The coffeehouse meets the beach in the easygoing music of boho California-free-spirit Angel Taylor. The closest I can come to classifying her summery sonic melting pot is "the female Jack Johnson," but even that falls woefully short. Her bouncy blend of sleepy reggae, upbeat soul and acoustic pop evokes everything from Third Eye Blind to Sheryl Crow to "Somewhere Over The Rainbow," without actually sounding like any of them. Who do you think she sounds like?

Angel's debut album, Love Travels, got a boost from iTunes, when they named her "Make Me Believe" their single of the week. And it's a fitting match. The breezy go-to track would be right at home in an iPod commercial. The song's success won her opening slots on tour with Adele, Brett Dennen, Brandi Carlile and Gavin DeGraw, among others. Are you impressed yet?

To seal the deal, fall into "Make Me Believe" or any of Angel Taylor's other delicately-plucked perfume daydreams, and keep an eye out for this gently rising talent.

+ At last night's Democratic Convention, Sheryl Crow dedicated her song "Strong Enough" Barack Obama, then asked the White House hopeful: "Are you strong enough to be my man ... or my president?" (Billboard)

+ And speaking of Barack's celebrity fanbase, he couldn't ask for a more outspoken supporter than Madonna. He also couldn't ask for a worse lobbyist. (NY Times)

+ Meanwhile, is Rage Against the Machine's Zack de la Rocha planning to "hijack" the Republican Convention? (That's soooo 2000 VMAs!) (NME)

+ Robin Thicke and Mary J. Blige are touring to promote their new albums. Also weird? One of them has a new album called Growing Pains ... and it's NOT Robin "Son of Alan" Thicke. (Reuters)

+ T.I. has a message for whoever leaked his new track, "Swagger Like Us," onto the Internet. "Don't ruin the event," he says. "Wait till the cake comes out the kitchen before you eat it. That's like a kid who sees his toys before Christmas; it takes away from me [and] it takes away from the fans." (MTV)

+ Taylor Swift has a windblown, Mariah-thing happening on the cover of her new LP, Fearless. (The Boot)

+ Chamillionaire puts himself in his fans' shoes. "I did a rap like I'm the person sitting at the computer typing," he says. "It's some little kid that's on the Internet ... His mother comes in and asks him, 'Did you take your medication? Are you on those porno sites again?' I'm rapping like I'm him in his voice." (MTV)