The Witzard

I guess it's kinda like that old All-American proverb [saying] says, "one man's trash is another man's treasure." But in this case, the one man, TOBACCO (Black Moth Super Rainbow) isn't exactly sure if what he has is a trash/treasure. TOBACCO took the liberty of remixing "I Got Mine" from The Black Keys' fifth album, Attack & Release (2008), but it was never officially released. And now, this lost treasure has somehow managed to find it's way onto The Internet(s) . Seemingly with The Keys' consent, TOBACCO quietly uploaded his dusty old "I Got Mine" remix to BMSR 's collective Soundcloud page late Thurs. afternoon. When it wasn't used by the band, TOBACCO ultimately ended up chopping, editing, and re-using select portions of "I Got Mine" for his own track called "Super Gum." TOBACCO's remix and both original versions are featured down below for your comparison purposes, but be w...

Hardcore Punk is one of the few genres that's never really has any of those cliche, defining "mainstream success" moments and maybe that's what's kept Hardcore so independent since it's late 1970-80's inception. Forget about Pop Punk bands like Blink-182 , Sum 41 , Green Day , etc... who I know and love, too. But that's definitely a different kind of slightly pussified, manufactured brand of Punk . Genre-shaping bands like Black Flag , The Misfits, Minor Threat (Fugazi) , and Descendents were the closest prize-winning champs ever got to early Jersey/LA Hardcore success stories. Forget about all those damn cash cow Hot Topic re-issues, too. Go return that shit, man! Trash Talk are a bi-racial Hardcore Punk band hailing from Sacramento, CA who just might have the POWER/balls to become the genre's first real "mainstream success." Lee Spielman, Garrett Stevenson, Spencer Pollard , and Sam Bosson just signed a record deal with Tyler...

Mr. Muthafuckin' eXquire is hands down one of the most outlandish, characteristically "un-commercial" major label signees to co-align with the big dogs since... I don't know, Frank Zappa or Alice Cooper . Mr. MFN eXquire is basically like a more crazy/broke version of Biggie & Ol' Dirty Bastard , who frequently raps about comic books, pro wrestling, and bitches; Tom Breihan almost perfectly described his overall persona once as "the perma-drunk guy in your building, the one who's still PARTYING loudly @ 4a.m. but who never gets told to keep it down, since he makes everyone vaguely nervous." Power & Passion EP/mixtape is slated for an Oct. 30-31st release, making it his first project since initially signing a deal with Universal Records back in April-May. Mr. MFN eXquire manages to lace up some pretty slick rhymes, which are then over-laid on top of a beat hi-jacked from 50 Cent 's sophomore album The Massacre , "Position of Po...

The Gaslight Anthem somehow managed to write & record one Hell of an E-Street Band -less Springsteen comeback album!; With that said, Handwritten really is just a top-notch "Post-Punk" Arena Rock -sounding record. Single-handedly helmed by seasoned Pearl Jam/Springsteen producer Brendan O'Brien , who was dealt the fairly difficult task of nearly re-shaping the band's signature sound from the ground up. For the most part, it chronicles Gaslight Anthem 's journey from the NJ Hardcore scene to "mainstream recognition" [success] and that's something I think I'd feel hard-pressed about cramming into 100-200 words. "Biloxi Parish" is most likely my personal favourite track on Handwritten, but man, the whole damn album's pretty STELLAR and seamless! I guess Biloxi Parish was a small sub-division of Louisiana way back when in 1811-12... How any of that relates to The Gaslight Anthem or Brian Fallon (frontman) - I honestly hav...

A few things about Matthewdavid 's new EP are almost instantly alarming "right off the bat:" (1.) That call-to-arms of a title - Producers In 2012 Learn to Spread Love EP ! (2.) Submissive-looking Rick James flanked by 2 fucking 3-eyed tigers on the cover... vaguely reminiscent of a terribly AWESOME tattoo! (3.) The massive amount of "sound ground" that Matthewdavid somehow manages to cover over the course of 3 brief tracks: Soul , Dubstep, Chopped & Screwed , Hip-Hop, Pop, Dark R&B , etc. Matthewdavid's overall style is essentially an Ambient sort of Instrumental Hip-Hip , something largely popularized by guys like Clams Casino in recent years. Matthewdavid [McQueen]'s lengthy-titled EP comes on the heels of his Brainfeeder debut, Outmind (Feb. 2012) which was released in conjunction with his own label imprint, Leaving Records . They successfully self-released Matthewdavid 's most recent project, a mixtape called Jewelry EP ; It ...

I wonder if [MF] DOOM ended up making an appearance @ The London Olympics a couple weeks ago... or could it have the fine doings of a skillfully-trained " DOOM-poster !?" Either way, DOOM has been living "across the pond" due to a scattered details exile since about 2010, which was when/where he originally linked up with Jneiro Jarel . KEY TO THE KUFFS is the resulting album that was slowly pieced together, recorded under the dual-moniker "JJ DOOM," and featuring guest verses from Damon Albarn, Khujo Goodie , Beth Gibbons, and Boston Fielder - members of Gorillaz , Goodie Mob , and Portishead aided fame (respectively). DOOM is a very left-field, mysterious [prolific] kind of guy and KEY TO THE KUFFS really seems like a fitting album to be released in his 25th year as a performer! Ninian Doff directed the highly- Experimental , split-screen music video for "Guv'nor" as part of Rizlab Project #4 , which was ultimately unveiled late W...

During the height of his mid-90's heyday, Fiend chalked up studio time with both No Limit Records (Master P) and Ruff Ryders Ent. (DMX) . But the man AKA Ricky "International" Jones now calls Curren$y 's micro-label, Jet Life Recordings homebase. I was first turned onto Fiend about a year or 2 ago with Tom Breihan 's Stereogum entrance post; Breihan's future posts would chronicle Fiend 's cleverly-executed sample flips of The Specials and Washed Out originals. While Fiend somehow managed to record and release roughly 6 mixtapes between 2011-12, he's remained un-characteristically silent throughout the latter 1/2 of this year. "Wonderful" was quietly released Tuesday afternoon and features a Funky RJ2 beat and a guest verse from Jet Life labelhead, Curren$y . I'm not really sure where this one'll eventually end up, but let's hope that a Fiend/Jet Life mixtape materializes "sooner than later!"

<a href="http://thelazymks.bandcamp.com/track/sabotage">Sabotage by The Lazy MKs featuring The Pile O'Bones Brass Band</a> While it just might have substantially more cultural bearing now than say 3 months ago, The Lazy MK's originally released their "Sabotage" cover on Bandcamp way back in Jan. 2012. It's an interesting Bluegrass/Jazz take on a song that I really know and love; I think "Sabotage" was the first Beastie Boys track that I latched onto @ 10-12, partly due to it's Spike Jonze -directed action-packed , explosion-filled music video! When I was in grade school oh so many years ago (1990's), I first discovered Hip-Hop , Classic Rock , and Hardcore Punk ... a couple of my "cooler" older cousins first introduced me to Beastie Boys' shit and now I own [damn-near] their whole discography. Shouts to my cuz Josh for send...

I was pretty stoked to finally get a package from Stones Throw in my mailbox just the other day; It contained my Stones Throw "logo splatter" T-shirt and Jonwayne 's new CASSETTE project, which came along with a FREE Walkman since my order was one of the first 60 processed. In theory, it's actually a perfectly great/ludicrous idea... 100% leak-proof , but @ the same time, nearly 3/4's of the market probably has no means to play the tape. Jonwayne & Stones Throw have some serious balls for releasing an "album" that'll very likely never see a digital, CD, or vinyl re-issue package and it's 2012, baby! ha I've been playing CASSETTE while on-the-go over the weekend, took some notes, and here's a rough review of Side A (Raps) . Track #1 ("Gross") - chant-like vocal sample - Stones Throw shout-out(s) - eerily slowed down drums/keys - Pop Culture references - John Lennon, Flintstones - Hook: "Looking like a sperm eati...

I've gotta admit, over the past 10-15 years, I've heard about a lot of new, emerging genres that quickly come and go: Acid Jazz , Dark R&B, Skate Punk , Nu-Metal, Dubstep , Instrumental Hip-Hop, Grunge , New-Wop , House , etc... But I'd never heard of "Jersey Club," until late last night. My first real exposure to Jersey Club music was presented by the good people over @ Ad Hoc (formerly Altered Zones), DJ Sliink/DJ Tray - "The Cypher." The brief Soundcloud description section details that "The Cypher" showcases the vocal talents of 4 largely unknown rappers... Tah Breeziiy, Stacks Cartel, Sean Sheesh , and Ant_Jacoby . I have NO IDEA how the fuck they manage to stay on beat so well, over-laid against that fiercely 2-3x BPM "mess" of a well-constructed Hip-Hop beat! ha Unable to find a whole lot of background info on the mysterious, fast-paced Jersey Club genre, I sent a simple, hope-filled email over to the man himself. D...

While it was just announced late yesterday afternoon, WILD WATER KINGDOM is quickly shaping up to be[come] his second mixtape of 2012, and Heems has already tapped a wide array of beat-makers for possible inclusion: Diplo , Le1f, Harry Fraud , Yorrissey, " @keyboardkid206 , @beautifullou1, AND @MikeFinito ." Making a pretty un-characteristically bold move, Yorrissey (BLKHRTS) decides to employ a tricky sample pulled from Shoegaze godfathers, Echo & The Bunnymen on "Killing Time." It sounds a lot like Donnie Darko from the get-go and after a re-purposed vocal fragment [hook] plays out, Heems comes in... rapping full-force about being bored? For all intensive purposes, "Killing Time" just might be the true genesis of Slacker Rap-Rock . Along with friend-producer Yorrissey , Heems somehow manages to find the middle ground between self-loathing 80's Indie Rock and Underground Hip-Hop . Heems recently stated on Twitter that Beautiful Lou ...

The more I think about it, it's really just a coming-of-age type thing that almost all of us go through @ some point during our mid 20-early 30's: admitting that an old friend/fling is now just "somebody that [you] used to know." And that sheer, simplistic candor is exactly what makes Gotye 's similarly-titled 2011-12 break-out hit single so gosh darn relate-able! The quintessential track @ the heart of all this, "Somebody That I Used to Know" was only semi-recently knocked off Modern Rock radio charts by "Call Me Maybe;" Not surprisingly, there has to be close to 28,000+ fan covers and parodies uploaded to YouTube . A number of well-known Hip-Hop producers have taken a shot @ remixing "Somebody That I Used to Know" ... Chuck Inglish , Dice Raw, Sugar Tongue Slim , and DJ Tiesto . Making Mirrors , which is actually Gotye 's third album, is now available for purchase/enjoyment on both sides of "the pond." "Rel...

Diplo reportedly antied up some $3-5 million to sign "viral rapper" RiFF RAFF to Mad Decent for a staggering 8 album deal; The labelhead also threw in a $45,000 3-D/reversible gold-encrusted Cheshire Cat chain to further sweeten their deal. Over the weekend, RiFF RAFF unveiled his first official [mixtape] project for Mad Decent , BiRTH OF AN iCON . It's basically a collection of 25 re-mastered tracks total, including 7 BRAND NEW productions to hold fans over til his 2013 full-length. 16 of 25 tracks already have music videos , all varying in quality and some of which date way back to Spring 2011. RiFF RAFF 's currently-untitled album will probably be released sooner than later and is supposed to highlight Dubstep production(s) from Diplo, Skrillex , and Rusko . BiRTH OF AN iCON kinda plays out like a "Best Of" collection and it's material was selected from a super-sized mix of old tracks, remixes, and features ... that further display the vast ta...

Since PO PO basically de-constructed right before our very eyes without even releasing an album, sole remaining brother Zeb Malik has christened a BRAND NEW musical moniker: Jahan Lennon . While readying his official [re-]debut and the proper follow-up to DOPE BOY MAGICK , Zeb sent a twisted Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers cover over to Stereogum late Thurs. afternoon. "DON'T COME AROUND HERE" here is an interesting take on the Southern Accents (1985) original; First off, Jahan Lennon decides to sub in a sitar and gun-shot rhythm for the stock Rock "N" Roll guitar/drum pattern. Zeb Malik really did his best to try and describe his "Don't Come Around Here No More" cover to @tompetty on Twitter : "I did a trap cover of "dnt come around here" about my hometown, philadelphia ... thnk u for the inspiration *." While Jahan Lennon is busy finishing up his Mad Decent EP (October), Diplo 's gonna release a Rock tr...

Oh, Tom Breihan , you've done it again!; After reading, watching, and ultimately rejecting Redd Kross ' new music video for "Stay Away from Downtown," which was just released online late yesterday afternoon... I have somewhat hastily re-considered my initial opinion on the whole thing. Since reading Breihan's STELLAR album review of Researching The Blues [released today], I've realized that what I thought was it's biggest drawback is actually the album's greatest strength - That undeniably thick layer of Pop Rock sheen! Redd Kross are quite arguably just as Pop -driven as the music of Britney Spears , Katy Perry , or even Justin Bieber . But the fellas of Redd Kross have been earnestly practicing and improving since middle school, when the opened up for Black Flag @ a graduation party (1978). Researching The Blues is the band's first album in some 15 years and honestly, it isn't trying to represent/become anything that they aren't le...

I think I'd have to honestly say that Black Flag, Misfits, Minor Threat (Fugazi) , and Beastie Boys were the first 3-4 1980's Hardcore bands that I really got into @ the tender [aggressive] age of like 15-16. Always having a few "cool" older cousins, Hardcore Punk was the first type of music that I really discovered on my own! While they're all pretty great in the own ways, Black Flag still remains one of my favoutite bands, all these years later... particularly Rollins era Black Flag , of course. They were so much more than just another Punk band - Seamlessly mixing in bits & pieces of spoken word poetry, Blues-Jazz , Sludge/Doom Metal , Rhythm & Blues , Prog. Rock, Breakbeat , Contemporary Classical (1970's), and intricate guitar solos. Vice Records' music channel, noisey recently too a trip "across the pond" to play some tunes for a few young critics. My best guess is that most of these kids are roughly 6-12, all of whom have ...

Shit man, the name John Wayne is almost instantly BADASS ... Even when it's missing the all-important word-separating space and "h" for extra emphasis, of course. Depending on who you ask, I guess it could be said that Jonwayne is kinda a Hip-Hop Cowboy ; A rebel without a cause, and an un-worldly knack for producing a "darn tootin'" [perfect] beat! All the while, sharpening his Rap skills/chops, Jonwayne recently signed a deal with Stones Throw . Hard @ work compiling his debut LP for the Los Angeles -bred imprint, they've released a handful of FREE and re-packaged material over the past few months: Jonwayne F*cks Disney EP , Oodles of Doodles , This Is False (mixtape), a flexi-disc, and a $7.00 CASSETTE tape. "Night School" was quietly mastered and uploaded to Jonwayne 's personal Soundcloud page late July 30th, just a few days after Stones Throw outlined CASSETTE's rudimentary release. Wayne skillfully assembled a 5-man ...