# The "recommend an obscure CD" thread **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 16, 2003, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-recommend-an-obscure-cd-thread/188892 "2003-07-16T15:11:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![KidCharlemagne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ed8c4c/32.png) [@KidCharlemagne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KidCharlemagne)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2004, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-recommend-an-obscure-cd-thread/188892/81 "2004-03-09T19:12:47Z")
_Golden Days_ by **King Pleasure** - sort of beatnik vocalese. People love it when I play this stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2004, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-recommend-an-obscure-cd-thread/188892/82 "2004-03-09T19:32:54Z")
Obscure in the US, popular in the UK: Massive Attack- Blue Lines Asian Dub Foundation- Rafi’s Revenge Just obscure: Lucky 7- Miss Fortune (fantastic unsigned pop punk band) ---
**Author:** ![Magnolia\_B](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f05b48/32.png) [@Magnolia\_B](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magnolia_B)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2004, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-recommend-an-obscure-cd-thread/188892/83 "2004-03-09T20:18:58Z")
Hmm… I’ve got a few good obscure CD’s - Route 66 by Eddie Tigner - Eddie plays with a blues band called Chicken Shack in Atlanta, GA. He’s 78 and put out his first cd a couple of years ago. He’s awesome. [http://atlanta.creativeloafing.com/2001-03-07/earshot2.html](http://atlanta.creativeloafing.com/2001-03-07/earshot2.html) Sweetback, self-titled, I think. They’re Sade’s band, without Sade. Actually, I like this album better than any of hers. There are one or two songs that Maxwell provides vocals on. ---
**Author:** ![vibrotronica](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/a9a28c/32.png) [@vibrotronica](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vibrotronica)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2004, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-recommend-an-obscure-cd-thread/188892/84 "2004-03-09T20:22:55Z")
There are lots of good recommendations here. Someone on page 1 mentioned **Iron Prostate** , which makes this as good a time as any to share these immortal lyrics from their composition entitled “Gilligan”: > [@](#): > > I wear a white hat > I wear a red shirt > They all think I’m stupid > One day, I’ll kill them. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2004, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-recommend-an-obscure-cd-thread/188892/85 "2004-03-09T20:45:36Z")
For the progenitors of feminist punk rock, how 'bout giving a spin to: X-Ray Specs _Germ-Free Adolescents_ – all the way back from 1978, but damn this record is _fresh_. And it even has a punky saxophone to boot. I’m a big fan of bands like Sleater-Kinney, Le Tigre (try their self-titled album if you haven’t heard it), and Bikini Kill, but the first time I heard Germ-Free Adolescents, I had to concede these other bands pale in comparison. For something a little more baroque pop, try The Left Banke’s compilation “There’s Gonna Be a Storm: The Complete Recordings 1966-1969.” If you like the Zombies Odyssey and Oracle, then chances are you’ll enjoy this record. It’s worth it for the two pop gems: “Walk Away Renee” and “Pretty Ballerina” alone. ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Ashtar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ea924/32.png) [@Lord\_Ashtar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Ashtar)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2004, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-recommend-an-obscure-cd-thread/188892/86 "2004-03-09T21:14:55Z")
> [@mouthbreather](#): > > Some of the lesser known stuff from my MP3 list: > > … > > Jedi Mind Tricks – The Psycho Social LP My brother turned me on to these guys a while back. That’s some great stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Talon\_Karrde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Talon\_Karrde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Talon_Karrde)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2004, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-recommend-an-obscure-cd-thread/188892/87 "2004-03-09T22:04:51Z")
[Glen Phillips](http://www.glenphillips.com). He was the lead singer of Toad the Wet Sprocket, my favorite band of all time. I’ll also throw their first two albums **Bread and Circus** and **Pale**. They have an incredible youthful passion and wonderfully emotional music. Glen Phillips is my favorite lyricist ever, and he doesn’t lose it with his solo stuff. His live stuff is usually solo acoustic guitar type stuff, but he gets more experimental in the studio. He currently has one studio album out called Abulum and a live one. He’s releasing another album later this year. He also recorded one with Nickel Creek under the name Mutual Admiration Society, but that one’s caught in some record label trouble. There’s an amazing amount of legal, free downloads of his music at [http://www.comebackdownload.com](http://www.comebackdownload.com)\*\*, [http://www.toadfans.com](http://www.toadfans.com), and [http://www.archive.org](http://www.archive.org). I highly recommend the song [Easier](http://www.comebackdownload.com/mp3s/Glen%20Phillips%20-%20Easier%20(Demo).mp3). I just adore this music. ---
**Author:** ![SPOOFE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c5a1d2/32.png) [@SPOOFE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SPOOFE)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2004, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-recommend-an-obscure-cd-thread/188892/88 "2004-03-10T02:10:49Z")
**Yello** , especially their albums _The Eye_ (most recent), _Stella_, and _Zebra_. I’m also a big fan of _Pocket Universe_. -Experimental, all the way. Yello consists of two guys, Boris Blank and Dieter Meier. Blank works the music, Meier does the vocals, and Jesus, what a voice. They do jazzy tunes, electronica, occasionally straight rock, mellow, trippy kinda stuff. The song _Who’s Gone_, or maybe _Domingo_, kick major ass indeed. **Stew** , and his band **The Negro Problem** : _Guest Host_, _Naked Dutch Painter_, _Welcome Black_, and _Post-Minstrel Syndrome_. -A very bluesy, jazzy kind of sound, mostly, but they go all over the place, from folk to rock to pop, with a little experimental thrown in. Stew’s lyrics are exceptional, very poetic and strong. The song _Re-hab_ is just wonderful in its irony. ---
**Author:** ![moejuck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/57b2e6/32.png) [@moejuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/moejuck)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2004, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-recommend-an-obscure-cd-thread/188892/89 "2004-03-10T02:59:43Z")
I mentioned \*\*crooked fingers \*\* earlier in the thread, and will do it again. Time to add **Rancid Yak Butter Tea Party**. Very heavy at times, but seriously different. ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2004, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-recommend-an-obscure-cd-thread/188892/90 "2004-03-10T03:22:34Z")
Not too sure if this is obscure, but it is not mainstream either. “Don’t Smoke In Bed” by the Holly Cole Trio is fantastic. ---
**Author:** ![mouthbreather](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a698b9/32.png) [@mouthbreather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mouthbreather)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2004, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-recommend-an-obscure-cd-thread/188892/91 "2004-03-10T03:46:48Z")
> [@Lord Ashtar](#): > > My brother turned me on to these guys [Jedi Mind Tricks] a while back. That’s some great stuff. Their first two albums are amazing. Their latest, “Visions of Gandhi”, is butt-awful. Avoid at all costs. ---
**Author:** ![Jeff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19b73/32.png) [@Jeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeff)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2004, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-recommend-an-obscure-cd-thread/188892/92 "2004-03-10T19:16:51Z")
Another vote for The New Pornographers and Neko Case. Also **Limblifter** (feat the drummer from t.n.p.), **Bocephus King and the Rigalattos** “The Blue Sickness”, a mix of bluegrass & blues. Good stuff. ---
**Author:** ![mbacko1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@mbacko1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbacko1)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2004, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-recommend-an-obscure-cd-thread/188892/93 "2004-03-10T19:49:41Z")
Here are a few of my choices: Porcupine Tree - \*Lightbulb Sun, Stupid Dream, In Absentia \* - This is my favorite band right now. They blend some of the laid back textures of Pink Floyd with the heavy guitar of Opeth, King Crimson, Radiohead, and Tool. The songs vary in tone and the albums work well together in conveying a mood. \*In Absentia \* is widely available in stores but the other two albums can be located on the WWW. Ghost of an American Airman - _Skin_ - This was a pop/hard rock album that came out in the 90’s that wasn’t awesome but leaves me with a sense of longing. There is some southern rock influence, especially in the vocals. It may be hard to find since I am pretty sure it is out of print. Marillion - _Brave_ - The last great album IMO of this English band that only had one hit in the US “Kayleigh” in the 1980s but was big in England and Europe during that time. This album features their second vocalist Steve Hogarth formerly of The The on vocals and piano and it is a brilliantly powerful concept album about a lost girl on the streets. There is lots of moody and dynamic music and the vocals are sung with such passion. I believe it came out in 1994 and I played the hell out of it, especially when personal relationships were going south. I have to agree with the earlier post about Fate’s Warning’s _Paler Shade of Grey_ which is a great album. Mike ---
**Author:** ![Jurph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/50afbb/32.png) [@Jurph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jurph)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2004, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-recommend-an-obscure-cd-thread/188892/94 "2004-03-10T19:57:36Z")
**Tin Hat Trio** - **The Rodeo Eroded**. Three musicians, playing mostly-instrumental music. Spooky, quiet, occasionally dissonant, but for rock or folk fans, more accessible than (for example) the noodling of the Grateful Dead’s _Dark Star_ or Coltrane’s _A Love Supreme_. The instruments are combined in very interesting arrangements. For instance, _O.N.E.O._ is a toy piano, a cello, a violin, a harmonica, something that sounds like a plastic ukulele, and a soprano singing. There is sparse percussion (occasional cymbals or tambourine shakes), but the left hand on the piano holds the beat. The tone color of the instruments combined with the generally minor chords remind me of a worn-out music box in many places, with slightly atonal clashes and very very strange flavors of sound. For those of you who have recently been picking up everything Johnny Cash has recorded (or if you’re trying to make a mix comprised only of his “side projects”), this disc includes a recording of _Willow Weep for Me_ with the late Johnny Cash on vocals. ---
**Author:** ![Only\_Mostly\_Dead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/f19dbf/32.png) [@Only\_Mostly\_Dead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Only_Mostly_Dead)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2004, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-recommend-an-obscure-cd-thread/188892/95 "2004-03-10T20:39:17Z")
Kings of Convenience - _Quiet is the New Loud_. Absolutely gorgeous mellow album for background and winding down. I’ve heard them compared to Belle and Sebastian, Nick Drake, and Simon and Garfunkle. They’re definitely acoustic euro-pop. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2004, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-recommend-an-obscure-cd-thread/188892/96 "2004-03-10T21:16:36Z")
Schascle/Twinkle’s **Gemini** (no, not just Twinkle, thats another artist.) An indescribable genre-bender, Schascle/Twinkle is a mixture of blues, rock, soul, and vocal jazz. Many have compared her to Arethra Franklin and Janis Joplin, but frankly, she kicks their ass. Think of her as the energy and feeling of those two artists along with the virtuosity of a jazz diva or 90s pop diva. Sadly, this does not capture the energy of her live shows (and she is much better known as a live act than her recordings are,) so if you are at all into vocal blues/soul _see her_. ---
**Author:** ![Tanaqui](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3bc359/32.png) [@Tanaqui](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tanaqui)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2004, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-recommend-an-obscure-cd-thread/188892/97 "2004-03-10T23:05:33Z")
**Hearts of Oak** and **The Tyranny of Distance** - **Ted Leo and the Pharmacists.** I have to say, I am totally 100% in love with Ted Leo. He writes pop/rock music that’s not only catchy as hell but also very intelligent. Hearts of Oak is his second cd with the Pharmacists, and I like it a little better than the first, The Tyranny of Distance. But all of the songs are impressive, and the range of musical styles he incorporates into his music is very impressive, particularly in The Tyranny of Distance, with everything from the lyrical “The Gold Finch and the Red Oak Tree,” to the Mellencamp-like “Timorous Me.” I also thought his new EP “Tell Balgeary, Balgury is Dead” was very good. His cover of “Ghosts” by the Jam is particularly wonderful. (You can download a few of his songs at his [label’s](http://www.lookoutrecords.com/bands/band.php3?bnd_id=355&sd=699713092) site. I particularly recommend “The High Party” and “Where Have All the Rude Boys Gone?” off Hearts of Oak and “Under the Hedge” off The Tyranny of Distance.) ---
**Author:** ![Enginerd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/bcef8e/32.png) [@Enginerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enginerd)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2004, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-recommend-an-obscure-cd-thread/188892/98 "2004-03-10T23:54:59Z")
[The Silos](http://www.thesilos.net/), a from New York CIty by way of Florida and Cuba. The band is fronted by Walter Salas-Humara, and they should be much better known than they are. A stripped down roots-rock sound that’s great on their albums and better live. And a small hijack - **Talon Karrde** , I think I just finished a simleague with you. I’m done, at least - you’re still rolling. My team was the Sierra Grizzlies. ---
**Author:** ![look\_ninjas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/b2d939/32.png) [@look\_ninjas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/look_ninjas)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2004, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-recommend-an-obscure-cd-thread/188892/99 "2004-03-11T00:16:02Z")
Maggie Estep **Love is a Dog From Hell** - some of it’s spoken-word, some of it’s sung, most of it is funny, and all of it is strange. It’s also the reason I read **Geek Love** , a truly fantastic book. The best tracks are probably “I’m an Emotional Idiot,” “Stalk Me,” and “Fireater.” ---
**Author:** ![Dignan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f07891/32.png) [@Dignan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dignan)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2004, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-recommend-an-obscure-cd-thread/188892/100 "2004-03-11T01:30:07Z")
“In The Aeroplane Over The Sea” by **Neutral Milk Hotel** I just heard a review on “All Things Considered” last week of a new CD that I’m going to try to pick up. I haven’t listened to the entire thing, but at the very least it sounded interesting, it’s called “Soviet Kitsch” by Regina Spektor. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-recommend-an-obscure-cd-thread/188892.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-recommend-an-obscure-cd-thread/188892.md?page=6)