MARY LOUISE KELLY, HOST:
NPR Music received more than 6,000 entries to this year's Tiny Desk Contest. Now it is down to just five. We are meeting the five finalists this week on ALL THINGS CONSIDERED. Here's one of the judges, NPR Music's Robin Hilton.
ROBIN HILTON, BYLINE: Yeah. I want to play an entry that we got from a group out of Miami called Les Greene & The Swayzees. The song they sent in is called "Long Story Short," and this is a six-piece band with a real old-school soul and R&B sound.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "LONG STORY SHORT")
LES GREENE AND THE SWAYZEES: (Singing) Baby, well, that I will always be waiting for you here, patiently, just as long as you still have me. I was thinking that maybe if you gave us a chance, you'd see that you're all that I'll ever need. I'm just waiting for you (ph).
HILTON: Well, front and center, you've got Les Greene's voice. It is such a huge sound. It's a classic sound. And the whole thing unfolds - if you watch the video, they shot it in what looks like a small living room. But they make it feel, honestly, like a giant amphitheater. I mean, the horns are killing it.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "LONG STORY SHORT")
LES GREENE AND THE SWAYZEES: (Singing) Baby, you know that I'll always be waiting for you here, patiently.
HILTON: And they're doing this while sitting back on a couch. They're sitting down. Les Greene's performance also absolutely off the hook - he starts off sitting in an office chair, and he's kind of swiveling back and forth while he's singing. But then, early on, he very seamlessly gets up, kicks the chair out of the way, and he just brings it.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "LONG STORY SHORT")
LES GREENE AND THE SWAYZEES: (Singing) What do you want from me? I'm standing here waiting for you. I know what I want, and I know that it's you, and I know that it is you for me. Baby, don't you know that I know (ph)...
HILTON: He's got a wardrobe change at one point. Again, it's like a big Vegas show or something. By far, it was one of the most memorable performances and songs that we got.
We were also really moved by the note that Les Greene included with his entry. He said, the world has so much darkness going on, and this song is like a bright fairy tale for me. It takes you out of reality for five minutes and lets you scream all the pain and emotion out.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "LONG STORY SHORT")
LES GREENE AND THE SWAYZEES: (Singing) 'Cause, baby, I just don't know why you can't see it for us, baby (ph). (Vocalizing).
KELLY: That was NPR Music's Robin Hilton, talking about Tiny Desk Contest finalists Les Greene & The Swayzees. You can watch their entry plus thousands more at npr.org/tinydeskcontest. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.
