'Gator Bait

And now for something completely different...

I've enjoyed listening to this mix, compiled by my pal Jim Blanchard, for some years now.  Jim has graciously permitted me to share it with you here.  I added some appropriate "bonus tracks" at the end to fill the mix out to full disc length, & I made a new cover for it (original cover also included).  The music has nothing whatsoever to do with hunting alligators...it's more like an imaginary soundtrack for some weird '70s "Mondo" movie that doesn't exist: obscure pop/psychedelica (from home & abroad), insane "twisters" by Italian film music composers, brilliant Brazilian garage band freakouts, spooky guitar effects, and a Burmese cover of a Jim Morrison/Doors tune!  Listening will probably give you nightmares about being held prisoner in a dank, underground, spider-infested Tunisian nightclub, being forced to eat raw dog meat, while on the stage Asha Bhosle yodels cover versions of the entire ABBA catalog, backed by Iron Butterfly.  Or something like that.

Check out Jim B.'s other stuff, which might give you bad dreams of an entirely different kind...

Jim Ed Blanchard's Flickr photostream (album cover art)

Jim's Info Barn (blog)

AIN'T NOTHIN' 'BOUT 'GATOR HUNTIN'!

You Better Watch Out...

Ghosts of Xmas Past

A few previously posted Christmas items which might be worth revisiting.  Happy holidays!

HORROR FOR THE HOLIDAYS - A bunch of trailers for Christmas-themed horror movies (YouTube).

HAPPY GHOUL-TIDE - Monstrous Christmas music (YouTube).  Bobby "Boris" Pickett, Lon Chaney Jr., The Crypt Keeper, and more.

RATED XXX-MAS - Naughty Christmas recordings by Rudy Ray Moore, Blowfly, and John "Dr. Dirty" Valby (YouTube).

WEIRD-OH SANTA - A papercraft project for the kiddies.

Day of the Turkey

Contemporary Instrumentals

Regular visitors to this blog are most likely aware of my preference for instrumental music.  It’s true that I listen to a lot of “classic” instrumentals from the ‘50s, ‘60s, and beyond.  But I also listen to quite a bit of contemporary music…and I’m happy to report that the instrumental is very much alive and well in the present day.  Instrumental music may not be all that readily visible (or, more appropriately, audible) in our current vocalist-obsessed culture (how many instrumental musicians have you seen on American Idol lately?), but I’m aware of a considerable number of artists who are recording entirely (or primarily) instrumental music of late.  What the hell, I keep thinking, why not share some of my favorite discoveries here?

I hesitate to share the work of contemporary artists via download for various reasons, but partly out of fairness to (mostly independent) musicians who, like a lot of us, are scrambling to make a living.  YouTube is an excellent source for sampling all kinds of music, so posting links to YouTube vids seems like a reasonable way to go here.  Trouble is, many of the artists I like aren’t rich or popular enough to finance the creation of snazzy music videos to accompany their recording releases.  So, although I hope the links I’m sharing below will be of some interest musically-speaking, I won’t guarantee that the visuals will be all that compelling.  Just “stare with your ears,” as Ken Nordine has frequently advised…   

More next time...