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Wednesday, April 20, 2005

Oblivians - Popular Favorites

Not only is Popular Favorites one of my top albums of the '90's, it's pretty damn close to joining that hallowed ground reserved for "desert island discs" and other such nonsense. Yep, I can listen to this one over and over again. Hardly a surprise given the mythic quality taken on by the Oblivians since their demise in the late '90s. From 1993 to 1997 the Memphis trio of Jack, Greg and Eric "Oblivian" graced us with releases full of sleazy, fuzzy fun. Mixing soul, 60's garage, post-war blues, gospel and even some kraut rock into their standardrock and roll framework the Oblivians defined the new "garage" sound of the 90's. It isn't fair to lump all their releases into one post, so I'll focus on Popular Favorites. 14 tracks of fuzzed out mayhem, released by Crypt in 1996. It is probably their most immediate and most satisfying moment, though you could hardly go wrong picking up the earlier Soul Food or the incredible gospel punk of 9 Songs w/ Mr. Quintron. My favorite cuts:

tracks to pin your ears back
Oblivians - Christina.mp3
Oblivians - Pinstripe Willie.mp3

a couple designed to get you up and moving
Oblivians - Hey Mama, Look At Sis.mp3
Oblivians - Do The Milkshake.mp3


  • buy Popular Favorites
  • Eric Friedl runs Goner Records
  • Greg Cartwright was in the Compulsive Gamblers and currently heads Reigning Sound
  • Jack Yarber was also a Compulsive Gambler and currently appears to have a lot of stuff going on