What are your favourite obscure bands/singers?

[CatBoreal]

Mine:

The Leslie Spit Tree-O
Lowest of the Low: www.lowestofthelow.com/music.php
Stan Rogers (okay, maybe not so obscure if you're Canadian): www.stanrogers.net
Laura Powers : http://www.laurapowers.com/music.asp
Gaia Consort: http://www.gaiaconsort.com/

Yours???

[JimmyJazz]

1. Big Audio Dynamite!

:o - surprise, surprise

[Maestro]

49. Great Band

They helped me make it through the 80's and very early 90's.

[tigereye]

65. do they count as obscure?

I thought they were fairly known, I had an album ( or two?)

I could show you seriously obscure. ;)

[xmas74]

108. Heck ya!

[On the Road]

2. The United States of America

featuring Joe Byrd and Dorothy Moskowitz.

[Magrittes Pipe]

10. One of my favorite records ever.

:thumbsup:

[On the Road]

20. Since You're a Fan,

Do you have a recording of "Joseph Byrd and the Field Hippies"? I wondering if it's any good.

[Magrittes Pipe]

24. Ah, "The American Metaphysical Circus" by Joe Byrd and the Field Hippies.

Very good album, but inconsistent. The female singers on it are more refined than Dorothy, but lack that special something. The first side is much stronger than the second.

Still, if you appreciate Byrd's work integrating electronic music into rock, as he did with the USA, I think you'll dig it.

[Squeech]

29. Yeah, but

I think Byrd's most important work is his orchestral/electronic arrangement of Phil Ochs' "Crucifixion." (Most Phil Ochs fans hate it, which just goes to show you how profoundly disturbing it is.)

Oh, and to answer the original question, I guess my favorite obscure singer is Peter Blegvad. He writes great songs, and Andy Partridge of XTC sometimes writes with him and produces his records.

[Magrittes Pipe]

30. It also goes to show how most folkies are profound dullards.

:evilgrin:

It may well be Byrd's most important work. I have no doubt that it's Ochs' most important work -- mostly DUE to Byrd's presence (and, frankly, it's quite a beautiful song).

[XNASA]

25. When I was a boy, my parents had a small apartment upstairs.......

A tenant skipped out and left a couple of boxes of records behind. This was around 1970.

A lot of my musical tastes were developed from the records that he left, since my old man gave them to me. One of those records was the one of which you speak.

[mwb970]

3. Something Corporate!

Especially the "Leaving Through the Bedroom Window" CD.

http://www.somethingcorporate.com/

[jandrok]

4. Here are a few of mine.....

Kate Bush

Kelly Willis

Bruce Robison

Charlie Robison

Eliza Gilkyson

Guy Clark

Trish Murphy

Captain Sensible

Dead Horse

The Gathering

The Dictators

Pink Fairies

Ducks Deluxe

[Feathered Fish]

8. Don't the Pink Fairies

do the original version of City Kids?

[jandrok]

16. Right you are!

It's on the Kings of Oblivion album. The one with the flying pigs on the cover.

Good call!

[drumwolf]

22. Pink Fairies rule!

Glad to see another Pink Fairies fan. They should have been just as influential and respected as the Stooges or the MC5.

[jandrok]

31. Agreed.....

Larry Wallis was also an underappreciated guitar player. It's too bad they never acheived much acclaim. They were one rockin' band!

[CatBoreal]

38. They said Captain...

I said WOT?

[jandrok]

45. Spot on! Extra points if you can tell me what band he was in.......

The Captain was awesome!

[tigereye]

68. most of those aren't obscure though

Kate Bush?

I listen to a station that plays most of these guys with some frequency, so I may be biased. ;)

Pink Fairies I have not heard of. If you want obscure bands, you need to talk to Random Kool Zip. He wrote the book on obscure bands. :)

[jandrok]

93. You got a radio station that plays Dead Horse? I'm awestruck...

:headbang:

[tigereye]

98. well the one station might at night

most of the less thrashy stuff you mentioned does get played on this station recently or in the past: http://www.wyep.org/

and anything else you would probably hear on this great free-form
quasi anarchic, college station: http://www.wrct.org/


Between those two, that would pretty much cover a lot of what people have mentioned here. That's probably why I don't think most of the stuff mentioned is obscure. :)

[jandrok]

102. Cool links....I like to hear what other folks are listening to.....

...in their neck of the woods.

www.kgsr.com here locally plays a lot of the Americana/alt.country artists that I listed. I don't know of anyone playing the thrash stuff anymore.

No one is playing the Fairies to my knowledge. They were contemporaries of Hawkwind during the early 70's. The lead guitarist on their most accessible releases, Larry Wallis, went on to form Motorhead with Lemmy Kilmister.

Dead Horse was an old Houston band. They were so hard to define that they just invented their own style, called appropriately, Horsecore. They have long been defunct, but you can get reissues on Amazon and a few other places.

These artists are obscure in the sense that they are not widely known to most folks. They certainly don't get much airplay outside of college radio or AAA formats. Guy Clark and Bruce Robison are known more as songwriters than performers. Kelly Willis, married to Bruce Robision, still records, but on a small label.

You're lucky to get a chance to hear them. Most people just shake their heads and say "who?" when I mention any of these folks.

[tigereye]

103. these threads make me realize that

I guess I am luckier than I realize.

thanks for the info, interesting. I am always curious about bands I haven't heard of, of which there are millions, I am sure. Happy Listening. :hi:

plus you are in Austin, land of hipster music scenes. SOme of my cronies have played the SBSW.

[jandrok]

106. It's coming up soon.....

http://2005.sxsw.com/

South by Southwest, that is. Robert Plant is the keynote speaker this year.

[blockhead]

5. David Baerwald

[Feathered Fish]

6. Here are some of mine:

Painted Ship
Any band that Fred Cole has been in (esp. Dead Moon)
Things to Come
The Flamin' Groovies

[StopTheMorans]

7. Will Dailey: www.willdailey.com

incredible album

[skjpm]

9. sam phillips

and aimee mann--is she still obscure?

[tigereye]

69. no I don't think so.

wow. My definition of obscure is really skewed. We must have better weird radio here than most places!

[progmom]

89. Sam's my girl

I adore Sam Phillips!

[quispquake]

11. Currently...

Six Organs of Admittance
Brothers of the Occult Sisterhood
Josephine Foster & the Supposed
Espers
Animal Collective
Fursaxa
Wooden Wand & the Vanishing Voice
Black Forest Black Sea
Comets On Fire

Lots more too...there's a renaissance going on in the psych/folk category at this point in time...

[Lautremont]

48. Josephine Foster and the Supposed was going to be on my list!

She's great. I love that album. 'All The Leaves Are Gone' ought to be the smash single of the year.

[cags]

12. Presidents of the Unites States of America

I just love that kitty song

[tigereye]

70. I have a CD by them

[LeftPeopleFinishFirst]

127. they're not so obscure

I went to a concert of theirs back in the fall, it was awesome!

[Jessica]

13. My newest find ... Rachael Yamagata.

She's amazing ...

[bif]

54. Rachael's great!

saw her open for David Grey.

[Beware the Beast Man]

14. Fu Manchu, Kyuss, Unida, Che, Hellacopters, Earth,

Sunn o))), Desert Sessions, Slo Burn, etc.

[tigereye]

71. now those I haven't heard of

hardcore or the stuff you do?

[Beware the Beast Man]

112. A lot of those bands are doom/stoner/riff rock.

Or whichever label pleases you. It's mostly heavy rock or punk inspired by 70's hard rock.

[tigereye]

144. I made the mistake of going to the GWAR website

that was an eye opener. It was actually so over the top it was funny.

[GOPisEvil]

15. Centro-Matic, The Long Winters, The Gourds to name but 3.

[jandrok]

18. The Gourds are great! (n/t)

[Magrittes Pipe]

17. There's one in my sigline.

Of course, they're only obscure if you're not into the early-'80s L.A. post-punk/rockabilly scene.

[Richard Steele]

19. Red Elvises...

Dread Zeppelin

Naked Raygun

[CatBoreal]

39. Dread Zeppelin came and played the campus pub...

They were just weird.

[Richard Steele]

125. Yup, that's them alright!

Red Elvises were playing a club nearby last year; sweetie and I drove 45 minutes a week before the show to buy memberships....and the manager was such an ASSHOLE that we said no band was worth giving him money, and we drove back home.

So, I'll probably never see them live.

[Tafiti]

21. Keller Williams!

He is the shit. He's a one-man band (master looper), fucking amazing guitarist, and his songs are great.

To really appreciate him, you gotta see him live, but his albums are good too.

[drumwolf]

23. Here are mine:

Lungfish
Swervedriver
Moving Targets
Garden Variety
Celibate Rifles
Teengenerate
The Registrators
Head of David
Meat Beat Manifesto
Asian Dub Foundation

All of these bands don't get the respect they deserve even among indie/underground fans.

[jswordy]

26. Hawkwind

www.hawkwind.com/hw_x.htm

[bif]

110. Psychadelic band from Germany from the 70s?

I've got one of their LPs.

[no name no slogan]

117. British, actually

...and believe it or not, there's a chap here @ DU who plays with several ex-members of Hawkwind.

BTW Johnnie Rotten of the Sex Pistols was an early Hawkwind fan in the early '70s (before he became a punk).

[jswordy]

152. They are a cool band, and still playing in some incarnation.

I love their '70s stuff, have several albums. Really good. Their live concerts were wild, acid-soaked events. Their live albums are great. In a way it is kind of like pre-techno, and yet it doesn't sound like that. Hard to pigeonhole. Very mind expanding!

[kodi]

27. band > donna the buffalo. artist > kim richey

awesome talents.

[tigereye]

72. I have some a friend who is a big Donna the Buffalo fan

[kodi]

85. free dowloads for the band here

http://www.archive.org/search.php?query=donna%20the%20buffalo%20AND%20mediatype%3Aetree%20AND%20collection%3Aetree

or http://www.archive.org/audio/etree.php then search "donna the buffalo"

[Aiptasia]

28. www.ween.com

WEEEEEEEEEN!

[auburngrad82]

32. I used to like the Swinging Richards from Atlanta

They were a lot of fun.

[ChavezSpeakstheTruth]

33. The Jones Orchestra

[BBradley]

34. Dredg and Bright Eyes

Dredg is a very good band, maybe a little too proggish for the haters in the lounge though.

Bright Eyes is a one man band kinda deal, sings folky stuff.

[Dave Sund]

43. Bright Eyes is great

Conor's an alum of my high school, so of course every one of my classmates knew about him.

The Faint, Cursive, Lucky Boys Confusion, The Dog & Everything, Plain White T's, Swizzle Tree, Pomeroy, and Grasshopper Takeover.

[Maestro]

119. He also has a free iTunes * protest song out

so he is cool on my book.

[ghostsofgiants]

148. First of all, Bright Eyes isn't just Conor

Second of all, if you listen to enough of Conor's music, both Bright Eyes and Desaparecidos, he attacks corporatsm, consumerism, and the selling out of America pretty often.

[Dave Sund]

149. Well, Conor's the only constant

He brings in all sorts of friends to help him, but Conor is Bright Eyes.

Desaparecidos is some great stuff, too. Hopefully they come back with another album. I heard that Conor put them on hold for a little while.

For anyone interested, the song on iTunes is "When the President Talks to God." And there are indeed plenty of other politically-themed songs in Bright Eyes' catalog. Desaparecidos, of course, made an entire album about the rise of consumerism in Omaha, but it's broad enough to really apply to consumerism as a whole.

[Jade Fox]

35. Danny O'Keefe

[Mike Daniels]

36. Just a few off the top of my head

Gorky's Zygotic Mnynci
Scott Walker
Caravan
Beulah
Tindersticks
Blue Rodeo (obscure everywhere except for Canada)

[tigereye]

73. no, I also have a Blue Rodeo album somewhere

here in the lower 48. But then I am one of those music freakazoids. Or was before work and parenthood took over.

I like the first one.

[auntAgonist]

37. Recently found this group "The Duhks"

http://www.duhks.com/index.php

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4506655

All Things Considered, February 21, 2005 · The Duhks defy easy categorization. Fans and acquaintances have used phrases like "Blue Rodeo meets Celtic rock," "progressive soulgrass" and "Destiny's Child meets the Chieftains" to describe the Canadian band.

[bif]

57. I heard that show

they sound very interesting.

[tigereye]

75. very interesting

they have a cool look and sound really diverse.

[sugarmags]

40. Yaz

Upstairs at Eric's. Just love that album.

[CO Liberal]

41. A Few From the Doo-Wop Era

Lee Andrews and the Hearts (Long. Lonely Nights, Try The Impossible)

The Eldorados (I'll Be Forever Loving You)

The Wrens (I Need Your Love So Badly)

The Crows (Gee)

The Corsairs (Smoky Places)

[On the Road]

46. Now, What I Want to Know is

who did the following:

"Stay with Me,"
"The Bertha Butt Boogie," and most especially,
"Get Your Drunken Ass Home"

[Lautremont]

51. The Jimmy Castor Bunch did the Bertha Butt Boogie,

but I'm not sure I can help you on the others.

[datasuspect]

42. okko

dutch guy, early 70s, made an album called sitar and electrics

http://www.moviegrooves.com/shop/sitarandelectronicsokko.htm

[Willy Lee]

44. Greg Brown, Danny Barnes

[Hand]

47. Ivo Robic!

"Ivo Robic und Bert Kaempfert began working together when they made the legendary song Morgen. Following a succès d’estime in Germany, this single was a sensation in the US and earned both artists a Golden Disk.

Many co-productions followed. In 1968, there was “Ivo Robic singt Bert-Kaempfert-Erfolge”. The succinct voice of the amiable Croat in conjunction with the distinctive arrangements and the sound of Bert Kaempfert and his Orchestra is a hallmark for all fans. Almost all the songs by this successful team are available on the CD “Träume vom Glück”."

[The Revolution]

50. The Darkest of the Hillside Thickets

Shoggoths away!

[u4ic]

52. The Icicle Works, Chalk Circle

[CatBoreal]

58. Whisper to a Scream anyone?

How 'bout April Fool???

[u4ic]

104. I knew a fellow Canuck would recognize them : )

[CatBoreal]

105. That be me!

Chalk Circle put on an awesome concert at my high school.

[u4ic]

111. I seen them in concert a number of times

and they were amazing.

It's a shame they split up...they had great potential. Most Canucks I know haven't even heard of them. I guess they needed to have Platinum Blonde hair to be remembered...

Blind and When It All Comes Down are my 2 fav Works songs...


Am I so blind I cannot see? (repeat)

There's a dead girl by the roadside
There's a black man on the ground
Tarred and feathered by the wayside
Words of protest just rebound

Am I so blind that I cannot see? (repeat)

There's a dealer on the corner
There's a junkie on the street
There's an actor in the White House
The high rise towers sit like vultures, waiting...

Am I so blind, I cannot see?

Is the method in a madness
Is there reason to believe
Will the innocent find their freedom
It's harder to come clean than it is to deceive...


When It All Comes Down
(McNabb)

There is a place where angels rest,
just West of here
Think I'll pack it up and go,
it's nice this time of year
Where dreams are swallowed whole
The whirlpool that's the West
What we have is not the worst
But so far from the best

Stay here with me, tide me over
Not sure where I'm bound
Love is surely all that matters
When it all comes down
When it all comes down

I met this sad old wino,
lying in the road,
A good friend of Jack Kerouac,
too drunk to lift his load
There's gold up in the mountains,
diamonds in the dust
We know we'll find it, Jesus,
we're all messed up in different ways

Well, I once knew a girl
looked a lot like you
We had some big ideas
one by one they all fell through

Stay here with me, tide me over
Not sure where I'm bound
Love is surely all that matters
When it all comes down
When it all comes down

[Maestro]

53. Here are a few.

I have a very eclectic taste in music...

Front 242

BoDeans (Big in 80's but still around)

Eric Johnson

BRG-49

Hank III

Lamb of God

[tigereye]

77. I love the Bodeans!

[Maestro]

114. They have a new album out

that is quite good.

[tigereye]

143. yes I heard some of it recently

[bif]

55. Jonatha Brooke=best singer/songerwriter no one's heard of

Check out http://www.jonathabrooke.com

[Maestro]

67. Very good and she's a dem!

She has at least one protest * song out too.

I think it can be found at www.protest-records.com .

[tigereye]

78. she was very big here in Pittsburgh on alt radio

saw her play at our arts festival. Great songwriter. She was on CBS am weekend coffee show one weekend, so not soo obscure. :)

[progmom]

86. I thought all discriminating music fans knew JB and/or The Story

...guess not!

[bif]

96. I'm glad so many of you know of her

Seems like the only friends who know about her are people I've introduced her to.

[RevolutionaryActs]

56. The Ditty Bops, Caleb Kane,

VNV Nation(thank you Faye!), Bonnie McKee.

[tigereye]

79. The DItty Bops

that's the name of the band who did Shimmy Like My Sister Kate on Conan O'Brien. Thanks, I couldn't remember their name. They were really cool.

[RevolutionaryActs]

82. There were on Conan and I missed it!

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!! :cry:

[tigereye]

95. when was that?

It was a fairly recent holiday... hmmm. And I had it on tape, but I suspect it is long gone. Sorry.

They were very cool!

[Dedalus]

101. It was New Year's Eve...

...when they were on Conan.

The girl from The Ditty Bops is HOT!!! (The hot one, I mean).

When she put down the dulcimer and started to Charleston, I almost jizzed myself.

[woosh]

59. moxy fruvus

http://www.fruvous.com/

[CatBoreal]

61. OMG! Those guys still around??

They were a lot of fun in concert.

[woosh]

62. actually

I think they're all solo now, their last cd was 2000. They are a blast though, I used to go to their New years concert, which was a Buffalo treat.

[tigereye]

80. my husb. and I love them and have most of their CDs -

we know all the words. I never got to see them live though. Wasn't there a CD more recent that 2000? Oh, well, what a loss. They are great.

[Bonhomme Richard]

60. Toad the Wet Sprocket..........

Dulcinea is a great album. Almost every tune is great.

[jandrok]

99. Took their name from a Monty Python skit.....

Good band.

[Patiod]

63. Los Straightjackets

Surf rock

They often appear with the Fabulous Pontani Sisters, a 3-girl burlesque act. Oddly enough, the two work well together

[Wat_Tyler]

64. The Chills, The Aloof, Sabres of Paradise, The Associates, Orange Juice.

[tigereye]

81. wat

most of these bands in this thread ( not your post) aren't obscure. I've heard of at least half of the ones people listed. We need TRULY obscure bands. Where is RKZ? He would up the quotient.

Or is it just me? :)

[Wat_Tyler]

83. He certainly would. Asthmatic would too. Here's some obscurities.

Joyrider, Whiteout, 18wheeler, Finitribe, Shriek, number #1 cup, Truman's Water....

[tigereye]

92. that's more like it

I was going to dig around in my alt record pile and see what was there. 18 Wheeler looks cool. I like that kind of stuff.

ever heard of Horrorpop(s)- look like The Cramps, only ought-style??

[Wat_Tyler]

97. Nope. I am clueless about the modern world.

[progmom]

84. Did you hear that Edwyn Collins from Orange Juice is v. sick?

Apparently he just had a brain hemmorage.

Sending postive vibes his way...

[Wat_Tyler]

88. Yeah. Apparently he's a distant relative of mine, in some way.

That's what my Gran reckons, anyway. We're from the same town, so I suppose it's possible.

[Wat_Tyler]

94. Fuck - I just saw the news about his brain haemorrage.

I'd put up a thread if anyone else cared.

[ceile]

121. The lead singer of OJ is in hospital

Brain hemorrhage

[mikita]

66. Donna the Buffalo

just love 'em!

[LSK]

74. the Corrs

Not really obscure but a lot of Americans dont know who they are. They were bigger internationally.

[RevolutionaryActs]

76. I love The Corrs!

:thumbsup:

[tigereye]

87. How about Fetchin Bones, Romeo Void, Blue Rose

The Human Switchboard. Now they were a great 80s regional treat!

The Little Wretches
The Rave-ups
The Five.

(granted these three are Pittsbugh bands)

I guess I should mosey over the my album pile and dig around in it. And I found a Violent Femmes record from 1986. Cool!

[mvd]

100. Same here!

I am a HUGE fan and love all of their albums.

[CatBoreal]

90. Forgot to add...

Uisce Beatha (Celtic Punk, now defunct)
Black Lab - http://launch.yahoo.com/ar-271947---Black-Lab

[kwassa]

91. Kassav', the greatest band in the world

from the French Antilles, singing in French Creole, the inventors of a type of music known as Zouk.

http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=77:288

Zouk is a contemporary dance music of the Caribbean that uses both traditional and high-tech musical resources. It is based on interlocking rhythmic and melodic patterns rather than a dense sound where all instruments are played simultaneously. It is connected to a number of Caribbean musical styles such as biguine, merengue, compass direct, cadence, guaguancó, and danzon. Like all of these musical styles, in zouk, rhythm is one of the most significant elements. There are many musical influences on zouk, and the differences between borrowed styles are often smoothed over rather than accentuated.

(more at the site)

[mvd]

107. A list

Some may not be totally obscure, but they are all little known.

Penelope Houston
Abra Moore
Katy Rose
Maren Ord
Kay Hanley
Hope 7
Joseph Arthur
Ron Sexsmith
The Jayhawks
The Shins
The New Pornographers/A.C. Newman
Dogs Die In Hot Cars
Eisley
Leona Naess
Maria Mena
Nina Gordon (has fallen into obscurity)
Dar Williams
Suzanne Vega (has fallen into obscurity)
Tracy Bonham
Joydrop
Jo Davidson
Laura Dawn
Butterfly Boucher
The Thrills
Rilo Kiley
Kathleen Edwards
Kasey Chambers
Diana Anaid
Megan Slankard
Mindy Smith
Wilco
Mary Lou Lord
Thea Gilmore
Aimee Mann
Patty Griffin (I like her newer stuff especially)
Anna Nalick
Brie Larson (if her single doesn't take off)
Miranda Lee Richards
Rufus Wainwright
Bree Sharp (has fallen into obscurity)
Linda Thompson
The Donnas
Lamya
Sleater-Kinney
Michal
Kina
Res
M2M
Cindy Alexander
Lily Holbrook
Evan And Jaron
A Girl Called Eddy
Kate Rusby
Anna Waronker
Butch Walker
Holly Williams
Doves
The Corrs if you consider them obscure in the U.S.

and more..

[mvd]

126. Forgot Bonnie McKee

She should be on this list. I didn't go through my whole collection, but she's on my Best of 2004 list.

[xmas74]

109. How about Chris Duarte?

[Maestro]

118. I listen to him all the time

He got big air play here in Dallas back in '95 or '96 when we actually had some good stations around here. Then after that you could hear nothing of him. It didn't matter to me though. I have kept up with him. I have all of his albums. He's a great blues/rock guitarist!!!

[xmas74]

123. I am waiting for the next time he comes into my area.

I will gladly pay for a babysitter to see that. I keep track at his site all the time.

[AngryAmish]

113. American Music Club

[sundog]

115. Luna, Royksopp, Lemon Jelly, Woven

[Adenoid_Hynkel]

116. carla bozulich and the geraldine fibbers - am i alone?

www.carlabozulich.com

[peekaloo]

120. Vic Chesnutt and Tift Merritt

http://www.vicchesnutt.com/menu.html

http://www.tiftmerritt.com

[ceile]

122. Ride, Catherine Wheel, Ocean Blue, Kitchens of Distinction

[CatBoreal]

124. Catherine Wheel....

'nother good Canadian band!

[Lautremont]

155. They're English, in fact...

Though it'd be nice to claim them as our own.

But! we can proudly claim the marvellous Christine Fellows as our own!

www.christinefellows.com (I believe... I'll find out and change if needed.)

on edit: yup, I was right.

[LeftPeopleFinishFirst]

128. here's a few, dunno if they're obscure enough for you

teitur
death cab for cutie (kinda popular among some crowds)
bright eyes (also popular among some crowds)
tegan and sara
the ben taylor band
eisley
ted leo and the pharmacists
dressy bessy
belle & sebastian
the decemberists
the essex green
ladybug transistor
daphne loves derby
greeley estates

[Longgrain]

129. The Bugaloos

Whay ahead of their time...

[twenty2strings]

130. Linda Perhacs...THE real queen of psychedelic folk....

Her only album "kaleidoscope" will tingle your brain pods. Reissued...Yay!!!!!:hippie: :party: :toast: :bounce: :smoke: :wow: :grouphug: :yourock:

[Lautremont]

156. I've been trying to order that album, with no success so far.

I really want my brain tingled!

[mark414]

131. pretty much everything i listen to

[Blue Gardener]

132. Greg Brown

Not widely known, but has a very loyal following.

[Sugar Smack]

133. Let's Active!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I loved them, saw them 3 times in the late 80's. I HATE that they broke up. Let's Active. Chewing on the name a little, hmmmmmmmmm. Their talent was practically infinite. But their name may have done them in. Like naming a band "Don't Let's". Plus, I heard Mitch Easter (one of the lead singers) was a little bit of a sourpuss. They really were originals. I have everything they ever did!

[underpants]

153. I still listen to Cyprus and Big Plans for Everybody all the time

I saw them open for REM at Wm.&Mary Hall and saw them with Poster Children and someone else at the Boathouse in Norfolk.

[lateo]

134. Christian Death

I just love that name.

[hellbound-liberal]

135. Anybody remember Elf with Ronnie James Dio? Nektar? Camel?

As you can see, mine are from the 70s. How about Montrose, who played with Sammy Hagar?

[Squeech]

136. I know Camel

I have the first four on CD, and a vinyl copy of the double live.

I basically felt like they wanted to be Caravan, especially when their original bass player quit and they hired Richard Sinclair. So usually when I'm in the mood to hear something that sounds like that I put on a Caravan record instead.

Or a Richard Sinclair solo project. He's made several records on his own in the last fifteen years or so, and they're all lovely. I think you can mail order them from The Artist Shop, one of the best prog-rock vendors I know. He still plays with several of his colleagues from the good old days, like Camel drummer Andy Ward. (I also once saw Andy play with Bevis Frond, which was quite amazing.)

I remember the other bands you mentioned too, but I didn't like them as much as Camel. I had high hopes for Montrose, especially when he started a band with a synthesizer player who liked Krautrocky noise, but it wasn't as weird as I'd hoped.

[Magrittes Pipe]

137. Elf was good.

But the Rainbow records with RJD were better.

[Magrittes Pipe]

138. Solar Radio was pretty damn good.

[nytemare]

139. Porcupine Tree, Shiela Chandra, Zero 7

I am not sure if they are to an obscure stage, meaning outdated. They aren't really outdated, just not very well known.

:shrug:

[Maestro]

140. Porcupine Tree is great!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! -nt

[nytemare]

141. I like "Sound of Muzak"

It makes some good points.

[Floogeldy]

142. The Roches

They get very little airplay so I consider them obscure.

They are in my Top 5 of all time.

[baron j]

145. Julie Plante

of goth band "Autumn". Her voice would humble a tornado.

[MirrorAshes]

146. Brothers Past... they will be the next Radiohead.

amazing band outta philly...indie/electro rock w/ hard beats and powerful songwriting. They play unreal live shows too. You can listen to live concerts at http://www.bpradio.net

[ghostsofgiants]

147. The Mars Volta

The Mars Volta are by far my favourite band.

Others:
At the Drive-in
Sparta
Glassjaw
My Chemical Romance
Desaparecidos
Cursive
The Postal Service
Death Cab For Cutie
Bright Eyes
Wintersleep
Coheed and Cambria
Protest the Hero
Pretty Girls Make Graves

There's so much...

[LeftPeopleFinishFirst]

150. I consider very few of those obscure anymore

Especially MCR, Cursive, The Postal Service, Bright Eyes, DC4C, and Coheed

it seems like more and more people are listening to those bands
:shrug:

[mvd]

154. I forgot The Postal Service

Great choice! :thumbsup:

[GumboYaYa]

151. The Benjy Davis Project....

these guys are very young, but they are great songwriters. They have great hooks too. Watch for them. One day soon they will hit it big.

[steve2470]

157. Nina Gordon, used to be a singer for Veruca Salt

http://www.ninagordon.com