Obscure Music History

Ever since COVID-19 began (August 2019) Tom's found it quite hard to get any guests into the studio, but after a year of hardball experimentation, he managed to get the ultimate podcast interview using a new fandangled video phone! Check out this episode with experimental contemporary classical composer Tracy Ore! In this fantastic interview, Tom uncovers Tracy Ore's "Selective Playing" technique and the philosophy behind it, as well as playing several renditions from the Therefore I'm Not series throughout the episode. || View the original Bree McPlonq score for Therefore I'm Not here, and read more about Tracy Ore on the Obscure Music History website ( www.obscuremusichistory.com ) || This is a new version of an older episode. It's better now. Sorry for any confusion (particularly the confusion caused by this sentence).

After 45 chapters of non-music related information from our extensive biography of Subtle Sam, we return to music, much like Subtle Sam himself. Subtle Sam attempted to build upon his career as a film producer and writer. He invested into his new script Happily Ever After, but couldn't secure the fashion icon Linda Applestein in the lead role. Subtle Sam pulled the project completely, and subsequently sold the script to a small production company. Seeing promise in the script, veteran director Antonio Shalibri pulled some strings with some heavy investors. The project generated enough buzz to capture the eye of Linda Applestein's booking agency, and the model agreed to do the film. Subtle Sam's dream of Happily Ever After had finally become a reality! The film achieved mainstream success thanks to the director's choice of casting leading man Joshua Phoenix, a millionaire astrophysicist and part-time ski instructor. The natural chemistry between Applestein and Phoenix is undeniable, especially during the long passionate embraces. Following the movie's success, Subtle Sam made enough money to produce his debut album Subtle Sam Sings The Blues. He began working on the album shortly after Applestein and Phoenix announced their engagement. On Subtle Sam Sings The Blues we hear a different side to Subtle Sam. This Subtle Sam is yearning, displaying an outspoken ache for something more than he has, to live "Ever After Happily". Little is known about the context of the album, but the record got many reviews for being "remarkably earnest and suitably pathetic", resulting in a series of successful down-tempo country blues albums from the artist over the following decade. Subtle Sam did not attend the Applestein/Phoenix wedding. Reports say that on the day of the ceremony, Subtle Sam was rushed to hospital when he was discovered floating face down in a river, clutching a toaster. When the doctors managed to bring Subtle Sam to consciousness, his first words were "Well... that sure didn't work." We also look into Josh Cameline's famous cover of Every After Happily.

In Part 1 of our special profile on country actor-turned-singer Subtle Sam, we take a glance at his first release "Hey, How Are You?" from the film Leisurely Rider. In doing so, Obscure Music History explores how the film was a completely fictionalised depiction of the actual definitely-non-sexual completely-platonic just-friends i-love-you-like-a-brother relationship between Subtle Sam and his childhood neighbour Linda Applestein. || Special thanks to Mikey Burnside & Alice Marklew for this episode. "Hey, How Are You?" is available on Spotify and iTunes. For more information, including a screenshot of the film Leisurely Rider, visit https://obscuremusichistory.com/Subtle-Sam-Hey-How-Are-You-1938

Tom has a candid interview with music historian (and regular guest) George Greggenmeyer, looking at several unorthodox holiday songs whose other work we'll be hearing from over the next few episodes. That includes vocal group The Pink Smudges, lovebird duo Mary L & James R, country hero Subtle Sam, and the spectacular Josh Cameline. || All songs are available on the EP "An Obscure Music History Christmas", available on Spotify and iTunes. https://open.spotify.com/album/2PbpWMYJskNdRUiokrKoja?si=A8t3UgrQTDeAZa3OYPQ4jw || Special thanks to Ellie Downing for the title "Leave A Glass Of Whiskey For Santa (Leave The Bottle Out For Me)". Additional thanks to Frank Loesser, as I used an arrangement of his for the horn blasts and the solo, which I converted to MIDI and tweaked around a bit. I couldn't get a reply from the two emails I found so... if you're out there Frank Loesser, get in touch and let's sort something out! || Added note: I refer to Jesus as "some bastard kid" during one of the songs - this was a reference to the Jewish tradition of Mary & Joseph being pledged to each other, but not technically "married", at the time of Jesus' birth (Although since writing and recording the song, I've come across some variations on the understanding of the pledging ceremony). It's a deep joke about religious semantics, but probably just comes across as an insult. I'd just thought I'd clear it up while I could. Incidentally, I think Jesus sounds like a pretty cool dude, and he had to have had a sense of humour to have such regular dedicated friends, so I think he'd probably just laugh it off with a bit of a "that's a terrible joke, now please pass the wine" kinda way. Aaaanyway, let's move on. || https://obscuremusichistory.com/The-Pink-Smudges-Leave-A-Glass-Of-Whiskey-For-Santa-1942

Electronic dance troupe Jâgèñflürg were at the forefront of musical innovation; one of the pioneer groups of the electro genre. Their album Leben is considered way ahead of its time, on account of none of the technology existing before its release date. Simply astounding. We log on to Jâgèñflürg's mainframe and ask them about Life (or "Leben"). During the episode, three new songs are generated on the spot, and we also hear how they were influenced by classical composer Tracy Ore's philosophy "Music Is Everywhere". || https://obscuremusichistory.com/Jagenflurg-Leben-1975

In this special episode broadcast, we delve into the International Sound & Radio Archives and uncover a long forgotten radio program which also happens to be named "Obscure Music History". The episode explores crooner Lenny Ziff's classic jazz standard 'Is It Your Love I'm Buying?' from the 1920s! || To follow Tom Hogan's new podcast mini-series, Missing Richard Mercer, visit http://missingrichardmercer.com. In this episode, we also name dropped fellow podcasters Welcome To Patchwork - https://omny.fm/shows/welcome-to-patchwork - and Childproof - https://childproofpodcast.com. Check out all the other nominations for the 2018 Australian Podcast Awards - https://australianpodcastawards.com/latest-news/finalists-announced || Obscure Music History is a podcast investigating historic rarities and B-sides of unpopular music. And it's a comedy! Produced by Tom Hogan. "Is It Your Love I'm Buying?", and all music from Obscure Music History, is available on iTunes and Spotify. Subscribe on Apple Podcasts or Stitcher or wherever you get your podcasts from! For more information, visit ObscureMusicHistory.com. || http://www.obscuremusichistory.com/Lenny-Ziff-Is-It-Your-Love-I-m-Buying-1927

This week we invite back Sandy Kloystrüm from The Actives to talk about the song It Sucks To Be Peter Best, because we just really wanted to see them again. || Obscure Music History is a podcast investigating historic rarities and B-sides of unpopular music. And it's a comedy! Produced by Tom Hogan. "It Sucks To Be Peter Best", and all music from Obscure Music History, are available on iTunes and Spotify. Subscribe on Apple Podcasts or Stitcher or wherever you get your podcasts from! For more information, visit ObscureMusicHistory.com. || http://www.obscuremusichistory.com/the-actives-it-sucks-to-be-peter-best-1985

Looking at music from all angles is our specialty here, and this time we talk to Marc Cook - the producer of Monster Bait's pop punk extravaganza, The Fart Earthquake. What makes a producer tick? || This week special guests: Georgia Kirby, Brendan Kennedy, Liz Hayton, Erin Greenway! || Obscure Music History is a podcast investigating historic rarities and B-sides of unpopular music. Produced by Tom Hogan. "The Fart Earthquake", and all music from Obscure Music History, are available on iTunes and Spotify. Subscribe on Apple Podcasts or Stitcher or wherever you get your podcasts from! For more information, visit ObscureMusicHistory.com. || http://www.obscuremusichistory.com/monster-bait-the-fart-earthquake-1997

Enigmatic singer-songwriter Joshua Phoenix doesn't only give insight into his process, but also some advice for all young songwriters everywhere. We investigate his natural power over an audience with the live recording of his pop-acoustic ballad, "Then You Called My Name". || Obscure Music History is a podcast investigating historic rarities and B-sides of unpopular music. Produced by Tom Hogan. "Then You Called My Name", and all music from Obscure Music History, are available on iTunes and Spotify. Subscribe on Apple Podcasts or Stitcher or wherever you get your podcasts from! For more information, visit ObscureMusicHistory.com. || http://www.obscuremusichistory.com/joshua-phoenix-then-you-called-my-name-2002-1

This week we bring out the most controversial song we could find, due to it's horrific context which requires the use of excessive explicit language and lurid adult content. [WARNING: This episode has a disclaimer.] || This week's special guest: Jason L'Ecuyer! With special thanks to Hazel Kitson. || Obscure Music History is a podcast investigating historic rarities and B-sides of unpopular music. And it's a comedy! Produced by Tom Hogan. "Hug Me & Take My Honey", and all music from Obscure Music History, are available on iTunes and Spotify. Subscribe on Apple Podcasts or Stitcher or wherever you get your podcasts from! For more information, visit ObscureMusicHistory.com. || http://www.obscuremusichistory.com/val-dormand-quintet-hug-me-and-take-my-honey-1950

We pull famous recluse, Rufus Grave, out of their hovel to discuss the moody balladeer's career, with special attention to the turmoil of success in creativity, and a song about an empathetic existential crisis; "No Alms For No Arms". || Obscure Music History is a podcast investigating historic rarities and B-sides of unpopular music. Produced by Tom Hogan. "No Alms For No Arms", and all music from Obscure Music History, are available on iTunes and Spotify. Subscribe on Apple Podcasts or Stitcher or wherever you get your podcasts from! For more information, visit ObscureMusicHistory.com || http://www.obscuremusichistory.com/rufus-grave-no-alms-for-no-arms-1979

It's our first ever LIVE SHOW!!! The crowd was amazing in the concert hall, and really brought the house down as we interviewed Tommy Hoggins (no relation)about his angry dance soundtrack, "Go Go Go (Dance Dance Dance)"! || Obscure Music History is a podcast investigating historic rarities and B-sides of unpopular music. Produced by Tom Hogan. "Go Go Go (Dance Dance Dance)", and all music from Obscure Music History, are available on iTunes and Spotify. Subscribe on Stitcher or Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts from! For more information, visit ObscureMusicHistory.com. || You can view the Dance sequence for "Go Go Go (Dance Dance Dance)" at https://youtu.be/KwvdYNmG70A || http://www.obscuremusichistory.com/tommy-hoggins-go-go-go-dance-dance-dance-1983

We welcome back George Greggenmeyer to help solve the mystery of The Swooning's operatic metal prog masterpiece "Boneshaker". Greggenmeyer attacks the song from all angles, but even an academic genius needs to enlist help sometimes... || Obscure Music History is a podcast investigating historic rarities and B-sides of unpopular music. Produced by Tom Hogan. "Boneshaker", and all music from Obscure Music History, are available on iTunes and Spotify. Subscribe on Stitcher or Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts from! For more information, visit ObscureMusicHistory.com. || Guest voice and lyrics by Ellie Downing. || http://www.obscuremusichistory.com/the-swooning-boneshaker-2000

Rap troupe K.o.K providing in-depth insight into the conceptual production behind their breakout hit "Pony Time", including a rap-genius line-by-line breakdown of Zag-F's opening verse... Don't say we didn't warn you. || Obscure Music History is a podcast investigating historic rarities and B-sides of unpopular music. Produced by Tom Hogan. "Pony Time", and all music from Obscure Music History, is available on iTunes and Spotify. Subscribe to the podcast from wherever you get your podcasts from! For more information, visit ObscureMusicHistory.com. || http://www.obscuremusichistory.com/k-o-k-pony-time-1986

We ask charity stadium rock billionaire jerkface Mickey "King" Hickson if everything is really going to be alright, and he tells us: Yes. || Obscure Music History is a podcast investigating the anthology of rarities and B-sides of unpopular music. Produced by Tom Hogan. "Everything's Gonna Be Alright", and all music from Obscure Music History, are available on iTunes and Spotify. Subscribe to the podcast from wherever you get your podcasts from! For more information, visit ObscureMusicHistory.com. || http://www.obscuremusichistory.com/mickey-hickson-everything-s-gonna-be-alright-1984

It's a classic non-demoninational holiday special episode, so we go off book and find a music historian to explain their favourite holiday musical moment. George Greggenmeyer shares his bootleg recording of "Ho Ho Ho (It's Your Mum)", and we find out about the historic inaccuracies behind The Little Drummer Boy. || Obscure Music History is a podcast investigating the anthology of rarities and B-sides of unpopular music. Produced by Tom Hogan. "Ho Ho Ho (It's Your Mum)", and all music from Obscure Music History, are available on iTunes and Spotify. For more information, visit ObscureMusicHistory.com. || "Ho Ho Ho (It's Your Mum)" features Laura Caeser on backup vocals, with lyrics by Ellie Downing & Tom Hogan, and special thanks to Tom Watson || http://www.obscuremusichistory.com/sallow-ho-ho-ho-it-s-your-mum-2003

In this tell-all interview, barbershop quartet The Pink Smudges open up, divulging the tragic details of how they came to be. This emotional interview explores notions of national identity, and parenthood, underlying their old timey single "Found A Dollar, Found A Dime". || Obscure Music History is a podcast investigating the anthology of rarities and B-sides of unpopular music. Produced by Tom Hogan. The Pink Smudges, and all music from Obscure Music History, are available on iTunes and Spotify. For more information, visit ObscureMusicHistory.com. || http://www.obscuremusichistory.com/the-pink-smudges-found-a-dollar-found-a-dime-1932

One-hit-wonder Jesse Brooks explores the the socio-political issues that influenced the songwriting process behind "Sexually Ambiguous People", regarding the price of fame, and whether or not the song has a bass line. || Obscure Music History is a podcast investigating the anthology of rarities and B-sides of unpopular music. Produced by Tom Hogan. Jesse Brooks, and all music from Obscure Music History, is available on iTunes and Spotify. For more information, visit ObscureMusicHistory.com. || http://www.obscuremusichistory.com/jesse-brooks-s-a-p-1980

Iconic musical theatre duo, Kenny & Richards, get nostalgic over "I Remember", taken from their musical Marty The Matador, disseminating complex music theory throughout their candid conversation. || "Marty The Matador" poster design by Edmund Iffland - https://edmundiffland.com/ || Obscure Music History is a podcast investigating the anthology of rarities and B-sides of unpopular music. Produced by Tom Hogan. Kenny & Richards, and all music from Obscure Music History, is available on iTunes and Spotify. For more information, visit ObscureMusicHistory.com. || http://www.obscuremusichistory.com/kenny-richards-marty-the-matador-1981

Sandy Kloystrüm, principal songwriter for The Actives, discusses the four piece band returning to their roots. She explains the relationship between their song "Have You Read My Book?" and the search for a single unifying theory of the universe. || Obscure Music History is a podcast investigating the anthology of rarities and B-sides of unpopular music. Produced by Tom Hogan. The Actives, and all music from Obscure Music History, is available on iTunes and Spotify. For more information, visit ObscureMusicHistory.com. || http://www.obscuremusichistory.com/The-Actives-Have-You-Read-My-Book-1988