Welcome to Pure So You Think You Can Dance

I’m sure everyone’s as excited as I am that we don’t have to wait very long for So You Think You Can Dance this year.  I’ve been seeing ads everywhere for the new season, which gives me a thrill of excitement each time. Yet somehow, I still missed hearing about the special this past Wednesday. Thanks to Margaret for re-capping it so I didn’t feel like I completely missed out.

One of my favorite things about SYTYCD has always been the music. I’ve always discovered more new favorite songs and musicians from this show than I do from any music show like Idol. Sometimes, particular songs get tied very strongly with routines in my head and I can’t help remembering the performances wherever I am. For example, Duffy’s “Mercy,” any of the Roisin Murphy routines, “Ruby Blue”  most notably at the moment, and I have a strong suspicion that Jason Mraz’s “If It Kills Me,” will probably remain a memorable routine song in my head.

Of course, also interesting to me is how the choreographers and dancers can take an artist or song I don’t like and create something special around it. Pretty much any Celine Dion song, for instance. There are several memorable numbers to songs of hers that I really enjoy, but I don’t dig her otherwise.

So I’m finding myself wondering about Season 6’s music. I suspect that several of the top songs from Season 5 will crop up.  I always like seeing “Jungle Drum” on the show, though I suspect “O Fortuna” will probably be out, at least for the auditions.

I’m not sure I can really predict many specifics, except that some popular songs will be utilized, probably something from a contestant this year on American Idol (they already used Kris Allen’s cover of “Heartless,”  so why not his cover of “Ain’t No Sunshine,” which was the moment I started to take him seriously on AI?).

Well, after checking out my iTunes, YouTube and CDbaby.com favorites, I put together a bit of a list of music I’d love to see on the show. If nothing else, I’ve put together a list of some wonderful music, I think.

Been dying to see The Magnetic Fields on SYTYCD – Busby Berkeley Dreams or The Luckiest Guy on the Lower East Side

Johnny Cash’s cover of Hurt

Patty Griffin – something like Kite Song or Rowing Song or Trapeze

Why not some Fleetwood Mac? Tusk or Landslide would be the go-tos, Tusk would be a great group routine

Set Fire to the Third Bar by Snow Patrol, featuring Martha Wainwright

Cold Cold Ground Tom Waits

Crying Blood by VV Brown (not at all what you’d think, listen and watch the video)

Still Have My Heart by Caitlin Crosby

Graves by Louisiana’s Benjy Davis Project

This funky 70s song by Dutch group Mouth & McNeal, How Do You Do

Save Me by Joan as Policewoman

For some more Nina Simone action, anything would do, but I’m partial to Do I Move You

Mark Growden’s St. Judas would be interesting to see choreographed

Mason Jenning’s Lemon Grove Avenue

I’d love some Jenny Owen Youngs, but her best song has an expletive in the title and throughout

Something from Lagaan for Bollywood, like Chale Chalo

Alice Smith, anything, but Fake Is the New Real is a good one

Something from Coraline, for a Les Triplettes de Belleville flavor, like Mechanical Lullaby

Lindsay Rae Spurlock (a friend, I must confess) has some great songs, but November (Real World finale) would be good

Jezebel by Two Hours’ Traffic

Bitter Heart by Zee Avi

Maybe Angus & Julia Stone’s The Best is too long and too hard to shorten, but it’d be cool to see anyway

Forevermore by Katie Herzig

Johnny and June by Heidi Newfield

Dry Your Eyes Mate The Streets

Marked Man Mieka Pauley or her All the Same Mistakes

Theoretical Girl’s Rivals would make a girl Top 2 girls routine

I have to stop myself now. I could do this all day. I haven’t picked much that would work for hip-hop and I’m sure I’ve neglected other styles as well. So y’all will have to suggest some, too. Songs you love? Songs you think are inevitable as SYTYCD routines? What do you think?