The Lonely Beat: Phase Two of the Exotica Project
The Exotica Project’s long-promised next phase is finally up and running:
The Lonely Beat: 100 themes from the Naked City
The Lonely Beat’s format should be familiar, but the collection focuses on post-War music inspired by, or evocative of (sometimes only loosely) the cluster of motifs, images and clichés associated with the mid-century American city. This is a city based in some reality but remade by pop culture – the gritty, dangerous, bohemian Naked City.
Again, the selections are diverse, with a panoply of 45s from different quarters featured: obscure jazz musicians and exotic torch singers, Latin quintets and Hollywood arrangers summoning the city jungle, mambo-crazy R&B vocal groups and instrumental rock ‘n’ roll combos, beatnik parodists, hipster-entertainers and various fringe characters.
I urge that the selections not be read in terms of either authenticity or purely commercial qualities – often they possess some measure of both. I would also urge that the Lonely Beat’s index of motifs and themes not be taken too seriously. The concept is more diffuse than the Exotica Project’s, the collection makes sense gathered together as a sort of world in sound, and its compilation was all subject to my own personal tastes and whims. Selections at the Lonely Beat are included just as much for some indefinable atmospheric component as they are for any discrete, indexed motif.
Anyway, there’s still plenty of tweaking to be done, and much more that I hope ultimately to do with these beds of cultural obscura. In the meantime, I hope you’ll enjoy the Lonely Beat.
hi
the lonely beat looks great but i’m unable to hear anything, is that how it should be? sorry im new to your site
thanks
Andrew:
Are you using an iPhone to connect by any chance? The site uses a flash audio player, so it won’t appear or work on iPhones, alas.
The second phase is even better than the first incarnation, and that’s saying something!
Great, great music. Thank you!
I loved the first set and I’m looking forward to hearing this one.
Love it! Thanks for your hard work.
The Lonely Beat is sooo good, not only the idea with the breakdown into characteristics is a stroke of genius, each track is a killer too! Thanks a lot.
Thanks so much for the great songs ! Any chance you can post the flip side of the Deborah Walley song ?
Absolutely loving the tracks you are putting up, the lonely beat is an absolute goldmine, I’ve no idea how you are finding so much obcure music, but I’m very glad you are sharing it. Thanks !!!!
Thanks all! Really appreciating the response.
Is there a flip side to “Weather Report Love”? I can find nothing about the original release except here.
Thanks!
Todd: There is, but as I recall it isn’t very memorable.
That was prompt! Thanks again.
I just wanted to say that this is completely awesome, and you have done some wonderful work here. Do you have plans on making each of the tracks on the site downloadable? Thanks
Thanks so much. I am keeping the tracks non-downloadable, at least for the moment.