Deep Dive - Outsider Musicians
*There is a subtle distinction between the category of music here called Outsider Music with another category called Private Press or Vanity Press Music. Some of the resources here use these interchangeably. We also have a deep dive called Private Press Records - There is some overlap with that category here as half of the music kind of fits into both worlds.
https://www.vintageannalsarchive.com/deep-dive---private-press-records.html
About
Outsider music (from "outsider art") is music created by self-taught or naïve musicians. The term is usually applied to musicians who have little or no traditional musical experience, who exhibit childlike qualities in their music, or who suffer from intellectual disabilities or mental illnesses. The term was popularized in the 1990s by journalist and WFMU DJ Irwin Chusid. Outsider musicians often overlap with lo-fi artists, since their work is rarely captured in professional recording studios. Examples include Daniel Johnston, Wesley Willis, and Jandek, who each became the subjects of documentary films in the 2000s. Although outsider music has existed since before written history, it was not until the advent of sound reproduction and music exchange networks that such a genre was recognized. Music journalist Irwin Chusid is credited with adapting "outsider art" for music in a 1996 article for the Tower Records publication Pulse!. As a DJ on the New Jersey radio station WFMU in the 1980s, he had been an influential figure in independent music scenes. In 2000, he authored a book titled Songs in the Key of Z: The Curious Universe of Outsider Music, which attempted to introduce and market outsider music as a genre. He summarized the concept thus:
... there are countless "unintentional renegades," performers who lack [an] overt self-consciousness about their art. As far as they're concerned, what they're doing is "normal." And despite paltry incomes and dismal record sales, they're happy to be in the same line of work as Celine Dion and Andrew Lloyd Webber. ... Their vocals sound melodically adrift; their rhythms stumble. They seem harmonically without anchor. Their instrumental proficiency may come across as laughably incompetent. ... They get little or no commercial radio exposure, their followings are limited, and they have roughly the same likelihood of attaining mainstream success that a possum has of skittering safely across a six-lane freeway. ... The outsiders in this book, for the most part, lack self-awareness. They don't boldly break the rules, because they don't know there are rules.
Articles
https://www.vinylmeplease.com/blogs/magazine/10-best-outsider-music-albums-own-vinyl
http://www.artandpopularculture.com/Outsider_music
https://www.fopp.com/outsider-artists/
https://www.thestrandmagazine.com/single-post/2019/09/04/exploring-outsider-music-an-interview-with-irwin-chusid
https://crowcrumbs.com/2020/05/26/outsider-musicians-that-inspire/
https://www.ranker.com/list/outsider-music-bands-and-musicians/reference
https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/the-5-best-outsider-musicians-daniel-johnston-lockdown/
Resources
https://outsider.fandom.com/wiki/List_of_outsider_musicians
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Outsider_musicians
Documentary and Video Playlist
The Beautifully Strange World of Outsider Music
https://youtu.be/CVks07UgVQQ
Vintage Annals Archive Playlist
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLh4zYKaPKme40i8MkA5YRa2OFCE0q-Bmh
Music Playlists
Cosmic Country Outsiders Mix
(This mix is the most expansive one and has over 2307 songs)
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3KyoNarni0b9ZuJ0HvvJW5?si=73f121880f0e4eaa
Songs in the Key of Z, Vol, 1: The Curious Universe of Outsider Music
https://open.spotify.com/album/7hkWmPdLAFG3WnXJKBKyRL?si=aNdOwGMRTcqKJhZyGwMtSg
Paul Major: Feel The Music, Vol, 1
https://open.spotify.com/album/2OehnX88BCTXaZrQ6doAfj?si=h78vAEgSS9uLpAANlp4D9Q
Outsider Music Mix
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1lHExnufUawZHVPEWrVOrn?si=1708596061d740e4
Out There: The Numero Guide to Outsider Music
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2MT2eB885nXNmIEpOCd3mF?si=14aed904ef554edc
Outsider Music Mix
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/7ixOjyIYGD13SLRZwcp9Tz?si=c9d198af546a4783
Outsider Music Mix
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/37i9dQZF1EIfmnp0BYadxk?si=2b4280b15f854bde
Outsiders: Musica de Locos
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4UQgia1EAUkGegHPPAdpWe?si=939ce125a4414013
Outsider Music History (1941 - 2022)
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/72njymp9cT9wxBvdIyuO8E?si=23ef97402601406e
The Outsiders Mix
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0NxCtMgqN5gTF0Hj5QPQL5?si=c6d6336b782544bf
Books
Songs in The Key of Z: The Curious Universe of Outsider Music
https://www.amazon.com/Songs-Key-Curious-Universe-Outsider/dp/1556523726
Feel The Music: The Psychedelic Worlds of Paul Major
https://www.amazon.com/Feel-Music-Psychedelic-Worlds-Major/dp/194486007X
Enjoy The Experience Homemade Records 1958-1992 (rare and expensive as in $600)
http://fleamarketfunk.com/2013/04/18/enjoy-the-experience-homemade-records-1958-1992/
https://www.vintageannalsarchive.com/deep-dive---private-press-records.html
About
Outsider music (from "outsider art") is music created by self-taught or naïve musicians. The term is usually applied to musicians who have little or no traditional musical experience, who exhibit childlike qualities in their music, or who suffer from intellectual disabilities or mental illnesses. The term was popularized in the 1990s by journalist and WFMU DJ Irwin Chusid. Outsider musicians often overlap with lo-fi artists, since their work is rarely captured in professional recording studios. Examples include Daniel Johnston, Wesley Willis, and Jandek, who each became the subjects of documentary films in the 2000s. Although outsider music has existed since before written history, it was not until the advent of sound reproduction and music exchange networks that such a genre was recognized. Music journalist Irwin Chusid is credited with adapting "outsider art" for music in a 1996 article for the Tower Records publication Pulse!. As a DJ on the New Jersey radio station WFMU in the 1980s, he had been an influential figure in independent music scenes. In 2000, he authored a book titled Songs in the Key of Z: The Curious Universe of Outsider Music, which attempted to introduce and market outsider music as a genre. He summarized the concept thus:
... there are countless "unintentional renegades," performers who lack [an] overt self-consciousness about their art. As far as they're concerned, what they're doing is "normal." And despite paltry incomes and dismal record sales, they're happy to be in the same line of work as Celine Dion and Andrew Lloyd Webber. ... Their vocals sound melodically adrift; their rhythms stumble. They seem harmonically without anchor. Their instrumental proficiency may come across as laughably incompetent. ... They get little or no commercial radio exposure, their followings are limited, and they have roughly the same likelihood of attaining mainstream success that a possum has of skittering safely across a six-lane freeway. ... The outsiders in this book, for the most part, lack self-awareness. They don't boldly break the rules, because they don't know there are rules.
Articles
https://www.vinylmeplease.com/blogs/magazine/10-best-outsider-music-albums-own-vinyl
http://www.artandpopularculture.com/Outsider_music
https://www.fopp.com/outsider-artists/
https://www.thestrandmagazine.com/single-post/2019/09/04/exploring-outsider-music-an-interview-with-irwin-chusid
https://crowcrumbs.com/2020/05/26/outsider-musicians-that-inspire/
https://www.ranker.com/list/outsider-music-bands-and-musicians/reference
https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/the-5-best-outsider-musicians-daniel-johnston-lockdown/
Resources
https://outsider.fandom.com/wiki/List_of_outsider_musicians
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Outsider_musicians
Documentary and Video Playlist
The Beautifully Strange World of Outsider Music
https://youtu.be/CVks07UgVQQ
Vintage Annals Archive Playlist
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLh4zYKaPKme40i8MkA5YRa2OFCE0q-Bmh
Music Playlists
Cosmic Country Outsiders Mix
(This mix is the most expansive one and has over 2307 songs)
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3KyoNarni0b9ZuJ0HvvJW5?si=73f121880f0e4eaa
Songs in the Key of Z, Vol, 1: The Curious Universe of Outsider Music
https://open.spotify.com/album/7hkWmPdLAFG3WnXJKBKyRL?si=aNdOwGMRTcqKJhZyGwMtSg
Paul Major: Feel The Music, Vol, 1
https://open.spotify.com/album/2OehnX88BCTXaZrQ6doAfj?si=h78vAEgSS9uLpAANlp4D9Q
Outsider Music Mix
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1lHExnufUawZHVPEWrVOrn?si=1708596061d740e4
Out There: The Numero Guide to Outsider Music
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2MT2eB885nXNmIEpOCd3mF?si=14aed904ef554edc
Outsider Music Mix
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/7ixOjyIYGD13SLRZwcp9Tz?si=c9d198af546a4783
Outsider Music Mix
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/37i9dQZF1EIfmnp0BYadxk?si=2b4280b15f854bde
Outsiders: Musica de Locos
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4UQgia1EAUkGegHPPAdpWe?si=939ce125a4414013
Outsider Music History (1941 - 2022)
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/72njymp9cT9wxBvdIyuO8E?si=23ef97402601406e
The Outsiders Mix
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0NxCtMgqN5gTF0Hj5QPQL5?si=c6d6336b782544bf
Books
Songs in The Key of Z: The Curious Universe of Outsider Music
https://www.amazon.com/Songs-Key-Curious-Universe-Outsider/dp/1556523726
Feel The Music: The Psychedelic Worlds of Paul Major
https://www.amazon.com/Feel-Music-Psychedelic-Worlds-Major/dp/194486007X
Enjoy The Experience Homemade Records 1958-1992 (rare and expensive as in $600)
http://fleamarketfunk.com/2013/04/18/enjoy-the-experience-homemade-records-1958-1992/