The best DJs are those who have, of course, an extensive knowledge of music -- but often what's more important than depth, necessarily, is an accompanying breadth. Members of the iPod generation rarely want to hear hours of even their favorite musical style any more -- but they do want that style cut up and juxtaposed with others, made to sound fresh again.
Local guy Johnny the Boy definitely understands this. His signature all-over-the-place mixes traverse from Britpop to hip-hop to pop to house and back, but still work, woven together by a shared beat or vibe. For a taste, download his latest mix here (or download a zip file with separated tracks here). It starts with disco and manages to pass through ELO, Blur, and Twista before landing on a chunk of that cut-up-re-edited stuff that the Internet kids love. (Of course, though, he had to throw some ZZ Top in there just to shake things up).
You can catch Johnny the Boy spinning around town at Table 8 on Wednesdays, and Domo Japones on Saturdays. His Myspace page also promises a new Thursday residency coming soon.
And as always, DJs, if you have a new mix you want to share with the Internet world, e-mail us some information about you, your gigs, and your mix, and we'll post it here too. -- Arielle Castillo
