Various Artists

To be taken under the wing of Nic Harcourt, the mastermind behind the tastemaking L.A. public-radio show Morning Becomes Eclectic, you need do one of three things: 1. Write gently melodic songs about moral uplift and the triumph of the human spirit. 2. Fold into your music mild hints of...

By Mikael Wood

January 20, 2005

[
        {
          "name": "Air - MediumRectangle - Inline Content - Mobile Display Size",
          "component": "18855504",
          "insertPoint": "2",
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "2"
        },{
          "name": "Editor Picks",
          "component": "17105533",
          "insertPoint": "4",
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "1"
        },{
          "name": "Inline Links",
          "component": "18349797",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 8,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "7",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        },{
          "name": "Air - MediumRectangle - Combo - Inline Content",
          "component": "17105532",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 8,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "7",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        },{
          "name": "Inline Links",
          "component": "18349797",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 12,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "11",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        },{
          "name": "Air - Leaderboard Tower - Combo - Inline Content",
          "component": "17105535",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 12,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "11",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        }
      ]

To be taken under the wing of Nic Harcourt, the mastermind behind the tastemaking L.A. public-radio show Morning Becomes Eclectic, you need do one of three things: 1. Write gently melodic songs about moral uplift and the triumph of the human spirit. 2. Fold into your music mild hints of international exotica. 3. Espouse the good-natured lefty politics public radio pretty much exists to espouse. On Sounds Eclectic 3, the third compilation of intimate live performances culled from the show's on-air archives, Harcourt assembles a handy set of examples from which to draw inspiration. From the first category you get slightly scaled-down tent-revival alt-pop from homepeople The Polyphonic Spree, a woozy piano-bar reading of The Flaming Lips' "Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots, Pt. 1" and Damien Rice's personal-as-always "The Blower's Daughter," which thanks to the trailer for Closer now joins the Shins' "New Slang" as a song I will forever associate with Natalie Portman's face. This Eclectic is light on the second category--"Mirando de Lado," by Mexican dance-rock act Kinky, is as international as it gets, unless you count a ragged "Take Me Out" by Glasgow's Franz Ferdinand. As for the third, alt-country maverick Steve Earle represents with "Jerusalem," his spine-tingling plea for peace in the Middle East. Sounds Eclectic 11? It's yours, dude.

Become A Member

BEFORE YOU GO...
Can you help us continue to share our stories? Since the beginning, Dallas Observer has been defined as the free, independent voice of Dallas — and we'd like to keep it that way. Our members allow us to continue offering readers access to our incisive coverage of local news, food, and culture with no paywalls.