Ever get the feeling politicians aren't listening? Well, Wisconsin's own Sen. Russ Feingold is tuned into the music of the Dairy State, thanks to tips he's gotten via his Web site's 'Fein' Tunes page.
"Listening to music is a big deal to me," Feingold writes on his site. "Representing the people of Wisconsin involves a lot of travel -- especially when you hold 72 Listening Sessions a year -- and good music keeps me energized. I'm always on the lookout for new songs, albums, or artists to try and I'd appreciate your recommendations. You can use the form below to make suggestions. Each month I'll share some of my own favorites."
Feingold's first suggestion?
Bon Iver.
Below a video of Feingold explaining his love for music and its importance to him, is a link to Bon Iver's MySpace page.
Check out 'Fein' Tunes here.You can submit your suggestions to the senator, who says he has two dozen Bob Dylan CDs in his van (so he clearly need some variety), at the same url.
Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., where he lived until he was 17, Bobby received his BA-Mass Communications from UWM in 1989 and has lived in Walker's Point, Bay View, Enderis Park, South Milwaukee and on the East Side.
He has published three non-fiction books in Italy – including one about an event in Milwaukee history, which was published in the U.S. in autumn 2010. Four more books, all about Milwaukee, have been published by The History Press.
With his most recent band, The Yell Leaders, Bobby released four LPs and had a songs featured in episodes of TV's "Party of Five" and "Dawson's Creek," and films in Japan, South America and the U.S. The Yell Leaders were named the best unsigned band in their region by VH-1 as part of its Rock Across America 1998 Tour. Most recently, the band contributed tracks to a UK vinyl/CD tribute to the Redskins and collaborated on a track with Italian novelist Enrico Remmert.
He's produced three installments of the "OMCD" series of local music compilations for OnMilwaukee.com and in 2007 produced a CD of Italian music and poetry.
In 2005, he was awarded the City of Asti's (Italy) Journalism Prize for his work focusing on that area. He has also won awards from the Milwaukee Press Club.
He has be heard on 88Nine Radio Milwaukee talking about his "Urban Spelunking" series of stories, in that station's most popular podcast.
