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.”

A Foggy Came a Courting 

cross our countryside 
those froggy mornings
she called them 
I smiled but 
thought tin ignorance 
yearling yearning 
to throne the hill
of so many hills
looking back 
cheeks burn
like the edges 
of old postcard corners 
dulled like eye teeth
I bite softer these days 
and look backward 
more often than forward 
tilt the twins in the playground 
who tormented me 
not knowing them twins
and the preacher’s kids
who made sure 
the top of the rocket 
wasn’t for me 
and the slide only led down
but the froggy mornings were mine 
if only for a few minutes mist

Froggy Days

Listen on Tidal. Listen on Spotify.

1. “Family Affair (Questlove Rhythm King Edit)” – Sly & The Family Stone
2. “Angels and Demons at Play” – Marshall Allen
3. “Del Cielo Te Cuido” – The Altons
4. “Saloum Theme” – Reksider
5. “Ser Libre” – Reksider
6. “Cat Chase” – Alan Silvestri
7. “Subdued” – Gaiko
8. “Perdue dans la cité (Lost in the city)” – Jean-Claude Vannier, Vincent Beer-Demander, Grégory Daltin
9. “False Eyelashes” – Dolly Parton
10. “Watermelon Man” – Mama Terra
11. “Dancing Bears” – Ra-Kalam Bob Moses
12. “Tree of Life” – Art d’Ecco
13. “Before the Dawn” – Judas Priest
14. “All These Little Things” – The Velveteers
15. “Fishbowl” – Findlay
16. “Lipím” – John Patitucci, Chris Potter, Brian Blade
17. “This Old Man” – Bruce Haack

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.