# You're Marty McFly, ready to play 3 songs from the future at a 1955 prom. What do you play? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 17, 2011, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-marty-mcfly-ready-to-play-3-songs-from-the-future-at-a-1955-prom-what-do-you-play/603256 "2011-11-17T19:29:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2011, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-marty-mcfly-ready-to-play-3-songs-from-the-future-at-a-1955-prom-what-do-you-play/603256/1 "2011-11-17T19:29:21Z")
Title says it all. Assume, since this is a fantasy and all, that your backing band (and you too!) has the chops to play whatever it is from 1956-now that you select. What do you play? How would the crowd react? Hell, how would the _chaperones_ react? ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2011, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-marty-mcfly-ready-to-play-3-songs-from-the-future-at-a-1955-prom-what-do-you-play/603256/2 "2011-11-17T19:39:16Z")
The Trashmen’s _Surfin’ Bird_ Tom Lehrer’s _So Long Mom, I’m Off to Drop the Bomb_ Laurie Anderson’s _O Superman_ I would expect to be pelted with drinking glasses and toilet paper, and maybe given a swirly by a deputization of football players. ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2011, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-marty-mcfly-ready-to-play-3-songs-from-the-future-at-a-1955-prom-what-do-you-play/603256/3 "2011-11-17T19:43:23Z")
I don’t think you could do better than '80s pop rock _if_ you’re looking for stuff that’ll appeal to a group of '50s teenagers. '60s and '70s were too counterculture and would be way out of their experience. There’s probably stuff from the '90s on that would be good, since stuff’s gotten so varied. For myself, I’d kind of like to see the reactions to: Guns 'N Roses - _Sweet Child O’ Mine_ Big Bad Voodoo Daddy - _Go Daddy-O_, or any other '90s swing music Anything from Michael Jackson, but probably _Billie Jean_ or _Thriller_ ---
**Author:** ![Simplicio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c37758/32.png) [@Simplicio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simplicio)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2011, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-marty-mcfly-ready-to-play-3-songs-from-the-future-at-a-1955-prom-what-do-you-play/603256/4 "2011-11-17T19:45:18Z")
Well, if you don’t play Johnny B Goode, then Chuck Barry wouldn’t be able to steal it and pass it off as his own, and the song wouldn’t exist. And since I like that song, I’d sort of have to play it so that I could still enjoy it in the future. ---
**Author:** ![well\_he\_s\_back](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/3ab097/32.png) [@well\_he\_s\_back](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/well_he_s_back)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2011, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-marty-mcfly-ready-to-play-3-songs-from-the-future-at-a-1955-prom-what-do-you-play/603256/5 "2011-11-17T19:46:24Z")
Springsteen’s ‘Born in the USA’ REM’s “End of the World” Tom Petty “Refugee” These would be kinda reocgnizable to 50s folk as rock, but the subject matter might have them scratching their heads. which is fine. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2011, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-marty-mcfly-ready-to-play-3-songs-from-the-future-at-a-1955-prom-what-do-you-play/603256/6 "2011-11-17T19:48:58Z")
This is a surprizingly easy question. I’ve known the answer since before that movie came out. Dazed and Confused Faeries Wear Boots Shine On You Crazy Diamond The audience’s reaction? They’ll hail me as a freakin’ genius. I’ve actually know this since I was, oh, 16. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2011, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-marty-mcfly-ready-to-play-3-songs-from-the-future-at-a-1955-prom-what-do-you-play/603256/7 "2011-11-17T20:00:10Z")
I’d definitely play something from “Sergeant Pepper’s Lonely Heats Club Band,” perhaps “A Day In the Life.” Something by Jimi Hendrix, either “Purple Haze” or his cover of “All Along the Watchtower.” And maybe something by Led Zeppelin. “The Immigrant Song,” or possibly “Kashmir.” Or maybe even “Moby Dick.” Maybe for an encore I’d do “My Generation.” They’d probably be all scratching their heads like when Marty went into the guitar improv at the end of “Johnny B. Goode.” But hey, give them about ten more years and they’ll be groovin’ on it. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim_r.mortiss/32/142_2.png) [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_R.Mortiss)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2011, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-marty-mcfly-ready-to-play-3-songs-from-the-future-at-a-1955-prom-what-do-you-play/603256/8 "2011-11-17T20:05:12Z")
I’d do early Beatles, like “I Wanna Hold Your Hand” and “She Loves You Yeah, Yeah, Yeah,” etc. Just a tad into the future, so the audience should find it acceptable, but still groundbreaking. ---
**Author:** ![Sudden\_Kestrel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecd19e/32.png) [@Sudden\_Kestrel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sudden_Kestrel)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2011, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-marty-mcfly-ready-to-play-3-songs-from-the-future-at-a-1955-prom-what-do-you-play/603256/9 "2011-11-17T20:13:12Z")
Oh, this is easy: _Whole Lotta Love_, Led Zepplin _Rock Lobster_, The B52s _I Love the Dead_, Alice Cooper I would expect stunned silence through the first song and then, after they finished dancing against their will to my second selection, a host of enraged citizens chasing me around with pitchforks and torches while I finish the set. ---
**Author:** ![Suburban\_Plankton](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suburban_plankton/32/219_2.png) [@Suburban\_Plankton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Suburban_Plankton)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2011, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-marty-mcfly-ready-to-play-3-songs-from-the-future-at-a-1955-prom-what-do-you-play/603256/10 "2011-11-17T20:17:27Z")
Freeeeebiiiirrd! Something by Hendrix - Are you Experienced?, perhaps. And I’d still play Johnny B. Goode, because it’s an awesome song. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2011, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-marty-mcfly-ready-to-play-3-songs-from-the-future-at-a-1955-prom-what-do-you-play/603256/11 "2011-11-17T20:21:54Z")
> [@Sudden\_Kestrel](#): > > I would expect stunned silence through the first song and then, after they finished dancing against their will to my second selection, a host of enraged citizens chasing me around with pitchforks and torches while I finish the set. That might get you that result, but if you want to guarantee it, replace your third number with _Dead Babies_. ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2011, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-marty-mcfly-ready-to-play-3-songs-from-the-future-at-a-1955-prom-what-do-you-play/603256/12 "2011-11-17T21:00:35Z")
Some awesome instrumentals, maybe. Frankenstein - Edgar Winter Group Hocus Pocus - Focus YYZ - Rush (Okay, maybe those need more than just a guitar…) ---
**Author:** ![HMS\_Irruncible](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hms_irruncible/32/7394_2.png) [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2011, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-marty-mcfly-ready-to-play-3-songs-from-the-future-at-a-1955-prom-what-do-you-play/603256/13 "2011-11-17T21:02:50Z")
“White Lines” by Grandmaster Flash Nothing else, I’d just play it 3 times. ---
**Author:** ![Bambro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/df705f/32.png) [@Bambro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bambro)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2011, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-marty-mcfly-ready-to-play-3-songs-from-the-future-at-a-1955-prom-what-do-you-play/603256/14 "2011-11-17T21:13:53Z")
Seek and Destroy - Metallica Paranoid - Black Sabbath We will rock you - Queen ---
**Author:** ![River\_Hippie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/river_hippie/32/26_2.png) [@River\_Hippie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/River_Hippie)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2011, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-marty-mcfly-ready-to-play-3-songs-from-the-future-at-a-1955-prom-what-do-you-play/603256/15 "2011-11-17T21:50:01Z")
I’m going with songs that I think the audience might like and relate to but that would also seem new and different. It would be tempting to try and shock and awe them with something more extreme. My picks: \*Rebel, Rebel \*by Bowie _That’s What I Like About You_ by The Romantics _Wicked Game_ by Chris Issac ---
**Author:** ![Anamorphic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/anamorphic/32/3057_2.png) [@Anamorphic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anamorphic)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2011, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-marty-mcfly-ready-to-play-3-songs-from-the-future-at-a-1955-prom-what-do-you-play/603256/16 "2011-11-17T21:51:01Z")
Someone posed a somewhat similar question to me years ago, except it was along the lines of: “If an alien came down to earth and wanted to know what rock and roll music was, and you were only allowed one song to play for him to define the genre, what song would it be?”. I thought about this for a while and ultimately decided on **Gloria** by Them. Three chords, a hard driving beat, and screeching about sex - it perfectly sums up rock. I guess for this scenario, my other two songs would be… **Anarchy In The UK** by the Sex Pistols and, well, Johnny B. Goode. I don’t think they’d particularly take to Anarchy, but that’s kind of the point, isn’t it? ---
**Author:** ![Clawdio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d07c76/32.png) [@Clawdio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clawdio)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2011, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-marty-mcfly-ready-to-play-3-songs-from-the-future-at-a-1955-prom-what-do-you-play/603256/17 "2011-11-17T22:12:07Z")
Open with: Sympathy for the devil by the Stones Slow things down with: Stripped down version of Home Sweet Home by Motley Crue Close with: Born to Run by Springsteen which will (in my mind) just blow the roof off the sucker… ---
**Author:** ![Ponderoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponderoid/32/19221_2.png) [@Ponderoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponderoid)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2011, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-marty-mcfly-ready-to-play-3-songs-from-the-future-at-a-1955-prom-what-do-you-play/603256/18 "2011-11-17T22:14:01Z")
This is one I’ve spent probably more time than is healthy thinking about before. 🙂 If I had a time machine, there are hundreds of songs I’d want to steal and play for earlier audiences. I wouldn’t want to be Marty McFly; I’d rather be myself, with a voice worth listening to, of course. And with a backing band I’d had a chance to rehearse with. Most of those songs I’d like to play were originally by male artists, and end up displaying interesting twists on the power relationship between the sexes even if the lyrics are altered to keep them heterosexual songs. But, limited to just three, I think I’d just stick to Grrl songs: “Dreams”, Cranberries “Just a Girl”, No Doubt “Bitch”, Meredith Brooks. Strickland would be charging the stage to shut us down the instant we hit the first refrain, so perhaps change that word to “witch” in the lyrics. If we didn’t have to worry about Strickland et al shutting us down, I wouldn’t change “Bitch” and I’d replace the first two songs with these to see the reactions: “Manic Monday”, Bangles (woman works 9-5 to support her unemployed boytoy) “I Kissed a Girl”, Jill Sobule (not the completely different song by Katy Perry) \*\*\* Ponder ---
**Author:** ![3\_20\_59\_or\_bust](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/3/47e85d/32.png) [@3\_20\_59\_or\_bust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/3_20_59_or_bust)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2011, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-marty-mcfly-ready-to-play-3-songs-from-the-future-at-a-1955-prom-what-do-you-play/603256/19 "2011-11-17T22:16:13Z")
_Paranoid Android_ by Radiohead, _I Confess_ by English Beat, and, of course, _Fuck You_ by Cee Lo Green. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2011, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-marty-mcfly-ready-to-play-3-songs-from-the-future-at-a-1955-prom-what-do-you-play/603256/20 "2011-11-17T22:17:50Z")
I’d play “Summertime Blues”, “Peggy Sue” and “Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On”. The audience would go nuts, a talent scout in the audience would sign me up and I’d go on to be bigger than Elvis (assuming of course that I could keep churning out hits a couple of years ahead of their time). [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-marty-mcfly-ready-to-play-3-songs-from-the-future-at-a-1955-prom-what-do-you-play/603256.md?page=2)