MUSIC: Circular Music, A Cure for Computer Induced A.D.D.

It's time for another episode of Circular Music. Actually, this is not an episode but my thoughts on the diverse compilations of  really good music, meticulously crafted and produced by Orlando podcaster Peter Fuller. As he says, "like every other chucklehead in America, [he] has a microphone and [he's] going to use it." And I'd like to thank him for doing so by telling you about his talent for generating excellent compilations of "Underground Pop."

Circular music is about interesting music (interesting meaning you won't hear it on the radio) like Electro Pop, Indie Pop, Disco Punk, French, Swedish, Spanish, Loungecore, and glitch for example. Have you ever heard of Paper Moon, Tahiti 80, Kinky Maria Jose, Chambao, or The Notwist? Neither had I, until Circular Music. Chances are you'll like the stuff just as I do! Pete spends a lot, and I mean A LOT, of time researching music from artists that come from all across the globe. He then balances styles, tones, tempos, feelings, moods and many other variables to put together theme-based episodes. Each one comes to life with symmetry, fluidity, and best of all - character of their own. If you're into modern music that's been influenced by the sixties check out Circular Music #19.  Need something to help you wind down after a long day so you can head off to Cozyville? Listen to episode 24, Juno Sleeps. How about music that's great to digest to... #27, Lakehaus.

Adding to the character of the compilations is Pete himself. Injected throughout the podcasts are little pockets of commentary revealing personal reactions to songs and their relationship to an episode as a whole. He never takes himself too seriously and offers his compilations in the purest gesture of giving. After all, he never asks you for money for downloading the shows. Though in my opinion, the man should be well paid for the work he's doing. Any way, add to this an undeniably wry delivery and what you have is sweet humanity piping out from the coldest entertainment medium in your house, your computer.

For example, at the end of Electro Pop themed episode 4 when the hyped-up and infectiously grand song Bucky Done Gun by M.I.A. finishes playing, Pete impassively states, "Uhhh, Man. There's really nothing we can do except wipe the sweat off our brow." The dichotomy of this is funny to me. REALY FUNNY. Or quirky... What ever you want to call the flavor, Circular Music is good for the soul. In this age when computer induced A.D.D. has many of us schizophrenically hopping from website to website during a so called work day, Pete Fuller's Circular Music grounds us back to the soil of Earth via the umbilical cord of coherent and intelligent music mixes that are delivered with the sweat of a human's touch.

As I mentioned earlier, you're not likely to hear this music on the radio... but there is a chance some of these tunes will end up in T.V. ads. Groups that Pete's featured in the past, like Feist, The Go! Team and The Bird and The Bee, have now sold song rights for advertising. But the important thing to note is that Pete is mixing the, unbeknownst to him, soon to be marketing gold into the podcasts months before they end up in ads. So if you're interested in "Under the Radar" music before its inevitable detection, check out the grooves of Circular Music. They can be downloaded for FREE on iTunes or Podnova. You've got nothing to loose and a world of music to gain.

To learn more about Circular Music, checkout Pete Fuller's myspace page at myspace.com/circularmusic.  Bye the way, he's up to episode 27 now. You're going to want to catch up if you haven't downloaded them all already.

Thanks for reading. TTYL.