DJ Dstar + Brandon Bside + DJ Pumpkin Patch

The dude DJ Dstar has been impressing Team Panda Toes (which is more or less me, sometimes Mr. Josh) for some time now. And because being a stellar DJ simply wasn't enough for dude, he's been on his production grind of late. So he teamed up with Brandon Bside, and the end result was a smooth jam primed for loads of spring and summer play. A free smooth jam, that is.

Dj Dstar & Brandon Bside - Letting Go (Original Mix) *FREE DOWNLOAD* by djdstar

In other news, my friend DJ Pumpkin Patch (with whom I DJed at SXSW a couple of weeks ago) just released his track "Heartless." The song's plenty smooth as well, but it definitely gets a serious bite during its latter half.

Heartless by Pumpkin Patch

Orange Juice + John Legend + Skeet Skeet + Turbotito

Today, vibes. First up is Skeet Skeet and Turbotito's remix of John Legend's cover of Adele's "Rolling in the Deep." (I wanna chop my fingers off every time I type a sentence like that.) This thing is so pro. So many vibes. Ridiculous. Skeet Skeet's such a production monster. Never seen him DJ, though. Which of course makes me wanna go to his show with Katy Perry that much more. The only question is whether my desire to catch Katy Perry and Skeet Skeet can outweigh my intense fear of going to New Jersey.

Rolling In The Deep (Skeet Skeet & Turbotito Version) by arjanwrites

In other news, I've been piecing together a new mix for the past week or so. Hopefully gonna be way different than any mix I've ever done before. Like Morrissey and The Clash and such as opposed to house and tech house and Dutch house. Also, Orange Juice. That said, the last mix I made for Discobelle was meant to be a tech house mix and that didn't exactly happen, so yea. This could just end up being Best of Katy Perry + Sky Ferreira, Vol. I. Wouldn't be mad.



P.S. Thanks to Arjan Writes for the "Rolling in the Deep" cut.

EDIT: Please take a moment to check out Top Billin's For Japan compilation. Some great tracks in exchange for a wee (or not so wee) donation. Do it.

Big Freedia

Hello all,

Went to the Williamsburg Waterfront at the end of August. Saw some bands. Saw some Gucci Mane. Etc. Also saw Big Freedia. Had never heard of Big Freedia before. Left very much a big Big Freedia fan. This video. It's almost exactly like what I saw on August 29th. Except way more subdued, more logical, more controlled. Etc. And that's why I'm a big Big Freedia fan.

Best,
Greg

Big Freedia - "Y'all Get Back Now" from stereogum on Vimeo.

Jason Forrest

Jason Forrest does weird things. Like every once in a great while he'll put out something simple enough for my feeble mind to comprehend, and I'm all about it. But then he'll go off and do something like this, and it totally shatters my world view. So I sit around for a few hours trying to figure it out. And after hours of thinking and squinting and thinking some more, I finally "get it." And then of course I'm all about it.

Point being that Jason Forrest is smarter than I am. And that everything he does is way super awesome. For example, his new single "Raunchy"? It's awesome. And the video? Awesome as well. Check it out:



Download:

Raunchy (Original) by Jason Forrest

Cop the whole release here.

Bag Raiders

Devoted Panda Toes fans may or may not know that I spent ten weeks or so studying and working and interning and such in Sydney a few years back. And goodness me, the things I'd do to get back to Australia. The weather? Great. The music? Even better. The girls? Are you kidding me? Don't even get me started on the girls. And you mean to tell me that some of the aforementioned girls will even get all gushy and such because they think this weird Texas-Midwest hybrid accent of mine is dreamy? Yes please.

Anywho. I went to see Bag Raiders last night, and it was. Well. Australia-ey. I get embarrassingly idealistic and start to romanticize January 2008-March 2008 any time I get a whiff of Australia. Totally forget the fist-sized cockroaches and the not having any money thing and all that jazz. Just remember the weather and the music and the girls. So I mean I'm sure the show was great, but I was too busy daydreaming about Australian girls to really notice. Like the lyrics to this chorus? Yea, something along those lines plays in my head every time I see an Australian girl. I'm so hopeless.



Also, is "Snake Charmer" not one of the most swag songs ever? Seriously.

Soul Clap + A Bemused Frog

One month later and my dude A Bemused Frog already has another music video out on The YouTube. This time around he shot a flick for Soul Clap's "Lonely C" video contest. I love it for the following reasons:

1. The protagonist is an old friend of mine. I've neither seen nor heard from her in two or three years. I'm happy that she's still alive (and presumably well).

2. Have you ever copped a Crave Case? Simply the worst thing a person can spend money on. Just sitting in the same room as a Crave Case will make you smell like a fart for a full week. It's awful. So happy I was too busy being passed out to accompany Frog and Co. to White Castle.

3. Good shots, good animation, good song, etc. Blah, blah, blah, etc. But seriously, this is easily my favorite A.B.F. video to date.

Whatever, see for yourselves:

Pink Cashmere + DJ Vikas

I opened for DJ Tanner at the Tribeca Grand Hotel a few weeks ago. Great guy, great DJ, etc. Anywho, he works with his boy in a duo called Pink Cashmere. DJ + guitarist. That sort of thing. Not really sure what that'd sound like? Peep their House & Blues (Vol. I) to see what's up. They're rocking tonight with DJ Vikas (another great DJ) at Tammany Hall, and it's sure to be a stellar time. Just be sure to show up relatively early 'cause the spot gets a hefty line before midnight.

Pink Cashmere - HOUSE & BLUES [vol. one] by PinkCashmere

Nick Catchdubs + 101 Crew

101 is a monthly Thursday night party at 49 Grove with the 101 Management crew (Scott Melker, NSR, Ian Boyd, and me), Senari, the Prodigy kids, and some special guests. Tonight we've got Nick Catchdubs from Fool's Gold, Mike Famous, and Scott Matelic guesting. Hip-hop happy hour from 7-10, 101 DJs from 10-4, open vodka bar from 10-11, no cover, etc. Most importantly, I'll be playing Choppa's hit single "Choppa Style" back-to-back-to-etc. from 3-4.

Party Supplies

Many of you don't know the dude Party Supplies yet. Big problem. So consider this me cluing you in. I met the gent at a party Penguin Prison and NSR were DJing. Dude was chatting with me about some Kanye remix he'd just wrapped up. And not knowing any better, I thought to myself, "Dude probably just banged out a cringe-worthy mash-up and called it a day." I'm a hater, I have trust issues, whatever.

Anyways, I totally underestimated Sir Party Supplies. Heard the "Power" remix. Loved it. Then came his remix of "Money Grabber" by Fitz and the Tantrums. Um, word. So nice. A real stomper, if you will. And his remix of "Home" by Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros? Similarly ticey. All sorts of warm, endearing vibes on this one. Good stuff. Great stuff, even.





So that's that. Unsurprisingly, Party Supplies is getting his hands in some pretty major stuff these days. New York folk have seen him on bills with Shyvonne, Cubic Zirconia, Machine Drum, Popo, and others already this year. Keep an eye on his blog for upcoming productions and gigs.

The Knocks

I've sung The Knocks' praises on these pages before. "Blackout," "Make It Better," and "Dancing With The Dancing" are all still set staples, so I've come to expect a pop masterpiece every time B-Roc and JPatt put anything out. So no, I was not surprised when I liked the gents' cover of "Ain't Too Proud to Beg." But honestly, I didn't know whether or not JPatt had the pipes to take on this classic. Not that I doubted him; I simply hadn't heard the dude chirp on anything of this nature. But The Knocks crushed every bit of this cover just as they've crushed everything else for the past year. Surprise, surprise.

Aint Too Proud To Beg (cover) by The Knocks

The Cure

So I just spent a grip of time watching fan videos for The Cure's "Close to Me." Total waste of time. Great waste of time. Anywho, I'm a bitter old man, so umma spend the next three minutes of my life dissecting the fake date in one of the aforementioned videos. Let's hop to it.

1. Why are you kids so vain? Why you gotta watch yourself try on eighteen different outfits? Real talk, it's not that interesting.

2. Or are y'all just heaps insecure? Nervous about your date? Well maybe you should think about finding a significant other that loves you for you, not for your leather jacket and cheeky hat.

3. But seriously, what a cliché. Ferris wheel? Carousel? Arcade games? Grow an imagination, you two.

4. Speaking of arcade games. Dude. Buddy. Your girl will crush way harder at Whac-A-Mole if you refrain from holding her shoulders like that. Increased dexterity and a wider range of motion allow for a more fluid strike. Ugh.

5. Etc. Amateurs.

Anywho, this song is lovely. Fridays are lovely. And so on. Happy weekend, Panda Fans.

Classixx + Karl Dixon

You probably noticed that February has fewer days than January, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, and December. What you may not have realized is that February's shortness means less time in between my February and March appearances at Almost Famous. Exciting news, no? Of course it is. I'm particularly excited to play Classixx's new song "Into The Valley." It's slippery, ambiguous, and evasive. But in a sexy way. Know what I mean? No, of course you don't. Even I don't have any idea what I'm talking about these days. But it's a good song. I promise. See for yourself:

Classixx - "Into The Valley (Feat. Karl Dixon)"