Mike Posner + Gigamesh + Grindin Chart

Oh, the Grindin chart. The monthly list of the world's fifteen best songs (fact, not opinion) rarely features any of the cuts I've submitted for potential inclusion. Let's face it: Grinders simply aren't in love with Top 40 the way I am. On top of that, the dudes and dudettes on Grindin are all superstar DJs, producers, and bloggers and thus consistently have a grip of tracks the rest of the world (myself included) hasn't yet been able to get their paws on. Granted every single song ever featured on the list has ended up being simply huge (again: fact, not opinion), but I'm left in the dark relatively often. Oh well. However, I managed to sneak a pick onto this list this month, so please celebrate with me the recognition of Skeet Skeet's downright filthy "Tik Tok" remix. Then peep the video for the Gigamesh remix of Mike Posner's "Cooler Than Me," yet another song that I tried (unsuccessfully, as it were) to get on the November chart. Sigh.

1. Erol Alkan and Boys Noise - "Waaves (Gonzales Remix)"
2. Jose James- "Blackmagic (Joy Orbison's Recreation)"
3. Florence + the Machine - "YGTL (Renaissance Man Edit)"
4. Little Jinder - "Youth Blood (Bok Bok Remix)"
5. Roska - "Elevated Level (Kingdom Refix Feat. Brandy)"
6. Buraka Son Sistema - "General (L-Vis 1990 Remix)"
7. Hostage - "Valhalla (Momma's Boy Remix)"
8. Boris Dlugosch - "Bangkok"
9. Deadboy - "U Cheated"
10. Deadboy - "Heartbreaker"
11. Simian Mobile Disco - "Cruel Intentions (Maurice Fulton Remix)"
12. Dubbel Dutch - "Trollsta (Round Table Knights Remix)"
13. Hot Chip - "Take It In"
14. Ke$ha - "Tik Tok (Skeet Skeet Remix)"
15. Untold - "Stop What You're Doing (James Blake Remix)"



Disclaimer: I haven't yet watched this video. In fact, it may not even be a video at all. I'm on a bus, the internet connection is piss poor (I mean, it's a bus after all, not the Dartmouth College library), and I'm just anxious for y'all to hear the track. No patience whatsoever.

P.S. Click here to check out some pictures of the Posner + Wale + Gym Class Heroes concert I opened for a couple of months back.

P.P.S. I'll put up a Posner pic later. Flippin' bus internet. Too slow for much of anything. Predictable.

Wiley + Chew Fu

Wow. Chew Fu. I feel like the dude was starting out about the same time I was starting up Panda Toes. I was a fledgling blogger and he was just a wee producer churning out electro remixes of Top 40 cuts one after another. And now look at what's happened: I'm still running a goofy site with a moderate readership and he's off producing tracks for Wiley. Always good to see that others have accomplished heaps in the amount of time you've done more or less nothing.

Wiz Khalifa

Khalifa's latest mixtape, Burn After Rolling, is probably one of the better among the best rap releases of 2009. Going over tracks from Empire of the Sun and Pink Floyd, Khalifa has always been about crossing over into different genres, but as he flows over Jay Rock's All My Life, there is little doubt that he has hit his stride. Here's "This Plane" from Deal or No Deal which drops next week.

Three 6 Mafia + Tiësto + Flo Rida + Sean Kingston

O.K. So. Where to start? I have no idea what I think about this track. I love Three 6 Mafia. Flo Rida has put out a grip of solid singles. Heck, I even ride for a select few Sean Kingston joints. But those three names working together on a Tiësto-produced track? Now that's something I never expected to see. I'm not nearly as mad at this as I expected to be. Heck, I might even like it. Who knows? Develop your own opinion:

Funky Funky Disco

It's been a long time coming, but I think it's safe to say disco is back. Everybody from A-Trak to David Guetta have been working remixes and original tracks into their sets that pull from the coke-fueled funkyness of a bygone era. I want to give props to two producers that've grabbed this revival by the proverbial horns.

First up, Hatiras' "New Disco EP" has been one of my favorite releases this year in the Beatport spectrum, pulling together three filtered house tracks that bang equally hard on the big-room house circuit and jammy afterhours scene. Disco Doom 2010 is my favorite of the bunch, and word from the man himself is that a new EP along the same vein and namesake is on the way. That photo is a sentimental little gem of the aforementioned producer and his lovely bride at their pre-wedding wedding at Burning Man this year.

The next track comes from a new sliver of the musical universe that I've long overlooked: mid-tempo disco pop. At the top of the heap in this area is a Belgian duo by the name of Aeroplane. Their remixes have been bouncing up on charts all over the place and they consistently blend infectious basslines and big, bright, warm synthesizers into everything they do. According to legend, they're are all hard synths recorded into a DAW - impressive I say, but I digress. This new remix of a Lindstrom track (an outstanding producer on his own in the same genre of mid-tempo jams) bangs - you can bet when this drops, I'm out there doing the dice roll on the dance floor.

Kid Sister + Swedish House Mafia

Kid Sister's "Right Hand Hi" immediately struck me as a huge crossover jam. The Swedish House Mafia boys do their thing on the beat while still keeping it accessible to the American masses, Kid Sis brings her flow and charm, and the end result is fantastic. You know a song's hot when people are requesting it at raves and sorority formals alike.

Anywho, the video just dropped. Not quite sure how I feel about just yet; seems to be well produced and edited, but for some reason or another I'm not really feeling it. That said, there's no way I could love this song as much as I do and play it out as often as I have and then not post up the video. Simply not an option. Check it:


Right Hand Hi

KID SISTER | MySpace Video

EDIT: Don't forget - Ultraviolet drops on Tuesday (I think), get excited.

Chamillionaire

Texas. It's the best. Big Tex, blue bonnets, southern belles, George Bush, Pantera, Tex Mex, and Shiner Bock. Yea, one would most certainly be ill-advised to go anywhere else for any reason. Real talk.

But the best part of Texas may or may not be Chamillionaire. (Don't get it twisted, though - the coolest thing from Texas may be from Houston, but Dallas is still the spot.) I pumped the dude's The Sound of Revenge for a solid three years (which is not to say that I don't still visit it on the regular). Then came Ultimate Victory, yet another solid product. And from the looks of the first single off of Chamillionaire's upcoming Venom, the man's still got a grip of quality cuts to come. "Good Morning" is easily one of the most radio-friendly tracks he's put out (due in no small part to that sample), which in this case isn't a bad thing. So nice.

Ke$ha (Again) + Skeet Skeet

O.K. Y'all certainly understand that I'm all for playing out "Tik Tok." Told you folks some time ago that it'd get huge, and it did. Supposed it'd rise on the Billboard Hot 100, and it has (currently sitting at a healthy 16). And to be entirely honest, I love saying "I told you so." Self-call central.

Anywho, a grip of official remixes are out for your listening pleasure now, and DJs everywhere are going b-a-n-a-n-a-s playing 'em out. But though I dig 'em as much as the next guy, I just can't see myself dropping these in a set in the near future. When I'm playing "Tik Tok," I'm playing to a sea (see: puddle) of drunk college girls (and drunk college guys trying to get with drunk college girls), and thus keeping it poppy is a priority. Enter Skeet Skeet's remix. Similar enough to the original to keep Becky happy yet different enough to make her squeal with delight. Uh, yep. Killin' it.