Two New Year’s Eves ago, I posted A Nerdy Playlist for New Year’s Eve. I thought it might be fun to tweak it a bit, in the spirit of out with the old, in with the new!

1. To get us in the mood, Ella Fitzgerald asks, “What Are You Doing New Year’s Eve?”

Like I mentioned in the previous post, many people are not at all sad to see 2009 coming to a close; ditto the aughties as a whole. Seems this sentiment prevailed through much of the decade:

2. REM: “It’s The End Of The World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)

Well, like I said before, you can’t fall out of the basement! This song, which was the first dance at McDoc’s and my wedding, is appropriate here:

3. Tony Bennett & Diana Krall: “The Best Is Yet To Come”

You never know what the future holds, though — paranoia will likely endure!

4. Donald Fagen: “New Frontier”

Here’s a song that never goes out of style, in my opinion, and this year it’s almost numerically fitting! Though “I’m gonna party like it’s two… thou… sand… and nine!” does sound a bit forced, I admit! 😛

5. Prince: “1999”

You want nostalgia? Here you go. I know, it’s set on Christmas Eve, but the sax supplies the requisite “Auld Lang Syne” at the end, so I still think it fits.

6. Dan Fogelberg: “Same Old Lang Syne”

If you roll VIP, you may want to check out this, the mother of all New Year’s Eve parties. If you’re like me, and it’s too rich for your blood, don’t despair — turn this on and waltz around your living room!

7. Johann Strauss: “The Blue Danube Waltz”

One more waltz tune, from an opera traditionally performed around this holiday:

8. Johann Strauss: Waltz from Die Fledermaus

Here’s the song I finished up with last year — I have a tradition of listening to it each January 1.

9. U2: “New Year’s Day”

I think I’ll add another U2 tune to that tradition, though — this puts me in a good frame of mind for new beginnings. 🙂

10. U2: “Beautiful Day”

Your turn, music nerds: what are you listening to today and tomorrow? Whatever it is…

Here’s hoping for a beautiful 2010! 🙂