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 Sep 26, 2020
Saturday Sep 26, 2020
Buy/Find our picks here: Demons - https://demonschicago.bandcamp.com/album/dekalb-fucking-city IQU - https://iquiqu.bandcamp.com/album/sun-q
EOG1 Structure: The Dekalb scene ( : ), Demons ( : ), Comparison of picks ( : ), IQU ( : ),
RIYL references: Demons RIYL = DJ Shadow, Land of the Loops, Loop Guru, Telephone Jim Jesus. IQU RIYL = synth-pop and rock w/ Japanese themes and female vocals generally. Cornelius, Cibo Matto, Pizzicato 5.
Saturday Sep 26, 2020
Saturday Sep 26, 2020
DJ Poseur reads from his blog post criticizing the advent of streaming as the dominant way we access music.
Saturday Sep 26, 2020
Saturday Sep 26, 2020
The Obscurity Quiz - It’s not a pop quiz because you knew it was coming, and there’s no pop on OoO!
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.
Saturday Sep 26, 2020
Saturday Sep 26, 2020
Buy/Find our picks here: Dolores Catherino - https://dolorescatherino.bandcamp.com/
Chrome Canyon - https://www.emusic.com/album/129101949/Chrome-Canyon/Elemental-Themes
https://stonesthrow.bandcamp.com/album/elemental-themes
EA1 Structure: Dolores Catherino & Mictrotonal, Polychromatic Music (1:30). Synthesizer Music Transitional Discussion (45:14). Chrome Canyon (57:57).
References directly related to picks: to DC =her TED Talk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EfJbS5jPiOk
to Chrome Canyon = https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/17231-elemental-themes/
RIYL references: Tangerine Dream, Ozric Tentacles, Air, Com Truise, Ratatat
Saturday Sep 26, 2020
Saturday Sep 26, 2020
The Obscurity Quiz - It’s not a pop quiz because you knew it was coming, and there’s no pop on OoO!
This should be a regular mini-feature of official, two-pick episodes, intended to give our listening audience an interactive challenge and let you play along with our co-host “contestants” for absolutely no fabulous prizes. The quiz here is the same for both halves, but Dean has quite a lot more to say about and against DJ Poseur’s methodology. Made the mistake of recording this first, before any episodes, and Dean probably assumed that DJ Poseur would be forcing his agenda this forcefully, without being open to Dean’s input or dissent, for the entirety of OoO, rather than just this mini-feature in which there’s a clear subordination between quiz host and contestant.
Structure: w/ Dean (10:47). Five non-obscure albums (12:10). Dean disputes the quantifiability of obscurity & use of AMG (19:12). Dean’s definition of an obscure album (comparing Starlight Mints, The Brian Jonestown Massacre, and The Dandy Warhols) (22:35) Conclusion: Dean didn’t like the quiz (25:51)
Saturday Sep 26, 2020
Saturday Sep 26, 2020
Buy/Find our picks here: Wyrd Visions - https://pwelverumandsun.bandcamp.com/album/half-eaten-guitar Spice - https://www.emusic.com/album/156485432/Spice/MOBIUS-OMEGA
E2 Structure: Wyrd Visions (6:42). Transition & Dean’s initial thoughts on Spice (33:44). Spice (36:16). Dean’s critique & DJ Poseur’s defense (57:06). Alternative music in authoritarian Asia (1:07:39) Conclusion & Outro (1:10:00)
Currently listening references: Dean… DJ Poseur…“Welcome too Entropy” - 444. “Rexer Flash” - Pshycotic Beats. Lists of techno & house on eMusic https://www.reddit.com/r/eMusicofficial/comments/dfrztu/tech_house_is_the_elephant_in_emusics_shrinking/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x Metal on eMusic https://www.reddit.com/r/eMusicofficial/comments/di4vhv/the_remaining_metal/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x
References directly related to picks: to WV = Awesome. to Spice = “Kites” - Geographer, “The Moebius” - Orbital.
RIYL references: RIYL WV = Hoedh, Joshua Abrams, When, “Mare Crisium” - SETI, “Desert Equations” - Susan Deyhiem & R. Horowitz. RIYL Spice = first two Heliosequence albums, Russian Futurists, trip-hop generally
Saturday Sep 26, 2020
Saturday Sep 26, 2020
Buy/Find our picks here: Starlight Mints - (try your local record store first!) https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=m570.l1313&_nkw=starlight+mints+the+dream+that+stuff+was+made+of&_sacat=0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sFOWe6___74&list=PLc6o-En8fIrmVUYqdTm6U2HBSi-LPBxrn Mal Blum - https://www.amoeba.com/mal-blum/artist/1295829 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UhDYF9U3_qI
E1 Structure: Starlight Mints (8:40). Transition (31:30). Mal Blum (34:50). Two ways for an artist to end up in obscurity, according to Dean (1:06:49). Ratings & Outro (1:13:05)
Currently listening references: Dean… DJ Poseur…”Rooty Mental” - A Root https://www.emusic.com/album/149060187. a list of Chinese jazz on eMusic https://www.reddit.com/r/eMusicofficial/comments/cxry2h/chinese_jazz_on_emusic_and_elsewhere/
References directly related to picks: to SM = Parts & Labor
RIYL references: RIYL SM = The Kinks RIYL MB = Self, Call Florence Pow, Telekinesis, The New Pornographers