Somehow I managed to listen to an exhaustive variety of music my entire life and not hear about the astounding genius of Moondog until yesterday. Chances are that like me, you’ve heard Moondog and not realized it. His song Stamping Ground was used in The Big Lebowski, and British DJ Mr. Scruff pretty much just added beats and speeded up the Moondog tune Bird’s Lament to create the club hit Get A Move On (clip featured here). Born Louis Thomas Hardin, Moondog’s life is as interesting and unusual as his music. A minister’s son, Moondog lost his sight at the age of 16, began studying music, and in his late 20′s moved to New York. For over 20 years he chose a life playing music on the streets, eventually becoming known as The Viking of 6th Avenue. In spite of his unconventional lifestyle choice, Moondog worked with and/or was respected by such luminaries as Charlie Parker, Lester Young, Igor Stravinsky, Frank Zappa, Steve Reich, Philip Glass, and Elvis Costello. His music ranges from the charmingly simplistic to the polyrythmically canonic, often utilizing very listenable but unusual meters. As Moondog himself is quoted as saying: “I’m not gonna die in 4/4 time“. Learn more about Moondog on the official site, and maybe search YouTube, there are lots of of audio-only clips available.