General Comments

This is the place for any comments you have that don't relate to a specific post. This is a place where you can leave any requests, suggestions and opinions that you have about this blog. It will always remain at the top of the blog so that it is visible to everyone. We can use this as a forum for an open discussion on music in general, as well as just simply saying hi. Let's get the ball rolling.

Plain Brown Wrappers #4

I hope you guys enjoyed the latest I Hear a New World podcast that I posted last week. I would love to hear more of your thoughts about the music played throughout the show, as well as what you think of the format of the show.

Today's episode of Plain Brown Wrappers features the primal screams of a sexy siren who has the funkiest backing band since the Jb's. I came across this album when my Zen Touch was on shuffle the other day, and I immediately checked to see who the artist was. Since you don't have the luxury of immediate gratification with these posts, you will have to trust my judgement.

This is the sound of pop music if one of your ears was clogged, and the other one wasn't able to discern between melody and dissonance. It is chock-full of groovy basslines, stinging fuzz guitars and soulful vocals that recall the divas from the heyday of Motown soul. Just when you think that one of these songs is intent on sticking to a formulaic sound , it switches gears quickly and pummels you with blistering vocals and guitars that buzz fervently in your ear.

This is perfect music for cranking up in the middle of your next summer barbecue. Trust me... your friends will be impressed that you have music like this in your collection. I will warn you that the utter intensity of the vocals on this record could quite possibly burn your nose hairs if you're not careful.

I would love it if you ventured a guess as to who the artist is from today's Plain Brown Wrappers.

I will reveal the artist and album exactly one week from today.

Plain Brown Wrappers #4

I Hear a New World- Podcast #12- Stacks O'Wax

For those of you have been eagerly anticipating the answer to last week's Plain Brown Wrappers, I have to say that you guys should really give yourself a pat on the back fro figuring this one out. Nathan Nothin from the blog Nothin' Sez Somethin' was the first one to guess, and he tried to keep it on the down low, but FroggyDew and No-Head weren't too far behind with the correct answer. The name of the band was Moving Gelatine Plates and the title of the record was The World of Genius Hans. It was released in 1972 on the Musea label, and is yet to receive a reissue as far as I know.

Even though the Plain Brown Wrappers series has gotten fewer comments each time, I'm going to keep crankin' em out because I am enjoying myself. Stay tuned for the next one as it drops within the next week or so.

The twelfth episode of I Hear a New World is available to be downloaded at:

http://ihearanewworld.podomatic.com

This is the second all-vinyl episode of I Hear a New World where I have taped the show in my living room with a digital recorder. This was a spontaneous show, much like the very first epsiode of I Hear a New World recorded in September of 2008. I was listening to a stack of records in my living room, when suddenly the urge to record a new podcast hit me. While I don't have the widest range of records, I felt that the songs I played this night were an accurate representation of my eclectic taste in music. The artists in this episode include Art Ensemble of Chicago, Gong, Yo La Tengo, David Bowie and Matmos I hope you enjoy this episode, and I would love to hear what you think of it. For those of you who would like a copy of the tracklist for this show, please drop me a line.

Plain Brown Wrappers #3

It's time again for another mind-bending trip into the archives of my warped consciousness. This week I am featuring an artist who laughs in the face of genres or labeling, and simply kicks out the jams. While listening to the opening track on the record, I can honestly say that I have no idea how the band manages to squeeze so many wildly imaginative ideas within the course of one song. Prog, funk, jazz and psychedelic rock are only a smattering of the styles that the band innovatively incorporates into their music. The sound of this record is so crisp that the percussive elements practically jump out of the speaker, leading the listener to believe that this record must have been created within the last decade. On the other hand, this recording could have easily come from the 70's with it's progressive time signatures, blistering fuzz guitars and complex song structures that betray the idea of conventionality. I'm not going to even bother mentioning the bands that come to mind when I listen to this, because that would take away the fun of guessing.

I hope you guys have enjoyed this episode of Plain Brown Wrappers. Please drop by and take a stab at the name of the artist/album that was featured today. I will reveal the answer next Monday.

Plain Brown Wrappers #3

Until next time...

Don't Call It a Comeback...

Considering the generous amount of feedback I received from the readers on the last post, I have decided to keep the heart of Eclectic Grooves pumping with as much new music as your ears can handle. I've got some amazing stuff coming down the pipeline in the next couple weeks, so please keep checking back on a regular basis.

Today, I am posting a re-up of a record that was first posted on Eclectic Grooves way back in April of 2007. Rather than retread familiar ground, I am going to direct you to the original posting of my review for Johnny Jenkin's stone-cold psychedelic blues classic Ton Ton Macoute. For those of you who aren't interested in checking out the original post, I will say that this version of "I Walk on Guilded Splinters" was sampled by the Dust Brothers on Beck's highly regarded anthem for the alternative nation, "Loser".

Click here to download Ton-Ton Macoute

I am working on a new Plain Brown Wrappers post, and despite the suggestions from a recent newcomer to Eclectic Grooves, I will not be divulging specifics about the genre of music contained in these posts. I believe that part of the fun is not knowing anything specific about the songs or the artists before you listen to it. I might give you a little hint here or there, but the whole point of this exercise is to blur the lines of the music to make you appreciate it without allowing preconceived notions about the artist, genre or time-frame to enter into your mind. After the artist from the first Plain Brown Wrappers post was guessed almost immediatley, I wanted to ensure that the next one was a little more of a brain teaser. I would love to hear if any of you have further ideas about this feature, as well as anything else on Eclectic Grooves.

Enjoy the Johnny Jenkins re-up, and prepare yourself for one of the most mind-bending musical excursions of your lifetime.

Important Notice to the Readers

I have honestly been considering throwing in the towel at Eclectic Grooves for quite some time. This probably doesn't come as a surprise to most of you, since I've been wearing out the grooves of this "broken record" for quite some time. I've been struggling between running this blog because I want to share music with people, and wanting to be popular and receive recognition for my hard work.

The comments have been sparse, and I really don't know what else I can do to increase the interest. In addition, the hits have gone down considerably in the past few months. I was never one of those blogs like 4Brothers Beats or My Favorite Sounds that generated a ton of traffic, but I was getting at least 275-325 a day. Now, I would be lucky to break 200, and that's on a day that I post something new.

Even though doing the Plain Brown Wrappers series seemed to spark the interest of visitors, it wasn't helping me generate very much new traffic to the site. I realize that I am competing with an endless array of full-album blogs with artwork and no review (or a pasted review from another source), but I find it hard to believe that people don't appreciate my blog more than this.

I have found myself at this place before, but I really am at a loss this time. I am considering making the blog private and inviting only a certain amount of friends to view the blog, or shutting it down completely. I hate to say it, but the amount of hits and comments from people is really affecting my ability to post more often. When I receive a lot of great feedback or an increase in the number of hits, I have more of a desire to share things and take the time to post something interesting. I wish it didn't work that way, but I am affected greatly by how people respond to my creative pursuits.

With the recent onslaught of "full album" blogs, many creative blogs have decided to shut their doors primarily because they can't keep up with the pace of the "full album" blogs. Honestly, I could make a post every day if all I was doing was posting a link to a record along with a review pasted from an alternate source like All Music Guide or Dusty Groove. It takes me 3-4 hours to write a new post on Eclectic Grooves, and that doesnt even include the gathering of music and materials in prepararion for a post. The botom line is that I have been putting a lot of time and effort into running this blog, and I would like to see people show a little appreciation. If any of you have any thoughts/ideas about this, please let me know.

Thanks to the dedicated visitors to the site, and to those who have subscribed to the blog as well as the podcast. Your support is greatly appreciated.

I Hear a New World- Podcast #11

The eleventh episode of I Hear a New World is available to be downloaded at:

http://ihearanewworld.podomatic.com/

It's been awhile since I've worked on a podcast, so I grabbed this mix from my listening archives. It is an eclectic mix that I put together one afternoon many moons ago. I was feeling especially mellow when I compiled this mix, but I occasionally peppered the mix with an uptempo funk track or a little psychedelic freakout for added listening pleasure. It features a wide array of styles including psych-folk, funk, blues, free jazz, rock and soul-jazz. I hope you guys enjoy this episode of "I Hear a New World".

I have another Plain Brown Wrappers post right around the corner, so keep your eyes peeled for that one.