# Favorite obscure rock/pop songs **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 15, 2003, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-obscure-rock-pop-songs/155196 "2003-02-15T02:01:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Lorenzo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4da419/32.png) [@Lorenzo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lorenzo)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2003, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-obscure-rock-pop-songs/155196/1 "2003-02-15T02:01:44Z")
Too many to list. I’m going to wait this one out and see what others post and append if no one else lists any of my favorites. If everyone else does the same, this thread will drop like a rock, which it just might do no matter what. I do love “Jackie Brown” by John Mellencamp. It’s his only song that speaks to his home state of Indiana. Very stereotypical but also very true IMHO. ---
**Author:** ![koeeoaddi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/koeeoaddi/32/408_2.png) [@koeeoaddi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/koeeoaddi)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2003, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-obscure-rock-pop-songs/155196/2 "2003-02-15T03:34:28Z")
This probably doesn’t qualify as obscure Pop/Rock, more like really obscure Folk/Weird, but my all time favorite, play at my funeral song is **A Very Cellular Song** by The Incredible String Band. amoebas are very small… ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2003, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-obscure-rock-pop-songs/155196/3 "2003-02-15T03:49:47Z")
I, too, have dozens. I love obscure songs. Some off the top of my head: “Electric Sailor” by Kak “Fresh as a Daisy” by Emitt Rhodes “Hush Hush” by the Siegel-Schwall Band “Kings and Queens” by Renaissance (no, not that Renaissance. The other one.) “21st Century Schizoid Man” by King Crimson “Birdman” by Macdonald and Giles “The Hedgehog Song” by the Incredible String Band (since **koeeoaddi** mentioned them. Any song by the Bonzo Dog Band “Licks Off of Records” by Martin Mull “Mabel” by Procol Harum “Mother’s Lament” by Cream “Hey Bulldog” by the Beatles “Apeman” by the Kinks “Lather” by the Jefferson Airplane “In a Broken Dream” by Python Lee Jackson, with guest vocalist Rod Stewart “Whammer Jammer” by the J. Geils Band “Hey, St. Peter” by Flash and the Pan (actually, anything by them, especially, “Make Your Own Cross,” “Media Man,” “Atlantis Calling,” “Captain Beware,” and “Welcome to the Universe.”) I’ll quit for now. ---
**Author:** ![Jay\_Herrick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/8baadc/32.png) [@Jay\_Herrick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jay_Herrick)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2003, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-obscure-rock-pop-songs/155196/4 "2003-02-15T04:12:10Z")
Elephant Gun - David Lee Roth, Billy Sheehan, & Steve Via ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2003, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-obscure-rock-pop-songs/155196/5 "2003-02-15T04:19:26Z")
“The Full Cleveland” - Starbuck (the Atlanta-based band that gave us “Moonlight Feels Right”) ---
**Author:** ![KarlGauss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/karlgauss/32/3713_2.png) [@KarlGauss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGauss)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2003, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-obscure-rock-pop-songs/155196/6 "2003-02-15T04:30:08Z")
\*\*The Angel Song \*\*- _SRC_ **Phoenix** - _Wishbone Ash_ **Sabre Dance** - _Love Sculpture_ **Something in the Air** - _Thunderclap Newman_ ---
**Author:** ![KarlGauss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/karlgauss/32/3713_2.png) [@KarlGauss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGauss)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2003, 4:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-obscure-rock-pop-songs/155196/7 "2003-02-15T04:31:52Z")
I forgot a great one: **Wichi Tai To** - _Jim Pepper_ ---
**Author:** ![Nightime](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/e9c0ed/32.png) [@Nightime](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nightime)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2003, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-obscure-rock-pop-songs/155196/8 "2003-02-15T04:52:48Z")
**You and Your Sister** - Chris Bell **Day of the Monkey** - The Lilys ---
**Author:** ![Hank\_Fescue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/49beb7/32.png) [@Hank\_Fescue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hank_Fescue)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2003, 5:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-obscure-rock-pop-songs/155196/9 "2003-02-15T05:16:35Z")
Yeah, Jackie Brown is good tune. Depressing as hell, but a good tune. “Shame About Ray” is one of my favorite Lemon Heads tunes. Fairly obscure. Melanie Sparks is a very obscure indie artist. Check out “San Francisco” here: [http://www.melaniesparks.com/music/sob.htm](http://www.melaniesparks.com/music/sob.htm) ---
**Author:** ![Lorenzo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4da419/32.png) [@Lorenzo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lorenzo)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2003, 5:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-obscure-rock-pop-songs/155196/10 "2003-02-15T05:39:57Z")
“Song for America”: Kansas–their absolute best tune, released two albums before Leftoverture and went nowhere on the charts, and only Wheatheads know it. “Unhappy Birthday” : The Smiths–kind of dark “Flood”: Jars of Clay My “Sleeping Bag” 's on Fire: Beck–Hard not to bust out laughing after even the 500th play. What makes it worse is that it rhymes. “Besame Mucho:” The Beatles Steely Dan: “Dirty Work”–the story of my younger sister’s life; very sad “King of the World,” “Rose Darling” and “Don’t Take me Alive” Supertramp: “Crime of the Century” and “Another Man’s Woman” Queen: “Sail Away Sweet Sister,” Theme to “Flash Gordon” and “The Wedding March,” a very tender screaming electric guitar solo ---
**Author:** ![martin\_ibn\_martin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8baadc/32.png) [@martin\_ibn\_martin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/martin_ibn_martin)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2003, 5:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-obscure-rock-pop-songs/155196/11 "2003-02-15T05:46:39Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Jay Herrick \* > \*\*Elephant Gun - David Lee Roth, Billy Sheehan, & Steve Via \*\* Billy Sheehan from Blues Traveler? Since I mention Blues Traveler…“Whoops” comes to mind. Far too long for radio play, too many transitions for general consumption. Intricate and beautiful. Martin ---
**Author:** ![Dragon\_Phoenix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bcef8e/32.png) [@Dragon\_Phoenix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dragon_Phoenix)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2003, 6:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-obscure-rock-pop-songs/155196/12 "2003-02-15T06:15:37Z")
I think many of mine will qualify but Tian tang - Tengger will be hard to beat. ---
**Author:** ![Flymaster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c4cdca/32.png) [@Flymaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flymaster)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2003, 6:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-obscure-rock-pop-songs/155196/13 "2003-02-15T06:48:40Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Lorenzo \* > **"Song for America": Kansas–their absolute best tune, released two albums before Leftoverture and went nowhere on the charts, and only Wheatheads know it.** Well, them and people with the Greatest Hits album. I agree, though. Spectacular song. ---
**Author:** ![I\_can\_t\_believe\_that\_s\_butter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/8edcca/32.png) [@I\_can\_t\_believe\_that\_s\_butter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_can_t_believe_that_s_butter)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2003, 7:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-obscure-rock-pop-songs/155196/14 "2003-02-15T07:08:10Z")
Right on as far as the **Steely Dan** album tracks. Others include _I’m Only Sleeping_ by **The Beatles** and the unfit-for-airplay fare by **David Allan Coe**. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2003, 7:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-obscure-rock-pop-songs/155196/15 "2003-02-15T07:47:01Z")
_Mercury_, by [The Clarks](http://www.clarksonline.com/). I really _should_ hate this song, based on the way it sounds on a first listen – it’s straight-forward, meat-and-potatoes rock 'n roll, which ordinarily bores me to tears. The things is, the [lyrics](http://www.lyricsfreak.com/c/clarks/25890.htm) are a brilliant, almost _Joycean_, paen to hermetic philosophy, which, if you’ve ever been around me when I’ve got a skinful of beer (or something else that starts life on amber waves of grain,) you’ll know is something that gets me pretty damned excited. > [@](#): > > _I walk through the woods on a moonlit night / I carry a compass and a small flashlight / I carry my message in a mason jar / I’m planting my seeds, they’re goin’ star-to-star._ The very definition of obscure, perfectly camouflaged by simple power-chords. And they get extra points for being from West Virginia. ---
**Author:** ![Rico](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rico/32/3582_2.png) [@Rico](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rico)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2003, 9:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-obscure-rock-pop-songs/155196/16 "2003-02-15T09:19:40Z")
_Terminal_, by Rupert Holmes. Strange story about this song. In 1978 I heard the song on a local album rock station, but didn’t catch the name or artist. In 1979 I caught the last half of the song on tape on an NBC Radio Network fill feed, so at least I had a piece of the song, even though I had no idea who or what is was. 1998, I posted on another message board some of the lyrics, and a poster came up with the answer, so I went out and found the album on CD. 20 years trying to find the song…and it’s a good one. ---
**Author:** ![Lorenzo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4da419/32.png) [@Lorenzo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lorenzo)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2003, 11:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-obscure-rock-pop-songs/155196/17 "2003-02-15T11:32:05Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Flymaster \* > **Well, them and people with the Greatest Hits album.** :smack: And Kansas has released at least 8 compilation albums featuring this tune :smack: : a (LIVE) album", two versions of their Greatest Hits, a boxed set, that London Symphony Orchestra collaboration and two other compilation albums released this year. Weak explanation: some fans who will purchase every release in a band’s catalog containing all-new material but who aren’t quite completists will not purchase compilations, even those containing a couple of new (and oftentimes forgettable) songs. Ergo, Kansas compilations weren’t part of my consideration set. I stand corrected. ---
**Author:** ![lout](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a6a055/32.png) [@lout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lout)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2003, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-obscure-rock-pop-songs/155196/18 "2003-02-15T13:32:12Z")
“Heart of Darkness” ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2003, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-obscure-rock-pop-songs/155196/19 "2003-02-15T13:39:52Z")
Well, before they scored a few hits like “Spy in the House of Love” and “Walk the Dinosaur” (and before Don Was became a highly successful producer), Was (Not Was) put out a brilliantly eclectic album called “Born to Laugh at Tornadoes.” It featured a host of unexpected guest vocalists (from Mitch Ryder to Mel Torme to Ozzy Osbourne to Dougie Fieger of the Knack), playing every imaginable rock/pop genre. Most people I know have never heard of the album… so I’d dsay every song on it qualifies as a favorite obscure song. ---
**Author:** ![Hank\_Fescue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/49beb7/32.png) [@Hank\_Fescue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hank_Fescue)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2003, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-obscure-rock-pop-songs/155196/20 "2003-02-15T14:56:16Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Joe K \* > \*\*Right on as far as the **Steely Dan** album tracks. > > Others include _I’m Only Sleeping_ by **The Beatles** and the unfit-for-airplay fare by **David Allan Coe**. \*\* “I was into whips and chains she was into pain I’d beat her ass black and blue when she called my name” From “Finger Fucking Sally” David Allen Coe And that is the weak stuff. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-obscure-rock-pop-songs/155196.md?page=2)