The Witzard

The Hanukkah Sessions - CREDIT: Lego Dave Grohl (@LegoDaveGrohl) Last year, Foo Fighters frontman and esteemed writer Dave Grohl and producer, multi-instrumentalist, and song-writer Greg Kurstin teamed up once more for The Hanukkah Sessions : a series of eight performance videos covering the likes of the Beastie Boys, Drake, Mountain, Peaches, Bob Dylan, Elastica, The Knack, and The Velvet Underground. Eight Jewish artists, one for each night of Hanukkah 2020. Sunday night, the first night of Hanukkah, Grohl & Kurstin re-emerged with Night One of The Hanukkah Sessions 2021. "Welcome back to the menorah, y'all. Let's kick it this year's Hanukkah Sessions with one of Dallas, Texas' favorite Jewish daughters. So, put on your coffee shop spectacles and your Betsey Johnson dress and HAVA listen to this... "Stay" by Lisa Loeb," read a video description uploaded along with Night One's festive candle-lit offering. Yes, Dave Grohl & Greg Ku...

"Hi, I'm Greg Kurstin and I'm Jewish. And I'm Dave Grohl. I am NOT Jewish... but this year, instead of doing a Christmas song, Greg & I decided to celebrate Hanukkah by recording eight songs by eight famous Jewish artists and releasing one song each night of Hanukkah for you. So, we hope you enjoy! Happy Hanukkah!" close friends, cohorts, and collaborators Dave Grohl & Greg Kurstin explained within a recent video. They were, of course, announcing what we now know to be dubbed The Hanukkah Sessions! credited to Kurstin x Grohl. However, thisisn't the first time Grohl & Kurstin have worked together, as Kurstin produced Grohl's band, Foo Fighter's critically-acclaimed 2017 album, Concrete & Gold . It appears as though Greg Kurstin was, also, behind the boards for Foo Fighters' upcoming tenth studio album, Medicine At Midnight, as he shares a co-producer credit along with The Foos. Plus, Dave Grohl fittingly plays drums on "Littl...

We've been eharing rumblings for quite some time now and this past weekend, Foo Fighters officially announced their tenth studio album, Medicine At Midnight. Leading up to their performance this past weekend on Saturday Night Live (SNL) Foo Fighters have been sending out weekly emails to their fan club breaking down/re-visiting their nine studio albums, labeled LPI-LPIX. Then, immediately prior to their SNL performance, Foo Fighters uploaded a number of myserious clips zoomed in our the band members' eyes, along with an unlabelled 30-second musical soundbite hashtagged "#LPX." During (actually, prior to) their first performance on SNL this past Saturday evening into Sunday morning, we recieved a press email concerning Foo Fighters' new single, "Shame Shame," and aforementioned LPX, now officially dubbed Medicine At Midnight. "Ladies and gentlemen, Foo Fighters..." host Dave Chappelle proclaimed, cool as a cucucumber, and Foo Fighters lau...

It's been 27 years since the world first heard Beck Hansen's Slacker Rap anthem, "Loser." Although, I would have been six at the time, I can vaguely recall hearing it just a few short years later. To be completely honest, Beck was the first White/Jewish rapper I had ever heard, aside from Beastie Boys Adam "MCA" Yauch, Michael "Mike D" Diamond, and Adam "Ad-Rock" Horovitz, of course. Beck would eventually recruit The Beasties' Paul's Boutique producers, The Dust Brothers, to helm his own cult classic, Odelay (1996) and a couple albums later, 1999's Midnite Vultures. Beck has always managed to effortlessly teeter the lines between Hip-Hop, Indie Rock, Folk, Alt. Country, Dance-Rock/Pop, etc. and even won Album of The Year GRAMMY for his 2014 effort, Morning Phase. Strangely, in stark contrast to Folk-leaning Morning Phase, Beck's two albums released since, Colors & Hyperspace, have been a bit more Mainstream Dance Roc...

Quasi-retired British songstress and walking firecracker Lily Allen has finally made a triumphant return to music, in one of the least Punk Rock ways humanly possible; covering "Somewhere Only We Know" (Keane) for a super-early John Lewis Christmas web-ad. But somehow, it really works and Allen's airy vocals synch up well with the playful, old school-looking Bear & The Hare animation work. Since releasing her sophomore album, It's Not Me, It's You (2009), Lily Allen got herself a husband and 2 kids, stared acting a bit, launched a record label imprint, changed her name twice (Lily Rose Cooper), and recently appeared on Pink 's latest single, "True Love." "Somewhere Only We Know" is a pretty drastic shift from Allen's former potty-mouthed brand of Reggae -infused Indie Pop , which could very well echo her forthcoming third album. According to NME , Lily Allen recently lamented that "it's not an earnest "I...

Anyone else remember Kelly Clarkson ? "Miss Independent" 's career, since winning American Idol (Season 1) has fluctuated almost as readily as her weight over the past 10 or so years. But I really do think that Kelly Clarkson is a beautiful, shapely woman who has an amazing, far-reaching set of pipes! Her soprano abilities have allowed her to maintain a [Pop] Rock edge, while still managing to release Country-tinged Ballads , akin to her Lone Star State roots. I must admit that I've paid fairly close attention to Clarkson's brief, yet productive career and have thoroughly enjoyed singles like "Since U Been Gone" (2004) and "Walk Away" (2006). Kelly Clarkson somehow has the ability to write infectious, meaningful Pop songs that manage to reach a shit-load of people; Sometimes even those who don't generally enjoy that sort of thing, like yours truly. The title track and second single from her latest album, Stronger ... her fifth al...

After a lengthy 4 year-long "hibernation," Indie Rock 's favourite Philly -bred wanderlust wonder child, Santigold has finally emerged with some new, buzz-worthy music in toe. Nearly out of the blue, "Big Mouth" was released for FREE download yesterday to wide-spread critical and fan acclaim alike. Santigold 's PR rep. later stated that the track is merely a promotional [teaser] single; But you would never know so from the looks of it's accompanying over-the-top, glammed up cartoon-ish music video. The high-ppofile audio/video talents of Switch , Buraka Som Sistema , and director Cody Critcheloe were brought in for back-up assistance in Round #1. Between albums, Santigold managed to work with a wide array of distinctive collaborators including: Christina Aguilera , Q-Tip, Jay-Z , Lily Allen , M.I.A. The Lonely Island , Pharrell, N.A.S.A. Beastie Boys, Julian Casablancas , and Karen O. Master of My Make-Believe was additionally out-fitted with the ...