Sublime eclectic mayhem. That’s been my playlist project and musical life, one that begins with The Muppet Movie soundtrack and later involves performing hymns, death metal, surf, and bluegrass. I’ve played in theaters, tents, and basements, for multi-stage festivals and squirrel rodeos. I’ve written and recorded music for The Drunken Odyssey. Sublime eclectic mayhem. A warning and a welcome for joyous noise, for those navigating what Beckett called “this bitch of an earth.”

fighting the waves 
of a great lake 
the taste of loss 
in the mouth 
the willfulness 
to roll 
right into the bonfire
bound to lose 
and bound 
to mix metaphors
I thwack another crest 
of white foam 
to pull away a hand
wet and stinging
and empty

Zipkin Finds a Clue

Listen on Tidal. Listen on Spotify.

1. “Hey Little One” – Shelley Duvall
2. “my goth acquaintance” – Lumberob
3. “Egg Radio” – Bill Frisell Quartet
4. “Just Listen” – Mark Guiliana
5. “Kaboela Style” – De Schuurman
6. “Danse A la Musique” – The French Fries
7. “3BPM: Pulpit” – Christopher Rountree, wild Up, HOCKET
8. “Mandala” – Meridian Brothers
9. “A Movie is Like a Bag of Flour” – David F. Friedman
10. “The Erotic Adventures of Zorro (Trailer)” – David F. Friedman
11. “What’ll I Do” – Art of Time Ensemble, Madeleine Peyroux
12. “Water You” – William Austin Clay
13. “Jetsam” – Kaycie Satterfield
14. “Canadian Shirley Temple” – Isness
15. “Pun Pun Catalú” – Celia Cruz, Willie Colón
16. “Revenge Mongrel” – The Great Kat
17. “Spider Blues” – Enrico Rava, Evita Polidoro, Matteo Paggi, Francesco Ponticelli, Francesco Diodati
18. “I’m Gonna Walk, Talk, and Sing” – The Blackwood Brothers Quartet, Bill Shaw

Stephen McClurg (Episode 473) composes and improvises in Serenity Dagger, The Abdomen, and other projects. Along with session work for mid-Alabama singer/songwriters, he frequently collaborates with musicians across the state adding bass, guitar, and synths to friends’ recordings. He currently writes reviews for Horror DNA and is the substitute low end wrangler for Mobile-based punk rock band Future Hate. You can find out more about his work here.