A sample of some obscure - and maybe not obscure - tunes from my strange and off-the-wall collection.

Today's dual selection: Amethystium - "Ilona"/"Shadow To Light"

Amethystium is a solo music project by the Norwegian Øystein Ramfjord.

Ilona is one of my favorites from the album Odonata (1999/2001)
Shadow To Light is considered one of the best from his album Aphelion (2003).

"Amethystium could be described as a subtler Delerium, a less self-conscious Enigma, or a second cousin to Mythos. Ramfjord favors a lighter, spacier vibe than most of the aforementioned acts though."

Does that help?

Øystein was 18 when he released his first album Odonata as a free mp3 download in 1999.

A sample of some obscure - and maybe not obscure - tunes from my strange and off-the-wall collection.

Today's selection: Josh Ritter - Harrisburg 2002

Josh Ritter was born in 1976 in Moscow, Idaho - "beautiful little town in the middle of wheat fields in the northern part of Idaho.". After graduating from high school, he entered an Ohio college to study neuroscience but ended up creating his own major in "American History Through Narrative Folk Music" and recorded his debut album on campus. After graduation, he moved to Scotland for 6 months, then back to the States, then to Ireland as an opening act for Irish band The Flames.

His father had grown up in Pennsylvania and on family trips as a child from a small town, the dome of the capital Harrisburg made an impression on him, eventually inspiring his song "Harrisburg" released in 2002. "The song of 'Harrisburg' was much longer, initially, and I thought of this person desperately trying to make their way to a place that they hope would be better, and Harrisburg was that place."

It's a long way to Heaven, it's closer to Harrisburg
And that's still a long way from the place where we are
And if evil exists, it's a pair of train tracks
And the devil is a railroad car

He worked with Bob Weir on Weir's third solo album, Blue Mountain

Josh Ritter has now released 13 albums. About his latest, I Believe in You, My Honeydew (2025):
“That's the best part about songs, is that what comes out is never what you think is going to come out and you can't ever run away from yourself. I'm so proud that you can hear Idaho in there because that's under there all the time. And I feel like I draw on it sometimes without even knowing.”

A sample of some obscure - and maybe not obscure - tunes from my strange and off-the-wall collection.

Today's selection: Kiffness & Alugalug - Soulful Singing 2021

A duet. A strange duet.

The Kiffness, the stage name of David Scott, born 1988, is a South African performer. He began studying medicine but switched to music and philosophy while working as a DJ. He had been a touring artist but when COVID halted live performances, he started recording some parodies about how the South African government was handling the pandemic.

He mostly writes political satirical songs aimed at South Africa issues, but he parodied Trump's claim of Haitians eating people's pets in 2024 (which I happen to believe was true but maybe not as widespread as media let on).

The Kiffness plays the instruments and backup vocals on this selection.

Alugalug is the lead singer on this cut, singing in her native language ...

There is an album available called "Cat Jams". It's actually not bad ...

A sample of some obscure - and maybe not obscure - tunes from my strange and off-the-wall collection.

Today's double selection: Camel Medley: Nimrodel/The Procession/The White Rider 1974

Off one of my favorite albums, this medley off "Mirage" is inspired by "Lord of the Rings".

I've blown out speakers cranking this piece up at about 7:00. My solution? Get bigger speakers and crank it up further.

Camel was formed in England in 1971, Mirage being their second album. Their first performance was as the opening band for Wishbone Ash. Back in the mid-70s, they toured with Wishbone Ash quite a bit - I believe I saw those bands together in 1974 at a place called "The Icehouse" in Kalamazoo before I left Michigan although I can find no record of such a concert. Everything's on the internet except my memory.

The original lineup produced 4 albums until 1976 when personnel changes began. One member of the original band is still part of the group. Not fully active since 2002, they still perform live occasionally.

A sample of some obscure - and maybe not obscure - tunes from my strange and off-the-wall collection.

Today's double selection: Leonard Cohen/Iggy Pop "You Want It Darker" - 2016/2022

Leonard Cohen's last album, released on his 82nd birthday and 17 days before he died - this being the title track. Iggy Pop recorded a cover of this song for "A Tribute To Leonard Cohen" in 2022.

Leonard Cohen was born in Quebec in 1934. He was a poet and novelist but began a music career in the mid-60s. His most famous song was "Hallelujah" released in 1984. He stopped recording in 1991. In 2005, he discovered that his money and publishing rights had been stolen by his manager so he returned to music and released three more albums. "You Want It Darker" was released three weeks before he died in 2016.

Jim Osterberg Jr was born in Muskegon, MI and began later moved to Ann Arbor. Although he began as a drummer, he found his calling as a front-man. His rise to fame as Iggy Pop began when he was the song-writer and vocalist of the local Detroit band, "Iggy & The Stooges". Considered a proto-punk band, they produced two albums before breaking up due to Iggy's heroin addiction. The name "Iggy" came from an earlier band called "The Iguanas". The rest of the band began calling Iggy "Pop" in reference to another local character who had a similar look after shaving his eyebrows. Iggy Pop wrote David Bowie's hit "China Girl" and other songs covered by Bowie.