New Fashawn Mixtape!

For any big hip hop heads, this is a must-download. Fashawn is one of the most talented newcomers to the game, in my opinion. He’s just released a new mixtape called Grizzly City 3 with features from Lil Wayne, Ron Artest, Bravo, Dirty Money, and more. Not sure about yall, but I’m pretty excited to hear the Ron Artest feature. I just hope he says QUEENSBRIDGE. Come on, Ron, SAY QUEENSBRIDGE! 

Download Grizzly City 3

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New Single from Ham1!

Under the record label Orange Twin Records, Athens, GA folk band Ham1 has released a new single titled “Ghost Loop” from their upcoming album, Let’s Go On and On and On with Ham1. This is perfect timing, because I’m not ready to let go of summer, and apparently Ham1 isn’t either. They’ve handed us all a psychedelic-sounding summer pop song with instrumentals that seem to loosen my joints and make me want to do a summertime jig in the sun! Cello, violin, guitar, yes please!

And just when you think the song is over, they continue this beautiful instrumental session so my dance can continue on into the sunset. How very generous!

“Ghost Loop” - Ham1

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Sunset Featured in the LA Weekly Today!

Remember the post I did featuring Brett Shady? It’s right here, if not. Well, beautiful music takes you to beautiful places, and Brett has found that place! His upcoming concert is featured in the LA Weekly, alongside a brief clip from the Sunset write-up! Wishing I hadn’t used “bit” twice, but I’ll live :) 

Thank you to everybody for all the support. If you want to keep supporting Sunset, be sure to become a fan on Facebook and follow me on Twitter! 

Austin City Limits Preview: Lissie

Thanks to so many devoted fans, friends, family members, and the like, I was chosen to be a writer for Austin City Limits this year. I was asked to preview 3 of the bands who will be playing at the Festival (October 8-10), and this is the second one that I am releasing. 

***

Remember that scene in Forrest Gump when Jenny (read: Jenn-nay) performs live at a bar? Forget the fact that she was naked and that there were dirty men in the bar, and just think about how epic the scene was: beautiful Jenny playing guitar, singing a cover of Bob Dylan’s “Blowing in the Wind.” If you’re anything like me, you would love to have been around in the ‘60’s to witness the hippy movement and beautiful moments like this one. And since I’m still fine-tuning my handmade time machine, I have an alternate solution for the time being: she goes by the name of Lissie.

Born in 1982 by the name of Elisabeth Maurus, singer and songwriter Lissie might as well be a modern-day Jenny Gump. With hair uncombed, a voice that’s timeless, and a bit of a rebellious past, she plays the role of Jenny perfectly. Her voice carries an aura of soul that transports me straight to the 60’s. But beyond similar stories and sounds, there’s more to this comparison that makes perfect sense to me. Both are able to perform terrific covers of songs that are almost impossible to reproduce without sounding utterly inferior to the original. Jenny hit a Bob Dylan out of the ballpark, and Lissie has done the same with multiple songs. Most notably, perhaps, is her cover of “Pursuit of Happiness” by Kid Cudi.

As a Kid Cudi fanatic, I consider covering his music dangerous territory. I am very likely to produce a very negative review of anybody trying to replicate his unique style. Somehow, though, Lissie did it perfectly. After admitting to having to take a shot of tequila before performing this wildly popular song, she added her own spin to a masterpiece and her energy genuinely made me believe that she, too, is on the pursuit of happiness.

 There’s something more about Lissie that draws me to her. Her folk sound and her unkempt appearance make me curious; I want to know what’s going on inside that head of hers. Despite her mastery of covering popular songs, she seems to desperately want to define herself as an independent. I cannot help but remind myself that Lissie was expelled from high school after spitting in a teacher’s face. She defended herself by saying that she felt the need to rebel in her younger years because she wanted to be different. Later, she decided to embark on a college semester abroad, but decided soon after to quit school altogether because of her need to feel independent. She didn’t want anybody telling her where to go and what to do. So why is it, then, that Lissie begs of such answers in her song, “Everywhere I Go?”

And I fall, on my knees, tell me how’s the way to be,
Tell me how’s the way to go,
Tell me all that I should know. 

I’m left without being able to pin down or understand Lissie, but there is something magical in that. Her unpredictability and her flawless voice have led her to become one of my favorite artists of late, and for this I was jumping for joy when her newest album, “Catching a Tiger” was released in the US last Tuesday, August 17^th. So meanwhile, as I toil away at constructing my time machine, I’ll be able to tolerate the long hours and late nights because I know that in my near future lies a break from my efforts. With my ticket to Austin City Limits, where Lissie is scheduled to perform, I may also have a ticket in hand to the 1960’s. I hope you’ll join me on my trip and my quest for answers during Lissie’s live performance on Saturday, October 9th at ZYNC Card.

Introducing: Union Jackals

I just stumbled upon something that amounts to a perfectly wrapped gift in a robin’s-egg-blue box in my email inbox. The card said something like this:

Dear Lydia, 

We would like to present this gift to you. In exchange for all that you do, we have created a song that is as peaceful as the night sky, but as bright as the glimmering stars. And to top it off and turn it all upside down, we have called it “I Am The Sun.” Please take care of this sweet gift, for it is as precious as any other you have ever received. 

With great love,

Union Jackals

Here I go again, creating made up letters…damn near lost my mind in the beauty of this song. I’ll be sitting under the weeping willow tree with my Sennheiser’s on if you need me.

I Am The Sun - Union Jackals

Cee-Lo Green Announces New Album Release Date

Despite Wikipedia saying that Cee-Lo’s album would drop October 4th, Cee-Lo Green has announced via his Twitter that his upcoming album, The Lady Killer, will go on sale on December 7th via Elektra Records. 

Have you heard his song “Fuck You” yet? If you haven’t, you’re missing out. Listen here.

Sufjan Stevens Announces New Album

I feel like I’ve been talking quite a bit about Sufjan Stevens lately, so why not continue the trend? He has just announced that he will be releasing a full-length album in October by the name of The Age of Adz (pronounced Odds). The record will be available on CD and MP3 on October 12th, and a double LP will be in stores on November 9th. It is available for preorder here for the next two weeks, and then you’ll receive an early MP3 download of the album on September 28th. 

His label, Asthmatic Kitty, writes of the album:

The album relinquishes the songwriter’s former story-telling techniques for more basic proclamations unhindered by concepts: there are few narrative conceits or character sketches, no historical panoramas, no civic gestures, no scene, setting, conflict, resolution or denouement. Rather, the themes developed here are neither historical nor polemical, but rather personal and primal: love, sex, death, disease, illness, anxiety and suicide all figure in the songwriting.

Anybody else as excited about this album as I am?