F R I D AY, O C TO B E R 0 6 , 2 0 0 6Favorite Obscure AlbumsI'm a sucker for this sort of thing: The Guardian asked 49 rock stars,producers, intelligentsia etc. to offer up their obscure gems -- thoseCDs they can toss on the stereo that invariably prompts people to say,"What IS this?" and then write down the name and head out to therecord store.</p><p> It's the print version of that scene from "High Fidelity"where they play The Beta Band and count the seconds before customersstart buying the CD. (Hey, I wonder how they'll do that scene in thenew Broadway musical version of the movie?) You'll read abouteverything from Shuggie Otis and The Electric Prunes and if you're likeme, you'll immediately write down a few titles that intrigue you andhead out to the record store.</p><p> Of course, I do suffer from some sort ofartistic inferiority complex: I hate it when people reference somebrilliant, acclaimed novel as if everybody has read it or a classic filmthat everyone presumably has seen or a terrific album that of courseeveryone owns (if they're cool); I hate it, that is, when I haven't seen,read or listened to it and immediately run out and do so because I don'twant anyone else to know about some gem when I don't.Best of all, the Guardian has a contest urging you to submit your ownobscure gem for consideration.</p><p> Naturally, I couldn't resist and the firstCD to spring to mind was "It's The Talk Of The Town and Other SadSongs" by Boulevard of Broken Dreams.I don't know why or how I stumbled across this obscure gem -- was itthe eye-catching album cover that used a pulp fiction cover (completewith a seen-it-all dame lugging groceries home)? Whatever the reason,I bought this collection and fell in love with these versions of standardsfrom the Twenties to the Forties (including "I Cover The Waterfront,""In Other Words, We're Through," and "Hummin' To Myself" longbefore I figured out where it had come from.The opener -- "Boulevard Of Broken Dreams" is an instrumental withRoland Brunt on tenor sax delivering a brashly straightforward melodythat stops people in their tracks every time.</p><p> It's followed by tunes like"Detour Ahead" delivered in hard-to-place accents that catch your earwith their slightly off deliveries and rhythmic choices -- who the hell issinging and where are they from? I didn't know, but this oddball curioNext Blog»sal1mineo@hotmail.comSEARCH BLOG FLAG BLOGFOLLOW BLOGP O P S U R F I N G .</p><p> C O MS U R F I N G T H E WAV E S O F P O P U L A R C U LT U R EB Y M I C H A E L G I LT Z & F R I E N D SPOPSURFING.COM: Favorite Obscure Albumshttp://popsurfing.blogspot.com/2006/10/favorite-obscure-albums... 1 of 37/28/09 5:46 PMFAV O R I T E L I N K SAmericablogFive O'Clock Lightning baseball blogDeep Pop -- Lori Lakin's BlogThe Back Page -- Jason Page on ESPNRadioCine-Blog -- George Robinson's BlogDocuments On Art & Cinema - DarylChin's BlogBrucie G's Wondrous Blog OfAdventure and Mystery -- BruceGreenspan's BlogB L O G A R C H I V E▼ 2009 (17)▼ July (3)1939 -- The Greatest Year ForMoviesSwimming Bans Those Hi-TechSuits!Best Movies Of The Year -- TheMaster List► June (3)► May (1)► March (2)► February (1)► January (7)► 2008 (86)► 2007 (781)► 2006 (2412)► 2005 (5)C O N T R I B U TO R SBiboyMichael in New YorkAaron POPSURFING.COM: Favorite Obscure Albumshttp://popsurfing.blogspot.com/2006/10/favorite-obscure-albums... 2 of 37/28/09 5:46 PMPOPSURFING.COM: Favorite Obscure Albumshttp://popsurfing.blogspot.com/2006/10/favorite-obscure-albums... 3 of 37/28/09 5:46 PM
