20 Dance Music Tracks You Could Play at Your Mom’s Cookout

Memorial Day Weekend is here, and you know what that means: Cookouts, block parties, booze cruises, parades, beach parties, and the warm weather music

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Complex Original

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Memorial Day Weekend is here, and you know what that means: Cookouts, block parties, booze cruises, parades, beach parties, and the warm weather music that comes along with it. Gatherings of friends and family are hard to cater to as everyone has differing music tastes so picking smooth, soulful, upbeat jams is essential to creating a positive environment at your MDW shindig. You want those deep cuts. Plus a few borderline bangers. A mixture between danceable tracks and conversation-friendly slow jams are your best friend in this sort of situation, and we're here to help you make that happen. But no matter what you do... start your day out with the summer/cookout track to end all summer/cookout tracks: "Summertime," baby bird. Summertime.

Miami Horror - "I Look To You"

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...oh hello there. I didn't see you come in. You must be the funkiest cookout DJ on this side of town. Those horns are blowing my mind. Well done choosing this little retro tune to kick it off. Tying the beginning of this summer into the end of summers past. Genius. I love it. Give me more.

Daft Punk - "Get Lucky"

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Because it's a sick groove and if you play it people will forget how much those hamburgers you're cooking look like hockey pucks. (Turn the heat down and give those bad boys the time and appreciation they deserve. Grilling is an art. You can't rush art.)

ESSENTIAL DAFT PUNK

Chris Malinchak - "So Good To Me"

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In case you missed it, this is the song that's going to ease your party from day to night. Turn on those white lights you strung up in your backyard and blaze up the citronella candle. While you're at it, take that hunny you've been mixing up screwdrivers for all afternoon and give her a spin on the dancefloor. (Success rate easily over 80%)

Delorean - "Stay Close (RAC Remix)"

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While this one starts off slow, you're not at a BBQ to scream over music. Moods lift with the music - so wake up your friends, family, and uninvited neighborhood mooches with this tune and watch the heads start to bob.

Owl Eyes - "Jewels Sapphires (Goldroom Remix)"

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It was pretty difficult for me to not make every song on this list a Goldroom tune. This ones new so it's hard to resist throwing it on.

Moon Boots - "Love Strong"

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Those piano loops get 'em every time. Trust.

THE 10 MOST UNDERRATED PRODUCERS RIGHT NOW

The Notorious B.I.G. - "Going Back to Cali (Viceroy "Jet Life" Remix)"

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Here's a classic Viceroy tune from his Jet Life album that always reminds me of summer and cook outs. Plus it will satisfy the hip hop heads and put a shake into some asses that need shaking. Scope below for some more groovy hip-hop remixes.

Two Door Cinema Club - "Sun (Alex Metric Remix)"

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The undeniable Alex Metric makes a danceable groove out of this huge Two Door Cinema song - and leaves us with a build up that makes you want to throw up an Avicii hand and a drop that deserves a Jersey Shore fist bump. Or none of the above if you're double-fisting, you frat-star you.

Goldroom - "Sweetness Alive (Pat Lok Remix)"

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Let me know what happens to your cookout when this song kicks - unless your house gets torn down out of pure unbridled joy, then that's your problem.

Isaac Tichauer - "To Fall In Love is True"

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Freshhhh off of Tichauer's new EP, this song is the perfect jam for any laid-back gathering of who-the-fuck-ever. From the beautiful baseline, to the a hook that keeps coming back for more - this song hands out chills like a fever.

Le Youth - "COOL"

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Oh what's that? You love this Le Youth song and you want MORE for your cookout? Yeah I thought you would. I bet your nu-disco lovin ass gets down to R&B remixes like TLC and shit. Well good, because that's what I'm giving you. Scrub.

Bob Marley - "Mr. Brown (Robitc Pirate Monkey Remix)"

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This song is old. Not in the big scheme of things, but in Internet years it might be around 150 (roughly three human years). Regardless, this is a tried an true cookout/college day drink crowd killer. Trust in Bob, and he shall deliver.

Oh and here's another one for ya:

Bondax - "Gold (Moon Boots Remix)"

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Moon Boots... coming back at ya for seconds. What else can I say? Moon Boots is the stand-out summer jam all-star from French Express and it looks like he's ready to sit on that title all the way to the bank.

Viceroy - "Dream Of Bombay (Bit Funk Remix)"

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You like that? Yeah you do. That's because that's what Viceroy does best. Just pumpin out tracks that make you feel like driving a convertible to the beach with your model girlfriends riding shotgun... which I realize is not an option for 90% of the people reading this blog (I see you trust fund ravers), so listening to this should be a close second.

Lorde - "Royals (Magnifik Remix)"

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Love this song... love the remix. Nuff said.

Disclosure ft. Eliza Doolittle - "You & Me"

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Just another massive track from Disclosure. If you're asking yourself what a Disclosure is, you can't afford it.

Justin Timberlake - "Let The Groove Get In (Sammy Bananas Bootleg)"

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Not a huge fan of the original track by JT. The things that Sammy B did to this track are unheard of in 15 countries though. Countries where extreme levels of funk are either illegal or extremely hazardous to avalanche conditions.

Daft Punk - "Get Lucky (Vanderway Edit)"

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Remember this one? The song that helped us survive the dark days until Random Access Memories dropped? Well the extreme farm to table freshness of this track is still prime. Giddyup.

Poolside - "Do You Believe"

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Do I believe? Yeah, I believe this track is flawless. Even if you're not poolside, play some Poolside to feel poolside and live Poolside. Follow me?

Andy Jay & S-Tee ft. Charlene - "It's Still U (L Phonix & Yllavation Remix)"

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Random tune, but we posted about it a while back. Throw this one on when the lights go down and heavy hands start pouring cocktails strong enough to throw on "Closing Time."

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