After the release of Bubblegum Music is the Naked Truth, David Smay and I met up in San Francisco to talk about our next book. Naturally it would be a music anthology, but what could we ask our contributors to do that would be as fun and transgressive and unexpected as their musings on ooey gooey Banana Splits, yummy-filled tummies and Joey Levine's miraculous whine?
David reminded me that my magazine Scram, ultimately, was dedicated to celebrating neglected genius. What if our next book was a series of essays honoring records that the writers loved, and no one else liked or even noticed? That should get folks agitated on both sides of the typewriter.
Out of this concept came Lost in the Grooves: Scram's Capricious Guide to the Music You Missed , recently released by Routledge and featuring the pet discs of dozens of impassioned record geeks. And whether your tastes run to baroque chamber pop or psychedelic children's music, Eurovision stars or lo-fi outsiders, swamp rock or le cabaret Française, or all of the above, there's at least one new-to-you record in LITG with your name on it.
But it's not like the LITG gang has been in suspended animation in the months since we turned in the manuscript. These cats are relentless vinyl archeologists, with ears that crave the next unknown kick. So we're bringing the discussion to the web, with this blog. We've invited the book's essayists to chime in, plus a select group of Scram contributors, featured musicians, and fellow scribes in the cause of heralding the great neglected.
And in keeping with Scram's mandate to celebrate all branches of unpopular culture, we're opening the table to topics beyond the musical. Check in regularly to see what the contributors are obsessed with, share your comments, and we hope discover new things to love.
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