Eclectic Grooves

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'm back after an unexpected hiatus due to getting over a cold and searching for a new job. Thanks to everyone who downloaded the film noir mix, and especially to those who left comments. I have been listening to so much music in the past couple weeks that I feel as if I will implode if I don't share some of it with the rest of you. Now on to the Eclectic Mix that I have brewing in my mind today. Stir in a little African groove with Japanese instrumental surf rock. Mix in a little Turkish psychedelic fuzz rock groove and add equal parts sublime free jazz. Finally, toss in a dash of apocalyptic instrumental rock and top it off with a whirling dervish of space-age bachelor pop. The result is an easily digestible musical stew that will surely delight your pallet. Enjoy! Tracklist 1) The Antarcticans- The 2000 Year Clearing of All Peace- 7:25 2) Sharp Five- Sakura Sakura- 3:21 3) Ric Colbeck Quartet- Subdued- 6:20 4) Erkin Koray- Cemalim- 7:43 5) Ne Zhdali- Hungarian Young Years-

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