Celebrate the College’s 150th Anniversary with the best tunes of Reunions.
By Kris Dreessen
What songs would you add? Email scene@geneseo.edu and we will be adding to our list!
If you have been to SUNY Geneseo’s Reunion block parties, Jon Yates ’91 has guided your good-time vibe. He has been the party DJ since 2001.
Reunion block party 2019. /Photo by Keith Walters ’11
As a student, Yates was operations manager of the College Union and also plays music for other campus events. As we head into our 150th anniversary Reunion and block party, we asked him to create his most-often played, most requested, most great songs to share with alumni so they can listen anywhere. Don’t feel slighted if your favorite song is farther down the list.
“The songs are in no particular order, neither by popularity, age, or otherwise,” says Yates. “Enjoy!”
Check it out on Spotify and turn the volume up!
Old School: Here’s a list if you want to build the playlist yourself, or make a mix tape.
Stray Cats- Rock This Town, Stray Cat Strut
Talking Heads- Life During Wartime, Psycho Killer, Burning Down the House
Guns ‘n Roses- Paradise City
Vanilla Ice- Ice Ice Baby
The Vengaboys- We Like To Party
Mishap- April’s Cold, Do It For You (Mishap is a mid-90s Geneseo band that went out on the road to make it big…)
Herb Gross & The Invictas- The Hump
Starland Vocal Band- Afternoon Delight
Donnie Iris- Ah! Leah!
Don McLean- American Pie
Kid Rock- All Summer Long
The Kinks- All Day and All of the Night
The J. Geils Band- I Do
Boz Scaggs- It’s Over
Billy Joel- I’ve Loved These Days, Piano Man, We Didn’t Start the Fire, Only the Good Die Young
Pretenders- Brass In Pocket
Abba- Dancing Queen
AC-DC- Shook Me All Night Long, Dirty Deeds
Technotronic- Pump Up the Jam
Grandmaster Flash- White Lines
Alannah Myles- Black Velvet
Andy Kim- Rock Me Gently
Barenaked Ladies- Be My Yoko Ono, If I Had $1000000
B-52s- Rock Lobster, Love Shack
Beastie Boys- Intergalactic, Brass Monkey
Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons- December 1963 (Oh What a Night)
Cheap Trick- I Want You To Want Me
10,000 Maniacs- What’s the Matter Here, These Are Days
Indigo Girls- Closer To Fine, Galileo
Yaz- Situation
Will Smith- Miami
The Who- My Generation, Baba O’Riley
Violent Femmes- Blister In the Sun
Van Morrison- Brown Eyed Girl
Simon & Garfunkel- Me and Julio Down By the Schoolyard
UB40- Red Red Wine, Can’t Help Falling In Love
Thin Lizzy- The Boys Are Back In Town
T-Pain- Buy You a Drank
The Sugar Hill Gang- Rapper’s Delight
Billy Idol- Mony Mony, Rebel Yell
The Beatles- Twist and Shout, Ob-La-Di Ob-La-Da
Bob Marley & The Wailers- Three Little Birds
Chumbawumba- Tubthumping
Clarence Carter- Strokin’
The Clash- Rock the Casbah
The Cult- Lil’ Devil, Fire Woman
David Bowie- Heroes, Suffragette City, Let’s Dance
Depeche Mode- I Just Can’t Get Enough, Personal Jesus
Def Leppard- Pour Some Sugar On Me
Bon Jovi- Livin’ On a Prayer, You Give Love a Bad Name
The Doors- Break On Through, Roadhouse Blues
Elvis Costello & The Attractions- Radio Radio
The Fixx- One Thing Leads To Another
George Thorogood- One Bourbon One Scotch One Beer, Move It On Over, Bad To the Bone
Green Day- Welcome To Paradise, Basket Case
Dexy’s Midnight Runners- Come On Eileen
Alumni dance at the 2019 block party. /Photo by Keith Walters ’11
