I’m not talkin’ about songs your grandma may have made up, I’m talkin’ about something that maybe a local band may have done or even by a well-known artist. The only catch here is that the song must have been commercially available. Even if it was only a couple hundred copies distributed in your home town.
Here’s a few:
“The Full Cleveland” - Starbuck
The same band that gave us “Moonlight Feels Right” and “Everybody Be Dancin’” put this out in 1983. From what I’ve been able to search on the 'net, this song was never available on an album, just a 45. It also doesn’t appear on their compilation album put out in 1999. It did not make the Top 200.
“Anybody Can Love That Way” & “Cockroach Blues” - The JoJa Band
A local band here in Savannah in the 70’s. They put out two albums of original material. I had a copy of the second album, City Lights. that was given to me by the brother of the former bass player (whew!). The first album, Cold Winds, proved to be more difficult to find. My friend was unable to get me a copy. I DID find a copy on eBay and was outbid! I ended up getting a copy from an online record store in Missouri!
“Sleigh Ride Jingle Bells” - The Caroleer Singers and Orchestra
Obscure kids’ Christmas album I bought at a supermarket when I was 10 or 11.
It was in an episode of “Buffy The Vampire Slayer”. It was also on their label debut, Magazine, on Breakin’ Records. One of their other songs, “Come Out Clean” was on the top 40. They’re friends of mine. You can still buy their album, but you can usually only find it in independant record stores. They have a new album out, called Vertigo, which is very good.
This song was also on “Party of Five”, when the youngest sister got her first kiss or had sex for the first time, I can’t remember. It wasn’t really that memorable of an episode, I guess.
One of my college friends knew somebody who started this band. They got as far as cutting one tape. I assume it was available through some sort of legitimate channels, but I have no idea what they were. Somehow a copy made it into my circle of friends, and one of them put this song on a mix tape for me.
It kicks and jams.
I am told by reliable sources that the rest of the tape sucks. The original tape is long lost. But I still have my second generation copy. I’ve run it through some filtering software to try and clean it up a little, and passed it on to other mix tapes. It sounds to me like a very up-tempo Billy Bragg. Searches on the web for any trace of the band or the song turn up absolutely nothing.
*She looks like a face off an album cover
sitting on the back of a little motor scooter.
She’s headed for an institute downtown,
And you can write than down,
And play it on your piano.
She’s just the sort of girl every modern mother’s
Hoping that her son’s gonna marry only cuter,
Everybody knows
She’s got a thousand years to go-o-o-.*
As opposed to all the rest of my music, which is just run-of-the-mill obscure.
Ooh. Good topic! My favorite subject, music… Anyways, the following songs are of varying levels of obscurity.
Thrice - Identity Crisis. I thought they were a local band – local to the LA area, but still – however I recently saw their cds in a Best Buy here in Oregon. Apparently they’re getting a lot more distribution now that they’ve signed with Subcity. Well deserved – they have a fairly unique sound and excellent song-writing talent. I like many of their songs, but Identity Crisis was the first I ever heard, and it’s still an amazing song.
Longfellow - Fading into Forgotten. Another “local” band. I guess they’re a punk band, but of a less bouncy and upbeat type than the typical Blink182 wannabes. I think they have a cd or 2 out. Fading into Forgotten is my favorite song by them, I think. Their cover of The Crowd (by Op Ivy) is also good fun.
Operation Ivy - Knowledge. They aren’t exactly an obscure band at least in the punk scene, but they’re not exactly played on MTV either. If you don’t know, they were one of the first skapunk bands to effectively combine the genres. They survived for 2 years, '87-'89, and broke up. Two of the members later became part of Rancid. They have developed a cult following; they apparently sell more cds now than they did when they were together. It’s for a good reason, in my opinion – their music is still as alive and catchy and full of sheer energy as it was in the '80’s. (Their only full-length cd was named Energy for an obvious reason.)
I could go on and on and on, but I think that’s enough for now…
Heh, I have the same problem as Tanaqui and Blackhawkeye, I could list until I get bored. However I’ll go with some that people would probably know the artists but not necessarily the songs.
Where the Wild Roses Grow by Nick Cave and Kylie Minogue
Binah - Crescent Suns (Collaboration between Hallucinogen and Jewel)
That’s all I can think of in that vein at the moment.
“Hey Goodbye” by Macha Loved Bedhead.
Macha and Bedhead are/were(?) shoegazing type bands with people originally from my hometown that made lovely music, and they got together and made a wonderful Ep named Bedhead Loved Macha. The first time I heard the song I fell in love with it. I guess the emotion in it just really connected with me.
And the last hidden track on the Ep is the most brilliant cover I’ve ever heard: “Believe” originally by Cher, but sung by a tired sounding guy messing with a touchtone phone.
I’m much too tired to adequately describe Macha and Bedhead and how great they are, but they are two of my favorite obscure bands and make my favorite obscure music.
If we’re counting local bands, Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey do a pseudo sequel to Mtv Get Off the Air originally by the Dead Kennedys. Of course, if you happen live in Tulsa, Ok they aren’t all that obscure.
Oooh, good choice, Intaglio. “Shape of My Heart” is probably my favorite Sting song… especially after it was used to end The Professional so perfectly.
Some of my more obscure favorites…
Kirsty Hawkshaw - “Leafy Lane” (had to order the Japanese CD to get this one)
Opus III - “Dreaming of Now”
Lori Carson - “16 Days”
Tangerine Dream - “Ricochet” (an album that is a song)
Heather Nova - “Winterblue”
Blackhawkeye, don’t be angry… be proud that you like things that are not of the norm.
I could mention my uncle, a.k.a. Helios Creed, but I don’t really care for his music. Plus his album covers used to freak me out as a kid. But with songs like “Pissing On The Produce” and “Oh Shit: What Do We Do?” it certainly reads intersting.
Lawsuit was a pseudo-ska band from Davis, CA who put on the most incredible concerts I’ve ever been to. Two of my favorite songs are by them, “Anything” and “Picture Book Pretty” (from the all-around great album Emergency Third Rail Power Trip).
And Donkey is an Atlanta band that played swing when I was into them, but I hear have gradually moved away from that (along with the rest of the country, apparently). Anyway, the song “Blowout” from 10-Cent Freaks is another of my favorites.
Another Atlanta band, Follow For Now used to do an amazing cover of Public Enemy’s “She Watch Channel Zero” that I like even better than the original.
Good topic! My favorite subject, music… Anyways, the following songs are of varying levels of obscurity.