As the Badgers prepare to take on the Buckeyes this weekend in what is sure to be a memorable matchup, thousands of Badger fans across the country are simultaneously finalizing their plans on how they will make their pre-game tailgate one to be remembered (or forgotten). While brats, burgers, and beer (for our 21+ readers of course) are essential, one vital aspect of the tailgate that is neglected all too often is the music. In order to ensure that your tailgate doesn’t fall into a monotonous shuffle of old country music, we here at Sconnie Sports Talk have decided to provide you with the definitive list of songs you’ll want to tailgate with this weekend.
- Summer of ’69—Bryan Adams
Bryan Adams starts off the list with debatably the catchiest song of all time. Toss this on early in the tailgate to loosen up the crowd while they wait for the food to come off the grill.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9f06QZCVUHg
- Free Bird—Lynyrd Skynyrd
The slow jam to end all slow jams. Lynyrd Skynyrd nearly lulls you to sleep before delivering arguably the most ridiculous guitar solo of all time. Free Bird is also a casual 9-minutes long, which means more time for bean bag toss and subsequently less time spent worrying about your next song.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D0W1v0kOELA
- All of the Lights—Kanye West
This song goes off. There is no other way to put it. It may seem out of place, but it deserves to be here nonetheless. Kanye, the self-proclaimed god of rap, teams up with Rihanna and Kid Cudi to create this Grammy-winning masterpiece.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HAfFfqiYLp0
- Wagon Wheel—Darius Rucker
Everyone is born knowing the words to Wagon Wheel. Turn this one way up to drown out the drunken chorus coming from the bag toss court.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hvKyBcCDOB4
- Glory Days—Bruce Springsteen
It’s pretty tough to find a more fitting anthem for a college football tailgate than this song. Listen to The Boss recall his “glory days” as you re-live them yourself.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6vQpW9XRiyM
- Surfin—Kid Cudi
A late addition to the list, Kid Cudi dropped this upbeat track last week as a preview to his 5th album “Passion, Pain, & Demon Slayin”. If you have the confidence to break this one out on Saturday, you won’t regret it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y8GMktNXku8
- Pink Houses—John Mellencamp
Few things are more American than a tailgate. This song is a perfect accent to one of America’s oldest pastimes as it provides a musical snapshot of America in the 80’s.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qOfkpu6749w
- Dream On—Aerosmith
This song makes you want to run through a wall. What better way to prepare for the electric atmosphere of a night game at Camp Randall than listening to a song that is equally electric?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hHRNSeuvzlM
- Thunderstruck—AC/DC
If any tailgate song is more hype than number three on the list, this is it. Guaranteed to get you way too excited before kickoff.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v2AC41dglnM
- Run This Town—Jay-Z (feat. Rihanna)
Listen to this right before you go join the 80,000 fans cheering for the Badgers this Saturday in the first top-10 matchup at Camp Randall since 2011. You’ll know why we named it the Number 1 Tailgate Song for this weekend.
http://www.mtv.com/videos/jay-z/429303/run-this-town-feat-rihanna-and-kanye-west.jhtml
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Image courtesy of YouTube