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.”

At-Risk

I never told anyone about the faces
I saw in the wood paneling,

or the Tron Light Cycle
I stole and hid in the closet,

or taking the candies from friends’ houses,
licorice, lime, root beer,

about being four and kicking
a cat that clawed me,

about the time I couldn’t stop laughing at “Taps” 
whimpered through the chapped lips 
of a trumpeter at a winter funeral.

Slow Learner
Listen on Tidal. Listen on Spotify.

1. “Captura de Lobos” – Los Orientales de Paramongo
2. “I Wanted a Map” – Henry Threadgill, Vijay Iyer, Dafnis Prieto
3. “KUCHIYADA” – ANSIEDAD1000
4. “Letters” – Maisy Owen
5. “The anxieties of our time” – Russell Haswell
6. “Umoja Unity” – Nicola Conte
7. “Ain’t That Deep” – Tank and The Bangas
8. “Sister of Boom” – Tok Yathraa
9. “Hino-Tori” – Takkak Takkak
10. “Jump Cut Moers 5 (Live)” – Elliott Sharp, Carbon
11. “Piano Piece IX” – Samuel Andreyev
12. “Section 7: White Noise” – Suzanne Ciani, Metropode Orkest, Simon Dobson
13. “Sweet Sad Saint” – Wray

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.