How to get control of the campfire music

Over the weekend, I went camping with some of my very bestest friends. We spent a lot of time (aka most of the time) sitting around the campfire listening to music and staring at the fire. Since we were camping with boys, I didn't get many opportunities to tend to the fire. Not that I'm complaining. The fire was great.



In situations such as these, it can also be difficult to get many opportunities to be in charge of the music. This weekend I accidentally discovered a surefire way (pun intended) to get control of the musical selection while camping. The first step is to gain some street cred. On the first night, put together a playlist that is pleasing to everyone in the group...especially the boys. This is key. As a girl, you need to impress the males in the group with your musical tastes so that they trust you with the ipod player. I suggest the following campfire playlist (in no particular order):

Man in the Mirror - MJ
This is how we do it - Montell Jordan
Sweet Caroline - Neil Diamond
Pimp Juice - Nelly*
Smells Like Teen Spirit - Nirvana
Bohemian Rhapsody - Queen
I wish - Skee Lo
The Joker - Steve Miller band
Regulate - Warren G
Say it ain't so - Weezer
Here I go again - Whitesnake
Santeria - Sublime
Jessie's Girl - Rick Springfield
Crazy Train - Ozzy Osbourne
Danger Zone - Kenny Loggins
Ring of Fire - Johnny Cash
Sweet Child O Mine - Guns n Roses
Nuthin But a g' thang - Dr. Dre/ snoop
Died in your arms tonight - cutting crew
Zombie - Cranberries
Gangsta's Paradise - Coolio
Check up on it - Beyonce*
Piano Man - Billy Joel
Wanted DEad or alive - Bon Jovi

*don't be afraid to throw in a few of your wacky favorites. Keep it authentic, or they'll know something's up.

The next night, they'll BEG you to make another playlist. They had so much fun belting out "Fallin' back on that ass with a hellified gangsta' lean; Gettin' funky on the mic like a' old batch o' collard greens" that they'll be dying to see what other awesome playlist you can come up with. This is when you move in for the kill. Now, you get to play Mariah Carey! At this point, it is key to keep some of the crowd-pleasing songs. You don't want anyone to turn off your music because you overloaded on Ke$ha. In fact, just keep Ke$ha out of it. That is strictly for alone-time on the elliptical machine. But, notice how the playlist shifts slightly for round two (country and chick pop make an appearance...and a little more Nelly):

Air Force Ones - Nelly
Always Be My Baby - Mariah Carey
Area Codes - Ludacris
Beat It - MJ
Bitch - Meredith Brooks
Born in the USA - The boss
Bootylicious - Destiny's Child
The Cowboy in Me - Tim McGraw
The Devil went down to georgia - charlie daniels band
Dirt off your shoulder - Jay Z
Don't stop believin - journey
Eye of the Tiger - survivor
Empire State of Mind - Alicia Keys & Jay z
Fancy - Reba Mcentire
What a Feeling - Irene Cara
Friday I'm in Love - The Cure
Gin & Juice - Snoop Dogg
Grillz - Nelly
Hash Pipe - Weezer
Hungry Eyes - Eric Carmen
I Love Rock and Roll - Joan Jett
I wanna dance with somebody - whitney houston
I'm on a Boat
Ignition - Jamie Foxx
Like a G6 - Far East Movement
Live Those Songs - Kenny Chesney
Magic Carpet Ride - Steppenwolf
No Diggity - Blackstreet
Paper Planes - MIA
Shameless - Garth Brooks
Tha Crossroads - Bone Thugs

Both playlists are guaranteed campfire favorites :) Enjoy!! Oh, and stay tuned for a future post on "how to dress for success at the campsite."