The Witzard

It's become something of an annual tradition; every December, Norwegian singer-songwriter Sondre Lerche picks his favourite year-end track, re-records his own unique version, and sends it over to Stereogum 's headquarters. This yule tide season, he's conjured up a sparse acoustic-laden cover of "Wrecking Ball," effectively eliminating any remaining ounce of TWERKIN', debauchery, and mega-studio sheen. But in it's own right, "Wrecking Ball" is an incredibly well-written, dare I say... modern day power-ballad (for lack of a better term), and maybe Sondre Lerche 's version can help some naive-minded listeners finally see that! In recent years past, Lerche has sent Stereogum staff writers a few interesting Animal Collective , Owen Pallet, and Beyoncé covers. "I had trouble finding [a song] that I felt truly motivated to interpret. So, while "Wrecking Ball" may not be my very favorite song of 2013, it turned out to be ...

Lady Gaga recently teamed up with Hip-Hop Soul/R&B crooner and Phoenix cohort R. Kelly for her latest teaser single, "Do What U Want." The first in a series of a planned weekly singles series leading up to her third studio album, ARTPOP (November 11th); Highsnobiety further described it as "a distinct step away from some of the styles of many of Gaga 's previous songs, less Bowie -derived and more Tina Turner ." But I personally hear lurching rhythmic effects that're reminiscent of "Thriller"' s eerie-sounding central rhythm and seasoned vocal inflections akin to Christina Aguilera . It's kinda more or less along the lines of a socially-conscious "panty-dropper," inter-spliced with semi-prolific lines like, "Do what you want with my body... Write what you want. Say what you want about me." Just mere hours before uploading "Do What U Want" at 12:01am, Lady Gaga ended up posting a number of ...

I'm just gonna go ahead and say it: I kinda feel like everyone is making fun of Miley Cyrus and she TOTALLY doesn't even get it ha. What ever happened to the little girl who played Hannah Montana , "Partied In The USA" that one summer, and passionately sang about "The Climb" or whatever? Maybe it's just bad parenting; either way, I'd assume she's crushing her dad's achy breaky heart. I feel like "We Can't Stop" and Miley Cyrus' whole quasi-affiliation with Hip-Hop is just a giant Rick Roll , too. But on the other hand, if Kanye & Miley 's rumored "BLKKK SKKKN HEAD" remix ever comes to fruition, that'll likely be the theoretical icing on the cake. "Wrecking Ball" is the second single pulled from her upcoming Bangerz album and it's a little more along the lines of a modern-day power ballad, sans it's now-infamous scantily-clad Terry Richardson-directed video. During a rec...

I kinda feel like James Franco could [should] rightfully be labelled as the Über/Anti-Hipster all rolled into one; He's seems to have been secretly mocking that very idea of "celebrity" for the bulk of his career ... Smoothly aligning himself with Mila Kunis , wide-ranging roles, Avante Garde music, Indie films, grad school, writing short stories , General Hospital , Spider-Man (1), Harmony Korine , Doo-Wop , etc. Franco's latest project is "Blue" starring Lindsay Lohan , a music video that he directed for now-defunct Alternative Rock band R.E.M. nearly 2 years ago. It's unclear as to why the footage was temporarily shelved and it may or may not stem from either James Franco & Lindsay Lohan's long-rumored mystery film project or that infamous "nude photo book." Terry Richardson makes a cameo appearance as the sleazy, flannel-wearing photographer... while fuzzy images of Lohan on a stove-top, Franco dressed in drag, and the LA...