OoO highlights great but under-appreciated music albums, mostly from the 21st century, as selected by host DJ Poseur and a rotating brigade of fellow obsessives. Each co-host chooses an album pick to discuss at length, including consideration of why we think it’s awesome but woefully unknown to the listening public. All picks meet stringent criteria for obscurity (Under 50 user reviews in All Music Guide, Under 100k streams on YouTube). Features include games for the listener to play along with, like “The Obscurity Quiz” (in which albums are ranked by a contestant from most obscure to most famous), “Score the List” (in which cohosts compare their knowledge and music collections to online “Top 10” lists), “Stump the DJ” (in which the cohosts challenge one another’s knowledge of obscure bands), and the occasional “Scheduled Digression” (in which we tackle a specific topic in music or the music industry). See also the companion subreddit (www.reddit.com) for links to all the albums featured in OoO episodes if you'd rather skip our yakking: r/MusicNobodyElseLikes Who should listen to OoO? Anyone dissatisfied by contemporary pop music. Anyone unfamiliar with but interested in independent music of the 21st century. Fellow obsessives who want reviews of beloved but obscure albums and find existing online resources limited. People who want something totally out of left field to spice up their music listening experience. Anyone who enjoys a contentious dialog about art. Rather than being the kind of podcast whose any given episode will be of general interest, it is hoped that with time, with an accumulated body of work, we will hit upon an album or at least a very specific style of music that is beloved by potential listeners as much as by us. Welcome to the wild, weird, and wondrous world of OoO!
Episodes
Saturday Jan 16, 2021
Saturday Jan 16, 2021
Our voice of the youth returns to share her views on lo-fi music, hipster bedroom pop, and what she thinks counts as obscure, with another ranking of five albums from famous to largely unknown.
Monday Jan 04, 2021
Monday Jan 04, 2021
NPR’s Tiny Desk official page: https://www.npr.org/series/tiny-desk-concerts/
Wikipedia lists all the Tiny Desk concerts: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiny_Desk_Concerts
Structure: Introducing DJ Karev & comparing her listening habits to teenage cousins recorded previously (up to 5:06); Background on “Tiny Desk” concerts on National Public Radio (NPR) (up to 12:57); DJ Karev’s concert-going experiences & which ones we’ve actually seen live in person (up to 15:30); DJ Karev’s Top 5 Tiny Desk picks (15:30-29:47); Transitioning from a boy band to a “serious artist” (27:24-29:47); DJ Keep Roomie’s Top 5 Tiny Desk picks (29:47-1:00); Is DJ Karev allowed to explore music on her own, or does DJ Keep Roomie assign it all to her professorially? (46:05-49:00); Authenticity versus performance in pop, and notably excluded hip-hop in our picks (as well as early Tiny Desks) (50:10-55:35); DJ Poseur’s other four picks (1:00-1:12); Other “freak-out jams” (1:12-1:14); When will concerts return? (1:14-1:17); Criteria for a good or bad Tiny Desk concert and whether we’ve liked any artists/bands/musicians less after seeing them in concert (whether on a Tiny Desk or in person) (1:17-conclusion)
DJ Karev’s Top 5 (in order discussed): Phoebe Bridgers, Ben Folds, Eskimeaux, Adele, Harry Styles
DJ Keep Roomie’s Top 5 (in order discussed): Billy Corgan, Courtney Barnett, Julia Jacklin, Aldous Harding, Cate Le Bon
DJ Poseur’s Top 5 (in order of preference): 1. Cornelius, 2. Gogol Bordello, 3. OK Go, 4. Y La Bamba, 5. Cate Le Bon
Sunday Dec 20, 2020
Sunday Dec 20, 2020
For anyone who want to practice listening to Mandarin, the raw audio is also available. This version edits it out for brevity.
Supermarket may be the most prolific, if not the most famous, Chinese band making genre-defying experimental electronic music. They can sound like synth-pop, post-rock, and dystopian soundscapes, all in a way that could only come from the PRC.
Structure: Favorite songs & albums (up to 8:40); Evolving sound, comparable bands, & hardships (up to 18:18); The concert in Fangshan, Beijing (18:18); Activities while listening (29:00); Lyrical themes (35:00); Use of samples —> industrial, post-punk, goth (39:47); Lyrics in foreign languages & bands with clearer roots (47:35); New Pants, Miserable Faith Big Band TV show winners & more commercial bands (54:38); Political control of music in China (59:51) and Quitting (昨天) film.
Tuesday Dec 01, 2020
Tuesday Dec 01, 2020
Purchase our picks here: https://www.discogs.com/sell/release/1502455?ev=rb
https://www.discogs.com/artist/1409280-Danny-The-Champions-Of-The-World
https://graveface.bandcamp.com/album/tw-walsh-songs-of-pain-and-leisure
https://www.discogs.com/TW-Walsh-Blue-Laws/release/1393526
Or, if you must, stream them: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_lH4lL-zgluCwIrg-9nWkQ2sANlbyYibuM https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_k8vCZXorL1l8UYwX-mrAx1v4jyZc5uqDw
GD RIYL: Jayhawks, Golden Smog, Big Star, Teenage Fanclub, Radar Bros., Calexico, Devendra Banhart, Mercury Rev
TWW RIYL: Pedro the Lion, M.Ward, Built to Spill, Radar Bros., Neil Young, Dinosaur Jr.?
D&tCotW RIYL: Dylan, Springsteen
Episode structure: “True Love & High Adventure” until (27:00). Consideration of Alt. Country & genre until (31:29), then switching to “Americana” and Danny & the Champions of the World until (38:10). Nick Lowe as an Americana musician until (41:10). Former bands (i.e. Pedro the Lion) & solo work until (41:40). “Songs of Pain & Leisure” & “Blue Laws” quoting Scaruffi.com at (42:45) DJ Keep Roomie’s tastes (51:08) RIYLS take big swings & misses (52:10) Austin City Limits, M. Ward, Dan Bern (from 55:20)
Monday Nov 23, 2020
Monday Nov 23, 2020
Midterm exams have slowed our production schedule, but we're gearing up for an episode on two fine albums approaching alt. country from different angles. Consider this Obscurity Quiz a quick background on some fixtures of the subgenre and a teaser for the upcoming alternative hootenanny of opinions.
Monday Oct 26, 2020
Monday Oct 26, 2020
Purchase our picks here: https://kaceyjohansing.bandcamp.com/album/grand-ghosts
https://shilparay.bandcamp.com/album/door-girl
KJ RIYL: Cate Le Bon, Aimee Mann, Julia Holter, Anna Calvi, Elanors, Liz Durrett
SR RIYL: Nick Cave, Leonard Cohen, Holly Golightly, Patti Smith, The Gossip, Blondie, musical storytelling/autobiography generally
Episode structure: “Grand Ghosts” until (24:50), “Door Girl” until (1:04:20) when we bring up a topic for a future “Scheduled Digression” about best albums of every year we’ve been alive.
Sunday Oct 18, 2020
Sunday Oct 18, 2020
An old friend from college steps up to the challenge and the world of user ratings on AMG to rank six of his favorite albums of the 2010s from obscure to famous. A preview for a coming episode on Shilpa Ray’s “Door Girl” and “Grand Ghosts” by Kacey Johansing, as well as lists of your favorite albums for every year you’ve been alive.
Sunday Oct 18, 2020
Sunday Oct 18, 2020
A deep dive in to the discography of Solenoid, one of the most under-appreciated founding fathers of IDM (“intelligent dance music”), unfortunately (but appropriately) lacking a cohost.
RIYL references: Mike Paradinas/planet μ catalog, Aphex Twin/Rephlex catalog, Plaid, Squarepusher, Richard Devine, Kraftwelt
The Igloo Magazine interview with Solenoid: https://igloomag.com/profiles/solenoid-reduced-to-data
His nearly-full discography (incl. purchasing options): https://www.discogs.com/artist/379-Solenoid
YouTube channel full of impostors: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7iuU7lZu1DUFA9Xf-yIDuw
Saturday Sep 26, 2020
Saturday Sep 26, 2020
Two brothers united in path dependency against country music, not united enough to collaborate on a family streaming plan. They like music as much as anyone, but not so much as to appreciate their parents’ unique tastes. A fraternal house divided, one prefers classic rock; the other, hip-hop. The answer to the question: “Is the album doomed?” may surprise you. They are used to instantaneous, 24/7 access that allows them to share music they like without having to buy the record, a stereo, or even going home to their PC to download or stream it. The pluralize “vinyl,” while music doesn’t have “a” beat but needs to have beats to be enjoyable. They are exotic creatures indeed, but can they be trusted with the future, especially something so vital as the future of music? Tune in to this very special OoO Scheduled Digression to find out!
Structure: Jonathan (0:00) Vincent (30:00)
Saturday Sep 26, 2020
Saturday Sep 26, 2020
This is a semi-regular OoO feature to test cohosts’ relative knowledge of the albums we talk about on the show and others that are more well known (but not necessarily “better”!). The level of fame or obscurity on OoO is generally operationalized by the number of user reviews for the album on the All Music Guide (AMG, www.allmusic.com ).
DJ Poseur asks the cohost to rank about five albums from the most famous to the most obscure, assigning each a letter (from A to E) for short. Listeners can follow along and see if you can do as well as our co-host contestants.
This is the first OoO appearance by Optimus Grimes (OG).