some of the thinkers, artists, & ideas that have left stamps on my consciousness include LAO-TZU, EPICTETUS, BUDDHA, confucius, transcendentalism, freud, marx, JUNG, nietzsche, rilke, HESSE, ANAIS NIN, huxley, adorno, marcuse, baudrillard, bakhtin, kandinsky, schoenberg, bartok, dali, wilber, r.a. wilson, said, orientalism, aesthetics, astrology, the apollonian/dionysian axis, hieronymus bosch, sark, keil, kundera, judaism, mysticism, balkanism, campbell, family psychology, embracing the totality, reclaiming femininity, dorothy parker, womens' mysteries, hermetic philosophy, the caduceus, the serpent, infinity, the convergence of spirituality and science, numerology, psychedelia, cosmic jokes, utopia, reiki, creative resistance, aesthetic philosophy, modernism, david salle, chi kung, taoist meditation, Kabbalah, jewish renewal, culture at the crossroads of East and West, alchemy, tarot, both/and, not either/or (depending, of course), paul pitchford, hippocrates, chinese medicine, the vedas, the tantras, chiromancy, homeopathy, plant medicine, body mysteries...

balkan 'gypsy' (modern): fanfare ciocarlia, esma redzepova, taraf de haidouks, saban bajramovic, mahala rai banda, kocani orkestar

turkish roma: selim sesler, muammer ketencioglu

chalgija (turkish & macedonian)

trans-carpathian: besh o drom, alexander fedouriouk & kalman magyar, ion petre stoican, kalman balogh

greek island, rebetika

neo-Balkan (made by americans): slavic soul party!, zagnut circus orkestar, ansambl mastika

neo-Balkan (made by Western Europeans): amsterdam klezmer band, 17 hippies, slonovski bal, beltuner, jaune toujours, csokolom

cinematic, beautiful, eastern-european flavored (american): devotchka, 3 leg torso, the tiny bell trio, alec k. redfearn & the eyesores, a hawk and a hacksaw, beirut

electro-tzigane: !dela dap, shantel, rona hartner/DJ click, electric gypsyland, gypsy soundsystem

klezmer (traditional, avant-garde, crossover): amsterdam klezmer band, the rabbinical school dropouts, tin hat trio, 3 leg torso, cracow klezmer band, naftule's dream, shirim, dave tarras

eastern european ska: rotfront, jammah tammah, leningrad, russendisko

post-punk: blonde redhead, wire, gang of four, the rapture, the ex, the buzzcocks, the make-up, fugazi, erase errata

japanese avant-rock: ruins, boredoms

japanese ambient: OOIOO, so, yoshimi & yuka

prog: can, amon duul

lush post-rock: radiohead, bjork, amiina

singer-songwriter: tom waits, nico, jeff buckley, keren ann, leonard cohen, luke temple

classical: bach, beethoven, mozart, schubert, scarlatti

modern classical: webern, ligeti, penderecki, bartok, stravinsky, scriabin

cinematic & beautiful: ennio morricone, robert stillman's horses

psychedelic funk: parliament, funkadelic, stevie wonder

artists that make me both rock happily and weep soulfully: jimi hendrix, led zeppelin, the doors, the beatles, john lennon, george harrison, david bowie

artists that mostly make me weep (in a good way): astor piazzolla, cesaria evora, portishead, beth gibbons, the dirty 3

superfun kitsch: esquivel, stereo total

ambient: shpongle, the orb, tortoise, officerfishdumplings

jazz fusion: mahavishnu orchestra, return to forever, john mclaughlin

jazz-punk: troglodytes, gutbucket

old-time jazz: early miles, billie holiday, django rheinhart (okay, that's gypsy jazz), ella & louie, cannonball adderly

shiny happy music with edgy lyrics: brian wilson

bands fronted by japanese female singers: cibo matto, blonde redhead, so, OOIOO

frenetic balkan/middle eastern-tinged rock: ghorar deem express, mr, bungle, estradasphere, secret chiefs 3

cheeky/geeky stuff: ween, weird al, they might be giants, residents

electronic: kraftwerk

musique francais preferee: serge gainsbourg, les belles lurettes, edith piaf, paris combo

stuff that i'm too tired to categorize: man man, the fiery furnaces, zappa, henry threadgill, cerberus shoal, tetzepi, deerhoof, stereolab, old moog music, edgard varese, marc ribot, , sonny rollins, goldfrapp, the residents, ravi shankar, iggy (& the stooges), masada, beastie boys, claudia quintet, talking heads, solex, natacha atlas, coco rosie, kurt weill, t. rex, eyvind kang, quartet of happiness, early nintendo music, damian marley, flying, electrelane, the cure