Believin’” – Journey
Now dig deep for a remembrance of drunken-nights past, and hit us with your favorite tunes to booze and croon to. Let karaoke be your guide.
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Billy Joel, Piano Man.
John denver – country road.
while your walking past empty store’s and houses with a bottle of whiskey
or when you’re drunk in the morning
SUBLIME – WHAT I GOT O++++++
Bohemian Rhapsody anyone? HELLO!
THE REPLACEMENTS—”Treatment Bound”
Bohemian Rhapsody anyone? HELLO!
Surprisingly enough, “I Want It That Way” never fails to get the house singing, though it doesn’t provide any opportunities for air guitarring.
And more recently, “Since U Been Gone”.
Bon Jovi – Livin’ on a prayer
Never liked REM’s “…End of the World…” but learned to HATE it in college. It was the only song on our favorite dive bar’s jukebox sure to inspire a rousing drunken singalong. To this day, I have an irrational hatred of Le-o-nard fucking Bernstein.
Anything by Stockhausen or Xenakis does it for me. When I really want to get crazy something by Sonic Youth
Come on, people.
Louie, Louie.
Bon Jovi – Livin’ on a prayer
Uh, what about Neil Diamond’s Sweet Caroline? COME ON!!!
#1: The Pogues – For A Pair Of Brown Eyes
By the far the most fun song about getting wasted to sing while wasted.
There’s Bowie’s “Fiiiiive Years!”
My Way – Sinatra
Ladies Night – Kool & The Gang (It is your night tonight; everythings gonna be alright…)
Neil Diamond! Fuck yeah.
Van Morrison, brown eyed girl.
Sang alotta velvet underground drunk, just becasue “she was sucking on my ding dong” sounds great in unison.
Alive – Pearl Jam
snoop-gin and juice
Lord, “Don’t Stop Believin’” got me in SO much trouble the last time my buddies and I karaoked. Haha.
What about The Band? The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down?
Rick Springfield’s Jessie’s Girl!
Seven Bridges Road by the Eagles – Belted out by the brothers at every drunken frat party I ever went to at the University of Colorado Boulder. You could actually feel the testosterone level rise.
am i the only one who heard “i will survive” at every college party i ever went to?
Rick Springfield’s Jessie’s Girl!
#1: The Pogues – For A Pair Of Brown Eyes
By the far the most fun song about getting wasted to sing while wasted.
Mr. Big – To Be With You
Starship – We Built This City
The Outfield – I Don’t Wanna Lose Your Love Tonight
Piano Man? How many bars close to this one?
James – Laid
Cheap Trick – Southern Girls
my personal favorite is definitely “i will survive” because damned if everybody doesn’t know the bloody words.
cake – “never there” or “the distance” works pretty well.
Sir Mix A-Lot – baby got back.
in my small circle of lawyers, “Fuck the Police” gets some love when we’re drinking, too.
but we like to karaoke sober, so there aren’t many songs we won’t sing to if we know the words, i guess.
“Second Hand News” by Fleetwood Mac is a great one. I also second “The Night They Drove Ol’ Dixie Down”. That’s some good stuff.
Total motherfuckin eclipse of the motherfuckin heart.
turn around, bright eyes.
Hey Jude. Or any song that has Na Na Nas.
“Sister Christian” by Night Ranger
I’ve only heard the song in the cases of drunken singalongs.
I second “Bohemian Rhapsody”. That is the clear front runner. It came to mind before I’d finished reading the post title.
And nothing brings a room full of drunken ladies together like “Like A Prayer”. For three beer-fueled minutes, they fucking LIVE that shit.
“The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down” is a favorite for us Stereogummers in Mississippi. “Golddigger” by Kanye also owns–”WE WANT PRE-NUP, YEAHHHHH” being the punch!
props to someone actually making a good list.
they absolutely nailed it.
Sweet Caroline, esp the “DUN DUN DUNNNN”
Creep
Total Eclipse of the Heart
Don’t Stop Believin’
I’d pass on all that hair metal and faux country.
#1: The Pogues – For A Pair Of Brown Eyes
By the far the most fun song about getting wasted to sing while wasted.
oasis – champagne supernova yet. or pretty much any oasis song. i think the ability of a band’s material to be sung while drunk is very important in determining a band’s awesome-ness.
third eye blind – semi charmed life (doo doo doo, doo doo doo doo, doo doo doo….)
pennywise – bro hymn tribute
Buy the Guided By Voices greatest hits record, get drunk, and THEN consider this list.
AC/DC “You shook me all night long”
these comments prove that 60% of stereogum readers don’t leave the house
WHERE THE SHIT IS “PIANOMAN”?
#1: The Pogues – For A Pair Of Brown Eyes
By the far the most fun song about getting wasted to sing while wasted.
For some reason, so many friends of mine end up getting wasted and belting out
WHITNEY HOUSTON — I HAVE NOTHING
I know! Right?
For some reason, so many friends of mine end up getting wasted and belting out
WHITNEY HOUSTON — I HAVE NOTHING
I know! Right?
For Neil Diamond, it has to be “Cracklin’ Rosie”!
It begins and ends with “American Pie”. Best served with a generous helping of whiskey and rye.
what about FRIENDS IN LOW PLACES?!??!?!
in the immortal words of Gob Bluth…C’MON!
this list needs more pogues. i’d go with “fairytale of new york” or “if i should fall from grace…”
though my most memorable drunken singalong is probably “build me up buttercup” at some bar in london…
First, Wonderwall by Oasis. Garunteed to get almost everyone singing plus it’s way shorter than Champagne Supernova, everyone’s attention span is not that long while drinking.
And in my group of friends, as soon as No Children by The Mountain Goats comes on, it’s an instant sing along.
Fairytale of New York…it’s the holdays, come on!
Golden Smog – Until You Came Along
Boyz II Men — On Bended Knee, End of the Road, I’ll Make Love to You. Depends on the occassion, really.
i second the “brown eyed girl” van morrison suggestion.
but also:
“victoria” by the kinks. and “blankest year” by nada surf.
Yes, Bob, definitely “American Pie.” I have a friend who’s a bartender. One night, she and I had a bet: put “American Pie” on the jukebox and count the number of people who, in the crowded bar, sang along. I guessed 10, she guessed 15. We both walked around and counted 22 drunks either mouthing the words or belting them out.
I’ll never forget the 15 of us, shouting along to an old Irish folk-singer covering “I Would Walk 500 miles,” at a pub in San Francisco.
every single house party i’ve ever participated in has centered around “Worlds Apart” by Journey.
Imagine a dark old filthy flophouse at 2 am, huge DJ rig blaring it, drunk kids standing on every thrift store couch in the place air drumming and doing the epic vocal sing-along grab-air hand thrusts… kids slipping on beer and vomit in the giant old kitchen, spilling out onto the back porch and lawn, smoking, drinking, journey.
“some day love will find you!
break those chains that bind you!”
seriously…
I would do anything for love… contest over.
for us southerners, “I Got Friends in Low Places” by Garth. Hardcore country fans won’t admit that they love it, but at the end of a night of long drinking you will find yourselves singing this song arm and arm with your buds. Happens every time.
Last Night by the Strokes is a good one.
Rocky Top is a great one too, especially for all the Tennessee Vols fans out there.
And whoever said Sweet Caroline is totally a Red Sox fan!
The Divinyls – I Touch Myself
Where are the Eagles in all of this? Or how about Hank Jr.’s “Family Tradition”? Or David Allen Coe’s “You Never Even Called Me By My Name?” Both have wonderful sing-along choruses. I don’t really care about guitar solos when I am drunk, and country songs can’t be beat when you’re looking for a good drinkin’ song.
Where are the Eagles in all of this? Or how about Hank Jr.’s “Family Tradition”? Or David Allen Coe’s “You Never Even Called Me By My Name?” Both have wonderful sing-along choruses. I don’t really care about guitar solos when I am drunk, and country songs can’t be beat when you’re looking for a good drinkin’ song.
Rolling Stones – Honky Tonk Women
The song practically sounds drunk anyway! Not to mention Keith’s slithery perfect-for-air-guitar playing!
“Can’t Take My Eyes Off You”. For evidence see Deerhunter.
The Band – The Weight. Surprised Up on Cripple Creek was mentioned but not this one?
Tiny Dancer!
and we play a fun game where you get in a big circle and play acdc’s thunderstruck….. one person starts drinking, everytime the word thunder is heard, they can stop and the next person starts….. there are 2 or 3 really long intervals in between a few thunders and those people get the shit and have clearly been thunderstruck…
and also ramjam black betty….
Say It Ain’t So – Weezer
Clearly…
“Roxanne” – The Po-lice. What.
“Because the Night” by Patti Smith. Done.
Brown-eyed Girl is still my favorite. Although, if I happen upon a bluegrassy band at a bar, I always seem to drunkenly request Rocky Top (even though I don’t live in Tennessee).
Well, if you were from a rural town in Ohio, you would have to add any Hank Williams, Jr. song to the list!
Rick Springfield – “Jesse’s Girl”
Most Bowie singles (Space oddity, life on mars, sound and vision, john im only dancing)
-Benny and the Jets
-Subterranean Homesick Blues
-Paradise by the Dashboard Light
-Rock Lobster
-Whip It
-1979
Don’t Luke Backkk Yin Angehhh, I heeaad ye saaay – Bloody Fookin’ Oaaaasis.
Mr. Jones – Counting Crows, it takes forever to get to to the chorus, so you’ll have some guy yell out “Mister Jooones an’ me – oh wait, not yet.”
Cryin’/Crazy/Amazing – Aerosmith… hell, all three are interchangeable.
I agree with nate on say it ain’t so by Weezer. Especially if you have someone who can play the song on guitar, then its epic. “this wayyyyy, is a waterslide away from me that take you further everyday…”
“you…
you got what i need…
but, you say you’re just a friend….”
LONG LIVE THE BIZ!
Glory Days by Bruce
The Swish or Killer Parties by Hold Steady
2. “Livin’ On A Prayer” – Bon Jovi
+ Goldschläger
What does “Sweet Caroline” have to do with the Red Sox? It gets ‘em singing in every bar where I’ve ever heard it, and I’ve never even been to Boston.
Do they play it at Fenway or something? Sorry if this is well known. I don’t pay attention to the American League.
Come on, people.
“Throw the Jew Down the Well”
Duh.
I would posit perhaps Pussy Control by your captain with no name speakin’ who is here to rock your world.
That would be Prince.
Trooper – “We’re Here For A Good Time (Not A Long Time)”
Spirit of the West – “Home For A Rest”
(note: If you are going to do a drunken fake jig to the pennywhistle solo at a folk festival, do not expect your $19.99 Ikea festival chairs to survive the experience.)
The Beastie Boys – “Fight For Your Right To Party”
if you suggested anything under 90 bpm you are a fucking tool and a virgin.
particularly piano man. five years is stupid because it is too slow and the intro fades in and not that many people know it. votes for “jessie’s girl”, “livin’ on a prayer”, and “say it ain’t so”
Eddie Money — Take Me Home Tonight. Oh hell yes.
One that my boss and I just drunkenly sang tonight:
“Rudie Can’t Fail” – The Clash
“Drinking brews for breakfast…”
COME ON!
blister in the sun.
“The Brews” by NOFX works nicely w/ the right crowd.
I don’t like mondays.
Maybe this is just a DC thing, but while I’ve heard all the others get the whole place singing, there is nothing like O.A.R’s “That Was A Crazy Game of Poker”.
Seriously, like 9 minutes of the whole damn bar singing.
I think mine is pretty weird. “The Amorous Humphrey Plugg” by Scott Walker. Perfect tune for getting smashed and singing by yourself. Try to reach Scott’s high notes in front of people would be an exercise in both futility and humiliation.
Mine’s a bit odd. I like to sing “The Amorous Humphrey Plugg” by Scott Walker when I’m drunk alone. It’s the sort of song you only want to sing when you’re alone because trying to reach Walker’s notes is an simultaneous exercise in futility and humility.
“The Great Love of All”– Whitney Houston
Hmmm also pretty much every Lucero song ever. Mix that with Jager and you’ve got one hell of a fight waiting to happen!
re thunderstruck: my friends and i used to play something similar with “roxanne”. one team drinks when sting says “roxanne”, and the other team drinks for “you don’t have to turn on the red light.” the song can’t be any longer than 4 minutes, but you kill more beers than you would ever guess.
Definitely Bohemian Rhapsody.