We Can Dance If We Want To

If you give me a beat, I will dance to it. It doesn't matter if it's hip hop, disco, pop or rock--if I like it, I will be shaking my booty. Lord knows there's a lot of bad stuff in my life, but I can always dance to my favorite tunes, and I'm happy.

On Sunday night, I had the opportunity to go check out a rock-n-roll dance night at a small club in Philly with Matt, Nigel and our good friend Mike. When we left, I was exhausted, my ears were ringing, and I was grinning like a maniac. Why exactly?

Because "Take It Off" by The Donnas was playing when I walked in the door. Because I skanked, unashamed, to Rancid's "Time Bomb". Because Mike and I gleefully grabbed hands and ran for the center of the dance floor when "Boys Don't Cry" came on. Matt came out to join us eventually, but he, sadly, does not always recognize a good song by The Cure within the first few notes.

Dancing has always brought me joy, and let's face it, it's a great form of exercise. I just need to find a way to do it more often. There's got to be music I like somewhere on a Friday or Saturday night. Sundays are cool, but then comes the fact that Monday morning I have to drag myself back to work. It was fine this weekend since it was Labor Day and all. I think it would be hard to find a dance club that really suits me though.

I don't want to dance to rap all night, nor do I want to dance to techno. If I were to make a dance mix right now, I'd put the following songs on it:

I Love Rock 'n' Roll by Joan Jett
Knights of Cydonia by Muse
Glass Danse by The Faint
Gone Daddy Gone by Gnarls Barkley
American Wedding by Gogol Bordello
99 Problems by Jay-Z
Tainted Love by Soft Cell
Criminal by Fiona Apple
The Impression That I Get by the Mighty Mighty Bosstones
Wolf Like Me by TV on the Radio
Brass Monkey by Beastie Boys

Now then...where can I find this in the greater Philadelphia area on a night were I am free to go shake my groove thang?

And more importantly, who is coming to my hypothetical dance party, and what song must we play if you're coming?