Eclectic Grooves

The special Halloween episode of the I Hear a New World podcast is available to download at http://ihearanewworld.podomatic.com/ This episode is dedicated completely to Halloween. I have been pouring through an endless amount of classic Halloween songs, movie themes, scary sound effects and music that doesn't have a Halloween theme but still manages to scare the bejesus out of me. I hope you enjoy this special episode of I Hear A New World. Your comments are encouraged and appreciated! For those of you who are interested in a tracklist, please let me know Happy Halloween!

Today, I am posting a few more Halloween treats to tantalize your earbuds while you wait in anticipation for my Halloween podcast. I am working on it right now, so I hope to get the podcast up by the end of the day. Please remember to recommend my podcast to your friends by clicking on the "Send to Friends" link that can be found on the podcast homepage . I would like to make the podcasts more of an interactive thing where listeners can send me requests and suggestions through my podmail address at ihearanewworld@podOmatic.com . I will try to incorporate these suggestions within the show and give a shout out to the requesters and contributors. Here is the last installment of the Halloween posts. I hope you enjoy them! Halloween Sounds & Music For Your Parties, Trick-or-Treaters and School Festivals [D Records, 196?] Vincent Price- A Graveyard of Ghost Tales [Caedmon, 1973] V/A-Ghoul-Arama [Scar Stuff, 2001] This compilation was handcrafted by the amazing Blogger Scar St...

I bet some of you were misled to think that this post was going to be about the early 90's grunge band "Smashing Pumpkins" based on the title. Sorry for leading you astray, but the act of smashing pumpkins on Halloween has been around much longer than the band. I plan on just posting the records today without any further critique, since the titles mostly speak for themselves. Today, I have a grab bag of tasty goodies for your listening pleasure, so without further ado. Richard Taylor- Terror Major/Random Records, 1962 Richard Taylor- Fright Major/Random Records, 1962 Halloween- Starring Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids Kid Stuff Repertory, 1980 Count Chocula, Frankenberry and Boo Berry- Monster Adventures in Outer Space w/ The Monsters Go Disco Cereal Flexi, 1979 Hallowe'en Spooky Sounds Sounds EP, 1962 Hope these Halloween treats are getting you geared up for the season!

I don't have much time to write about these records, so the reviews won't be as in-depth as you are used to finding on Eclectic Grooves. However, I wanted to share these rarities of horror with you at least a couple days before Halloween. Richard Taylor- Nightmare From: Major/Random Records, 1962 This is a sinister recording of Edgar Allen Poe's creepy tales "The Tell Tale Heart" and "The Pit and the Pendulum" narrated by Richard Taylor. Behind Taylor's breathless narration lies a stunning backdrop of guitar that comes into the forefront at crucial moments within the tales. Be prepared to be scared out of your wits! Richard Taylor- Horror From: Major/Random Records, 1962 The musical backdrop on "The Black Cat Part 1 and 2" consists of eerie, funereal organs. With a slightly more restrained delivery than he employs on the Nightmare album, Taylor weaves a haunting tale about a mysterious black cat that will make the hair on your neck stand up...

Thanks to those of you who left comments on the Eclectic Grooves 2nd year anniversary! Most of you have probably noticed that I have been a lot more active on here lately. I realize that I have been neglecting the blog, but I am back in full force again with a lot of great ideas for future posts. Recently, I have noticed a spike in the popularity of the Chubby Checker- New Revelation/Chequered post from Jan 2008. So, I made sure that the link is still active for this post, and the last two year's Halloween posts . I have a Halloween podcast coming up next week sometime, and a couple Halloween rarities that will hopefully add something to your ghoulish gatherings this year. In other news, Capillary Action are playing tonight at the Someday Lounge in Portland, OR at 9:00 PM. I believe that the cover is only $5, so there aren't many excuses not to go. For those of you who say, "Who the hell is Capillary Action, Kev" I say to you, "Please check this link for a rev...

The fifth episode of I Hear a New World is available to be downloaded at: http://ihearanewworld.podOmatic.com Due to the space limitations on Podomatic, I will have no other choice but to delete the oldest podcast each week to make room for the new episodes. Today I removed the Sonic Youth episode, but it will be available to download from Eclectic Grooves in the near future. This week's episode showcases the psychedelic soul sound of the 70's that was heavily influenced by Sly and the Family Stone and Jimi Hendrix. Aside from Parliament and James Brown, the artists featured on this episode are veritable unknowns in the music world. Some of the tracks were taken from albums that are no longer in print, and the rest are only available at an expensive import price. It took me most of the week to compile the songs and do further research on the artists for this week's episode. I hope you enjoy the show! I Hear a New World-Podcast #5- Psychedelic Soul Nuggets Skit- :46 (Taken f...

Yes, it's really hard for me to believe, but today marks the second anniversary of the beginning of Eclectic Grooves. As I turn the page, I start reflecting on the past year and what it meant to me. I feel that this was a tough year in many respects, but it was also a time where I learned to grow spiritually and emotionally. While I haven't posted as often as I would have liked, I hope that some of you have heard some music on here that resonates with you. My sole purpose here is to write reviews about the music and artists that I am passionate about, and post rare music that accompanies these reviews. At this time, I would like to thank the various folks that make this a worthwhile venture for me. First, to all of those people who have stopped by Eclectic Grooves since its inception, I sincerely thank you for your continued support. Secondly, I sincerely thank all of the bloggers who have posted a link to Eclectic Grooves on their blog. You make it easier for everyone to find ...

I was just surfing the web when I came across this amazing video of Jeff Mangum from Neutral Milk Hotel performing "Engine," the B-side to "Holland 1945". I got the video and photo from the Pitchfork site just to give credit where credit is due. "Engine" is not only one of my all-time favorite songs by Neutral Milk Hotel, but I believe it is one of the best songs I've ever heard. Neutral Milk Hotel released two albums and an ep before they moved on and left a legion of fans breathlessly awaiting a new album or reunion tour. Legend has it that Mangum decided to run off with the circus to live out his reclusive existence, but there have been several sightings throughout the past decade of him making cameo appearances at Elephant Six Collective reunion shows, as well as a short stint as a radio DJ. Their music is something special that can only be described as magical and otherworldly. This band and especially this song never fails to bring tears to my ey...

Since I started doing this blog, I have been searching for a way to host mp3's on my site as well as a way to allow users to to stream the music directly from my site. This functionality is now available by using the Yahoo Media Player along with a file hosting service called Boxstr. Most of the recent posts with individual mp3's can now be streamed right here on the blog and they can be downloaded by right-clicking on the track and selecting "save as". I hope that you guys enjoy this new feature. Three things that are on the horizon are the second anniversary of Eclectic Grooves on October 23rd, a new Rediscoveries of Lost Gems post and a new post featuring Halloween music. At this point, I don't know exactly what I want to do for my Second Anniversary Post, but it will definitely be something special. The next entry under the Rediscoveries of Lost Gems series will undoubtedly be exciting for free jazz aficionados. I have noticed a spike in the popularity of m...

I just wanted to let you all know that the fourth episode of I Hear a New World is available for download at: http://ihearanewworld.podomatic.com/ This episode focuses on bands from the Portland area who didn't play Musicfest this year and who didn't work at Music Millennium. It features a wide variety of styles including klezmer, free jazz, noise, psychedelic rock, folk and electronic. I am interested to hear what you guys think of the podcasts so far. Do you like the format of the shows? Do you think they are eclectic enough? Are there any bands that you would like to see featured on the podcasts? Please don't be afraid to comment. All comments and suggestions are welcome as long as they aren't malicious. Here is the tracklist for this week's podcast: Podcast #4-I Hear a New World- Movers and Shakers Talkdemonic- Indian Angel- 2:52 Au- rr vs. d- 3:48 March Fourth Marching Band- Space Hole- 5:34 Adrian Orange & Her Band- Then We Play- 6:17 Hammer of Hathor- For...

Capillary Action- So Embarrassing A couple months ago, I received an e-mail from the lead singer of Seattle's Capillary Action requesting that I post a review of his band's latest record So Embarrassing. Since my inbox was already flooded with requests from various musicians and marketing interns urging me to plug the next best thing, my intial reaction was to decline. But I had a strong feeling that this was something special that I couldn't dismiss without at least giving it a listen. I replied to Jonathan's e-mail by requesting a CD of the band's music along with a lyric sheet for further examination. A few weeks had passed before the package arrived in my mailbox, but the music that was concealed in this package was well worth the wait. Good things come to those who wait, and I hope that Jonathan feels the same about this review. As I listened to So Embarrassing, I couldn't help feeling that I was on a rapidly descending elevator ride through hell, stoppi...