The Witzard

"B-E- darNielle - weinGarten -A-H-Z-I #tcot ... #tcot (top conservatives on Twitter ) is the first band I've been in since 2007. Ecstatic to be back in the game for Cassette Store Day ," @1000TimesYes , better known as Rolling Stone music critic, Christopher R. Weingarten enthusiastically Tweeted late Thursday morning. He's teamed with The Mountain Goats frontman and life-long wrestling super-fan John Darnielle for what can best be described as a spastic, cassette-only self-destructive drum and piano-assisted Jazz/Noise improv tape in conjunction with Saturday's third annual Cassette Store Day festivities; "the #tcot tape is now SOLD OUT [at] @northernspyrecs ! If you want one, these stores will have 'em on Cassette Store Day ." Charlottesville -based Senior Editor at Stereogum , and apparent mutual acquaintance, Tom Breihan wrote, "full disclosure, I guess: I'm friendly with both of them, though I had no idea this thing was happ...

" The Gaslamp Killer is the assassin and the antidote. His nickname wasn't conceived out of thin air. William Bensussen is entitlement's worst nightmare. His DJ sets bludgeon the basic sh*t, restoring music to a sacred place: shamanistic, visceral, honest, leaving pupils dilated and heads rolling," reads a rather interesting Impressum (or description section) attached to Alternative Hip-Hop DJ-producer Gaslamp Killer 's Facebook profile. While it doesn't seem to appear within Bensussen's recently-released The Gaslamp Killer Experience: Live in Los Angeles , his latest video-single "Ritual" seems to have been filmed at the same November 2013 Mayan Theatre concert that yielded the album's highly complex, nearly orchestral sessions; recorded in collaboration with a 15-piece band featuring revered saxophonist Kamasi Washington , Jogger guitarist Amir Yaghma , LA -based drummer Gene Coye , and trumpet player Todd Simon . "As you watc...

"It's not a reunion anymore. This is one of the most radical things we've ever done, both musically and lyrically," Refused frontman Dennis Lyxzén quipped upon the sporadic release of the Swedish Hardcore Punk band's first single in some 17 years, "Elektra." "Nobody wanted us to f*ck with the image of the band who makes a great album and splits up," drummer David Sandström added. "Nobody wanted us to dilute it. That actually provoked us." While it should have arguably been one of the formative Punk Rock records I 'cut my teeth' on as an angsty teenager along with Black Flag , The Misfits, and Minor Threat/Fugazi , for whatever reasons, I hate to admit, I only first heard Refused's genre-shaping magnum opus, The Shape of Punk to Come just a few years ago; upon a first listen, "Elektra" follows in line with what Rolling Stone sums up as a seamless "fusion of Hardcore, Techno, Jazz , and Hip-Hop ,...

"We've been up in a beach house in Long Island recording for the past month... We have four or five songs in-the-works," Ratatat guitarist Mike Stroud revealed to Rolling Stone just about four years ago at Coachella 2011 . "It's sounding new — much more aggressive than the last album. Lots of guitar that sounds like guitar, not keyboard," Stroud continued concerning the recording process behind their long-rumored tentatively titled "LP5." "About to play this set at Coachella . Check out our new single "CREAM ON CHROME" [fourth] song of the set," @ratatatmusic nonchalantly, and somewhat cryptically, Tweeted over the weekend preceding their late night Coachella 2015 set . It's Mike Stroud and bassist-percussionist E*vax (Evan Mast) 's first proper single in roughly five years; although an official release date has yet to be announced, Consequence of Sound additionally notes that Ratatat 's new album "wi...

"When Dev [Hynes] was 'Lightspeed Champion' , he had a little-known rap MySpace called 'Ni**a Bullshit' (2010). This was when we first started talking about a collaboration," rapper Himanshu Suri (professionally known as Heems ) recently revealed to Rolling Stone concerning his latest collaboration with singer-songwriter/producer, Dev Hynes aka Blood Orange . "I wrote some of the lyrics in college at Wesleyan , some before Das Racist in Bushwick , and most of it in my engineer Daniel Lynas' old studio with Dev [Hynes] in Dumbo ," Heems continued. "Home" was adequately described by one anonymous writer as " Dev provides fluttering guitar-work while Heems opens his chest cavity, removes his still-aching heart, [and] drops it on the floor in front of you;" the subject matter throughout Heems' forthcoming major label "debut" EAT PRAY THUG has been self-described as "much more personal than [ Hima...

"Last year, a mysterious rapper named Your Old Droog came out of nowhere with a self-titled mixtape. He sounded so much like Illmatic -era Nas that people thought it really was Nas , rapping under a Clockwork Orange -inspired pseudonym. Well, no, as it turns out, Your Old Droog is just some white guy from Coney Island ," Stereogum "Hip-Hop Head In Chief" Tom Breihan wrote in a recently penned Your Old Droog -centric piece. Following a whirl-wind year, which showcased two 2014-issued releases, Your Old Droog [LP] , critically-acclaimed Your Old Droog EP , and a handful of non-album singles, Your Old Droog unleashed an 11-track Rock -themed KINISON EP late Wednesday afternoon. It's littered with inventive Rock "N" Roll samples ranging from Johnny Cash to the Beastie Boys ("Pass The Mic") and at least 40+ cleverly inter-woven references including Sam Kinison , Pornos for Pyros, Rage Against The Machine , and Sonic Youth (track titles)...

Just the other night, during one of my post- Christmas cyber "record-diggin'" sprees, I picked up copies of The Whooliganz & The Dough Rollers 12-inches, bands whose sounds couldn't be further apart; aside from the fact that both groups feature the talented off-spring of Hollywood elite ( Scott/James Caan and Harrison/Malcolm Ford ). While they previously self-released a seemingly long out-of-print 2010 10-track album, The Dough Rollers have recently co-aligned with Jack White 's Nashville -based imprint, Third Man Records . " The Dough Rollers formed in 2008 when Malcolm Ford and Jack Byrne first decided to put their passion for American roots music to work by trying their hand at earnest, neo-revivalism," reads a recent Third Man press release. "But [with] the addition of Graham Norwood on bass and Kyle Olson on drums, their sound evolved, loosening, swarkening, and darkening... [occupying] the sometimes salty, sometimes sweet s...

"You are the last Colbert Report musical guest. Honored to have you on, but keep in mind: Paul McCartney , R.E.M., Jack White , and Nas were your opening acts," Stephen Colbert cleverly quipped at Kendrick Lamar during their pre-performance interview on last night's show. Lamar premiered a brand new "Untitled" track reportedly produced by French beatsmith Astronote ; its world-premier performance was delivered by a pick-up band consisting of bass virtuoso Thundercat , Terrace Martin on sax, and back-up vocals from Soulquarians affiliate Bilal and Sonnymoon sogstress Anna Wise . In stark contrast to Kendrick Lamar 's previous Isley Brothers -indebted "i," "Untitled" is more of a sparse experimental, Jazz -leaning affair, which seems to be a multi-faceted narrative; "In Lamar's story, an Asian man tells him to worry about his health and not his career, an Indian man recommends he invest in real estate, the black man rev...

"It's music that's gonna thrive in the club... it's not anything like what you've heard from Kendrick before. It's not like anything else that's out there right now," Hot 97 DJ Peter Rosenberg ambiguously lamented about a fragmented chunk of Kendrick Lamar 's highly anticipated, as-yet-untitled forthcoming third album. Lamar recently told Rolling Stone that he's recorded "a bunch of tracks" with illusive super-producer Dr. Dre , Pharrell, Rahki , and in-house TDE production team Digi+Phonics . While he additionally referred to the album as "aggression and emotion"-filled, lead single "i" is a light-hearted, self-affirming affair. It seems as though Kendrick Lamar even recruited bass virtuosos Thundercat to add an appended Funked up bass intro onto "i" for its recent Alexandre Moors & The Little Homies directed video treatment. "Stop! Stop! We talkin' about peace... a piece of yours...

Kendrick Lamar 's latest non-album single, "i" has a seemingly unlikely sample source, The Isley Brother 's 1973 Soul-Funk hit, "[Who's] That Lady," which many of you may recognize from Swiffer 's hilarious long-standing "Who's That Lady" campaign. Right off the bat, "i" itself is more blatantly "commercial" than the combined the whole of it's predecessor good kid, m.A.A.d city (2012), but in the best way humanly possible. It's almost reminiscent of OutKast or even Native Tongues' 90's era brand of light-heated "conscious rap." Kendrick Lamar has supposedly recorded about 30 tracks for his as-yet-untitled second album, including "a bunch of tracks" with Dr. Dre . "Lamar says to expect "aggression and emotion" from the album, as well as some straight-up freestyling" laments a recent Rolling Stone profile; "if I can say anything about this record...

Even though I've been an avid Stones Throw record collector for about 10 or so years now, I still managed to learn a lot of interesting facts and tidbits from their Kickstarter -funded, Jonah Hill -approved documentary, Our Vinyl Weighs a Ton . For example: Aloe Blacc 's HBO -backed "I Need a Dollar" nearly saved the label, Peanut Butter Wolf was childhood friends with Stones Throw employees Jeff Jank and Steve Helmer (aka Baron Zen), Kanye and Roots bandleader ?uestlove are fervent supporters of the prolific label, the years following J Dilla 's untimely death are generally regarded as Stones Throw 's "post-Hip-Hop" phase, etc. It's funny because while I'm pretty familiar with Stones Throw 's ever-growing label roster, I noticed a few names through out Our Vinyl Weighs a Ton that even I didn't recognize; Royal Kush , extraterrestrial songstress Diva , and righteous Punk band The Cliftons in particular. This past Tues...

Miguel has unleashed his own unique rendition of Elton John 's classic Glam-Rock romp "Bennie & The Jets," which kinda sounds like a modern day version of Sly & The Family Stone . It's one of nine meticulously re-recorded super deluxe edition covers set to appear on the 40th anniversary edition of Goodbye Yellow Brick Road . Miguel manages to keep John's original piano melody intact, while inter-splicing an Electro-Hip-Hop , almost Space-Funk -leaning backing groove. About half-way through "Bennie & The Jets," you can year Maybach Music Group veteran rapper Wale , who sounds a little bit more displaced than Miguel . Sir Reginald Dwight himself recently told Rolling Stone that Miguel & Wale's updated version "really makes the best of what the song is all about. And it's an unusual song. it's not what I think is a hit record, but then that's probably why it was a hit record, because it didn't sound like anyt...

While it would seem like Portland -based Sludge-Metal band Red Fang just accepted a big-ass super-check from Pabst Blue Ribbon to fund their awesome new video "Blood Like Cream," it's still arguably the best music video I've seen in about 2 weeks. Former SNL funnyman, and smashin' Punk-Rock drummer in his own right, Fred Armisen co-stars alongside the band's four members and an angry mob-full of zombies; But not just any zombies... flesh-eating AND beer-guzzling zombies with a thirst for destruction! The Rolling Stone -premiered havoc centers around a local watering hole, where Red Fang and a quickly dismembered Armisen are forced to go toe-to-toe with a slew of blood beer-thirsty zombies. " ["Blood Like Cream"] is about the stress of balancing a touring lifestyle with having a family back at home, but who wants to see a video about that?" frontman Aaron Beam recently lamented to Rolling Stone . "Boring! Instead, we have a...

Former Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page Tweeted "on this day, Biggie Smalls " along with a web-link Friday morning; He's pieced together what kinda sounds like a semi-unfinished mash-up between "Hypnotize" and "Ramble On" that's been dubbed "Ramblize." 90's Hip-Hop heads might recall that this isn't exactly Page's first forre into Hip-Hop , as he previously re-recorded parts of "Kashmir" for Godzilla break-out hit, "Come with Me" with none other than Puff Daddy [included below]. "Ramblize" somehow teeters that fine line, where if it sucked (which it doesn't), it'd still be pretty cool simply because of the sheer fact that Jimmy Page remixed a Biggie track! From what I understand, Page recently uploaded a similar Snoop Dogg/Led Zeppelin mash-up of "Drop It Like It's Hot" (credited to Led Dogg ). Lest we forget, Led Zepplin 's now-deceased mondo-drummer Joh...

Here's the scenario: Late to work Wednesday morning, the minutes are quickly ticking away past 8 o'clock and I'm whizzing down Route 77 . But in the end, late's late and I'm not really too concerned. Seems like I always [inconveniently] manage to catch Preston & Steve (hands down, one of Philly 's best morning radio shows) when they're playing music rather than cracking jokes, gossiping, etc; a track was soon cued that I later learned was The Sheepdogs - "Feeling Good," which I equate to a mix between The Black Keys/Queens of The Stone Age . The Sheepdogs' self-titled fourth album doubles as both their major label debut and commercial break-through, for all intensive purposes. While Ewan Currie, Leot Hanson, Ryan Gullen & Sam Corbett formed The Sheepdogs in Saskatoon, CAN around 2006, they became "The First Band to Ever Grace The Cover of Rolling Stone" in August 2011 after months of intense competition and 1.5 millio...

Chocolate & Cheese (1994) was one of the first albums I bought with my own money. I was in some sort of BMG Music Club , where you'd buy 5 CD's and then get 10 for "FREE." It was all sent through mail order and you picked the titles from some special booklet. I'm almost positive that Chocolate & Cheese's side boob-baring album cover was what initially drew me in... mind you, I was 12-15 and the zany Ween logo/middle finger CD graphic really didn't hurt either. Honestly, I forget how I really felt about it @ the time, but a few years later, my older cousin Josh told me that Ween were this BIG college "jam band." CKY did some sort pf 93.3 radio takeover to promote their new album and played "Freedom of '76" late that night on air. Needless to say, I re-visited Chocolate & Cheese @ about 20-something this go 'round and I fucking loved it! Ween were really weird, yet talented... almost too talented. I can vaguel...

You said you're looking for artists that embody the American spirit. I've got a guy: He's got a beautiful voice and he sings Al Green songs well. The only problem is that he's super-busy and Donald Trump thinks he was born overseas. [Laughs] "Ah, yeah, THAT guy. I'm gonna try. I'm gonna tell you guys right now: I'm gonna give him a call and I'm gonna try to get him to perform - Do a little rendition of Al Green - but I doubt it. I think that opens up the political season. He'll be so far into helping the world that he probably won't have time, but I'm absolutely going to ask him." - Jay-Z (Rolling Stone)

Young KREAYSHAWN sure did have one sudden, albeit triumphant rise to fame this past calendar year; Her debut single, "Gucci Gucci" amassed some 3 million YouTube hits in it's first 3 weeks, which imminently resulted in the signing of a coveted $1 million deal with Columbia Records (June). That's the thing - I can tell that KREAYSHAWN has this completely RAW, un-tapped natural talent(s): Film, music, video editing, graphic design, pixel art. KREAYSHAWN was born and raised in The Bay Area to a single, Punk Rock -loving mother. Although she dropped out of Berkley film school, KREAYSHAWN has since shot and edited music videos for a wide range of Popular artists including: Lil B BASEDGOD, Soulja Boy , A.P.B. Red Hot Chili Peppers, Stalker, Dread, D.B. The General ... and even starred in The Memorials - "We Go to War" (music video). Essentially, she has yet to prove much of anything @ all, but I can tell that KREAYSHAWN has a lot of drive. So, her ...

"[The concept behind] "Big Bad Wolf" is pretty simple, and it can mean anything, really, so we wanted the video to have its own narrative," says A-Trak , one-half of the dance duo Duck Sauce , along with DJ Armand Van Helden . "Remember when dance music videos used to actually be creative? Like when you think back to Aphex Twin , Fatboy Slim, and Daft Punk ... I don't know why the genre's videos became so generic in recent years." - Alain ("A-Trak") Macklovitch "When Keith [Schoffield] came up with this idea of "crotchfaces," we just thought it was hilarious," A-Trak continues. "He started coming up with all these gags and describing the characters living in this sort of parallel world, and we were sold. He wasn't sure if we'd be down to play the leads. But our take on this was, if we're going to do this, we need to go all the way. So, we played the dickheads, essentially."