A few months back, we spotlighted red-hot Baltimore rap duo Get Em Mamis and their hypnotic anthem "Cold Summer." Now, Roxzi and Symph have sent word that they're prepping a new mixtape. Produced by Darkroom Productions, who created much of the music from The Wire, the Material Girls mixtape features the warp-speed MCs rhyming over beats that sample the original get-em mami, Madonna. GEM gave us an advance listen to the first two tracks, "Music" and "Who's That Girl." Check 'em out right here:

"Music"

"Who's That Girl"

Photo:Travis Schneider
Every week, Hype Monitor wades through the most buzzed-about bands all across the Internet.

The Band: Army Navy
The Buzz: That combative name is a bit of misdirection: these Seattle power-poppers write songs more suitable for lovers than fighters.
Listen If: You wish the Stone Roses were a little more forceful or Oasis were a little more restrained.
Key Track: "Saints," a bit of bounding jangle-pop guided by Justin Kennedy's plaintive, searching vocals.

The Band: Tough Alliance
The Buzz: Impish Swedes turn dance music inside out, making moody floor-fillers that mashup disco and house.
Listen If: Your favorite dance move is the wallflower classic: a slow, meaningful head-bob.
Key Track: "First Class Riot," where it seems the band ingested more XTC than ecstasy, resulting in a bright, yearning bit of Britpop.

The Band: <3 Svanhvit!
The Buzz: None yet, but there should be: this collection of Icelandic teenagers has one of the most satisfying live shows to come along in a while, delivering big, riotous group-sing pop songs that sound like exclamation points.
Listen If: You want the next thing before it happens, or have a soft spot for bands with more than 6 members and a saxophone.
Key Track: The new "Gluggin," where the band tones down its rambunctiousness to deliver a sweet, lilting ballad.

Who: The Gaslight Anthem, a quartet of blue collar punks from Bruce Springsteen's hood that tell stories about young romance and working-class folks on their new album The '59 Sound.

Sounds Like: Like New Jersey's prodigal son, New Brunswick's the Gaslight Anthem sound like a punked-out, supercharged version of early Bruce combined with the Replacements' angst and the Hold Steady's wit. "No surrender, my Bobby Jean," lead singer Brian Fallon sings on "Meet Me by the River's Edge," name-checking two Springsteen songs in one simple line.

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We've already told you about the awesome wackiness that is Repo! The Genetic Opera, but here's a brief recap: Darren Lynn Bousman, the director of the three Saw movies, is attempting to resurrect the rock opera genre with a film starring Paris Hilton, Skinny Puppy's Nivek Ogre, Sarah Brightman and Anthony Stewart Head (Giles from Buffy the Vampire Slayer). The plot revolves around organ transplants and assorted gore. Now Rolling Stone can exclusively reveal the film's poster art (above) and offer a sneak peek at three songs from the soundtrack, which will see a digital release on September 30th (the DVD is out in January 2009).

"Chase the Morning" (featuring Sarah Brightman, Nancy Long, Alexa Vega)

"Night Surgeon" (featuring Anthony Stewart Head, Paul Sorvino, Bill Moseley, Ogre)

"Zydrate Anatomy" (featuring Terrance Zdunich, Paris Hilton, Alexa Vega)

Photo: Steve Gullick
Every week, Hype Monitor wades through the most buzzed-about bands all across the Internet.

The Band: Okkervil River
The Buzz: Austin post-folkies return with The Stand-Ins, continuing their narrative about cynical singers and the people who love them.
Listen If: You have a soft spot for oaky vocals and big, broad strums. Or you just really, really, really like to hear musicians get theirs.
Key Track: "Singer Songwriter," where a self-involved and well-moneyed artiste is taken to task with a sneer that would do Dylan proud.

The Band: Horse Feathers
The Buzz: Sweet home Appalachia; the sound of winter comes early with delicate acoustic and sweet, sawing violins.
Listen If: There's a campfire in your head 24/7.
Key Track: "Working Poor," whose waltz tempo and stacked harmonies feel like falling in love.

The Band: Alias
The Buzz: Ambitious producer super-collides hip-hop and ambient, causing dead-eyed ravers to run out and buy backpacks.
Listen If: Your problem with Music for Airports is that it doesn't go anywhere.
Key Track: "Well Water Black," where Why?'s Yoni Wolf provides a fluttering falsetto to mirror Alias's clicking, clattering rhythms.

Who: R&B singer Keri Hilson, who — after penning hits like Britney Spears' "Gimme More" and Usher's "Love In This Club, Part II" — is stepping into the spotlight with her own debut album In A Perfect World…

Sounds Like: Like the songs she's written in years past, Hilson's sound is state-of-the-art R&B stocked with twitchy future-funk and effervescent soul. Lil Wayne and Snoop Dogg are among the guests on Perfect.

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Every week, Hype Monitor wades through the most buzzed-about bands all across the Internet.

The Band: Theresa Andersson
The Buzz: Swedish vocalist blends chockablock rhythms, fairy tale instrumentation and dreamlike melodies for music that recalls a spacier, sultrier Feist.
Listen If: You always wished Kate Bush was just a little more accessible.
Key Track: "Birds Fly Away," an atmospheric lark powered by whirring glockenspiel and twinkling guitars.

The Band: White Lies
The Buzz: Three British mopers blow the dust off their Echo & The Bunnymen records to dish out dour tracks worthy of a Donnie Darko sequel.
Listen If: "The Killing Moon" is your karaoke jam.
Key Track: First single "Death," where a low, moping melody presents the band in all their moody, gloomy glory.

The Band: Friendly Fires
The Buzz: Six members! Six members make big, percussive post-disco tracks.
Listen If: You wish A Certain Ratio were as good as people were telling you they were.
Key Track: "Jump in the Pool," which vibrates with never-stop rhythm and desperate, itchy guitar.

Who: Philadelphia singer-songwriter Sharon Little, who made the leap from playing coffeehouses and weddings to opening for Robert Plant & Alison Krauss in only nine months.

Sounds Like: On her major label debut album Perfect Time for a Breakdown, Little showcases her deep, husky vocals over country-tinged songs that echo Sheryl Crow and Jewel, as evidenced on the slow-burning "Follow That Sound," which doubles as the theme song for A&E's new show The Cleaner.

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Every week, Hype Monitor wades through the most buzzed-about bands all across the Internet.

The Band: Gaslight Anthem
The Buzz: Earnest Jerseyites pair roaring chords with heart-on-sleeve sentiments.
Listen If: You were ever a member of a punk rock Springsteen cover band, or if you think Jesse Malin is the most underrated artist of our generation.
Key Track: "The '59 Sound," which employs a gang of guitars and a grand, hollered chorus in its consideration of mortality.

The Band: Human Highway
The Buzz: Pair of Canucks go all California '70s, writing airy AM anthems that balance atop a stack of pillowy harmonies.
Listen If: You not only identified the source of the band's name — a bizarre 1982 movie starring Neil Young — but you also own a contraband DVD copy.
Key Track: "The Sound," whose shuffling beat and tight guitar strums are the perfect accompaniment to the waning days of summer.

The Band: Koushik
The Buzz: DJ/Producer works up languid, Air-y jams that sound like drifting clouds, rolling seas.
Listen If: You've dreamed of some hybrid of hip-hop and easy listening.
Key Track: "Lying in the Sun," which tops Koushik's gentle-wind production with an equally airy falsetto vocal.

Who: Coventry, England indie punk trio the Enemy, who, in the span of a year, quickly went from forming the band to opening for the Rolling Stones to topping the British music charts.

Sounds Like: Already branded by the U.K. press as the newest reincarnation of Oasis, the Enemy combine that band's knack for Lennon/McCartney hooks with the youthful angst of the Buzzcocks and the social awareness of Joe Strummer, as evidenced by their debut album We'll Live and Die in These Towns.

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