THE LONGEST SONG EVER!!!!!

Bling Crosby

*when i saw the name bling crosby, i chuckled and was interested. glad i listened. might just be the greatest, longest mash/mesh/mess/colaboration of songs ever. just listen.

The Weekend Playlist

Grace Pettis

Shout Out Louds

*shout 0ut louds are an alternative indie rock band from stockholm, sweden. the band consists of ‘four boys and one girl’: adam olenius (vocals, guitar), ted malmros (bass), carl von arbin (guitar), eric edman (drums) and bebban stenborg (keyboards, vocals).

Shipwreck

*most nights, when life allows, i music journal. i just hit record and pour out the day in the most honest way i know. these entries go onto a hard drive, and stay there: a chronological, date stamped account of where i have been and what it was like to be there. the voices you hear in the background might be your own. maybe you laid in your bed that night and listened to the rain while i held a mic out my bedroom window. maybe you were the stranger who played a bent-bugle solo into my laptop on the side of the road, or the bearded heathens who whistled in three-part harmony for me in an alley. maybe you left me the voicemail that i turned into a violin or you knocked on my door just to see if things were going alright. maybe you nudged me every day for two months to put this album out. if you don't hear yourself in these stories, listen again. it is all in here, with my gratitude.

Doug Burr

*a singer and songwriter of uncommon resonance, doug burr was born in 1972 in dallas, tx, growing up in a southern baptist family, the spiritual residue of which has been a lifelong influence on his musical endeavors. burr took up the guitar at age 16, and by 18 he was writing songs. after a dozen or so years of home recording, open mikes, church performances, and coffeehouse gigs in the dallas-fort worth region, he began fronting the roots rock band the lonelies. in 2003 he independently released “the sickle & the sheaves,” an ambitious and atmospheric gospel concept album produced by deadman’s steven collins that worked around the themes of birth, death, and renewal and brought him a good deal of critical attention. the equally impressive “on promenade” appeared in 2007 from spune/velvet blue music.

William Fitzsimmons

*william fitzsimmons was raised in the outskirts pittsburgh as the the youngest child of blind parents. due to the family's inability to communicate through normal visual means, william's childhood home was filled with a myriad of sounds to replace what eyes could not see. the house was suffused with pianos, guitars, trombones, talking birds, classical records, family sing-a-longs, bedtime stories and the bellowing of a pipe organ, which his father built into the house with his own hands. when his father's orchestral records were not resonating through the walls, his mother would educate him on the folk stylings of james taylor, joni mitchell, bob dylan and simon & garfunkel. by the completion of his youth and schooling, fitzsimmons had become well-versed at a variety of instruments, at the minor expense of social standing, interactional skills and a knowledge of proper shaving technique.

fitzsimmons' path into music was likewise unusual, forsaking the hobby for many years to work with the mentally ill and pursue an education in the field of mental health. it was during his last semester of graduate school that William pooled monies from past birthday's, holidays and snow shoveling outings and bought cheap home recording equipment to begin creating songs again (the first collection of which eventually became his debut album). after finally achieving his goal of becoming a practicing therapist, william left, and returned again to his love of crafting and playing songs. he felt that is where he most belonged. somewhere between a singing therapist, and a counselor who writes songs, is where fitzsimmons endeavors to be. using songs to address matters that he believes need to be addressed.

william draws from those early folks stylings of his mother's music, and the embellished instrumentation of his father's. he is often compared to contemporaries sufjan stevens, iron & wine, and the late elliott smith, not only for his unique style and skill in writing and proclivity to deal with substantive and evocative subject matter, but also for his use of organic and colorful melodies and arrangements. his first two records were completely self-produced and his new album, "the sparrow and the crow," produced by marshall altman at galt line studios in los angeles, is his first studio recorded work. while his lyricism deals often with darker undertones (his most recent album is said to have been written following his own divorce), a measure of hopefulness is always carefully blended in. even with his short tenure as a songwriter, william has already received mention in noted publications such as billboard, paste magazine, and performing songwriter magazine, and his music has been featured on several television programs such as "grey's anatomy" and "army wives."

enjoy the music

*taken from thesixtyone.com

Kings of Leon

Ronald Jenkees

"Thanks for the interest in my tunes! I make music because it's fun. I play by ear (since I was very young), never stuck with lessons, and mainly try to write my own stuff. I prefer not to sample when making my music, but that's not to take away from the talented folks who produce cool stuff by sampling. My first album is up on my website, ronaldjenkees.com (download or physical copy) and on iTunes."
-Ronald Jenkees


*not my usuall cup of tea, but this boy can make some beautiful sounding noise! i might have just found some new tunes to listen to while writing the next great ameriacan novel.

Getting saved by The Rescues

*following taken from thesixtyone.com

Four disparate parts crashed together to make one majestic sound in 2008. What started as a lark at a party in the Hollywood Hills has quickly turned into the most powerful force in the LA music scene. Kyler England, Gabriel Mann, Adrianne Gonzalez and Rob Giles, all successful singer songwriters in their own right, have created a new, compelling sound that started as a multi-instrumental, four-part harmony "indie supergroup" and grew into a "Fleetwood Mac meets Radiohead" thing of its own.

Their chemistry is evident at their explosive, emotional live shows, which are always packed with everyone from jaded hipsters waiting for a cure to avid and devoted music fans as they line up around the block to catch a glimpse and feel the energy. In their performances and their songwriting, the Rescues strive to find new ways to express beauty and the music industry has taken note: LA Weekly says “Their voices take flight. Soaring and gorgeous," while four Rescues songs have been featured in "Grey's Anatomy" this season alone. A collection of upcoming tracks and live cuts from a sold-out run at LA's famed Hotel Cafe will be available on an EP for their first ever East Coast Tour this August with Filter recording artist AM.

Fleetwood Mac singing Radiohead. U2 in four part harmony. Singer-songwriter heaven.

Fol Chen

“you know that mysterious black object that the creepy family is staring at on the cover of led zeppelin’s “presence” album? Fol Chen sound like that… but we don’t sound like led zeppelin. (we actually do a little.) instead, we sound a bit like prince with amon duul II and a children’s religious revival, not to mention hot chip, pink floyd, gwen stefani, pere ubu, danielson famile, scritti politti, boards of canada, the blow, and pulp. (mostly.) we are using secret powers and the guidance of legendary dj donna donna to combat our nemesis, john shade. we are cryptic and joyful and we would like you to dance.”

From ArtistDirect.comTraffic was thick, thick, thick and Samuel Bing was unwell, strung out on the latest psychotropic fads: sleeplessness and feeling crummy. The Northern State was crawling, the usual twice-a-day funeral procession for Robert Moses. Above the overpasses, the clouds were lined with gristle. Even the horizon seemed to be sinking. So, it came just in time when Donna Donna transmitted her message over the open radio waves – a phantom broadcast from a station whose signal had long since dissolved into static. She spoke backwards for security and you could barely hear her voice between the Crazy Eddie ads, but Samuel Bing had his radio loud. He understood each word. “Initiates in the society of Fol Chen,” Donna Donna whispered, "Let’s get to it. While you sit in traffic, John Shade is busy spreading his black mischief. Here's the Screamer of the Week: 'Birds Fly' by Icicle Works.” Samuel Bing turned off his car and opened his trunk. No one was moving, so no one bothered honking. The trunk was filled with what looked like garbage, but this wasn’t just any piled crap — every object was a module in a greater, yet-to-be-created whole. Samuel Bing fished out a cassette tape and a broken ice-scraper. He inspected the sides of each, found the hidden grooves, snapped them together. He grabbed a faded Polaroid, an old paperback romance, a polyester potholder, and a pair of drugstore sunglasses. He snapped each edge to edge. He chose twelve items, then another six, and arranged all eighteen in interlocking circles that together formed a wider circle. Just to be safe, he welded the grooves with a cigarette lighter, slapped the whole thing on his back. From beneath a crusty blanket where the spare tire should have been, he pulled a wide, machete-like sword, and shoved it in his belt. Then he leapt into the air and let the currents carry him.

Melissa Thorne and Phat Jeph were waiting in room 12A when Samuel Bing landed in the parking lot of the Desert Hot Springs Hotel Spa. They met there in times of elevated risk, when the Highland Park compound was out of the question. Phat Jeph was ripped on peppermint schnapps again, but he was a gentle, melancholy kind of drunk, and hard to deal with sober, so Melissa Thorne made sure his glass stayed full. Samuel Bing didn’t bother knocking. He already had a key. He searched the bathroom, looked under the bed. “Where are the others?” he asked. “G-Bone and Wass are on the way,” said Melissa Thorne. “What about Baby Alex?” asked Samuel Bing. They fell silent, just stared at the rug. Samuel Bing knew what had happened, but he poured himself a schnapps and asked anyway. “Shade got him,” Phat Jeph slurred. Samuel Bing gripped the pommel of his sword. “We don’t have time for this,” said Melissa Thorne, and elbowed Phat Jeph in the ribs. “Okay, here’s the idea,” he said. “We have to take this battle to Shade. We have to build a serious pyramid. That way we can take the measure of the stars, the distances between them. Like the Aztecs and the Incas and King Tutankhamen.” “I’ve drawn up some plans,” said Melissa Thorne. She pushed the blueprints across the filthy bedspread. “You in?” Samuel Bing smiled for the first time all week. He pulled his sword from his belt, tested the blade with his thumb, nodded. “I’m in.”

- Ben Ehrenreich for ArtistDirect.com