Gene M., one of our super-swell readers who contributed the lost files of Ruth Welcome's "Zither Magic" album recently, has gifted us with another album called "Zither Magic" that couldn't be more different. In contrast to Welcome's minimal one-(wo)man-band arrangements, old-world folkiness and classy '50s cocktail lounge feel, Karl Swoboda's "Zither Magic" is a big, brassy, fully orchestrated, swingin' Sixties album that reduces the role of the zither to a kind of almost surf-y lead guitar over twist/swim/frug-able versions of hit pop songs. Don't dread yet another version of "Yesterday" - this one swings like a rusty gate, dad, played at a breakneck tempo that Mr. McCartney probably never envisioned. "Theme From A Summer Place" could be a Dean Martin backing track. A beautifully dreamy "Ebb Tide" takes a break from the craziness to take us on a stroll down a lonely beach. "The In-Crowd" is wild enough to get Twiggy workin' that mini-skirt. Outta sight!Karl Swoboda - "Zither Magic"Thanks Gene!
Paul Rubenstein: Microtonal Music on Homemade InstrumentsWe first wrote about Paul "Ubertar" Rubenstein in 2009 when he was leading microtonal guitar-building workshops for New York children. They would then jam on these groov ... 
Ultimate Ultimate Xanadu Not just the ultimate Xanadu collection. No way, we leave that to other, poorer blogs. We've got the Ultimate Ultimate Xanadu collection. Two disks worth of covers of so ... 
Le Enfant Terrible: Music Made from Pots, Pans, and ToysManchester band Le Enfant Terrible sent me a link to their new album, describing it thusly: "It's effectively 'World Music' but not quite. It's music made ... 
DEB DOES KENTUCKYHad a request from a reader in Morocco (!) for a few albums originally hosted by the late, great site Bellybongo. Tho I don't have albums by Lynn Rockwell or The Trilog ... 
GUNS TURNED INTO MUSICAL INSTRUMENTSHere's an idea who's time has truly come: a project called "Imagine" in which Mexican artist Pedro Reyes leads a team that takes guns donated from citizens of ... 
