42
votes
Any obscure songs you'd like to share?
Everyone's definition of obscure is different, so I wouldn't look twice at someone posting Ariana Grande or Ed Sheeran! It's always nice to listen to some new music, and I find that lesser known songs are a great way to break into new genres.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=mw_cWMTzk6U
Always on brand lol
Gonna spring this on my Swifty friends... not sure if they already know, but this is on the level of Natalie's raps! chef's kiss
I don't sleep, motherfucker; off that 'gnac and the durban
its just perfect. their podcast is gold, too.
Oh goodness it's real XD wow. Didn't expect that.
Hope (Klaatu) is a lovely rock/pop album from the 70s -- it definitely stretches the definition of obscure (it, like, won a Juno), but I don't think they had much cultural penetration đ . The album itself is a concept album, so it tells a cool story when listened from start to finish. There are a couple of songs that're further out there, but in general, I think it makes for a nice and easy listen.
Dear McCracken (Bug Hunter) is perhaps a questionably obscure choice, but a quick survey of my friend group turned up blank stares, so I hope it qualifies! It's a single and is pretty lyric heavy, instead of focusing on instrumentals or anything, but it tells a nice short story. Paints a picture with words, so to speak.
Bug Hunter really is something. I'd add Fan Fiction, Disco! In The Panic Room, and A Bedtime Story for a full array of their lyrical and musical capabilities
I originally found Dear McCracken a couple years ago from an animatic and cover from a group of high schoolers, with their interpretation of the song. It's unlisted now, but I've had it in my bookmarks for a while.
I think Dear McCracken has to definitely count as obscure. Thanks for sharing I havenât heard that song or Bughunter in a while so I have a good idea what Iâm listening to today.
I found Dear McCracken via an animation someone made that won an award, it got posted on Reddit when the video was made and again when it won something years later. That song helped me get through a bad breakup at the very end of 2019 (so I was suffering through it when the pandemic hit), and it will always hold a place near my heart. I just love the email format for the lyric video too!
Oh I love this question!
Lately I've been into this little bad called Guppy. They're a silly pop/punk group that has catchy songs and funny lyrics like "I'm fighting a 10-foot tall Nancy Pelosi," "why would they let a bitch like me operate heavy machinery?" or "I'm an American cowboy, and my stomach hurts like shit." But my favorite song is a more seriously themed jam about gender identity called Simple Man. They have quite a few earworms across their catalog.
I'm also a huge fan of a band called Frog. They've been putting out a steady stream of albums for over a decade and they've quietly gained a decent following since the pandemic. Their latest album has some real bangers. I'm partial to All the Things You Get, Best Buy, and Lois Lane.
https://youtu.be/BE40pO2r1oU
And moreso, the ten years later version: https://youtu.be/5vtO2qxGgSA
Well, the original was me my first 2 days into college (except, no because I learned how to play guitar my first semeseter). Rings true for this GenXer.
The 10 and 20 years out ... bites hard. I first started college in 1996. Which is now the 30 year mark. I didn't actually get a degree until '18 (just before my 40th birthday), and now I have a great job and a career and I fortunately look pretty young, but my company just got bought out and I'm back into the uncertain phase.
It's funny how life just transcends generations...
This is basically my hobby, I love finding smaller indie artists and sharing them with friends. Especially LGBTQ+ artists, though of course not always.
My most recent new-to-me band is Cheekface. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i2UaldVDju4
They're fun and silly and they have a pretty interesting sound. The video is really cute too, I think it deserves a little attention!
Other artists I've been thinking about lately are Um, Jennifer? and Izzy Heltai (whom I suggested recently to a couple folks looking for indie trans musicians), and Boys Go To Jupiter (theatrical pop sound, I particularly like Revenge Tour). I'd also like to explore more of Die Shiny, Daddy (the band), SAYANA, there's SO much cool indie music out there.
Nice, I also mentioned cheekface.
I think I found them on an instagram post most likely, my algorithm is tuned I guess.
I will also mention Ada Nicolleâs âBags of Iceâ: https://youtu.be/5bgMeNP_iLE?is=rZ1M8OPdQW_soNMF
I'm considering anything under 10 million views on YouTube to be "obscure" because that means less than 5% of the United States has heard it, unless it's big on Tik-Tok or Facebook or something and I have no idea.
Tinashe - A Liar - 16 years to get 200K views and at least 1000 of those views are me. If you've heard of Tinashe, you've likely heard of the rapper, this is not her; this is a song from 16 years ago by a musician who now goes under another name which I don't remember...
The Faux Faux - Cold Hearted Woman - This is a song that has a 70's flair to it but is less than a decade old. I like it.
Tin Man - America - Likely obscure with the current generations, but the band America was big news when I was little, and this was one of their best songs
Mahna, Mahna - Cake - Fair chance you've heard Cake's songs, but this is their mostly instrumental take on Mahna Mahna by the Muppets.
Brand New Colony - The Postal Service - The Postal Service is not an obscure band, but it's reasonably unknown compared to Death Cab for Cutie, and other bands that weren't directly founded by members of The Postal Service but shared a similar sound.
Hey Sandy - Polaris - If you watched The Adventures of Pete & Pete this was the theme song
Stand - R.E.M. - This one breaks my rules a little because combined it's got about 12 million views across all of its official releases on YouTube, but I still feel like this is one of the more obscure but still known R.E.M. songs.
Text Messaging Slut - Mystic Knights of the Cobra - I don't know why I like this video, and the song, but I do.
Disconnect the Dots - Smash Mouth - I used to own the album, and while it had some amazing hits, this was one of my favorites on Fush Yu Mang.
Threw It On The Ground - The Lonely Island - Completely unknown song, hardly anyone knows it, obscure band The Lonely Island is kinda niche, don't think anyone's ever heard of them before.
Cold, Cold World - Blaze Foley - There are many versions of this on YouTube but all combined I'd be surprised if they cracked 250k, and this is my favorite version.
Denial Twist - The White Stripes - My favorite White Stripes song. I love 7 Nation Army, really, but this one is my favorite of their songs. The video is surreal.
The Lonely Island!!!
They are hilarious. I think the classic 'Like a Boss' is my personal favorite of theirs.
They're on my mind often, as I've been listening to their podcast with Seth Meyers since it launched and I accidentally stumbled onto the first episode. I'm something of a Quaid.
This is the most recent song I was listening to.
Its a nice upbeat song for when I want to cheer myself up.
I like this band, they aren't well known:
https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=4xxn06bscOE&si=9dAUt9ylfXtyIu3_
https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=NLNcjfr_Yuk&si=hoe_IlS2WaKJyXoL
And this one from a long time ago. The singer died of cancer shortly after the album released:
https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=ggiNJ0zUOio&si=IYor0-rXoRNYpPag
Normally I'm an albums guy, but you said songs, and for some reason this one popped into my head - band is called Television, song is called Marquee Moon, it's their 1977 debut album's title track. Wikipedia calls it punk rock, and the vocals do have that quality, but the song is really more of a prog-ish jam, a melancholy journey.
In 2011 I had just moved into my first post-college place with some friends, we were drinking and smoking and sitting on the floor, and a musician friend of mine (one of my best friends) played me Marquee Moon. He had just discovered it himself, and our minds were blown together. The song always reminds me of the optimism of that time, combined with a wistfulness that it's passed. There were other moves in between but now I've just moved again, feeling very optimistic about it but sad to be leaving behind my home of ten years, where I had so many formative experiences negative and positive, and the place my dog has known for 90% of her life.
It might just be an association thing unique to my experiences, but I think Marquee Moon captures the feeling of these life transitions beautifully.
One of my favorite songs to drive around to!
Def in my top 10 albums, maybe even top 5. No duds on the whole record, great guitar solos, cheeky lilâ lyrics⊠what more could one want?
https://youtu.be/MmTx2Um7Uwg?si=xLmXRn2yrI7Phn27
Love this post!
One of my all time favourite lo-fi songs is Blossom by Thaehan, timestamped at 9:31.
It's nothing fancy, certainly not that unique either, but there's just something super captivating about the melody, to me at least :P
Indie Punk/Midwest Emo
Midnight Doomer Cruise by Any Two Words: https://youtu.be/vEGKMsYqmQ8?is=ygQmFbbmYlGA7GBn
Mathrock/Midwest Emo
Ellsworth by Majuro: https://youtu.be/ZizPJ298Fes?is=VuhnZ9ZrdUsu-D9l
Pop-Punk/Indie Rock
On The Day It Finally Happens by Malört and Savior: https://youtu.be/41NOMETNp3U?is=EQnB5jUuSVJLWnHk
You Always Want to Bomb the Middle East by Cheekface: https://youtu.be/y0k5DQ3OPeg?is=LEN36qz8u-To6VC-
Hell yeah, another Cheek Freak!
I've talked about her before on Tildes. Geri-X is a local Florida musician with amazing vocal range, exceptional song writing, and just an all around talent. I cannot say enough good things about her music and her as a person.
My favorite album is: Anthems of a Mended Heart
Do yourself a favor and listen to #3, When I Die. It's some of her best work.
Leo P - Saffron
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y6DyTlIUvvw
A quick song blending jazz and funk with a baritone saxophone. I never skip it!
I'm a dirty reposter. Reposting this comment I made not too long ago...
I'm currently in the midst of a situation extra-ordinary. The YouTube algorithm likes to, sometimes, throw really small artists in my direction. It takes a while to find out more info about them, but eventually, I am able to...with the exception of this one: "Disfunction". They've got two full albums, "Remains of the Day (2011)" and "My World Now (2014?)", and...that's pretty much it. Can't seem to find any information about them anywhere else, not even on Discogs, which is my saving grace for these sorts of things. Of course, on "Remains of the Day", one of their tracks was used in a Ram Ranch bit, but I already know that...
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_nHi_hX2X6Y8ngEeqaBgEMZAhNIpj9owiI
Post-Listen Edit: RotD was fairly well produced...I...can't say the same unfortunately about the second one. Despite MWN releasing in 2014, the specific album seems a bit too garageband-y for my tastes. The mixing was really dry, the singer, whoever they are, was seemingly slightly off-key throughout the entire thing, and there was one song in there that, although I found it funny, kinda just was a bit too unsavory for my liking. I'm not entirely sure still about this band's story, maybe there was a mix-up and their first album was indeed MWN, but man...if it wasn't...good god, they either (a) downsized their gear, (b) gave up on mixing, or worst come to worst, (c) lost a band member or several. Who knows, really?
I don't have a lot to say about it, but I love it. A 1968 song by psychedelic rock band Ivory:
Ivory - Losin' Hold
A Mighty Wind, the classic Christopher Guest ensemble mockumentary about folk music, has an excellent soundtrack, especially given the songs were all actually written and performed by the film's stars. But while most of the tracks were heard at some point in the movie, one of the best appears only on the soundtrack album: "The Ballad of Bobby and June". I rediscovered it listening to the album a few months ago after Catherine O'Hara passed away and it's really lovely.
I have a tonne that might work here, but for the first port of call I'm gonna delve deep into the thin divide between symphony and cacophony with this one: The Red Archromance by Anorexia Nervosa. The closing track from the French symphonic black metal masters' second album, Drudenhaus. For me, it's special in how it sustains such incredible intensity until it finally shatters into a break of fiercely yearning, triumphant melodicism.
This is my favorite song: Art of Life, by X Japan.
Recently I found Transcendental Cha Cha Cha, by Tom Cardy and I've been a bit addicted.
I like/love all of these, a mix of different genres:
'Chicago' cover, quite different from the original: Ada - 25 or 6 to 4
Energetic rock: Buñuel - This Is Love
I'd dance to this if it wouldn't hurt for three days: Regressive Left â The Wrong Side of History
Droney-bouncy electronic track: Luke Abbott - Brazil
Dutch ex-punks with a small orchestra live, imo best heard quite loud: The Ex Orkest - Kokend Asfalt
Not really obscure, but I think it's beautiful: Stereolab - Diagonals
Kruder and Dorfmeister jazz pop remix: Rainer TrĂŒby Trio - Donaueschingen (Peter Kruder's DonaudampfschifffahrtsgesellschaftskapitĂ€nskajĂŒtenRemix)
Energetic drum'n'bass, love the bassline: dj? acucrack - Renegade DJ
Nice groove and lovely dark-ish atmosphere: Shearwater - Laguna Seca
Obscure 60s pop with a fashion video: The Music Machine - Dark White
Polyphonic a capella with french occitanic folk vibes: San Salvador - La Grande Folie
Gezebelle Gaburgably - Inside Her
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JK36Zo6NL_k
I think this song is kind of like....on first reading it could be interpreted as a jealousy thing, but I think the more correct interpretation is about dissociation/depersonalization. Coupled with some kind of fun like, antipsychotic/MKULTRA vibes. Cool artist, cool song. I haven't fully listened to all her work but this is one I consistently go back to.
brother by AMHO
This is one of my favorite songs in recent memory. It's a six-minute instrumental jazz fusion masterpiece that's only got about 200k views on YouTube. AMHO are a Korean musician duo and the song was apparently written as a gift from the bassist of the group, Koo Bon-am, to his long-time friend and drummer of the group, Kim Seung-ho. I just love how the piano, bass guitar, and drums come together in this.
Future Prophecies - September
Amara - Pulse
September is drum and bass and Pulse is trance. Both songs are deeply significant to me on a personal level.
https://youtu.be/_bfzAr7m5CM?is=HDAn4n3hynzSKjWL
The most obscure that came to mind: These Woods Are Haunted by BE/HOLD. The entire album fits together to set up the idea that there are aliens in Appalachia, and they're not friendly, I just think that this specific piece encompasses the album as a whole. Listen to it, then the album all the way through.
Slightly less obscure, FXMLDR (pronounced Fox Muldur) by Thank You Scientist. They're an amazing jazzy progressive rock band, and this is probably one of their most recognizable pieces in my opinion. Yes, the song is named after the character from the X-Files. My personal favorite by the band is Anchor from the same album - if you can guess what the instrument in the solo at 6:00 is without looking at a live recording, I'll be impressed!
I thought of a different one that I have also been a bit obsessed with recently, inspired by The Odyssey: Sirens Call.Odyssey 12.185-192.Homer.Bettina Joy de Guzman.
I have a varied and eclectic mix of preferred music... I'll pull out some of the more obscure stuff. Ok, not all of it is the obscure stuff, but much of it should be.
Kai Lentit - I am monitoring the situation - just how many references do YOU recognize?
Do you play Magic: The Gathering? Nerd cred:
Remy - Magic: The Rap
Remy - Supreme Verdict
And the OG Magic rap: Tha Gatherin- "Jace the Mind Sculptor"
Would you like to laugh at the moment? Here you go: (may offend Christians, may offend Republicans)
Garfunkel And Oates - The Loophole
Garfunkel And Oates - Both Sides Can Laugh
Do you enjoy 80's and 90's nostalgia in the form of music videos? Have you heard of GUNSHIP? You are welcome:
Tech Noir - voiced in part by John Carpenter. Yes, really. Why yes, you SHOULD watch it.
Dark All Day - Vampires. Saxophone. Indiana. Blood raining from the sky.
DooM Dance - very reminiscent of 90's Anime.
On the more 'normal' music, I have a few artists I know of who I particularly like. I'll try and limit myself to pick one song from each:
Karliene - The Last of the Giants
Geoff Castellucci - Far Over the Misty Mountains Cold
Erutan - The Willow Maid
Malukah - Come Little Children
Jeff Russo - Hugh's Log (from Star Trek: Discovery)
Bo Burnham - That Funny Feeling - if you feel like crying. It made me cry. If you have climate anxiety or serious depression maybe let this one go for now.
Rachel Hardy - Running up that Hill - her voice is just..... gentle tingles on my scalp and slight shivering along my back
This last one may be more known??? Honestly I'm not sure, but it's recent and awesome and I wanted to share:
The High Kings - The Irish Roar
Tidechase and Windmill Festival are both great songs from the relatively obscure artist Aethoro (13k and 24k views on YT, respectively). I have no clue how I found them initially, but I like most of their work; it's mainly ambient/instrumental music that I like to listen to while working. (Bandcamp, Youtube)
And one repeat from the last time I answered (in 2023, time sure flies):
Pushing the Speed of Light (1983), which is a Filk (sci-fi folk) song akin to Queen's '39, about a tragedy of relativistic travel.
I mostly listen to instrumental music, which tends to be somewhat obscure to begin with. Here's a few, 100% objectively sorted from least to most obscure:
Sinoia Caves - Forever Dilating Eye from the soundtrack of Beyond the Black Rainbow. Awesome album, and a visually awesome movie.
Lapalux - Midnight Peelers takes me to a cigarette smoke filled sleazy hotel bar at 4 am. Someone has passed out on the bar counter.
Alpha Omega - Impulse one of my long time favorite atmospheric dnb tracks.
goreshit - the pain of relief (we have our vices one and all) breakcore isn't everyone's cup of tea, but this one is soft and jagged at the same time.
Andy pls - have you no mercy more music for neurologically divergent people.
Delay Llama - 3.262ly ambient is generally obscure yes? And I am not a famous musician by any measure, so this is guaranteed to be obscure!
Do yourself a favour and have a listen to The Cruel Sea from Australia.
Black Stick is best listened to with a good seat of headphones or speakers
Also from Australia: You Am I
Courtney Barnett covered Heavy Heart very nicely
and their usual, rockier/poppy stuff like Mr Milk (with a definite nod to XTC)
...been listening to tim powles' new album this week, just because by bndt mntn: it's mostly bedroom pop, which isn't really my jam, but there are a few chill soundscapes and ambient tracks which speak to me...
...unfortunately his website's impossible to navigate, but best as i can tell the new album's not available anywhere online, so unless you find a CD at one of his shows (currently touring with the church) i can't find any way to share it...
Unfortunately Qobuz doesn't have a listens number so I'm going off of youtube views here, but I tried to narrow down to <100k views as a marker of obscure:
I haven't actually watched any of these music videos, so I'd say go in blind in case the music video ruins it. Often an issue for me. And if you got this far here's another obscure chaser.
Departing from New Shibuya Terminal by Alejandro Espinosa
This is a live jam session, that covers the train jingle that plays at Shibuya Station's TĆyoko Line.
The train jingle was composed by Mukaiya Minoru, CEO of a company that creates train simulations used by professionals and enjoyed as video games by the public, who has composed hundreds of train jingles. He was also a founding member of the legendary Japanese Jazz-fusion band, CASIOPEA.
Further
ReadingWatching:The cover artist is pretty cool too. Alejandro Espinosa, under the name wolfman1405, was a frequent contributor to Silvagunner, a comedic musical collective that released video game music covers. Espinosa frequently collaborated with his classmates from Berklee, including jazz pianist Jesus Molina on Buta Mitai. From what I can tell, he moved to Japan after graduating and has been involved in the music scene there.
Maybe not so obscure anymore but The Caretaker has an incredible body of work and as I was looking them up to post, realized that they are not making music anymore. If you want to listen and read their Wiki page, itâs really interesting.
Blinding Ornaments is a wonderful rock/metal ballad from a Swedish band called Vulkan
...o superman put her on the map and transformed her career trajectory from obscure performance artist to widely-recognised recording artist; i think it's safe to call her most well-known song, but in the context of popular music she's still fairly obscure amongst the general public, at least since the mid-eighties...
...honestly, these days she's probably best-known for the bumper music on one of those popular women's cable channels (lifetime, oxygen, or W, not sure): i think they use a sample from sharkey's day, from mister heartbreak, and play the heck out of it...
Not the Kindness & Trouble Funk - That's Alright official version, but the version that Kindness posted on Soundcloud in 2012 and Bandcamp in 2024:
Also, Gerling's Blood on the Microphone, Pt. 1 is pretty interesting. Blood on the Microphone, Pt. 2 is probably even more obscure because it isn't even really a song?? Outro and Intro tracks are highly-obscure "songs" in the post-CD world
I should listen to more alt-pop...
Donât have any specific songs on my mind, but wanted to plug Chances with Wolves if anyone hasnât heard of it yet. There are nearly 600 âepisodesâ now, each one a 2-hour radio show put on by crate diggers with some wild stuff on it. Lots of international covers of western music, lots of songs youâve never heard before and will probably never hear again, and a few songs here and there that you do know that make you feel like a real smarty pants.
Y. Bhekhirst - Hot In The Airport
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=exTMCq0cnLs&pp=ygUeeSBiaGVraGlyc3QgaG90IGluIHRoZSBhaXJwb3J0
A friend of mine told me about this one a number of years ago and it lives rent-free in my head. The entire album is a challenging listen to say the least.
This is extremely obscure unless you are into ESA/NASA and even then still pretty niche. But it's, so far, the only deep space music I really enjoy.
https://soundcloud.com/jmartinho/esa-rosetta-soundtrack-joao-martinho-moura-2014
Men at work, F-19. Men at Work are famous for a few of their song, but the rest of their catalogue is fairly unknown. This song, F-19, is one of my favourites, but is not on Spotify for some reason. Shame, because it's a bop.
I had one of the robot overlords build a playlist on Youtube.
Enjoy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mw_cWMTzk6U&list=PLSDjKie7phl0