Whenever you feel unhappy / all you have to do is call me.

April 8, 2011 4:49 PM

Too much bad news and worry lately? Maybe a quick dose of the jubilant new song "Sydney (I'll Come Running)" by Brett Dennen will help.

More about Brett: He is a 31-year-old singer songwriter from Northern California. He has three critically acclaimed records, and a fourth is on the way. He has toured extensively and continues to, everything from small club shows to this one-hour appearance at the 2009 Newport Folk Festival. It was around that time that Entertainment Weekly named him one of eight singer/songwriters to watch.

More from Brett:

Make You Crazy (featuring Femi Kuti)

Ain't No Reason

She's Mine

Darling Do Not Fear

posted by jbickers (20 comments total)

A few more:
All We Have.

Oh the Glorious.
posted by phoenixphoenix at 5:14 PM on April 8, 2011

The first video link is not available to those outside the US, here it is on YouTube.
posted by humph at 5:21 PM on April 8, 2011

That was A-OK.
posted by eugenen at 5:40 PM on April 8, 2011

I like the song.
posted by drjimmy11 at 5:47 PM on April 8, 2011

Welcome to Metafilter, phoenixphoenix.
posted by Ian A.T. at 6:24 PM on April 8, 2011

I normally hate auto-tune, but this guy needs it. As does his band.
posted by cleancut at 6:43 PM on April 8, 2011

I normally hate auto-tune, but this guy needs it. As does his band.

You should get that checked out.
posted by nzero at 6:50 PM on April 8, 2011 [1 favorite]

I really liked Make You Crazy more than the others. Something about it, the groove, great lyric, I don't know...
posted by Seekerofsplendor at 6:57 PM on April 8, 2011

I really like his first album. Here's one: Don't Forget.
posted by scruss at 7:07 PM on April 8, 2011

Is that crowd mostly inflatable dummies?
posted by telstar at 8:37 PM on April 8, 2011

That Sydney song reminds of Mister Jones by Counting Crows (but less pretentious, which is not hard.)
posted by msalt at 8:39 PM on April 8, 2011

Autotune? Seriously? He gasps and slides off notes here and there, but geez, it's a high energy, guileless live performance.

The live stream on the site requires that you login to your Twitter account and shows this message:

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The application Brett Dennen by Brett Dennen would like the ability to access and update your data on Twitter. Allow Brett Dennen access? Deny/Allow

Twitter takes your privacy very seriously.

Only click "Allow" for applications you trust. Allowing this application to connect to your account may give Brett Dennen access to your Direct Messages (DMs), or the ability to Tweet on your behalf.

You may revoke access to this application at any time by visiting your Settings page.

Umm, no. I'll check him out on YouTube, though.
posted by maudlin at 9:21 PM on April 8, 2011

My girlfriend and I saw Brett Dennen years ago at Freebird in Jacksonville. He opened for Matt Nathanson and man did he put on a show. He was so good, so joyous and that voice, like a some driftwood infused with honey, sweet and old and creaky. He had this very weird dance which basically just involved his feet and knees. It was awesome and we bought his CD from him after he played and he remarked on my shirt (which just said CUSTOMER on it in bold white letters).

Then Matt Nathanson got on stage, played a handful of songs, and then called it an early night because there were only about two dozen people in the joint. That was kind of disappointing but the girlfriend loved it so. That is what you get for a concert on a Monday night.

Looks like Brett has lost some weight since then, good for him. Time to check tour dates!
posted by m0nm0n at 9:37 PM on April 8, 2011

thanks jbickers, that brightened the end of my day
posted by anadem at 10:07 PM on April 8, 2011

I'm probably perverse, but I couldn't like that because it somehow reminded me of Counting Crows' "Mr Jones", which I hate with a mighty passion.
posted by Decani at 12:52 AM on April 9, 2011

Viewable-outside-of-the-US-version. Cool song.
posted by Solomon at 2:38 AM on April 9, 2011

The guy from Fall Out Boy sings Paul Simon?
posted by threeants at 9:13 AM on April 9, 2011

I've always liked his music, so this isn't meant as a criticism. That said, I've never seen him perform live, and BOY, he looks like Landry from Friday Night Lights dressed up in a Janis Joplin halloween costume.
posted by mudpuppie at 9:34 AM on April 9, 2011 [1 favorite]

my love for this song means i have to use earphones at work, lest everyone else in the office get annoyed about hearing it fourteen times a day. such a great track!
posted by gursky at 12:23 AM on April 10, 2011 [1 favorite]

No, he's completely channelling this guy's look.
posted by maudlin at 1:45 PM on April 10, 2011 [1 favorite]