What’s something obscure that you evangelize, particularly to new friends or lovers. Could be a band, movie, song, novel, TV show, whatever, but the defining characteristics are high quality and lack of popularity.
One of my faves is Errol Morris’s film, The Thin Blue Line. Not THAT obscure, but not widely seen by most people.
There are two books - ‘White Light’ by Rudy Rucker and 'Fluid Concepts and Creative Analogies" by Douglas Hofstadter and his students that I keep stocks of to give away to people.
Its not so obscure, but anyone who has not seen The Princess Bride gets strapped down for a viewing, and I feel everyone should read the Sandman comics by Neil Gaiman.
Music: The Bonzo Dog Band. The funniest group ever to put music to vinyl (Yes, even better than Spike Jones and light years ahead of Lame Al Yankovic). Continually revived, as shown by the fact that they have had more compilation albums over the years than originals.
Book (fiction): “Replay” by Ken Grimwood. Great time travel novel that asks, “what if you could live your life over again . . . and again . . . and again?” and comes up with some surprising answers.
Book (nonfiction): “The Mother Tongue” by Bill Bryson. Actually, anything by Bryson is worth reading, but this history of the English language is my favorite.
Movie: Many, but a few off the top of my head include, “The Well,” “Them!,” “It Came From Outer Space,” “42nd Street,” and “Love’s Labour’s Lost.”
I have a couple of movies that I will always suggest to people.
“Hudson Hawk”- Yes, yes, I know. It’s gotten such bad reviews. But, you have to go into it knowing that Mr. Willis made this movie with the realization that it’s a movie and a send-up/parody of action movies. It’s really funny and the idea of cat burglers timing themselves by singing songs is great.
“Fandango”- Sure, it’s Kevin Costner, but the coming of age/going to war story has never been done better.
“Hi Opal”- A must see.
My choices for musician, movie, and book all lack popularity. However, I can’t help evangelize about The Simpsons and raw oysters, both of which count a fair number of devotees.
Musician: Billy Bragg
Movie: Tin Men (w/Danny Devito and Richard Dreyfuss)
Book: A Sand County Almanac by Aldo Leopold (first published in 1949)
Book: The sun, the Moon, and the Stars
Music: Rush
Movie Stop Making Sense
Terry Pratchett’s novels.
I wish that everybody would read “Who moved my cheese?” by Spencer Johnson, M.D.
It’s an amazing, motavating story that helps everyone understand themselves a little better.
If you’ve never seen “A Clockwork Orange” by Stanley Kubrick than you need to be straped down into that chair with your eyes pealed open for the entire thing (you’ll understand when you see the movie)
But for music, you just can not beat(haha) the musical stylings of “Jump, Little Chrildren” - especially the songs “Dancing Virgina” and “Cathedrals”
Enjoy!
Oh, yeah; oh, yeah - I read one and I was hooked
(funny, funny, funny)
Movies: Princess Bride, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, The Breakfast Club
Music: Placebo, U2, Duran Duran, Orgy
Book: Hmm, I’ll have to think about this one
TV Show: “The Invisible Man” on the Sci Fi Channel
Book: Flicker by Theodore Roszak. Conspiracy theory and subliminal messages. Possibly the creepiest book I ever read.
Movie: Boondock Saints Vigilante flick, beautiful camera work, very funny, and Willem Dafoe’s best performance to date. Of course I haven’t seen his Nosferatu thingy yet.
Comedian: Eddie Izzard. Pox de Poulet. Nuff said.
Movies: La Reine Margot, Strange Days, Strictly Ballroom, Brain Dead.
Books: American Psycho, Frankenstein, The Great Gatsby, anything by Raymond Carver.
Music: Bentley Rhythm Ace, Public Enemy, Death In Vegas, The Backstreet Boys (oopsy, did I say that last one out loud?)
Books: P.C. Hodgell’s Kencyrath novels…I push them every time a fantasy/favorite book thread comes up. They’re my favorite fantasy novels, hands down. I also recommend Barry Hughart’s Chronicles of Master Li and Number Ten Ox to people, especially the first novel (Bridge of Birds). If I had reliable sources for these books, I’d probably give away lots of copies. As it is, I treasure mine too much to risk loaning them out.
Websites: I push Sluggy Freelance, my favorite web comic, as well. The only logo shirt I have is my Sluggy “Evil Kitten” tshirt. I wear it a lot.
I don’t push any music, movies, or TV shows.
A Sluggite! Most well. I too worship the comic and try to spread the niftyness.
Terry Pratchett’s Discworld books and Lois McMaster Bujold’s Vorkosigan books. I find myself completely charmed by both of these, but I can’t seem to convey to other people just what makes them so compelling.
Oh GOD, I have to thank VileOrb for introducing Terry Pratchett to me! he gave me Small Gods on Sunday (two days ago) and I read it in two hours! i am now reading Hogfather as I type this (no, reallyas I type!) and I have four more when this one is done.
…and lots more to go and buy…thank you Terry for being so proliferate…!
My friend’s band, Bob’s Day Off.
For an entire year, I tried to get someone, anyone to read Art & Lies by Jeanette Winterson. No one bit. So I flunked proselytization 101. 
Music: Saviour Machine http://www.saviourmachine.com
TV Show: First Wave and Farscape http://www.scifi.com
Movie: Maverick(Mel Gibson) and Dark City
Book: The Brothers Karamazov(not obscure, but rarely read).