Eclectic Grooves

I came up with some non-traditional Halloween songs for this post. These songs are all made by artists who aren't typically known for crafting spooky music, but they still evoke the Halloween spirit. Lenny Bruce: My Werewolf Mama This is an extremely rare track featuring Lenny Bruce on vocals, sounding like a demented cross between Screaming Jay Hawkins and Tom Waits. It features such fiendish lyrics as "Bite me on the neck- I said bite me on the neck- When you stop bitin' I'll be a total wreck- You're my werewolf mama- freaky as you can be" This should start your Halloween off on the right foot. Dean Gitter: The Reaper's Ghost I don't know much about Dean Gitter, but I spotted this track on the absolutely incredible Scar Stuff site. Eerie thoughts enter your mind when lyrics like "The reaper crossed the hayfield as sets the blood-red sun" are sung over a delicately strummed aco...

Today, I am featuring a variety of tunes that I've been listening to lately. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do. Bardo Pond: Destroying Angel From: Ticket Crystals [ATP, 2006] First off, is a sludgy, psychedelic slab of wax from Philadelphia's Bardo Pond . Bardo Pond's music can best be described as long passages of transcendental and psychedelic "stoner rock" which is highly influenced by Black Sabbath , Acid Mother's Temple , and My Bloody Valentine . Destroying Angel is the first track on the band's latest mind-blowing effort entitled Ticket Crystals . While Ticket Crystals is a mellow album for the most part, this song rips out the walls of your speakers with loud, distorted and droning guitars, propulsive drumming and dynamically searing vocals. After the first verse, the band maintains this intensity, while the lead singer's wordless, yearning moans and psychedlic flute playing give the track a sense of mysticism. Absolut...

Sam Rivers - Part 1- Instrumental Solo of the Tenor Sax and Part 4- Group With Tenor Sax From: Vol 1- Essence- The Heat and Warmth of Free Jazz [Circle Records, 1976] Sometimes I go for quite some time without exposing my ears to the mind-expanding sounds of Free Jazz. This is an unfortunate thing, since I am inspired to create and write everytime I hear it. Now when one usually thinks of Free Jazz, they think Sun Ra , Coltrane -late 60's, and the man who coined the term Free Jazz- Ornette Coleman . In my opinion, one of the most underrated free jazz saxophonists is Sam Rivers . His ensemble, the Sam Rivers Rivbea Orchestra, recently released a record on Aurora releases called Aurora, but unfortunately I haven't heard this yet. I want you to listen to a couple tracks from a live recording from the Bim Huis in Amsterdam-1976 called Essence- the Heat and Warmth of Free Jazz. As I listen to this record, I feel the raw spontaneity combined with skilled music...

Los Comadrejas- Lou Ferringo From: We Are Ugly, But... We Have the Music [2003, Munster Records] Well... I've been trying to figure out what the hell I was going to do for my first post. I have been listening to all kinds of shit lately, but nothing has grabbed me quite like Los Comadrejas . I came across this last week while surfing maniacally for new tunes on the WFMU blog . If you haven't yet, please do yourself a favor and check out this blog . It features all kinds of obscure novelty recordings, mix-tapes and full length releases from unknown idiot savants. I am featuring the track called Lou Ferringo from their album entitled We Are Ugly... But We Have the Music . This track is like a speed-addled version of an Ennio Morricone score if he was listening to a steady diet of Can , Dick Dale and Clinic . In other words, this track tears it up. If you like this track and want to find out more about them, look for Los Comadrejas