Obscure
Books related by title: Jude the Obscure (1895) - Thomas Hardy - Thomas the Obscure (1941) - Maurice Blanchot
Books related by title: That Obscure Object of Desire (1977)
That Obscure Object of Desire (1977)
Definition
The term obscure has many connotations, but the main ones are deficient in light; as in dark, hidden, as in an obscure retreat and ambiguity as in :“an impulse to go off and fight certain obscure battles of his own spirit” (Anatole Broyard) [Aug 2006]Obscure, recording label
British musician Brian Eno started the Obscure label in Britain in 1975 to release works by less-known composers. The first group of three releases included his own composition, Discreet Music, and the now-famous The Sinking of the Titanic by Gavin Bryars. The second side of Discreet Music consisted of several versions of Pachelbel's canon to which various algorithmic transformations have been applied, rendering it almost unrecognizable. Side 1 consisted of a tape loop system for generating music from relative sparse input. These tapes had previously been used as backgrounds in some of his collaborations with Robert Fripp of King Crimson, most notably No Pussyfooting. This methodology (coined Frippertronics) was later used by Robert Fripp, among other artists, on future albums. Only ten Obscure albums were released, including works by John Adams, Michael Nyman, and John Cage. At this time he was also affiliating with artists in the Fluxus movement. --http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brian_Eno [Aug 2006]
Obscure information
Wikipedia contains obscure information that would not be covered in a conventional encyclopedia. Wikipedia's coverage of subjects is patchy, based on the whims of its volunteer contributors. Readers should not judge the importance of topics based on their coverage in Wikipedia, or assume that a topic is important merely because it is the subject of a Wikipedia article. --http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Content_disclaimer [Feb 2005]Trivia
Before the trivia subculture became widespread, via radio and TV quiz shows and books, the term commonly referred to bits of information to which most adults in the culture had at one time been exposed, via standard education or via popular culture. In time the term came also to comprise more obscure and arcane bits of knowledge. --http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trivia#Quiz_shows [Aug 2006]
Obscurity and notability
There is a difference between an obscure but important and verifiable topic and a topic which is of importance only to its creator, and which therefore has received no external scrutiny. --http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Notability#Obscure_content_isn.27t_harmful [Aug 2006]Fancruft
As with most of the issues of importance and notability in Wikipedia, there is no firm policy on the inclusion of obscure branches of popular culture subjects. It is true that things labeled fancruft are often deleted from Wikipedia. This is primarily due to the fact that things labeled as fancruft are often poorly written, unreferenced, unwikified, and non-neutral - all things that lead to deletion. Such articles may also fall foul of Wikipedia's policy against creating "indiscriminate collections of information". Well-referenced and well-written articles on obscure topics are from time to time deleted as well, but such deletions are controversial. It is also worth noting that many articles on relatively obscure topics are featured articles. --http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Fancruft [Aug 2006]