Eclectic.

Yup, that's the word. Describes my tastes in music perfectly.

Kind of hard to explain how I got that way. Like a lot of folks from my year, I did my part with piano lessons. Twice. Once in elementary school and then again in high school.  "I could have been a contender." Should have stuck with it as much as still today I get a kick out of listening to a good piano player. Like this guy.

I got an exposure to music and radio in high school with a summer internship at an adult contemporary AM station in San Francisco. That's all gone now, but it was a good bit of musical exposure. So again, like many people, I discovered the Beatles and the Beach Boys in the early part of high school. Then came FM radio and more before my senior year. Albums like Journey's "Escape" were a part of the early days of compact disc as I learned there was more to like.

That's not to say that I sold my soul to rock and roll. Also in high school, I discovered the wonders of the 78 rpm disc. I inherited a fair number of those discs, which I still have and damn, they are heavy all together! Just ask anyone who has helped me through the last three moves. But, oh those sounds... everything from Al Jolson to Benny Goodman to Spike Jones and back again. Even Disney soundtracks like Saludos Amigos on 78's found their way to the turntable. And the turntable was only the beginning. A used Heathkit amplifier powered speakers in a couple of vintage cabinets to make sound great sounds.

So, I'm the kind of person who Apple loves. When it comes to the iTunes music store, I've made purchases all over the musical map. But today, I wanna mention a specific series of discs. Full of tunes from a time that was well, just cool. It's that period between the big days of the big bands and the full height of rock and roll. The 50's into the 60's. Someone named it "Lounge" music.

I don't know who, but some where is the person at Capitol Records who woke up one morning and decided that there was money waiting to be made by packaging all of those old recordings for a new generation. Using the Ultra Lounge designation, they put together some great compilations that really capture the sound of that time.

What started off with a sampler has blown on to 35 plus albums, er discs, of music with all kinds of themes. Try on Bongoland, Cocktail Capers, Bachelor Pad Royale or Wild, Cool & Swingin' just for a start. It's hard not to get caught up in the rythms of those selections. Gotta go back to the days of the neighborhood cocktail parties to recall some of these tunes.

Check out the website for some sounds along with some classic cocktail recipes and see for yourself.

It's just cool... in a square sort of way.