I realize there's a lot of people not hip to Clayton Hauck's photography/social documentarian skills, so I thought I'd give you a quick intro. I first found his site in June '07 when I started to really check for the Cool Kids. Here's an excerpt from a Chicago Sun-Times article from a couple months ago:

If you live in Chicago and have a MySpace or Facebook account, you’ve probably seen the work of Clayton Hauck. The 25-year-old immortalizes the city’s youthful nightlife scene, capturing candid moments of DJ bliss, drunken posing, superstar DJs and wannabe celebrities for his photo blog, everyoneisfamous.com.

Here's a sampling of his work:

Click HERE to see behind the scenes pics from Hollywood Holt's "Hollywood" video (which got taken down from Youtube, but can still be seen at adult swim's website).

Click HERE to read his blog, A Day With Clay.

A new Gnarls Barkley song? Following up the.. insane.. success of "Crazy", the duo dropped a new single the other day. My buddy Mahoney says that there's no way that anyone will play that in a club. I haven't yet made that damning of an assessment, hoping that maybe it will grow on me with each listen. To top that off, check out this illustration I found the other day..

Gnarls Barkley - Run (removed by request*)

*They filed a complaint with my internet host! They could've sent me an email or something. Didn't have to go and try and kill my server. Super-weak.

Keeping those spirits high, I'll throw down some Neon Coyote. I'm always excited to hear from them- there has been nothing but the dopest mixtapes and remixes hailing from their direction since I first started posting on 'em a few months ago. They always take an unconventional direction, especially with this Kelis remix. This one easily takes the cake. I gotta get up to NYC some time and see what their set's all about. Check out their own blog- My Other Computer Is A Sunset as well. Cool cats.

Kelis - Bossy (Too Hard Aeroplane Remix) (Neon Coyote Blend)

Surfing GWFAS the other night, I came across this Breakbot single that I previously hadn't put my mits on yet. The author, Derek, aside from writing about an enviable trip to abroad to England, wrote of Breakbot's ability to create the same sort of innovative remixes as Justice, only without the focus on metal and gothic religious imagery, moreso on a feel-good, pool party sort of vibe. He has a few tracks out there that I've liked a lot.

Breakbot - Happy Rabbit

Pacific! - Runaway To Elsewhere (Breakbot Remix)

And another Bloody Beetroots mix to throw at you. This time it doesn't seem to be recorded in a bathroom with an early-90's walkman headphone set, like the last one that I posted a week or two ago. When are these guys going to come to the US for christ's sake? I need me some Bloody Beetroots already. Who's the guy who overlooked Italy when booking Coachella? What's the deal?

The Bloody Beetroots - The Bloody Beetroots @ Sputnik (01.27.08)

Cabaret Voltaire - Sensoria (The Bloody Beetroots VS SirBilly Experience Remix)

A Split Second - Flesh (The Bloody Beetroots VS SirBilly Experience Remix)

Tossin' this track up there because I've yet to post it. The Cool Kids trailblaze hip hop through a new era, taking us from a low-rider to a concert hall in a manner fit for any dancefloor ticket. Way to win people back to hip hop when Kanye & 50 seemed determined to kill it all. I think their rhapsody commercial is just about the only one of it's kind that I've enjoyed whatsoever. That, and the Chromeo XFM ad, too.

The Cool Kids - Black Mags

Dug up this Iggy Pop remix the other day on behalf of Dmitry Fyodorov. It reminds me of the Rage remix done by Sebastian earlier in '07, it keeps the frame of the song intact, only adding it's own hard-edge to it. I think Iggy would approve. I love that the guitar work closer to the end comes off sounding close to a kazoo.

Iggy Pop - I Wanna Be Your Dog (Steak Lunch Remix)

Plugging in my older hard drive the other day, I came upon RJD2's "Making Days Longer" off of the album, "Since We Last Spoke." Throws me back a few years to Phoenix where I saw him play it at the Brickhouse to close out the night, it was an encore for the crowd. But instead of doing it on any of his equipment, RJ pulled out a chair, grabbed a guitar and sang it himself. I can recall it so clearly; it's such a melancholy gem, reminding me of some of the harsher times during my college career, and further supporting the theory that the best music is always sad. RJD2 is an artist with a song for every mood you might be in. Some have been disappointed with his direction since "Dead Ringer" (which still remains one of the best albums of it's kind), but I like where he's gone. I'll toss in "The Proxy" as a little bonus, one of the more unsung tracks of "Dead Ringer".

RJD2 - Making Days Longer

RJD2 - The Proxy

I'm going to go to the Spoon show at the Metro and bypass all the stupid hassles usually associated with the holiday. Switch will be bumping downstairs afterwards, so you really can't go wrong with that lineup. Plus, I've never seen Spoon. I'm pretty excited. There aren't too many big gigs in Chicago this upcoming month, so that means that I will be doing a lot of digging around on the internet to find music to occupy my time. I get distracted very easily. Send me some tunes, yours or somebody elses. I don't care. Let's get a dialog going! Yeah!

Let's start this off with a mixtape by my man DJ Cherry Cola. It's mental. Here are the cover and song listings. Somewhere in there is the best Paul McCartney remix I've ever heard, too. The "Temporary Secretary" Radio Slave edit. Classic.

DJ Cherry Cola's Off The Hook Mixtape Part 1.mp3

Ok, We Are Terrorists have crafted one of the most forthcoming and groundbreaking electro rock hybrids I've heard in a long time, formed out of a Revolte single. Take a listen to this one real quick.

Revolte - Ironical Sexism (We Are Terrorists Remix)

Pfunkt! Woah!! Where does all this hostility come from?? I can smell hair burning and feel brain cells exploding when that Miyagi remix kicks on. You have to hear this to believe it! Baby! If PBR doesn't make a commercial tailored around that track with drunken hipster kids fighting and fucking in a basement then I don't know who's running the ad department over in Milwaukee.

Mr. Miyagi - Pick Your Posion (Pfunkt Remix)

Pfunkt - Sexercise

Yuksek has been around lately. Here and there kicking up dust with some more remixes. It's nice to hear some more Bitchee Bitchee Ya Ya Ya, throw in Brodinski and you have yourself a pretty killer little track, no? Not necessarily your killer pounding electro track- more relaxed for a synth riddled vocal blend until the drop towards the end. The Teenage Bad Girl remix is off of the Cocotte Picture EP- a single I've somewhat overlooked until recently. Sort of has a SebastiAn feel to it.

Bitchee Bitchee Ya Ya Ya - Fuck Friend (Yuksek & Brodinski Remix)

Teenage Bad Girl - Hands Of A Stranger (Yuksek Remix)

Just dug up this dEsigner Drugs remix a little bit ago. These remixes of Thieves Like Us just keep getting better and better. You always need the party anthem right before huge new years celebrations, right? Well here it is.

Thieves Like Us - Drugs In My Body (dEsigner Drugs Remix)

I expect this year to be one full of Boy 8-Bit. For the last few months the English DJ has been popping up with remixes from every angle. From electro to idm, dub,8bit, whatever- the man's been all over, lately gaining plenty of recognition since the Burial explosion across the boards. Are you really surprised?

Burial - Archangel (Boy8-Bit's Simple Remix)

The Black Ghosts - Any Way You Choose To Give It (Boy 8-Bit Version)

Chromeo - Needy Girl (Boy 8-Bit's Talk Box Dub)

pic: clayton hauck (everyoneisfamous.com).

I've been on this Junior Sanchez kick since last weekend. His set left a little bit to be desired, though it was good, his recorded work continues to stand as dancefloor-pop monuments of remix mastery (of course Dark Wave delivered- as usual). The pics that are up are all from the show, taken by Clayton Hauck & located where else, but everyoneisfamous.com? Here's a track Sanchez threw together with the pieces of Madonna's "Jump" single. Does wonders for me! I love it when good DJs show just how rad Madonna really is.

Madonna - Jump (Junior Sanchez Remix)

Another artist that has been gracing my tracklist lately is Vector Lovers. Coming from Berlin, I've found the more easy-going idm/electro vibes a nice reflective tone to these icy, snow-filled days that have been piling up the past two weeks.

Vector Lovers - Genevieve

Egad! More awesome Treasure Fingers tracks on repeat in the brain. "Come True" is another disco-house dancefloor banger from the likes of the Atlanta native. With a gorgeous synth bassline and wonderful vocal accompaniment, there are no complaints here. Loving it.

Treasure Fingers - Come True Tonite (Dub Version)

It's a little early for this post considering that he'll be playing at Smartbar this weekend. I just didn't want to sit on this remix. Alex Smoke threw together his own take on the Junior Boys classic. Hearing a minimal version of the nice little electro-pop standard is something quite unexpected, and very refreshing. Here's a tip: use quality headphones.

Junior Boys - In The Morning (Alex Smoke Remix)

pic: clayton hauck (everyoneisfamous.com).

To promote an upcoming show in the west coast, Missingtoof, threw down a few of Boom Bip's most recent songs off of his 2007 release that I have slept on for wayyy too long. I still regard Boom Bip as a god on wheels when it comes to producing and throwing sets. He's a renaissance man by now, gracing several genres with ease throughout his career. The man wears electro well, wouldn't you say?

Boom Bip - Snook Adis

More Jackson & His Computer Band is called for. No? This one is one of the more popular of his releases, entitled "Apreggio" off of "Smash". I'm on a pretty big Jackson kick at the moment. And who can blame me? Pretty epic stuff we have here. A lot of nice keyboard work, buildups, breakdowns. Not your run-of-the-mill electro nonsense.

Jackson & His Computer Band - Arpeggio

Screw paying a cool mil to the ruskies to take you into orbit. All you need is a bit of Mu-Ziq for your space odyssey. Some of the most incredible production ever has come from the likes of this man. Despite how much I've looked into his background, he still remains as enigmatic and mysterious as ever simply through the music he creates. Never seen the live show, nor had the opportunity to as far as I have known. But I'd certainly jump at it. Any time.

Mu-Ziq - Mu-Ziq's Theme

JFK is on a roll this past few weeks, first with that bangin' Bloc Party remix, and now with this: the Mr. Miyagi teardown. Very nice. Where is the MSTRKRFT sophomore release already? They can't keep teasing me with tracks like these, I'm going to develop a condition, for chrissakes... We'll leave it on that.

Mr. Miyagi - Pick Your Poison (JFK Remix)

pic: clayton hauck (everyoneisfamous.com).

Here it is. This is where I'll be at with my sub-par costume. Chi-town rep Flossy-D will be rocking out with Amanda Blank, the terror on the mic from way out east ("I'm raw like Kelly Bundy, I keep that shit nasty."), some crazy Philly-pop Sweatheart (click the link, haha.) & Major Taylor.

The party is 18 and up, which is hella cool if you're under 21, and the extravaganza is over at Subterranean. There's free Sparks- dear god! Oh! Good old Clayton Hauck (everyoneisfamous.com) will be there snappin' shots off as well as klickingandscreaming.com. So.. bring your game face and 5 bucks if you have costume- 7 bucks if you're shit outta luck. Make it happen, people!

DJ Autobot - Laffy Taffy (Flosstradamus Remix)

Spank Rock - Bump (Pink Skull Remix)

Bjork - Earth Intruders (Spank Rock Remix)

Sweatheart - Dream Beaver

Toxic Avenger & Franki Chan, two IHeartComix gems, demanded focus. Off the bat, Franki Chan tore that crowd a new one. He spun a mix of Klaxons vs. Treasure Fingers- or at least that's what registered for me- that killed. Ha, he even played Soulja Boy and got those kids moving, a feat I'd never think possible at that venue. Right afterwards, Toxic Avenger, one of the coolest DJs I've met on the circuit so far was more enthusiastic as anybody I've ever met regarding their music. Half way through his North American tour, he was stoked about his new material, speaking of a MSTRKRFT remix I wanna get ahold of as soon as possible. During his set, he also dropped a new track that clowned on the minimal scene- "You call it minimal, I call it simple!" Some of the speakers kicked out before his performance, which wasn't his fault at all, but it is still a drag when you've been anticipating the set for a week or two. I hope next time he rolls through he rocks Smart Bar out- kind of how Boys Noize did a few weeks ago.

Justice & Midnight Juggernauts @ The Metro, Photos by Clayton Hauck, EveryoneisFamous.com

Wednesday, Justice & The Midnight Juggernauts performed at the Metro in a show I had been anticipating for a while now. The spot was jam packed, lot of youngsters because of the 18+ accessibility. And as expected, the Midnight Juggernauts were amazing. It's hard to classify their sound. The dream-rock style played well to the crowd, leaving most careful study of their act, as they built more and more appreciation as time went on. You could tell that most of these kids didn't know who they were, and probably didn't know shit about dance music except for two Justice songs, but that's alright. The Midnight Juggernauts released their first album only a little bit ago, and this was their first time in Chicago, much less America as a whole. Remember, a learning curve is designed to show you how developed your own skills are, not to judge other's ignorance by. We all know how hype works in this city. I ran into Vincent from the Juggernauts and asked him if I could get a short interview, he said he was willing, but we'll see if that pans out.

When Justice went on, game over. It was a thousand degrees in there, totally elbows to assholes in a gyrating and pulsating mob of screaming, dancing, frenzied masses. The show went as expected, a lot of the more epic classics that gained them so much praise within the past year and a couple of new remixes that I had yet to hear. Halfway through "We Are Your Friends" they cut the sound out and it was one giant campfire singalong, echoing everyone's voices off the walls in one collective conscious. Pretty amazing. You don't really ever get to see shows like this, and if you were there you should consider yourself lucky because there were a ton of people that wanted to be there in your stead. Right as the show came to a close, before the encore track came on I looked at a kid standing by and told him that I was kind of disappointed that they didn't play the Soulwax "NY Excuse" remix of theirs. He thought for a second and agreed. "That track is killer" he replied. Moments later, Justice took the stage and played it. It was like a bad Twilight Zone episode.

Did you go? What'd you think about it?