Hear the best techno songs and all-around best dance songs of the past year, according to the voters for this year's International Dance Music Awards.
- Best Underground Dance Track/ Best Breaks-Electro Track/ Best Breakthrough Solo Artist--"Put Your Hands Up For Detroit," Fedde Le Grand: "Put your hands up for Detroit, our lovely city." Well, thank god somebody's putting something up for Detroit, the birthplace of techno. That's one depressed city, where you can get a house at auction for less than the price of a car. Ouch. But at least the techno is as good as ever.
- Best Alternative/Rock Dance Track--" Dangerous Power," Gabriel & Dresden feat. Jan Burton: I love that "alt-rock/dance" is even a category--probably to accommodate acts that can pull in an otherwise rock audience, like the Chemical Brothers and Depeche Mode. The version here is Paul Oakenfold's mix from the Trance Energy 2007 festival in Holland.
- Best Latin/Reggaeton Track--" Hips Don't Lie," Shakira: This tune needs no introduction, surely. Here, her Grammy's performance with Wyclef Jean -- "I never really knew that she could dance like this; it makes a man want to speak Spanish. Como se llama, bonita. Mi casa?"
- Best HiNRG/Euro Track--"What a Feeling," Peter Luts & Dominico: "What a feeling, I can't describe. Want to hold you, til the morning light." Definitely not the Irene Cara song from Flashdance, this is what Americans typically think of as "techno" and why they, not unreasonably, tend to stay away from it. One of those ghastly Euro-techno songs that is nevertheless the one that gets everyone onto the floor; like "I'm blue, da-ba-di, da-ba-dah," remember that one?
- Best House/Garage Track--"Anymore," Harry "Choo Choo" Romero & Ramona:"It's not what I've waited for; and I'm not afraid anymore, anymore, anymore." A pretty solid example of its genre, for sure, and a solid song all around, I think you'll agree.
- Best R&B/Urban Dance Track/ Best Pop Dance Track--"SexyBack," Justin Timberlake: Surprise, JT laps it up in two categories. The link is to a YouTube spoof of the song called " Bringing Paxil Back," because, yes, at this point the song is ripe for spoofing. And then, just to prove JT enjoys a good spoof, another link to his SNL vid: you know the one, JT's old-school boy-band spoof about his junk in a box.
- Best Rap/Hip Hop Dance Track--" London Bridge," Fergie: "How come every time you come around my London, London Bridge, wanna go down like London, London, London?" The peeing on stage, the crystal meth addiction, the potty mouth--all just desperate measures to escape her infamous past as the longest-lived Kids Inc cast member. This link is to the JC Mix featuring Cobra.
- Best Progressive House/Trance Track--" Dance 4 Life," Tiësto feat. Maxi Jazz: Can't say I've ever really downed the Tiësto Kool-Aid, can you? And it would have been nice to see a prog house track get some love, rather than this beat-by-numbers anthem. But Maxi Jazz from Faithless, reworking many of the same lyrics from "Insomnia" -- "You only take heed when you need to"-- makes this work. The director's cut of the video seems a little--off-message--for an AIDS awareness vid, but who doesn't want to see Tiësto in the bedroom?
- Best Jungle/DnB Track--" I Wonder Why," Martyn: I love that a song identified as a "white label"--presumably meaning in this case that he produced and distributed it from home--took the top award in this category, See Martyn's MySpace page for more of his drum 'n bass stylings.
- Best Dance Music Video/ Best Dance Solo Artist--" Jump," Madonna: Here's the link to a live version from her Confessions tour. She looks insanely good. Madonna looks better than Britney and Jessica Simpson, and that's some sad shizz. That's just wrong.
- Best Podcast--Roger Sanchez: I can't say I've listened to this, or indeed any podcast, but it's nice to see that Roger " Release Yourself " Sanchez is not shying away from the technology.
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Sara Churchville - I’m a freelance writer and editor and sort-of recent transplant to Park Slope, Brooklyn (2 years and counting). My interests ...
