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.

Group of alumni at the Reunion block party in 2019

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

Two alumni dance at the block party

Alumni dance at the 2019 block party. /Photo by Keith Walters ’11