Umm... do you have any, like, Akon?

I am fortunate enough to be in peak season for 21st par-tays. Every weekend for the past few months (and every weekend coming for the next few months) I am able to get fed, fueled and entertained courteousy of my friends parents' wallets; all the while hoping the Sunday morning bowls crew are able to dodge the trail of projectile vomit I left behind coating the trophy cabinet at the local RSL.

But i digress.

The point is, music is always an issue at said 21st extravaganzas. It is no secret, the DJ must play to the audience. There is nothing worse than some wanna-be trashbag blasting out his latest collection of tracks he ripped from whatever Boys Noize Records artist happens to be the 'in' sound at Tank Nightclub. But, on the other hand, there are those of us who may prefer that to MJ's greatest hits. We get it, he was a good entertainer. But he's dead, and every commercial radio station flogged every track he ever made after he died. Let's move on.

So what we need, then, is balance.

There is a solution. And it is the ever popular (and sometimes despised) Discotech. I don't know what it is about their tracks - they do sound the same - but it gets people moving.

Do Ya Think I'm Sexy (Discotech Remix) - Rod Stewart
Satisfaction (Discotech Remix) - The Rolling Stones
Crack a Bottle (Discotech Remix) - Eminem
Everything in its right place (Discotech/Gigamesh Remix) - Radiohead
Everlong (Discotech Remix) - Foo Fighters

This is all well and good, but a complete integration of the above is needed to REALLY get a crowd involved in the beats.

And the solution to this is is Andrew Wood. Going under his preferred 'Woodstock' moniker, Wood has a knack for producing catchy, poppy mixes which I will admit need some mastering (apologies for any dual bass-lines you may come across). He is no Yacht Club DJs, nor does he profess to have the prowess of Girltalk, but he is better than you are at least. Here is his latest pop-mix. Download it, burn it onto a CD and give it to the DJ at your next 21st. It'll give him a break for an hour, and it's guaranteed to have everyone nodding there heads as the background music agrees with their ill-informed music tastes.

'Pop - It's like it's not' Mixtape - Woodstock

Stay tuned. I'll soon have another mix up by another crowd-pleasing DJ 'Max Smart', which, in my opinion, is one of the tightest, most fluid mixes I've heard in a long time.

Peace and Love.