Honorable mention: Soviet Panda

Marlin Levison, Star Tribune

DJ Soviet Panda works the music sound equipment.

This DJ gave downtown something different, and clubgoers kept coming back.

By Tom Horgen, Star Tribune

Last update: December 27, 2008 - 8:55 PM

How much brainless Top 40 music can clubgoers take? Apparently a lot, because our nightlife scene is saturated with it. But just when we thought any spark of freshness had faded, it's Soviet Panda to the rescue. The 23-year- old DJ (real name: Peter Lansky) is an unlikely hero. He went from a lanky music nerd muddling his way through college to a sought-after DJ lording over a club full of music nerds.

As 2008 comes to a close, his dance night, "Too Much Love," will celebrate almost two years as First Avenue's Saturday-night attraction. Before he arrived, the legendary club's weekend dance nights were nearly extinct. He keeps people coming back by playing the opposite of Top 40 -- electro, new wave, house, post-punk. What does all that mean? No matter, it sure sounds good.

No other downtown DJ has changed the game as Soviet Panda did. Early on, he endured criticism for DJ-ing with a laptop (he since has added turntables). But you can't disagree with 1,000 clubbers every Saturday -- or national DJs such as Diplo and LCD Soundsystem's James Murphy, who have dropped by. Dance nights can fall out of style faster than last week's poppy club song, but "Too Much Love" seems here to stay.