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Happy 4th Birthday, Prudent Groove!

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img_0827Well, four years ago today we dropped the needle on a cryptic and probing experiment called The Prudent Groove. This daily chore of unknown ends (and plagued beginnings) has forced us (me) to peer into the ceaseless collection with a slightly skewed and exotic perspective. (A perspective found primarily at the bottom of empty bourbon glasses and disorganized half-thoughts.) Evolution, in its lazy way, has certainly taken its form here at The Prudent Groove, but we are no closer to any conceivable goal than we were the day before we began, which, today, would be exactly four years and one day ago.

This process has been monumentally rewarding (on a personal level), and I’ve had the pleasure of interacting with patient, like-minded groove-hunters along the way (all who are much smarter, and more knowledgeable than me).

From the casual passersby to the daily squatters, thank you for allowing us to waste your time. Happy 4th birthday, Prudent Groove!

Special thanks to Old Man Hardwick for the photo art and early birthday wishes.

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Looney Twos (AKA Happy 2nd Birthday, Prudent Groove!)

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Merrie_MelodiesThis exceptionally deceiving, unusually vivacious three record comp by Warner Bros. Records titled, Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies features not the usual cast of characters you’d typically expect based on the Fudd-y duddy cover. You won’t find Speedy Gonzales, Foghorn Leghorn, or even Daffy & Bugs, but instead, a hearty helping of Frank Zappa, Arlo Guthrie, Captain Beefheart, Jimi Hendrix, Black Sabbath, Van Morrison, Little Richard, Randy Newman, The Grateful Dead, Alice Cooper, James Taylor, and The Kinks, among others.

Chosen as more of a symbol than a Saturday listen, this diverse compilation, in a way, represents the eclectic nature of the Prudent Groove which, today, turned two years old.

Happy 2nd birthday, Prudent Groove! You weren’t expected to survive, and there were several days when you narrowly escaped angry extinction. Thanks to everyone who stopped by for a photo for their iTunes metadata, left a comment, or got a chuckle out of this nonsense. 730 days is a hell-of-a long time, and 730 posts is exactly 730 too many. Thanks for stopping by!

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Prologue to the Moon

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PrologueIn a neatly, candy-coated, nutshell, here, in Time Life’s own words, lives the bullet-pointed eccentricities from disc one of To the Moon:

Side 1:

The first message from man on the moon… The moon in legend and the science… The beginning of rocketry… Tsiolkovsky… Goddard… Oberth… Goddard’s first launch… The American Rocket Society… Dorn Berger’s experiments in Germany… World War II and the V-2s.

Side 2 (which, for apparent broadcast reasons, is NOT on the same LP…):

World War II ends… U.S. seizes remaining V-2s and the German Rocket team surrenders to the Americans… H-bombs for the U.S. and the U.S.S.R…. The war in Korea… U.S. space program lags… Sputniks stun the world… The humiliation of Vanguard I and the success of Explorer I.

If that doesn’t tickle your curiosity’s fancy, then I don’t know what will!

Also: HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DAD! MAY THE MOONS AND THE STARS FOREVER SHINE UPON YOUR LIGHTED MEMORY!

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We Are Not Two, We Are One

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StrangersReleased on 1970’s Lola vs. the Powerman & the Money-Go-Round, Part One, Strangers wasn’t written or performed by The Kinks’ vehement songwriter, Ray Davies, but instead by his equally talented brother and lead guitarist, Dave Davies. Strangers is MY definitive acoustic love song. With its intercontinental grandeur, its vastness can be realized from coast to coast, from continent to continent, and from heart to heart.

Strangers is the most important song I’ve ever heard, because it, above all others, connects me with the love of my life. It acts as the vaccine to life’s woes, and the reliever of its burdens. It’s a symbol of strength, a foundation of trust, and a song of admired fervor. It is a song performed by my favorite band, and a song adored by my favorite person.

Happy birthday, Jillian. I love you.

Strangers Cover