I don't know about you guys, but high school was a less than enthralling experience for me. I don't wax nostalgic on anything about that time...except one thing, the dances. Particularly the end-of-the-night slow dance.
Ah the slow dance. It may just be the most slept-on courtship ritual. There's nothing like a slow grind to set your wheels to spinning, is there? It has all the elements you need: the dark room, the sexy music, the full-on body contact, all of this with the added titillation of being in public. Seriously - is there anything greater than a slow dance?
Remember when we were in high school and we would go to dances for the express purpose of having that slow dance with the girl or boy of our dreams? You didn't have to spend the whole night trying to talk to each other because there was a time for move-making: the end of the night. Of course, if the end of the night came and you didn't get your dance you were plummeted to the depths of misery, but oh well.
Unfortunately, like passing notes and cheer-leading uniforms, slow dances don't seem to fit in with adult life. It's such a tragedy. These days, when the slow jam portion of the evening comes, the ladies lean up on walls singing to each other and the men head to coat-check. Or their cars.
The dearth of slow dances has rendered a lot of really great songs almost useless so today I bring you my Top 20 Songs to Take a Grind To.
1. Turn off the Lights - Teddy Pendergrass
2. Crazy for You - Madonna
3. Act Right - Teairra Mari (although I feel like I am the only person in the world who even knows this song)
4. Night Nurse - Gregory Isaacs
5. Birthday Sex - Jeremih
6. I Don't Want to Do Anything + Freak N You - Jodeci
7. Storm - Glenn Lewis (If you follow me on twitter you already know this song makes me want to do bad things...)
8. Me and Mrs. Jones - Billy Paul
9. Let's Wait Awhile - Janet Jackson
10. Untitled - D'Angelo (if for no other reason than the opportunity to play that video in your head while you're dancing...oh lord)
11. Missing You - Case
12. O - Omarion
13. Rock Me Tonight - Freddie Jackson
14. So Anxious + Stingy - Ginuwine
15. Stroke You Up - Changing Faces
16. Take Away - Missy Elliott
17. These Arms of Mine - Otis Redding
18. You Are My Lady - Freddie Jackson
19. It Kills Me - Melanie Fiona
20. Stairway to Heaven - Led Zeppelin (Random? Yes. But it was always the last song at my high school dances so it wins for nostalgia. Plus it's like 20 minutes long so you get a good looooooong grind)
So tell me people - do you guys miss slow dancing too? Or is it still part of your life as an adult? What are your favourite songs to grind to?
