Robin Hilton (3:26)

And it's everything that reminds me of like a lot of my favorite pop rock bands. It's catchy with a little bit of power, but can also be restraint. I love these guys. This is the third entry. Yeah, Supernova. It was sick.

Bobby Carter (3:39)

You know, a rock band like Straight up. Guitar Rock Band has never won the Tiny desk contest in 12 years of doing it. I would love for that to happen. Uh oh, it could be the one.

Robin Hilton (3:50)

You know, the guys is. You never know. You want to keep it moving, though.

Bobby Carter (3:53)

Yeah. So you know how a lot of times in these videos, the artists will try to do something to get our attention? You know, sometimes it's just. It can be kind of like a gimmick, you know, and sometimes not. Like there was one. I saw one where they were playing on a highway overpass. Saw one where they were in a bathtub filled with water. And then there was this one that we got from Lily Talmers. And I was listening to it, and I couldn't quite tell exactly what am I hearing in this song, so I had to go right to the video. But if you watch the. The top of the video, it's just this empty field with a mic, and you hear this as the band backs up and you see the driver trying to line the singer up with. With the microphone. Such a simple thing. They're just playing in that van and they've got the horns and the upright bass and. And they're all crammed into that little space.

Artist Performer (4:57)

What the hell's the big idea? Nothing's really bad, brother Nothing's really that good either it's all in your attitude so try that fine platitude Things work out in the end, brother. I could say I love you Till I mean it Till you mean it too and I believe in paradoxes floating through the air Something awful happens one minute Something beautiful the next. Jesus. Say yes to the crackling of darkness that you see Pretty soon the sun is shining Sh. Nothing's ever really bad, you see and nothing's really that good either There is never any better place to be.

Bobby Carter (6:20)

I don't know. It doesn't come off as a gimmick. There's something really sort of quirky and playful about it that I really love. And the song is so infectious. Those harmonies are great. Is so quirky and so funny. But I love it too.

Robin Hilton (6:35)

You know, when you're watching a video, they're sitting right on top of each other in that little door. And for me, when I see that, I was like, oh, they. They would fit perfectly here. You know what I mean? And as far as I love hearing, like, how you process, I don't want to call them gimmicks, but people, they want to catch our attention, right? And this was just enough. Exactly. I think they pulled in, they got to it. You Know, I always. I forget who originated the quote, but when it. Especially when it comes to watching hundreds and thousands of videos. Don't bore us. Get to the chorus.

Bobby Carter (7:06)

Yeah, exactly.

Robin Hilton (7:07)

Some things are okay. And again, this was. This was just enough. And they got right to it. And it felt really. This is their 8th time.

Bobby Carter (7:14)

8th entry. 8th entry. When I saw that, I thought, I tell you what, if you've entered a couple times, you feel like nothing happened. You're like, should I bother? Should I keep going, keep going, keep going, keep going.

Robin Hilton (7:26)

Most of our winners have entered multiple times. And here's Lily right here on shot number eight. So it's really, really good.

Bobby Carter (7:34)

Love it. Lily Palmers in the song was the big idea.

Robin Hilton (7:37)

Let's go back to Nashville. His name is Walker Burrows, and the song is called Open Skies.

Artist Performer (7:51)

I've been so cold since I left home. Northern California, no Jackie for the snow Passing green signs telling me where to go. Heading for nothing that I've ever seen before. You were always warm sitting next to me. Toting down a little heart Back in Tennessee. What I would give to see those trees turning yellow and orange Losing their leaves. Oh, I am with you in my mind Laying by the water side like a bird longs for open skies. How I wish your hand was holding my.

Robin Hilton (9:35)

For this one. I was immediately struck by Walker's voice.

Bobby Carter (9:38)

Oh, incredible.

Robin Hilton (9:39)

It just like. It, like punches through. And the second thing was how he. How the other voices just completely complemented what he did. The harmonies were beautiful.

Bobby Carter (9:47)

Yeah, really talented. That's the moment for me where it's like, this is pretty tight. This is a good song. He's got a good voice, but, like, I don't know. It's like 45 seconds or so in to the song. They all come in and it's like, game over.

Robin Hilton (10:01)

No, I think I can tell these guys have been playing with each other for a long time, and I think in order to do that, you have to be seasoned with. With those homies. They sound great. I can see that here. I love his story about how. How they recorded this. They. He said he's traded in. They were actually renovating the space that they were performing in, and they traded the renovation work for studio space, studio time, which was, you know, the good old barter system. I love this. This is his second time entering. That was Walker Burroughs. That was really dope.

Bobby Carter (10:34)

Can I read this quote that he sent in about this song?

Robin Hilton (10:37)

Yeah, yeah.

Bobby Carter (10:38)

He said. So when we get some of these entries, sometimes artists will include a little statement about it. This Is a quote from Walker Burroughs. He says, I'm making music with an intentional choice of joy. Joy as a resistance to what's going on in the world. There is good in the world, and it's worth fighting for. That is my cause.

Robin Hilton (10:57)

I love that.

Bobby Carter (10:58)

Amen. Yeah, I love that.

Robin Hilton (10:59)

Amen to that. Like, we need it again. It's another reason why, you know, we're so privileged to be in this position to watch a lot of people who make music with this in mind. It's really, really important right now. So, yeah. Salute to Walker.

Bobby Carter (11:12)

So we were talking about the different things that we look for. Song important. This next one that I want to play and talk about. The performance in this one is the. Is what floored me. I mean, this is Les Green in the Swayzes. Les Green, incredible voice, incredible band. But this performance really knocked me out. But the song they sent in is called Long story short, let's do it.

Artist Performer (11:35)

What did I tell you before? Oh, here we go again Every time we get close, you start pushing away and then pull me back in what do you want from me? I'm sorry. Standing and waiting for you I know what I want and I know that Energy for me B on you home and I'll always be waiting for you here Bab didn't lead us around still have me I was thinking to death, baby if you gave us a chance you would see that you're all it out there but need how. Sam. O. I'm just waiting for you to see it, baby why can't you see it, baby?

Robin Hilton (12:58)

Come on, come on he is a

Bobby Carter (13:01)

star he is a star and so they're killing it in a living room. The horns are sitting back on the couch. Those horns are sick. The whole band is incredible. Like, when this video starts, Les is just kind of sitting back in the swivel chair, and he's just kind of swaying back and forth, but it's you. You'd think they were on a stage in Vegas, but then he just, like,

Robin Hilton (13:23)

peels off a layer and actually becomes a whole different.

Artist Performer (13:26)

Yeah, yeah.

Bobby Carter (13:27)

There's a wardrobe change about a minute and a half or so in. Wow. Incredible. Really knocked me out.

Robin Hilton (13:33)

Les entered the contest in 2019 and took a big break. It was actually just Les Green without sway. He did, like, just a simple guitar, Just solo with guitar at the time. But he really. He came back with a vengeance. And. Nah, that one. That one kind of got the hair standing.

Bobby Carter (13:51)

Yeah, for sure.

Robin Hilton (13:52)

That vocal is just pure power and pure emotion, and that's what we're looking for. We always say we're looking for something different.

Bobby Carter (13:58)

Yeah.

Robin Hilton (13:59)

And let's say, okay, here you go.

Bobby Carter (14:00)

Yeah. But again, I can't stress enough, like, to gather a group of friends like that in your living room and to bring it like that and just kill it like that. That's incredible.

Robin Hilton (14:12)

If you do it in the confines of a living room.

Bobby Carter (14:14)

Yeah. Yeah.

Robin Hilton (14:15)

Once they get to this spot, it's like, okay, I got space to work with.

Bobby Carter (14:18)

Yeah. I don't know if I mentioned that. They're from Miami. They're from Miami, Florida.

Robin Hilton (14:22)

Miami, Florida. In the house.

NPR Announcer (14:26)

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Robin Hilton (15:46)

to the west coast, though.

Bobby Carter (15:47)

Yeah, let's do it.

Robin Hilton (15:48)

This is Nicolosi. Are you coming to the Ivy?

Artist Performer (16:07)

Are you coming to the Ivy? Are you ready to confess? We've been doing it the wrong way all our lives. Are you coming to the Airstream? Are you calling off the bed? It was only just a pipe dream. Both my lungs, though. The two of us should rest.

Robin Hilton (17:21)

Robin, you mean we get a lot of singer songwriters with the guitar.

Bobby Carter (17:26)

Yeah. I'm thinking the same thing.

Robin Hilton (17:27)

And it's hard to cut through.

Bobby Carter (17:28)

Yeah, just.

Robin Hilton (17:29)

Just. Honestly, it's. There has to be something else, at least when I'm watching. And for Nicolosi, I think it was the imperfection of it all. He didn't. I don't think. He doesn't sound like a classically trained vocalist, but you can hear the pain, you know, you can hear the pain in his voice. This song was inspired by the passing of his father. And just that medley, that medley that he. Just that melody that he just hums, that little falsetto.

Bobby Carter (17:57)

Wordless. Yeah.

Robin Hilton (17:58)

It's just the rawness of it all is what really, really grabbed me. And I got really emotional watching that.

Bobby Carter (18:04)

Yeah. The moment his voice comes in, that's. I mean, I just swooned. What a great, great voice. Beautiful voice. And it is. It's all just kind of a little scruffy.

Robin Hilton (18:14)

Yeah.

Bobby Carter (18:14)

I was talking with someone recently, asking me, like, what is it that you're looking for? You know, like, what stands out to you? And I'm just looking for something that is authentic and real and honest from an artist who's willing to put themselves out there in some way. Right. And instead of trying to be something or, you know, trying to contrive some sort of sound that you think will get someone's attention, just be honest and real and, you know, to your point, what the song is about. Yeah.

Robin Hilton (18:40)

That's really moving that. That again, moving, was it. That really, really moved me. And I couldn't get that melody that he's saying with the false out of my head. So shout out to you Very first. First time entry. So shout out to you. That was amazing. Nicolosi, are you coming to the Ivy?

Bobby Carter (18:57)

You know, one thing that I think with these entries, and you probably notice, we go through so many sometimes you know pretty quickly whether or not. Or at least you think you know pretty quickly whether or not it's something you're gonna like. And then sometimes if you just stick with it, it'll end up having this huge payoff that you did not see coming. And this next one that I want to play, I think is maybe the quintessential example of that for me in the ones that I listen to. This is Jackie Marshall. And when you start off watching this video, she seems like a straight up, sort of like a looper. She's making percussion, she's looping it. And then she puts these. They're called contact microphones, these little flat microphones on her throat. And she sings in this really kind of high, beautiful register. And you're like, okay, a looper. This is cool. This is really pretty. But then she stands up, she walks over, there's a whole band, and she starts to sing against the loop and this really deep register, like, oh, my God, where did this voice come from? It's incredible.

Robin Hilton (20:25)

Yeah, it's a treat.

Artist Performer (20:32)

I put all my faith in your hands and you threw it out. Canyons of doubt and D. Perfect girls in soft pink curls Dancing on the mountain. In the dirt I want. But down in the dirt I'm not humble, just selfish to be feeling this low. Rolling the tape gets expensive Waiting to be saved for a voice to be made I didn't need to dig so deep Only how to get free.

Robin Hilton (21:49)

You definitely got to stick with this one because there's a reward once you get to the middle.

Bobby Carter (21:54)

It's so unexpected. Honestly. I became a mouth breather while I was watching because I was just, like, sitting there through the whole thing with me. But you have to stick with it, like you said, and it's so rewarding when you do. So we've been following her for a minute. She played at. You know, we do a Tiny Desk tour with the winner in different cities, and she played our San Francisco show a couple years ago. Really, really talented. I love the way those two worlds come together. The looping, then singing on it. The band comes together beautifully. Yeah.

Robin Hilton (22:25)

And this is, you know, we've talked about, you know, multiple people who come back and enter multiple times. And, you know, she played the tour. And this is, you know, at the end of the day, there's only one winner in these things. But I love that, you know, we've gotten together and figured out ways to get more exposure for these artists. I think actually this year, we brought three former contestants to the Tiny Desk and shout out to Elle and Doral, who created the Tiny Desk takeover. I mean, we had, you know, former contestants. It was. It was Forger Sally, baby and Olela. So listen, keep entering, because you just. You just never know where you'll end up.

Bobby Carter (23:04)

It's the thing. It's like, you enter, you don't win. But it doesn't end there.

Robin Hilton (23:08)

It doesn't. It doesn't. And ultimately, you're joining this community. So now that was. Watch that whole video. You gotta watch that whole video because there's a treatment, a pot of gold at the end. Let's keep it moving. Oh, we're going to. We're going to U. Utah, Lehigh, Utah. This is the King will Come. And the song is called welcome.

Artist Performer (23:39)

And you're here with me right now and you with me right now and you're healing me right now and you're healing me right now and you living me right now you living me right now oh, yeah, yeah. Come on. Welcome. Welcome to the kingdom. Good morning. You are welcome. Welcome to the kingdom. Welcome to the. Welcome. You don't need a reason. You can come on in. You are welcome. Welcome to the kingdom. Welcome, welcome. Welcome to love. In my solitude I pictured my own creation? Forgot to include? Include you in my mind's imagination? Been leaning into the old selfish roles I was taking? You saw me deep in my darkest sleep? But now I'm awake? You took the solo and gave me purpose? You saw the lonely and open eat the surface? You were the only one who saw that I was worth it? I know you love me? You know I'm left to go searching? Wow.

Robin Hilton (24:56)

Yes. That got me excited. We don't get enough gospel and modern gospel in this contest. And that was very refreshing to see that because that's how you do it. That's how you bring. I don't know how many people were in that video, but upwards of 10 to 15. And bringing it together like that, that made me feel really good and really, really, really excited about where this contest is going.

Bobby Carter (25:19)

Yeah. I gotta be honest, I'm like a total sucker for big group sing alongs. And when they all sing together and came together, I'm getting goosebumps just now thinking about it. And Tammy Stephens, the singer there, I love how she slips so seamlessly between rapping and singing. There's a moment where she starts to rap and I'm like, okay, here we go. But she only does it for like two bars and then slips right back into singing again. Nah, that's really, really beautiful.

Robin Hilton (25:45)

That's big mav city music vibes. That was sick. That was, like, tribal. That was Kirk Franklin. That was all the great things. It's a lot of folks, and they made it sound like one voice. And when you do gospel, you have to do it that way. That was really, really special.

Bobby Carter (26:01)

And the message, too.

Robin Hilton (26:02)

Yes.

Bobby Carter (26:02)

Everyone welcome.

Robin Hilton (26:03)

Yeah. And I think they said, like, we hope that you welcome us to the tiny desk one day. You never know.

Bobby Carter (26:09)

All right, so again, we get a lot of singer songwriters, just a person in their guitar. This next one is one that just really, really moved me. Something in her voice, the melody, what she's singing about, all comes together so beautifully in this song called Falling Rabbit. And the singer is named Yuri Shin.

Artist Performer (26:29)

It's cheeri again. And I reminiscen when you gave me a day's notice and came? You never do this unless something's going wrong That I was happy to see your face? I drove you to places we drank in the morning? Even watched a movie at the mall. Last time you were here, it was 10 years ago when I never got to Say goodbye. How are you doing? Some time has passed since last and we barely got to talk.

Robin Hilton (28:12)

Young love, man.

Bobby Carter (28:14)

Man. That's. That's the thing, too. The song is just so sweet. I love how the melody kind of rises, then rises again and then falls as she's. It's so perfect as she's remembering someone she hasn't seen in a really, really long time and really, really misses. And she paints this picture of just a simple little moment together, but no bells, no whistles, just locked into a. Just like. But again, Scott. So real, so honest. And it just really, really moved me. This is her. Is it 8th time. 7th time. 7th time. She says she has entered every year since she turned 18 years old.

Robin Hilton (28:51)

Right at the. Right at the cutoff.

Bobby Carter (28:53)

And here we are like eight years in to some of these, seven years in, and we're just now finally getting them on top shelf. And I'm so grateful that she kept going and sending the song because it really. It's really beautiful. And again, watch to the end because there's this great little moment, it's very subtle at the very end of the song where she just stops playing and sings a cappella just for the last bar or so when she says, I miss you. And it's just. Oh, it just punched to the chest.

Robin Hilton (29:22)

You did the thing, Yuri. Welcome to the top shelf. We love it.

Bobby Carter (29:26)

Love it.

NPR Announcer (29:30)

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Bobby Carter (30:15)

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Robin Hilton (30:47)

I got another one.

Bobby Carter (30:48)

This one? Yeah.

Robin Hilton (30:49)

This is a favorite of mine. She's back. Her name is Lauren Freehoff, and the song is called One thing always leads to another.

Artist Performer (31:03)

Thing always leads to another? Step out of the maze and I wonder how I even got you. Questions rack my brain until I'm asking why I even bother? You could spend your life Trying to bend down and answer to find out it don't really matter. The older I get the stranger I feel? Yelling for the climb only keeps you high for so long. And then it all comes to a head that just spills out eventually there's nowhere to hide once it's you

Robin Hilton (32:21)

Lauren Freehoff is the truth, bro.

Bobby Carter (32:23)

Man, that is a gold record melody.

Robin Hilton (32:26)

Yes.

Bobby Carter (32:26)

I am not kidding.

Robin Hilton (32:28)

That is.

Bobby Carter (32:28)

It is so beautiful. Her voice is incredible.

Robin Hilton (32:32)

It's just the way that she uses it. Like, a lot of people. A lot of artists tend to misuse the power and the way that she just subtly just throws a few things in, just to let you know that I really do this.

Bobby Carter (32:46)

Yeah.

Robin Hilton (32:46)

Is just beautiful. But what I love even more is her songwriting.

Bobby Carter (32:50)

Yeah.

Robin Hilton (32:50)

Like, she writes beyond her years. Yeah. And what she's singing about here is I'm just now reaching this stage in my life about, like, not sweating the small stuff and not trying to get too upset about things that kind of don't matter.

Bobby Carter (33:05)

Yeah.

Robin Hilton (33:05)

You know, and the fleeting feeling of gratification and how this thing comes and goes, and at the end of the day, you get out what you put into the world, and I just. I'm blown away by her all the time. And it's been a while since she's been on the top shelf, but I'm glad she's back. She actually. She actually was on the voice in 2019.

Bobby Carter (33:25)

Well, that's amazing. Cause, like, if you just put that song on and I listened to it blindly, I would not think that this was an unsigned or undiscovered artist. I think I'd listen to a whole album of this. There's a great line in the song to some of the themes you were talking about. She says, the older I get, the stranger I feel.

Robin Hilton (33:42)

I was like, yeah, that's it. Yeah, that's pretty much it. No, that's. That's amazing. Shout out Lauren. Fifth time entering the contest.

Bobby Carter (33:51)

So we've been going through all these entries. Have you, like. Have you found one? Like, you think, like, I don't know, Maybe this could be it.

Robin Hilton (33:58)

We're getting there. I don't.

Artist Performer (33:59)

We're getting.

Robin Hilton (34:00)

I've seen. I've been blown away by stuff. I'll say that.

Bobby Carter (34:03)

Yeah.

Robin Hilton (34:03)

You know how it is like picking the winner because once we get close, now we're looking even closer.

Bobby Carter (34:08)

Yeah.

Robin Hilton (34:08)

Squinting and watching again. It's a lot.

Bobby Carter (34:10)

But we'll.

Robin Hilton (34:12)

I feel good about this.

Bobby Carter (34:13)

Yeah. The bar has really gotten a lot higher this year, I think in part because of last year's winner, Ruby Abarra, which is amazing because, like, Ruby Abarra's video was the very first entry that I watched last year. It, like, never works that way, where the very first one you watch ends up being the winner. But it did last year.

Robin Hilton (34:30)

Yeah, she put the bar on the roof, man. So we'll see how it goes. But you're taking us home.

Bobby Carter (34:35)

All right, so this is another first time entry from an artist that goes by the name Mira. They're from Brooklyn, New York. We've already had one looper on the show. This is another looper, but this one stood out to me. Honestly. It is relentlessly hooky. And my reaction when I first heard this song from Mira, it kind of was like that moment with Pharrell and Maggie Rogers when she plays Alaska and he's kind of like looking around. Side my dog was sitting next to me as I was listening, and I was like, giving my dog side eye like this. This is really, really, really hooky. Really, really good. So the song that Mira sent in is called make me go, and we'll just. Thanks so much, bobby.

Robin Hilton (35:27)

Thank you, man. It's been a blast.

Bobby Carter (35:28)

I'm robin hilton for npr music. It's all songs considered.

Artist Performer (36:17)

You want to feel young again baby, let me remind you Looking, looking like you're tempted I know that look I'll make it make you like a, you know Let me go, let me go, let me go.

Bobby Carter (37:17)

From WQXR and Carnegie hall comes classical Music Happy Hour, a new podcast hosted by me, pianist Maniacs. Each episode will speak with a special guest, listen to musical gems, play music inspired games, and answer questions from our listeners. The first episode drops March 4th. Listen on the NPR app.