The Witzard

"It's our summer jam, so we figured we should put it out, cuz I am very bored of waiting to finish my album [before] releasing new music haha," Grimes (real name Claire Boucher ) said in a recent press release. Last winter, Boucher signed what some might call a mildly head-scratching management deal with Jay Z 's own Roc-Nation off-shoot company — alongside previous signees HAIM , M.I.A. Santigold , Mark Ronson, Shakira , Wale, and The Ting Tings . Grimes and her fellow Canadian comrade/frequent collaborator Blood Diamonds were reportedly commissioned by Roc-Nation to produce and original track for R&B super-star Rihanna . While it was ultimately rejected by the Roc-Nation team, Grimes & Blood Diamonds recently recorded their own version of the track, now re-titled "Go." Blood Diamonds' 2010-12 reminiscent Dubstep/Electro -leaning production work seems to have been influenced by Grimes' former Full Flex Express touring mates, ...

Following a largely un-fullfilled search for a copy of Modern Vampires of The City that aimlessly led me across Cumberland County , I realized that aside from 2-3 well-executed lyric videos, Vampire Weekend have yet to release a proper music video in support of their new album; Whilst still grabbing headlines by torching a couple Saab 900's and hanging out with "distant second cousin" Steve Buscemi , the New York -based band finally unleashed a "Diane Young" video Monday morning. Continuing a long-standing trend that started with "Giving Up The Gun" (2010), director Primo Kahn somehow managed to recruit a very interesting cast of characters: Chromeo , Dave Longstreth (Dirty Projectors), Sky Ferreira , Despot , Santigold, Hamilton Leithauser (The Walkmen), and a ski-masked man that just might be cameraman Kahn himself. What starts out looking mysteriously like a modern-day Last Supper slowly morphs into a righteous "dinner party where g...

A$AP Rocky was almost destined to one day produce Hip-Hop greatness, ever since his my named him "Rakim." Being a music blogger, I hear about a lot of different rookie emcees the average week/month/year and "Goldie" is hands down one of the fucking greatest things I've ever heard! Built around a simplistic, yet hard-hitting beat created by the same dude who brought you "Niggas In Paris" (Hit-Boy) , Rocky effortlessly coasts over the MIDI keyboard beat, ghostly vocal chants, 1-2 drum pattern, etc. The companion music video to go along with "Goldie" was self-directed by A$AP Rocky , along with fashion designer Alexander Wang , on location across Paris, France . In all reality, Hit-Boy 's nearly-flawless "Goldie" beat is essentially worth nearly $3 million, since it might as well be A$AP Rocky 's first major release since signing with Polo Music Group way back in Fall 2011. I don't know what I really even specifica...

Just one day after posting it's looping 4-minute long trailer and mere hours after a collection of online remixes was released, Lana del Rey has unveiled the Anthony Mandler -directed music video short film for her track, "National Anthem." A pair of rising young stars each with a single album [mixtape] under their belt, I'm pretty sure that Lana del Rey & A$AP Rocky can relate to Jackie O. & JFK , the characters which they loosely portray throughout "National Anthem." Self-admitted fans of eachother's work(s), del Rey and Rocky first met over Winter 2011-12 while working together on a collaborative track. "Ridin'" was written/recorded along with The Kickdrums , hastily pulled from Follow The Leader , and appended onto A$AP Rocky 's upcoming Sept. 11th debut LP, LONGLIVEA$AP . Man, I can already tell that "National Anthem" is going to be one of those videos that everyone and their brother blogs bout, while no ...

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 ...