Swingin' Party

1. The Replacements, "Here Comes a Regular" (Sire; 1985).
2. Prince Paul, "Drinks (Escapism)" (Tommy Boy; 1997). eMusic
3. Cee-Lo, "My Kind of People" (Arista; 2004).
4. Smokey Robinson & the Miracles, "Going to a Go-Go" (Motown; 1965). iTunes
5. The Temptations, "Psychedelic Shack" (Motown; 1970).
6. Lee Dorsey, "Night People" (ABC; 1978).
7. Nouvelle Vague, "Friday Night Saturday Morning" (V2; 2004). iTunes
8. The Mekons, "Chivalry" (Sin; 1985). eMusic
9. The Hold Steady, "Killer Parties" (Frenchkiss; 2004). eMusic
10. Arctic Monkeys, "Fake Tales of San Francisco" (Domino; 2005). iTunes
11. Franz Ferdinand, "Do You Want To" (Domino; 2005). iTunes
12. Arctic Monkeys, "I Bet You Look Good on the Dance Floor" (Domino; 2005).
13. Coachwhips, "Dancefloor, Bathroom" (Narnack; 2003). iTunes
14. Lady Sovereign, "Random" (Island; 2005). iTunes
15. Missy Elliott, "Lose Control (Jacques Lu Cont Mix)" (Atlantic; 2005).
16. A Tribe Called Quest, "After Hours" (Jive; 1990). iTunes
17. A Certain Ratio, "All Night Party" (Factory; 1978).
18. Johnny Cash, "Sunday Morning Coming Down" (CBS; 1974).iTunes
19. The Replacements, "Swingin' Party" (Sire; 1985).

Call this mix "Here Comes a Regular" or "Swingin' Party." Hell, with time and ice cubes enough and a few clean glasses, call it "Hootenanny" or "Treatment Bound," "Red Red Wine" or "Nightclub Jitters." Just remember that the soundtrack to any lost weekend should be bookended by the Replacements, ideally starting with their paean to a slack and regrettable autumn spent in a dive bar.

Prince Paul proves himself the Mats' secret kinsman and provides our segue into Cee-Lo's horn-drenched block party, and Lee Dorsey's prequel to same. Relax, the latter's Southern drawls suggest, it's only Friday: Take an innocent detour up through Motown before Saturday morning hits and the karaoke chanteuses in Nouvelle Vague start mimicking the Specials' guilty threats to cut the party short, or the prole-punk Mekons moan about fear and whiskey. Even then, you can distract yourself with a lesson on party geography from the Hold Steady. By the time the precocious Arctic Monkeys rush to the head of the rock class with their talk about New York City and Hunter's Bar and Rotherham, you'll find you've stumbled into Brit indie rock's party of the year, Franz Ferdinand's cheery sniggering and all.

Try not to let the Coachwhips' incomprehensible roar make you nervous; they're always like that. Some people just can't hold their booze. But it's still early. No—I swear!—you have plenty of time, and you'll want to be in the club and on the floor when those Lady Sovereign and Missy Elliott tracks drop.

See? Aren't you glad you stuck around? Yes, it's late now. But listen, do A Tribe Called Quest leave you with even the slightest thought that the after-party could be anything other than a wholesome and rewarding experience? Imagine the sunrise.

Well, look—yeah, I'm tired, too—how could I have foreseen that ugliness we went through with Manchester dance-rock elders A Certain Ratio? Anything can seem ominous when you've been up late; maybe we should have called it a night earlier. We'll get a beer—hair of the dog, right?—with the great Johnny tomorrow morning, and it'll be a beautiful Sunday. Yes, I realize it's Sunday morning now.

Did I mention the Replacements? "Somewhere there's a party/Here it's never ending. . . . "

info@seattleweekly.com

Kristal Hawkins is a writer and editor in New York.