Eclectic Grooves

  So much time has passed since I last found myself here in front of this glowing screen, frantically pecking away at the keys like my life depended on it. I couldn’t tell you why I strayed so far for so long, but I can tell you that there were a confluence of events in the past couple of years that eventually crushed my spirit. It hasn't helped that the pandemic has been an unprecedented, cataclysmic disaster exacerbated by the U.S. governments' inability to effectively act in the country's best interest.  Due to following the guidelines put forth by the CDC and the local government, my girlfriend and I have been fortunate enough to stay healthy so far.   Though, the effects of staying at home and away from people are clear. After close to nine months of dealing with the effects of self-isolation as a means of preservation, my hair has become long and disheveled with crow’s feet and frown lines emerging from my weathered face. I don’t even know if I would be able to hav...

As I sit here in my hermetically-sealed isolation chamber called a home, I can't help but reflect on what I've been dealing with emotionally and physically. Since last November, my life has become a series of monotonous routines. While the medical condition I have is not fatal, it is chronic, and something that affects everything I do throughout the day. Due to this, my posting has been erratic at best, but it's defintely not for a lack of ideas. In fact, with the glut of material available, I have an endless playlist of undiscovered gems at my fingertips: Spotify playlists, YouTube rare grooves, Twitter recommendations from crate diggers like Egon and DJ Shadow, Rate Your Music, Radio shows from Xray.FM, WFMU and NTS. The list goes on and on to the point where my mind practically explodes with the possibilities. I keep building the perfect playlist in my mind, copying the notes from my listening sessions in Word docs and barely legible scribblings on sticky notes and vario...

While the mystery mix didn't yield the type of results I anticipated, there were a couple people who asked for a track list. Besides revealing the track list for the mix, this post will feature an assortment of random curiosities that may peak your interest further. I encourage you to look into some of these artists further, as many of their other songs are equally as great as the ones featured on this mix. Mystery Mix- L'avventura 1) The Invaders- Spacing Out 2) Area- Chilometri Da Smirne 3) El Rego Et Ses Commandos- Petite Rosette 4) Gil Alluminogeni- Cosmo 5) John Cale- Adelaide 6) Karen Dalton- Blues on the Ceiling 7) Dane Sturgeon- Whip of Love 8) Franco Battiato- Energia 9) Dave Lamb & Gye Whiz- Shine On Me 10) Calamity Jane- Olympia 11) Ruth Copeland- Your Love Has Been So Good to Me 12) Back Door- Jive Grind 13) Souls of Mischief- Let 'Em Know 14) Joe Henderson- Vis a Vis 15) Bunzu Sounds- Zinabu 16) Bodo Molitor- Real Real 17) The South...

You never know when inspiration will strike next. It could happen while pondering the meaning of life while toiling away at your office job. It could happen when you are going for a brisk walk in the middle of a downpour. It could happen as you let your mind aimlessly wander while on a slow drive, or bus ride home after a long day at work. It could simply occur when having a conversation with a loved one who ignites a spark within your creative soul.  A young man and woman meet on a scenic train ride through the countryside. As idle conversation goes on, the man asks the woman, "Which came first for you?  Music or love?" She responds "Music, of course. A fiancee you've gotta look for, but a radio can be bought". The man goes on to say that it was "love" for him, and that he knows a great deal about the ways of the heart. With so many distractions as of late, I needed something to get me back on track, and while taking the early hours of the day to ...

I feel like I'm on the cusp of a major breakthrough in my life, where possibilities are endless and doors open and close at my command. Within the next couple of days, I will know whether or not strongly advocating on my own behalf will have resulted in the largest pay raise that I have ever received at a job during my arduous journey spinning on this mortal coil. This, along with the lack of comments on my last two posts, is the reason why I haven't posted during the entire month of January. I don't like to harp on this too much, because I'm grateful to be able to share music with an audience who appreciates it, but it often feels like I'm talking to myself. I can't stress how important encouraging comments can be to me as writing on this blog serves as an outlet for relieving stress and coping with the everyday rigors of life. I guess it can simply be stated as such: a plant needs water and light to grow and thrive. Receiving comments and having ongoing discus...

As I perused the number of downloads for the last several things I've posted on Eclectic Grooves, I noticed that the most popular posts have been the Eddie Harris- Free Speech album, The Trees- The Garden of Jane Delawney and the last eclectic mix that I posted on here a couple weeks ago. Since you guys seem to dig the eclectic mixes, I'm going to share another one with you that was originally conceived a few years ago on 5-24-14. This is another eclectic mix that was shelved for no apparent reason other than the pieces not coming together at the right time. I have replaced most of the original versions of the songs with ones that have a higher quality bitrate. Unfortunately, a couple of the songs are so rare that I was unable to find a higher quality bitrate version of them for this mix. Additionally, I omitted a couple of the tracks as they were either too long, or didn't fit the vibe of the rest of the mix. The result is another eclectic mix that is exactly 65 minutes,...

I have to admit that I've been partaking in a little post-Thanksgiving gluttony in terms of my music consumption which leaves me with precious little time to fill your earholes with some new tunes before the weekend is over. Often, my blog posts have been influenced by a magazine article or book that I've read, but this weekend the motivation came after watching the Stooges documentary by Jim Jarmusch. It was an informative, entertaining and well-crafted documentary that inspired me to immediately start searching for Stooges live shows recorded during the band's heyday between 1969-1972.  While this search for Stooges shows turned out to be fruitless, I did discover many other amazing live shows on the Big O Zine site including Larry Coryell, Miles Davis, Can, Mahavishnu Orchestra and Rory Gallagher. After stumbling down this rabbit hole for what seemed to be an eternity, I rediscovered some Iggy Pop radio shows that I had downloaded awhile ago from the ...

I apologize for the radio silence during the past couple weeks, but the flu hit my body like a ton of bricks that didn't let up until the last couple days. I never get flu shots, because I rarely get the full-blown flu. This year, however, was a much different story. I came home from work last Tuesday, ate my dinner and settled into watching a little television. Around 8:00 pm, my legs started feeling weak, I was experiencing muscle and joint pain and the temperature of my body was fluctuating from hot to cold with the same unpredictability as daily weather patterns.  I missed a couple days of work, and then proceeded to spend a three-day weekend resting, drinking so many fluids that I thought I was going to burst and binging Netflix while laying on my futon. Thankfully, I think I'm on the other side of this, but it really did do a number on me. Over three years ago, I posted that I had multiple eclectic mixes that were completed and ready to post. I  went back to my playlis...

I had planned on posting one Halloween mix a day during the past week, but sadly this didn't come to fruition. As a result, I'm going to post the remainder of the mixes that are no longer available to download at http://ihearanewworld.podomatic.com. Halloween Hodgepodge 2009 1)       The Piranhas- Hi Everybody   2)       Kid Congo and the Pink Monkey Birds- Pumpkin Pie   3)       Screaming Lord Sutch- Dracula’s Daughter   4)       Harrapian Night Recordings- The Sarimanok Flies   5)       Broadcast- A Seancing Song   6)       Scientist- The Voodoo Curse   7)       RJD2- The Horror   8)       Lon Chaney Jr.- Spider Baby   9)         Brian Eno- In Dark Trees   10)   Spooks- Cackle of t...