Oh yeah, I was into them WAY after they were cool...
September 10, 2014 8:03 PM Subscribe
7. Orpheus Quartet: Turn Back WAIT NO I DIDN'T MEAN LIKE THAT
posted by louche mustachio at 8:12 PM on September 10, 2014 [5 favorites]
posted by louche mustachio at 8:12 PM on September 10, 2014 [5 favorites]
MoonOrb, you caught that too? Gotta sting for all those Claymates out there...
posted by The Pluto Gangsta at 8:36 PM on September 10, 2014
posted by The Pluto Gangsta at 8:36 PM on September 10, 2014
What is this I don't even
posted by blue_beetle at 8:38 PM on September 10, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by blue_beetle at 8:38 PM on September 10, 2014 [1 favorite]
One of these things is not like the other...
It's different in that you've heard of it, but that's to be expected from obscure-adjusted-for-time. I would expect many people to be familiar with all of the top 10 songs from every years that they've been pop-culture-aware.
It's clear that "adjusted for time" is a linear adjustment, while it's equally clear that the obscurity vs time curve is non-linear. As a result the most obscure thing in the 60-year window of 1940-2000 is considered less obscure-adjusted-for-time than at least 4 songs from the 30's.
posted by aubilenon at 8:47 PM on September 10, 2014
It's different in that you've heard of it, but that's to be expected from obscure-adjusted-for-time. I would expect many people to be familiar with all of the top 10 songs from every years that they've been pop-culture-aware.
It's clear that "adjusted for time" is a linear adjustment, while it's equally clear that the obscurity vs time curve is non-linear. As a result the most obscure thing in the 60-year window of 1940-2000 is considered less obscure-adjusted-for-time than at least 4 songs from the 30's.
posted by aubilenon at 8:47 PM on September 10, 2014
I feel a bit of my indie cred is restored knowing that Color Me Badd's "All 4 Love" is now considered obscure, because that song never stopped being my jam.
posted by Perko at 9:11 PM on September 10, 2014 [4 favorites]
posted by Perko at 9:11 PM on September 10, 2014 [4 favorites]
Based on Google hits and Wikipedia entries, not record or sheet music sales or number of artist who have covered the song--so, it's searched-for songs, not hits. And people tend to search for obscure titles, not triple platinum records.
posted by Ideefixe at 9:17 PM on September 10, 2014
posted by Ideefixe at 9:17 PM on September 10, 2014
Least Obscure Hit Songs (NOT adjusted for time)
1 Adele: Rolling in the Deep, 2011
2 Eminem: Love the Way You Lie, 2010
3 LMFAO: Party Rock Anthem, 2011
4 Gotye: Somebody That I Used to Know, 2012
5 Carly Rae Jepsen: Call Me Maybe, 2012
6 The Beatles: Help!, 1965
7 One Direction: What Makes You Beautiful, 2012
8 fun.: We Are Young, 2012
9 Macklemore: Can’t Hold Us, 2013
10 Maroon 5: Moves Like Jagger, 2011
One of these things is not like the other...
But not sure how Help! fell behind House of the Rising Sun and Satisfaction, two songs from about the same time, on the Adjusted list.
Still, this then-pre-adolescent Beatlemaniac is happy.
posted by oneswellfoop at 9:24 PM on September 10, 2014
1 Adele: Rolling in the Deep, 2011
2 Eminem: Love the Way You Lie, 2010
3 LMFAO: Party Rock Anthem, 2011
4 Gotye: Somebody That I Used to Know, 2012
5 Carly Rae Jepsen: Call Me Maybe, 2012
6 The Beatles: Help!, 1965
7 One Direction: What Makes You Beautiful, 2012
8 fun.: We Are Young, 2012
9 Macklemore: Can’t Hold Us, 2013
10 Maroon 5: Moves Like Jagger, 2011
One of these things is not like the other...
But not sure how Help! fell behind House of the Rising Sun and Satisfaction, two songs from about the same time, on the Adjusted list.
Still, this then-pre-adolescent Beatlemaniac is happy.
posted by oneswellfoop at 9:24 PM on September 10, 2014
This list is making this particular hipsters night. My old-timey playlist is getting some great additions.
posted by DGStieber at 9:57 PM on September 10, 2014
posted by DGStieber at 9:57 PM on September 10, 2014
Based on Google hits and Wikipedia entries, not record or sheet music sales or number of artist who have covered the song--so, it's searched-for songs, not hits. And people tend to search for obscure titles, not triple platinum records.
Look at this graph of artist searches, or this graph of 2013 singles searches and come back and say that again. People search for things they want.
posted by Homeboy Trouble at 10:31 PM on September 10, 2014
Look at this graph of artist searches, or this graph of 2013 singles searches and come back and say that again. People search for things they want.
posted by Homeboy Trouble at 10:31 PM on September 10, 2014
Isn't "obscure hit" an oxymoron? Like jumbo shrimp?
posted by zardoz at 11:29 PM on September 10, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by zardoz at 11:29 PM on September 10, 2014 [1 favorite]
And people tend to search for obscure titles, not triple platinum records.
I think it's safe to be that the long tail gets longer when you look at search stuff rather than sales (largely because there is still music I'd love to give people money in exchange for, but nobody seems interested) but still, look at the music that came in as least obscure. It's all pretty much exactly the music one would expect.
posted by Kid Charlemagne at 2:44 AM on September 11, 2014
I think it's safe to be that the long tail gets longer when you look at search stuff rather than sales (largely because there is still music I'd love to give people money in exchange for, but nobody seems interested) but still, look at the music that came in as least obscure. It's all pretty much exactly the music one would expect.
posted by Kid Charlemagne at 2:44 AM on September 11, 2014
If you wanted to test your hypothysis, do a google trends search on any 80's or 90's one hit wonder, comparing their one hit to all the other songs on that album. I know how I'd bet.
posted by Kid Charlemagne at 2:45 AM on September 11, 2014
posted by Kid Charlemagne at 2:45 AM on September 11, 2014
So...Obscurity tends to diminish over time with the rise of mass media and national distribution? Whooda thunk?
posted by Thorzdad at 4:29 AM on September 11, 2014
posted by Thorzdad at 4:29 AM on September 11, 2014
And don’t cry for them. All they need is one Wes Anderson movie to get back in the game.
If he gets "Bad Blood" by Neil Sedaka back in the game, I quit the game.
posted by superelastic at 5:05 AM on September 11, 2014 [4 favorites]
If he gets "Bad Blood" by Neil Sedaka back in the game, I quit the game.
posted by superelastic at 5:05 AM on September 11, 2014 [4 favorites]
I was interested to see "Dancing with Tears in My Eyes" on the "most obscure" list, since I only knew it from the version X recorded on Under the Big Black Sun and never realized it was a cover of an obscure Top Ten hit from decades earlier.
posted by layceepee at 5:09 AM on September 11, 2014
posted by layceepee at 5:09 AM on September 11, 2014
It's a shame that "Shake Ya Tailfeather" by Nelly, Diddy, and Murphy Lee is on the Spotify playlist. That song was HISTORY BABY.
I also suspect we will not be seeing it in a Wes Anderson movie.
posted by Bulgaroktonos at 5:32 AM on September 11, 2014 [4 favorites]
I also suspect we will not be seeing it in a Wes Anderson movie.
posted by Bulgaroktonos at 5:32 AM on September 11, 2014 [4 favorites]
I half wonder whether The Beatles' "Help" and "Yesterday" titles are boosted further out of obscurity thanks to also being common search keywords.
posted by ardgedee at 6:52 AM on September 11, 2014
posted by ardgedee at 6:52 AM on September 11, 2014
I mean, I assume not because they're two of the most famous songs by one of the most famous bands, so they'd deserve to be on the "least obscure" list anyway. But it'd be funny if there was some accidental coincidental score gaming going on.
posted by ardgedee at 6:53 AM on September 11, 2014
posted by ardgedee at 6:53 AM on September 11, 2014
But then why is the 2010 hit "how is babby formed" not on the list?
posted by stupidsexyFlanders at 6:58 AM on September 11, 2014 [2 favorites]
posted by stupidsexyFlanders at 6:58 AM on September 11, 2014 [2 favorites]
So...Obscurity tends to diminish over time with the rise of mass media and national distribution? Whooda thunk?
For me, an interesting thing about the list is the exceptions to this result, which as you suggest is just what we might expect. Why, for example, does P. Diddy have 2 songs on the Top 50 time-adjusted list? Is he uniquely forgettable among hitmakers?
posted by layceepee at 7:06 AM on September 11, 2014 [2 favorites]
For me, an interesting thing about the list is the exceptions to this result, which as you suggest is just what we might expect. Why, for example, does P. Diddy have 2 songs on the Top 50 time-adjusted list? Is he uniquely forgettable among hitmakers?
posted by layceepee at 7:06 AM on September 11, 2014 [2 favorites]
Man, this Spotify playlist of the most obscure songs is basically a collection of the worst music ever. I was kind of excited to hear it, since my interest in popular music really does stretch back to 1900 – but almost all of it seems to be the worst kind of pablum. I guess this is the stuff that got popular and then was instantly forgettable, for various reasons – largely because, apparently, some of it was topical, and on a topic that a lot of people suddenly wanted to forget and never talk about again. And none of it was stuff that anybody really found themselves wanting to return to. And it seems to include several sappy songs darkened by tragic moments in American history, like Kay Kyser and his Orchestra's World War 2 tear-jerker ballad "He Wears A Pair of Silver Wings" (sung by Harry Babbitt), and also the just barely pre-grunge theme song to a terrible kind of musical version of 90210 from the early 1990s, "How Do You Talk To An Angel?" These are the sorts of songs that everyone managed to convince themselves they loved during some national nightmare, but were loath to return to after we all woke up.
posted by koeselitz at 9:07 AM on September 11, 2014
posted by koeselitz at 9:07 AM on September 11, 2014
("He Wears A Pair of Silver Wings" is actually rather interesting, though, because it does seem to be, um, a love song from a man to the male pilot he misses. I know that narrative distance is sort of a thing, particularly in older music – the intention is probably to give voice to what women back home were supposed to be feeling, and the singer's gender probably isn't supposed to enter into it. Still, it's almost kind of a stirring thing when you think about it as a homosexual ballad, isn't it? Well, no, probably not – still pretty sappy – but interesting nonetheless.)
posted by koeselitz at 9:11 AM on September 11, 2014
posted by koeselitz at 9:11 AM on September 11, 2014
I was interested to see "Dancing with Tears in My Eyes" on the "most obscure" list, since I only knew it from the version X recorded on Under the Big Black Sun and never realized it was a cover of an obscure Top Ten hit from decades earlier.
Huh. I wouldn't consider that particularly obscure for an 80s hit? At least, it gets played by Pandora for me, despite Ultravox not being in my seed list, and I've heard it on the radio at least once or twice in the last few years. And I don't listen to the radio a lot.
posted by tavella at 3:18 PM on September 11, 2014
Huh. I wouldn't consider that particularly obscure for an 80s hit? At least, it gets played by Pandora for me, despite Ultravox not being in my seed list, and I've heard it on the radio at least once or twice in the last few years. And I don't listen to the radio a lot.
posted by tavella at 3:18 PM on September 11, 2014
Spotify is coming to Canada! Want to try it before everyone else? Tell us your email to join the queue for a pre-launch invite.
posted by ovvl at 7:42 PM on September 11, 2014
posted by ovvl at 7:42 PM on September 11, 2014
Roy Ingraham and his Orchestra - Chant Of The Jungle (1929) is pretty catchy.
posted by unliteral at 10:36 PM on September 11, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by unliteral at 10:36 PM on September 11, 2014 [1 favorite]
No Weird Al love, eh? He's so obscure he's just in the middle of the graph. You'd never notice him.
Seriously though the article reminds me of these charts showing that “timbral variety” (the diversity of different kinds of sounds appearing in songs) has been decreasing over time.
I have noticed this for years - songs these days stick to just one note until the chorus, but the songs that become mega hits (CeeLo Green) dance all along the scale.
posted by St. Peepsburg at 7:51 AM on September 12, 2014
Seriously though the article reminds me of these charts showing that “timbral variety” (the diversity of different kinds of sounds appearing in songs) has been decreasing over time.
I have noticed this for years - songs these days stick to just one note until the chorus, but the songs that become mega hits (CeeLo Green) dance all along the scale.
posted by St. Peepsburg at 7:51 AM on September 12, 2014
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posted by escabeche at 8:09 PM on September 10, 2014 [1 favorite]