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.”

V.         Folklore tells us that the gift of a knife will sever a relationship. This may have developed 

from ceremonial rites in warrior cultures in which the initiated made an offering of flesh  in order to stand among the chosen. The offering took the form of finger joints, foreskin, or earlobes. Today, offering a penny in exchange for the blade will suffice and is possibly a reflection of the worth in our society for classical values.

Where is our whetstone of Tudwal Tudglyd?

The Gift That Severs

Listen on Tidal. Listen on Spotify.

1. “Ocularity” – Reggie Watkins
2. “last call love songs” – Black Light Animals
3. “Dublin, May 25th, 2018” – Bloomers
4. “Tarzan” – Sly & Robbie, Yellowman
5. “Ingo Swann” – Flying Lotus
6. “Cowboy Hat” – Bryan Ferry, Amelia Barratt
7. “The Wrong Way” – Alison Krauss
8. “Drinking With the Prince” – The Pine Hill Haints
9. “Brian: Agamemnon: IX. Come Thou, Too, In” – English National Opera Orchestra and Chorus
10. “Cicuta Virosa” – Scanner, Nurse With Wound
11. “Zero Zero UFO” – Ramones
12. “Golden Path” – Stimming
13. “No cones” – Dietrichs
14. “Enjoy the Silence” – Bobby Rausch

Stephen McClurg (Episode 473 & 666) 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.