william fitzsimmons
New Music /

William Fitzsimmons

His name echoes those of colonels and soldiers who fought in the American civil war. But far from that, William Fitzsimmons is actually an obscure songwriter from Jackson, Illinois. Fitzsimmons has built a fan base through Myspace and, would you believe it, the TV show Grey’s Anatomy. When I hear his song, It’s Not True, I think of bleached wood, smoky red wine, and the great American outdoors. It follows in the footsteps of Iron & Wine, Damien Rice and Sufjan Stevens — subtle folktronica that draws you in with its melodic and enchanting production. Fitzsimmons comes from the same hometown as Sufjan, so its perhaps no great coincidence that his music shares a very similar sound.

Listen to the William Fitzsimmons song, It’s Not True.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Tagged: , ,

Hailing from Queens, NY, The Shivers recently released their latest record, More, via Silence Breaks. The New York cult favorites will be guest writing for Lost at Minor all week.

RELATED

Thumb

Laura Veirs’ July Flame album

From the moment you hear her voice, you’ll be hooked. July Flame is the seventh album for Laura Veirs — a former guest contributor to Lost At E Minor — and an album you must have in your collection. Her beautiful voice is so familiar and comforting. Veirs has come a long way from the punk band she was once a part of. The title track, in particular, will make you feel like you’re not alone if you find yourself falling in love with a Peach.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Thumb

Findlay Brown’s Love You Will Find You

A former bare-knuckle boxer from Yorkshire, England (for real), Findlay Brown was heralded by many as the UK’s answer to Jose Gonzales when his debut album, Separated By The Sea, was released on Peacefrog Records in 2007. Love Will Find You moves beyond his earlier folk sound to a more ambitious — and soulful — place. Produced by Bernard Butler (Suede), the album features songs that are lush and intimate, influenced as much by Phil Spector and Ennio Morricone as by Roy Orbison or The Beatles. The album came together while Brown was stuck on his sister’s couch nursing a broken leg, having been run over by a cab driver: ‘I’d already started going back and listening to a lot of records I’d grown up on, like Elvis Presley, soul music, doo wop, Phil Spector, The Righteous Brothers and the like. I had an idea about making a modern record influenced by the songwriting of the late 50s and early 60s. I just started writing, trying to work out what made a universally great song, like Stand By Me. These new songs are the first part of that process’. You can download his new single, Holding Back The Night, for free in our Music Download section.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Thumb

Ben Sollee

Cellist Ben Sollee is like Andrew Bird with a little more soul, or Arthur Russell with a bit more bounce. Read more

Also by ARI STEIN

Thumb

Jürgen Teller for Marc Jacobs

Ten years of German photographer Jürgen Teller’s candid, glamorous photo campaigns for Marc Jacobs’ men’s and women’s collections have been collated into one cohesive 576-page fashion bible. This book does an excellent job of detailing just how significant this collaboration has been for fashion, featuring appearances from the likes of Sofia Coppola, Charlotte Rampling, Meg White, Thurston Moore, Rufus Wainwright, William Eggleston, and Winona Ryder. Read more

Thumb

Yonlu’s hidden recordings

One of the most intriguing stories I’ve come across this year is about a young artist called Yonlu, born Vinicius Gageiro Marques in the town of Porto Alegre, in Brazil. His story is short but fascinating. As it goes, this sixteen year old songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and virtual artist locked himself in his bathroom, signed on to one of the various suicide forums he belonged to on the Internet, and took his own life, remaining online until the very end. After his death, his father went through his computer and found numerous musical creations, including the songs that make up his debut album through Luaka Bop. It’s an amazing listen and very ahead of its time.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Thumb

Edgar Muller’s three-dimensional street art

Some people are talented, others are just truly remarkable. German artist Edgar Muller makes these three-dimensional apocalyptic fantasy street art in cities across the world. His work is reminiscent of that of English artist, Julian Beever. Read more

YOU'RE SAYING (1)

dav said | 1 February, 2011

hmmm, I believe William Fitzsimmons was raised in Pennsylvania and only recently moved to the Chicago area, Stevens is from Michigan. Fitzsimmons also has a really dramatic and interesting upbringing which influenced much of his writing and isn’t touched in your paragraph.

HAVE YOUR SAY




Please be sure to enter your name and email before submitting this comment. Please also refer to our comments policy.

Our friends over at College Humor have created the ultimate landmark guide for modern campus tours. Hmmpfh, if only my time at university was as salacious. Read more

New York-based Japanese illustrator Yuko Shimizu has been featured on Lost At E Minor several times over the past couple of years. I love the sense of drama her work conveys, the apparent colour clashes that somehow gel despite pre-existing rules about their compatibility. We checked in with her to see what she’s been up to of late: ‘I just came back from a week in Georgian Bay in Canada. No internet, no cell phone reception for a week. It was fantastic! Now I am getting ready for a group show at Visual Arts Gallery in New York that opens in September. I am creating two new 40” x 60” drawings. I’m also slowly refurbishing my website here and there’. Read more

Back in the day, New Zealand pop absurdists, Split Enz were the finest damn Australasian band around. This track, I Walk Away, off their final album — Spellbound — is their ultimate moment: a hefty dose of pure melodic majestry, wrapped around the aching lyrics and quirky arrangements of genius frontman, Neil Finn.

We ran ourselves ragged driving from Baltimore to Portland in 48 hours flat, and by the time we were almost done with our West Coast tour in LA, we were exhausted, stinky, and broke. At moments like these, a little imported sheep’s milk cheese does wonders, which is why we b-lined it to The Cheese Store of Silverlake right after we downed our espresso shots at Intelligentsia right next door. Read more

In the wake of America’s historic presidential election, nearly two years of divisive campaigning, and eight years of a controversial administration, the nation is in desperate need of healing. Beloved Internet personality Ze Frank started From 58 to 42 with Love where contributors use their webcams to post messages reaching out to the side of the country that didn’t vote for their guy. It’s saccharine at times, and there are one or two borderline nasty posts from people that don’t seem completely onboard with the project’s objective. But overall, it’s pretty effective and moving. I’ll admit I needed a couple tissues while reading it.

Chicago’s Cheer Accident started as a post-no-wave weirdo band typical of the Skin Graft roster, but of late, they’ve been doing some unrestrained pop and rock. They even have harmonized vocals and an occasional horn. This isn’t to say they’re commercializing – their songs are just as complex as ever, and there’s still a hint of discordance beneath the shimmering new sound.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Yes, Karen O wears it. And we don’t blame her. Launched by make-up artist, Mike Potter, Knock Out Cosmetics nail polish is a little Victorian, a touch art deco, and a lot of rock n’ roll.

WE'RE POSTING / SOME OF THE BEST

Thumb

Pencils made from recycled newspaper

The problem with awesome things like these pencils made out of recycled newspaper is that you almost don’t want to use them.

Thumb

Baltimore Mural by Josh Van Horne

My friend Josh Van Horne, a local Baltimore artist, did this amazing mural in our neighborhood that depicts the history of this warehouse-laden area.

Thumb

Joe Kievitt

It’s refreshing to see artists like Joe Kievitt who are contented to explore the beauty in simple forms and asymmetrical patterns. Read more

Thumb

Fashematics

Mathematics? Leave me out. Fashematics? Now you’re talking! This gem of a site is a runway equation that adds up to a whole lot of wonderful.

Thumb

Matthew Dear’s Black City album totem

Our friends at Ghostly International are releasing Matthew Dear’s Black City album as a limited edition ‘totem’. A what? A totem – a limited edition metal bar used to access a private music chamber. Cool! Read more

Set up in 2011, Rebel Unlit is a printing collaboration between London based Artists Neil Butler and Shanney Mulcahy. They make short run screen-printed t-shirts and limited edition prints from their studio in East London. All the t shirts are fair traded and printed by hand and, as a result, each one is unique. Read more

If you have a Twitter feed that focuses on cool pop cultural things and you’d like to swap Tweets with Lost At E Minor and other like-minded Twitterers, drop us a note (with Tweet Swap in the title). We have a system in place and we’d like to have you in on it! [illustration by Brad Fitzpatrick]


ADVERTISEMENT

FOLLOW US

Follow Lost At E Minor on Twitter Follow Lost At E Minor on Tumblr

Lost At E Minor iPhone app


[Advertise here]
To download songs, right click on link and select “Save Target As” in IE or “Save Link As” in Firefox.

DISCOVER MORE

SO...


SEARCH: Can't find what you're looking for? Do a search..

IS IT GOOD FOR YOU TOO?

We hope you're enjoying your time on Lost At E Minor, but it's not over yet. Got something to share? Tell us about it and we'll look to publish it. If you want to have your work featured on the site, we'd love to hear from you. Pssst, we also have an online store stocking some of the goodies we feature on the site.

If you're a media agency and want to use this platform to connect with our readership, then drop us a line and tell us about it. Oh yeah, and we do digital consulting for cool brands that want to reach the sort of demographic that visits this site.