Ellis wanted jazz for the whole evening. Amara wanted one hour of it. We got one hour of it.
The playlist argument ran for three weeks over a shared document that both of us edited late at night and neither of us discussed directly until the fourth week. Ellis's additions leaned toward a quiet trio sound that would have suited a much smaller room. Amara's leaned toward anything that could be danced to by people who had been drinking since four in the afternoon.
The compromise, eventually
One hour of the quiet trio sound, placed right after the meal when a room full of people wants to talk rather than dance. Then a hard turn into everything else, handed over in full to a band Gerald recommended, who have apparently played at Fernwater enough times to know exactly when a room is ready to move.
One hour of quiet, placed right after the meal, then a hard turn into everything else.
The one song neither of us will discuss
There is a first dance song, and we have agreed not to mention it here, mostly because Ellis cannot say the title without laughing, which rather gives away how unserious the choice actually was.
If you are building a playlist with somebody else, put the hour you disagree on first, and let it be short. Everything after that tends to sort itself out.
