# Rediscovering obscure old songs from your youth
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rediscovering-obscure-old-songs-from-your-youth/737234
**Category:** Cafe Society
**Tags:** music
**Created:** [November 10, 2015, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rediscovering-obscure-old-songs-from-your-youth/737234 "2015-11-10T23:14:10Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 6
### Author:  [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)
#### Post date: [February 20, 2018, 5:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rediscovering-obscure-old-songs-from-your-youth/737234/101 "2018-02-20T05:16:06Z")
For some reason, the phrase “traffic city, what a pity” popped into my head this evening, and I wondered if it might be from a song. And guess what? I was right! I probably hadn’t heard this in 30 years.
It’s from Styx’ first album, and at 13 minutes, it goes without saying that it’s rather, ahem, proggy.
[ ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5NBZTkPxWek)
---
### Author:  [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)
#### Post date: [February 20, 2018, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rediscovering-obscure-old-songs-from-your-youth/737234/102 "2018-02-20T16:26:03Z")
> [@Chihuahua](#):
>
> Zombie thread, but still:
>
> I heart “Tweeter and the Monkey Man.”
>
> One day I tried playing Travelling Wilburys for my co-workers, and they were like, “What the heck is this?”
I love that song, but occasionally I wonder, even in the world of Dylan’s imagination, what’s a souvenir stand doing by an old abandoned factory? They’d probably go days in between customers!
> [@nearwildheaven](#):
>
> Roy Orbison’s last project before his untimely and premature death, that’s what!
>
> Also Jeff Lynne, Tom Petty, George Harrison, and Bob Dylan.
>
> 🆒🆒
“Not Alone Anymore” is another of my favorites from that album. The album as a whole makes me think that Orbison would have been much better as an integral part of a combo, rather than a solo artist. Kinda like the way the Beatles were all better as Beatles than as solo artists.
---
### Author:  [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)
#### Post date: [February 20, 2018, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rediscovering-obscure-old-songs-from-your-youth/737234/103 "2018-02-20T16:38:30Z")
Since there’s been some discussion of versions of Grieg’s “In the Hall of the Mountain King” in this thread, here’s [Beethoven’s Wig](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZmTWj-YEU8U):
\*
Here’s a piece that’s quite perverse
It’s the same every verse
So for better or for worse
We’ve 17 to go \*
---
### Author:  [@GargoyleWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GargoyleWB)
#### Post date: [February 20, 2018, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rediscovering-obscure-old-songs-from-your-youth/737234/104 "2018-02-20T17:18:50Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#):
>
> I liked their album “Hunkpapa”, and saw them in 1991. Unfortunately, the show was less than stellar.
>
> Kristen Hersh is still performing, and published a book some years back about her battle with bipolar disorder.
I’ve seen both TM and Kristen Hersh many times. They are _not_ to be seen for any sort of stage presence or dynamics. They pump great music out of the amps, but are otherwise motionless at the mic stands.
For the OP, I’ve been diving back into **Grant Lee Buffalo** who I was a little bit aware of and liked back in the 90s but got distracted by different music at the time.
---
### Author:  [@Les\_Espaces\_Du\_Sommeil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Les_Espaces_Du_Sommeil)
#### Post date: [February 20, 2018, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rediscovering-obscure-old-songs-from-your-youth/737234/105 "2018-02-20T17:31:25Z")
Perhaps not really obscure but still…
A few months ago, as I was leaving the supermarket, I heard a soft piano melody on the radio that immediately rang a very distant bell. I know that song. 1980s for sure. The verse was familiar, too but I still couldn’t quite place it. And then the epic chorus blasted out and I was completely [transfixed](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s3iNjV-Hzvg).
I loved, loved, loved that song when I was a kid, but I’m certain I hadn’t heard it in… decades, really. As soon as I got back home, I played it on youtube 2-3 times, something that I never do.
That was a weirdly bittersweet feeling.
---
### Author:  [@Roy\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roy_Batty)
#### Post date: [February 20, 2018, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rediscovering-obscure-old-songs-from-your-youth/737234/106 "2018-02-20T18:52:15Z")
Great thread & topic. As I’ve gotten older (I’m in my late 40’s), this happens more & more often. Two specific examples in the past year:
-I’m a huge cinephile, and recently watched a great & underrated Australian movie called _Little Fish_ (2005). It stars Cate Blanchett as a woman in her 30’s who is re-evaluating her life & dealing with the after-effects of some bad decisions she made when she was younger. Great indy film, and at one point she hears the song “Flame Trees” being sung by a group of children. When I heard this song, it stirred my memory of hearing the _original_ song back in the mid-late '80’s, on the radio. The song was originally sung/composed by the Australian pop group Cold Chisel. I’m in the U.S., and don’t remember hearing it that much here, but I guess it made a huge splash in Australia at the time. Prior to seeing this movie, I hadn’t heard (or thought) about the song in 30+ years. In any case, I actually prefer the version from the film better - I find it to be much more haunting & melancholy:
[![]( " - YouTube") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PyQSsuNe-Bk)
-I also recently watched _Super Dark Times_ (2017), a very disturbing film about a crime committed by some teens growing up in the 1990’s. During a party scene in the film, in the background you could hear the song “Standing outside a broken phone booth with money in my hand” by “Primitive Radio Gods”. Great song & one that was all over the radio back in '96. However, I hadn’t thought about this in years, until this film.
---
### Author:  [@Roy\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roy_Batty)
#### Post date: [February 20, 2018, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rediscovering-obscure-old-songs-from-your-youth/737234/107 "2018-02-20T18:58:12Z")
To add to my last post:
-I was surfing the 'Net a couple of years ago, and came across a song from my youth, “Self Control” by the late _Laura Branigan_. I remembered hearing the song on the radio back in the '80’s, but hadn’t thought about this in years. In any case, I ended up seeing the video on YouTube (for the very first time), and found it haunting & creepy. Great stuff here, and IMHO Self Control was Branigan’s best song. She was truly gorgeous back in the day, and could really dance 😉
---
### Author:  [@Jeff\_Lichtman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeff_Lichtman)
#### Post date: [February 20, 2018, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rediscovering-obscure-old-songs-from-your-youth/737234/108 "2018-02-20T20:32:39Z")
How about:
[Pata Pata](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zq5S5sH1Ikk) by Miriam Makeba
[Israelites](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mxtfdH3-TQ4) by Desmond Dekker
[I Love Onions](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KM-lEhhsLQw) by Susan Christie
---
### Author:  [@Brown\_Eyed\_Girl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brown_Eyed_Girl)
#### Post date: [February 20, 2018, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rediscovering-obscure-old-songs-from-your-youth/737234/109 "2018-02-20T23:15:44Z")
Not exactly from my very young youth, but Dutch band Urban Dance Squad was fairly obscure in the U.S. in the 90s ([this song](https://youtu.be/K4Dw6q-5iaA) rose to #22 on Billboard Hot 100) and I don’t remember it at all. My son finds obscure bands/songs that I like and happened across this one. You can really hear the influences and commonalities with more popular bands of the era, specifically Red Hot Chili Peppers, Living Color and Rage Against the Machine. Their video Fast Lane has cameos of LA artists Henry Rollins, Mike Muir, and Flea. It looks like Ice T is also in it holding Malcolm X’s autobiography and a gun, but I can’t confirm. That song was apparently in the movie Pump Up The Volume, but it wasn’t on the soundtrack that I had.
---
### Author:  [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)
#### Post date: [February 23, 2018, 5:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rediscovering-obscure-old-songs-from-your-youth/737234/110 "2018-02-23T05:45:15Z")
> [@Roy\_Batty](#):
>
> To add to my last post:
>
> -I was surfing the 'Net a couple of years ago, and came across a song from my youth, “Self Control” by the late _Laura Branigan_. I remembered hearing the song on the radio back in the '80’s, but hadn’t thought about this in years. In any case, I ended up seeing the video on YouTube (for the very first time), and found it haunting & creepy. Great stuff here, and IMHO Self Control was Branigan’s best song. She was truly gorgeous back in the day, and could really dance 😉
I did not know Laura Branigan had died. 47 is way too young. ☹
Anyway, my favorite LB story is this one: I was in an aerobic dance class and the instructor said that our next routine would be to “Gloria”. My first thought was, “U2? Cool!” and then realized that it was the Branigan song of the same name. :o
Here’s the U2 song. It does have a good beat, but most people would have a hard time dancing to it.
And the Laura Branigan song.
[ ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=355Fk8drgZE)
---
### Author:  [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)
#### Post date: [February 23, 2018, 6:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rediscovering-obscure-old-songs-from-your-youth/737234/111 "2018-02-23T06:56:42Z")
These songs take me back to 1975–77, a pretty eventful time in my life:
Hurricane Smith, “What Would You Say?” (Yes, the one Frasier sang)
The Carpenters, "Only Yesterday"
Roger Whittaker, "The Last Farewell"
Lynsey Paul, "No, Honestly"
[ ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kz06eCFF-oI)
The Carpenters, “Top of the World”
[ ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9-gDWnzs4Kc)
John Denver, “Back Home Again”
Don McLean, "Wonderful Baby"
Orleans, "Dance with Me"
[ ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-IXJLgRnvs)
Johnny Burnette, “You’re Sixteen”
[ ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wjy-OMIyXbg)
The Three Degrees, “When Will I See You Again?”
Janis Ian, "At Seventeen"
John Denver, "I'm Sorry"
Twiggy, "Here I Go Again"
Sunny, "Maybe in the Morning"
Hi, Gina! :o
---
### Author:  [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)
#### Post date: [February 23, 2018, 7:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rediscovering-obscure-old-songs-from-your-youth/737234/112 "2018-02-23T07:17:44Z")
> [@terentii](#):
>
> Sunny, “Maybe in the Morning”
Sorry, no “in.” My mistake. :smack:
---
### Author:  [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)
#### Post date: [February 23, 2018, 7:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rediscovering-obscure-old-songs-from-your-youth/737234/113 "2018-02-23T07:31:49Z")
This is a fun thread to read thru, but I don’t know what I can contribute as far as myself _rediscovering_ any music from my youth because I still own all the music that I’ve ever bought (and I buy a lot of music). I’ve been buying records for myself since I was about 7 or 8 years old. Hell, I still have [this 45](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AeevTbc-LT0); I’ve been rocking out to that song for 51 years now.
---
### Author:  [@Les\_Espaces\_Du\_Sommeil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Les_Espaces_Du_Sommeil)
#### Post date: [February 23, 2018, 9:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rediscovering-obscure-old-songs-from-your-youth/737234/114 "2018-02-23T09:08:24Z")
[quote=“nearwildheaven, post:110, topic:737234”]
And the Laura Branigan song.
[/QUOTE]
I didn’t know she had covered it. I’m much more familiar with [**Umberto Tozzi** ’s original](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HYvuWlOnBjI) (I’ve always loved the transition to minor at 0:50).
This reminds me that [Italian](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aoif1D1xemo) [songs](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0T2e2MoODN4) [were](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=syc78JzHGTs) (coincidentally, another lovely chord change at 0:50) quite [popular](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tETtqRM51oI) here in the late-70s to mid-80s.
These are all among my earliest childhood musical memories and I love to listen to them from time to time.
---
### Author:  [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)
#### Post date: [February 23, 2018, 10:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rediscovering-obscure-old-songs-from-your-youth/737234/115 "2018-02-23T10:22:51Z")
Does anyone remember this song? Takes me back 20 years, to when I was working on the radio (though I wouldn’t say my 40s were my “youth”):
“Louise,” by The Human League.
I absolutely love this song! :o
---
### Author:  [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)
#### Post date: [February 23, 2018, 11:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rediscovering-obscure-old-songs-from-your-youth/737234/116 "2018-02-23T11:31:41Z")
When I was six years old (1973) the local radio station would play the song _Singin’ in the Kitchen_ a couple times a day. I loved that song! I googled it not long ago and discovered it was performed by [Bobby Bare with his family](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OjN4_A5UqQA). Ah, the good ol’ days. 😉
When I was 16 I would play guitar with a friend of mine. He played 6 string and I played bass. He was much more skilled than me, and he would teach me how to play rock songs. One of the songs was by the Japanese band **Loudness**. It was a great song, but for the longest time I couldn’t find it because I forgot what the title was. After much searching I found it a couple years ago: [Mr. Yes Man](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nHTlBIoMgcM). Great tune.
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### Author:  [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)
#### Post date: [February 23, 2018, 11:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rediscovering-obscure-old-songs-from-your-youth/737234/117 "2018-02-23T11:40:00Z")
> [@Jeff\_Lichtman](#):
>
> [I Love Onions](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KM-lEhhsLQw) by Susan Christie
Songs like this remind me of the wonderful **Meri Wilson** ([Telephone Man](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bTDzFUlrDYM) and [Peter the Meter Reader](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FLss0Uk2ZeU)).
Lots of fond memories listening to Dr. Demento in the 1980s. Many of those songs are still stuck in my head…
---
### Author:  [@actualliberalnotoneofthose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/actualliberalnotoneofthose)
#### Post date: [February 23, 2018, 12:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rediscovering-obscure-old-songs-from-your-youth/737234/118 "2018-02-23T12:20:18Z")
[quote=“nearwildheaven, post:110, topic:737234”]
I did not know Laura Branigan had died. 47 is way too young. ☹
Anyway, my favorite LB story is this one: I was in an aerobic dance class and the instructor said that our next routine would be to “Gloria”. My first thought was, “U2? Cool!” and then realized that it was the Branigan song of the same name. :o
Here’s the U2 song. It does have a good beat, but most people would have a hard time dancing to it.
And the Laura Branigan song.
[/QUOTE]
I would have thought of Them/Van Morrison first, and I was in diapers when the U2 and Branigan songs were released.
---
### Author:  [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)
#### Post date: [February 26, 2018, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rediscovering-obscure-old-songs-from-your-youth/737234/119 "2018-02-26T01:49:47Z")
The “Gloria” that was recorded by Them or the Doors has certainly endured better than the other two versions mentioned above.
Didn’t Patti Smith record it too?
---
### Author:  [@Jeff\_Lichtman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeff_Lichtman)
#### Post date: [February 26, 2018, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rediscovering-obscure-old-songs-from-your-youth/737234/120 "2018-02-26T20:43:38Z")
One can write a song on just about any topic. [Here’s proof](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EaN7xuAIjXI).
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