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.”

The Grip

of mitts is many. 
Squeeze the cows,
clutch the buckets,
abandon bootstraps 

long enough 
to be hanged on.
Stumps idle–
like industry

engines.
A crow’s caw–
the burning letters 
of neon federalists.

Chop and swing, 
no time to open
hands these days. 

No rain in months. 
The lake near me 
just wide enough 
to bathe one’s foot.

The Grip

Listen on Tidal. Listen on Spotify.

1. “Delicioso” – Florian Hutter
2. “What Is Soul? (Live at Winchester Cathedral, 1967)” – Sly & The Family Stone
3. “Round Count Up” – Ferenc Nemeth, Dayna Stephens, Massimo Biolcati
4. “Shostakovich: String Quartet No. 8 in C Minor, Op. 110. II. Allegro molto” – Cuarteto Casals
5. “Life Immortal” – Cenotaph
6. “Impromptu No. 5” – John Zorn, Brian Marsella, Jorge Roeder, Ches Smith
7. “Unmapping the Unmapping” – Ezekiel Honig
8. “Good Behavior Bond” – Jess Ribeiro
9. “The Way Down” – Lori Goldston
10. “Return of the Repressed” – Jamie Lidell
11. “Rot In Helvetica” – NODEGA
12. “A Secret Third Thing” – Trey Lane
13. “Hot Iron” – RayonBase
14. “rare i” – Sophie Agnel, John Butcher
15. “Michigan” – Styx

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.