Rhythm & Beats: North of the Border -
I've long believed that Montreal is the greatest city on earth when it comes to clubbing and dance music. The scene up there is lively and robust, featuring top-notch venues, world-class DJs, and legions of clubbers who are sophisticated, knowledgeable, and fun loving.

Agreeing with me about this Canadian city's dance music stature is DJ/remixer/producer Peter Rauhofer who has just released his latest continuous mix CD, I LOVE MONTREAL (Star 69 Records). Fourth in his "I Love " series Rauhofer has delivered this new double CD set with a strong package of 24 tracks, representing what he does best: blending progressive, tribal, and electro house with a unique flair that's fun, sexy and energetic.

Included on I LOVE MONTREAL are songs by dance music stalwarts Offer Nissim featuring Maya, Axwell, Hex Hector, Kaskade and Suzanne Palmer. Also featured is Rauhofer's unreleased Trance Anthem Mix of Nelly Furtado's "Say It Right" and Ralphi Rosario's remix of "Make It last" by Dave Aude. This has been a pretty good year for dance music compilations (see below) and I LOVE MONTREAL is further proof of this fact. Kudos to Rauhofer and Star 69 on another excellent effort.

The Best of 2007 -
Now that we've come to the end of another year, it's time for me to look back briefly over the previous 12 months and figure out what was the best of the best and who or what deserves a vaunted 2007 Plez Award.

Best Dance Compilation CD (House Music): NECTAR, Volume 2 mixed by Chicago legendary DJ Johnny Fiasco. Honorable mention goes to Chuck Love's double-CD set BRING ENOUGH TO SPILL SOME.

Best Dance Compilation CD (Club/Circuit Music): Easily outdistancing the competition was the outstanding THE EVENT mixed by Tony Moran. The next best were GLOBAL GROOVE: LIVE 2 by Roland Belmares & Mike Cruz and NEW YORK CLUB ANTHEMS: VOL.2 by Hector Fonseca.

Best Dance Music Single: "Gimme More" by Britney Spears. I didn't want to like this track but I have to give it and the myriad of fantastic remixes their just due. Honorable mentions include "Don't Stop The Music" by Rihanna, "Shake 'N Pop" by Green Velvet, "Counting Down The Days" by Sunfreakz featuring Andrea Britton, and "Keep Your Body Wurkin'" by Martha Wash.

Best New Entertainment Thing in Boystown: Hydrate's presentation of comedic drag acts - Miss Richfield, Hedda Lettuce, Cashetta, et al - at the Lakeshore Theatre. A nice addition to Chicago's nightlife menu.

Best Recurring Chicago Event: The new monthly Nitro events at Circuit have helped bring freshness and vitality to the city's dance club scene, featuring national DJs, entertaining stage performances, and impressive themed decorations and ambience executed by Visuwil.

Non-Dance CD of the Year: This was a close call between two British imports. #1A is BACK TO BLACK by Amy Winehouse followed very closely by #1B: OVERTONES by Just Jack.

Artist of the Year: Well, it's basically the amalgam - Chaka Khan, Ledisi, Angie Stone, Alicia Keys, and Jill Scott - that I call the "Soulful Black Diva." These incredibly talented women - and you can throw in Ms. Winehouse with an honorary designation - produced stellar new CDs this year and as such collectively deserve this award.