Throw Your Hands in the Air

1. “Oh L’Amour,” Erasure
2. “Ballroom Blitz,” Sweet
3. “Second Skin,” The Gits
4. “I Love It,” Icona Pop + Charli XCX
5. “Heads Will Roll,” Yeah Yeah Yeahs
6. “Earth Angel,” Death Cab for Cutie
7. “Dance Apocalyptic,” Janelle Monae
8. “Always on My Mind,” Pet Shop Boys
9. “Do It Again,” Royksopp + Robyn
10. “OYAHYTT,” The Coup + LaKeith Stanfield
11. “Hands in the Air,’ Girl Talk
12. “I’ve Been Thinking,” Handsome Boy Modeling School + Cat Power
13. “Atomic,” Blondie
14. “Venus,” Bananarama
15. “Eventually,” Tame Impala
16. “Willing to Wait,” Sebadoh
17. “Night Light,” Cold Cave
18. “Temptation,” New Order
19. “You Spin Me Round (Like a Record),” Dead or Alive
20. “The Roof Is on Fire,” Rock Master Scott & the Dynamic Three
21. “I Love You But Damn,” Smokey Brights
22. “Crazy for You,” Madonna

Liner Notes

1. (80s) I feel like Erasure gets somewhat forgotten in the 80s genre, but they were a staple of any dance.
2. (70s) Just a fun song, a little glam, a little punk, a little rowdy…
3. (90s) …Leading into full on rowdy, Riot Grrrl punk. Mosh time!
4. (10s) A poppy dance song that’s as infectious as omicron. Time to get everyone on the dance floor.
5. (00s) An absolute banger from a band you don’t really think of as that danceable.
6. (50s) Great cover, with a nod to the Enchantment Under the Sea dance of Nov. 12, 1955.
7. A fun genre mashup, with hints of doo-wop, jitterbug and new wave, and a good segue between 50s and 80s.
8. One of my favorite covers ever, from one of the best dance-music groups ever.
9. Another banger that will get everyone on the dance floor.
10. Sorry to bother you, but another absolute ripper that demands bouncing your body, leading to…
11. …the crazy mashup that is Girl Talk. Just listen to “Feed the Animals,” insane album.
12. Slowing it down now with a slinky slow jam.
13. And speeding back up with some classic disco-era new wave.
14. (60s) Keeping to the synth theme with this cover .
15. Prom’s not all happy times, so here’s one of the nicest breakup songs ever.
16. And one for those with a crush on their best friend.
17. (20s) Here’s a bouncy one almost more New Order-ey than New Order.
18. Speaking of… (couldn’t NOT have New Order)
19. The greatest dance song of the 80s (right round, round round).
20. So many classic call-and-reponses from this song. And if you’ve never heard a couple hundred Catholic school kids chanting “We don’t need no water let the motherfucker burn!” as a nun futilely waves her arms in protest, then you’ve missed out. Plus, good one to slow down to, just bounce a bit before the slow stuff begins.
21. One of my favorites from recent years. Plus, the long-distance-relationship theme fits prom, sorta, with people going to different schools in the fall.
22. A makeup Last Dance song, since in 8th grade we voted for Led Zeppelin’s “Stairway to Heaven” over “Crazy for You” simply because it was 8 minutes long. But this is an objectively better slow-dance song, so time to set things straight.