Trial by iTunes Library

I am pleased to report that we have been invited to our first -- oh wait, SECOND! -- party in Chicago. First one was the neighbors knocking on our door and asking if we'd like to share in their BBQ wealth last weekend. I was so happy I pranced right over to their apartment in bare feet. All we had to eat that night was mac n' cheese. (Adeptly zapped in the microwave by Jason.) Only in the midst of shoveling the pasta salad on my plate, standing in the middle of their kitchen, amongst their guests, did I realize that I was violating the "no shirt, no shoes, no service" rule.
But now an invitation has been extended that will require leaving the building and wearing shoes. Part of the pride in this party comes from the fact that it was a little bit of a concern that with Jason working from home much of the responsibility for making connections to the outside world would fall upon me, the Part 1 of 2 who actually leaves the house every morning. However, it's Jason that has the open, midwestern, jovial, and friendly attitude that garners him friends wherever he goes. I grew up with more of the city-dweller, don't look them in the eye and by no means speak to them, attitude. Or at least that's what I say when people ask why I was unpopular in high school. So, what if all of our friendship potential rested on my little introverted shoulders?
Here, however is the challenge: Being a polite houseguest, I asked the co-worker host if I might bring anything to the party. He tallied off the gallons of alcohol he planned to purchase, noted that food was not so necessary, and then replied, "Do you have an iPod?" The suggested assignment was to bring my iPod with music for the party. A cool, modern idea, no doubt. However, quickly my mind fled to all the tracks that would be mortifying to have shuffle on during a party of people who I am trying to impress. Here's a selection of my most mortifying tracks, that would surely inspire all my new co-workers to turn and say, "Is this YOUR iPod- , Claire?!" Ensue the junior high flashbacks...except I didn't have an iPod in j-high, and I also never went to any parties):
- Ice Ice Baby, Vanilla Ice (...cooking MC's like a pound of bacon!)
- Crucify, Tori Amos (or any other the 19 Tori tracks featured in my library. Or any song that in any way suggests that I was ever an emotionally vulnerable liberal arts major. So nix The Story, Sarah Maclachlan, Sinead O'Connor...)
- We Built This City, Starship (from Billboard Hits, 1985)
- Wannabe, Spice Girls
- If the Spice Girls are out, so is Banarama. Yeah, I might challenge anyone to deny that they didn't watch The Karate Kid a million times, but Cruel Summer might not carry me that far.
- Pieces of Me, Ashlee Simpson (I just couldn't get the song out of my head, ok? Had to purchase it via iTunes.)
- Same for Can't Get You Out of My Head, Kylie Minogue (but it's great for the gym.)
And I don't know the crowd well enough yet to know how J-Lo might go, so I'll leave her at home too.
Are there any sure-fire, make-me-popular, songs? If so, send them my way via the comments section!


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