Peter Rauhofer

So sad to hear the shocking news of the passing of DJ extraordinaire Peter Rauhofer! Every remix this amazing Austrian Dj and producer put his hands on became big room anthems and took the dancer into an intense journey on the dance floor.  His residency at the Roxy was legendary as he re-defined late '90s dance music and pretty much ended it when the famous space closed it's doors during the mid '00s.  His moniker Club 69 and Size Queen became essential during any big space club event as well.  He won a Grammy for remixing Cher's "Believe" and the list of artists he worked with was top notch including, Madonna, Janet Jackson,  Pet Shop Boys, Adele, Rihanna, Whitney Houston, Christina Aguilera, Yoko Ono,  Pink, Tori Amos, Mariah Carey and many more.   Although I was not a big fun of the lengths of some of his re-mixes and a few of the hard house stuff he did, I understood it and appreciated it whenever I would go to the Roxy.  He was brilliant and I will never forget how his passion spread like wild fire of on that dance floor.  Here are two songs that show the spectrum of his brilliance. His recent  remix of Adele's "Skyfall" epitomizes his unique trademark and my favorite by him, the Pet Shop Boys amazing collaboration for bringing the house classic "Break 4 Love" into new form.  You will be missed and your legacy will never be forgotten.  You are probably turning it out up there in the cosmos!  RIP.

Break For Love - The Collaboration - Pet Shop Boys and Peter Rauhofer 

Skyfall (Peter Rauhofer Big Room Anthem Remix - Adele

Walking On Thin Ice: Keith Haring at Brooklyn Museum

I went to see the Keith Haring 1978-1982 show at the Brooklyn Museum this past Saturday on day before it closed.  The show had some great highs and lows. It was a great late '70s to early '80s time capsule that captured the spirit of his early student work and the early influences that drove Keith to greatness and sadly to his unfortunate death.  I was glad I got to see and left a bit nostalgic for that era of experimentation in art, music, fashion and nightlife where art and commerce where still resisting each other.  I walked to the many galleries and heard Yoko Ono's emblematic and historical "Walking On Thin Ice" as part of an interactive montage of Haring's work and totally fell in love the song all over again.   Yoko and John Lennon concluded the recording of the song on December 8th, 1980. It was upon their return to the Dakota that John was murdered and was clutching a tape of the final mix of this song when he was shot.  The lead guitar played by John is said to be one his most fascinating and his sadly last creative endeavor. Here is my favorite version along with a very nice re-interpretation by the Pet Shop Boys that was released in 2003 as part of a maxi single CD.  Enjoy!

Walking On Thin Ice - Yoko Ono

Walking On Thin Ice (Pet Shop Boys Electro Mix)

From a subway advertizing

Self Portrait