The most famous X you've never heard of...

Everything else
1

Every once in a while when I discover a new media property, with a passionate fanbase, I play a game with myself of wondering “How long has this thing existed? How do so many people love this thing so much, but I’ve just never heard of it?”

The corollary becomes: what else is out there? What’s the most famous/popular/valuable thing I’ve never heard of?

The first time I remember doing this was seeing an episode of MTV Cribs featuring (IIRC) Birdman, a rapper with an absurdly large house, and who apparently sold millions of albums, and whom I had never even heard of.

As this is a mainly games forum, my current games example is the “largest gaming franchise I’ve never heard of”. Not game, but full blown franchise. To which I present Touhou Project, a primarily shmup series/franchise that’s loosely owned by one creator, but has a weird fan-creation ethos, and has dozens of official and hundreds of unofficial games. You may recognize it from recent Western releases on e.g. the Switch, which has had shooters, roguelikes, and arena combat fighting games released this year.

Anybody else have their own examples?

2

I guess I ran across one of these things not long ago. I didn’t understand why there was so much adoration by a few folks over an old Toyota truck. I, quite honestly, didn’t know the story of the Toyota Hilux. I’ve certainly been in Tacoma trucks growing up and as an adult, but didn’t understand there was an even more loved model, the HiLux.

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If I had been a dedicated Top Gear fan, I would have probably caught at least one episode that they did on the vehicle and just how indestructible they are.

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Or if I had known how dependable they are and that they are sought after during conflicts, perhaps I would have known of the Toyota War.
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Or I may have known that it is the preferred vehicle of ISIS.

Part of what caused the split into an international vehicle, versus one within the US as well, had to do with the Chicken Tax imposed in 1964 by President Lyndon B. Johnson. Because of the long term effects of that, companies that sell “light trucks,” within the U.S. must be manufactured here, which pins multiple regulations on them, and for some time, effectively diminished the high praise of the diesel models, since the US didn’t have as strong of a diesel market for personal vehicles.

So there you go. One of the most beloved and popular cars in the world isn’t here and may never be here, all due to a tariff. And I had no idea.

3

I am a bit cheating, as this isn’t exactly what the topic is about, but I think it relates. The most striking for me is when getting back yearly from the Far East, to have some of my friends think I am kidding them when I have no idea who all those American singers or actors are. It seems Frecnh people can’t compute some places in the world are outside of the American pop culture sphere of influence. And thus, the reverse applies too: how weird that some persons I never ever heard about are actually superstars!
The one instance that I remember particularly is some singer named… something Williams (but not yours, @CLWheeljack!), which was apparently huge a couple of years ago.

Aside from that, and more in respect to the topic, there are a bunch of American kiddie cartoon that occasionnally make an outing onto mobile or PC gaming, and I am always surprised how dedicated a public there seems to be for those, even amongst grownups. Some I remember are Steve’s WorldSteven Universe —thanks Armando!—, featuring a fat kid and a bunch of strong girls and which gave birth to a quite cool RPG for phones, and The Last Airbender, which spawned a game about a side-character by Platinum Games, if I am not mistaken.

4

As you whippersnappers get to be up in years, you will encounter new people, places, and things in pop culture that are a big deal and unknown to you almost daily.

Every time I see a list of Oscar or Emmy winners I don’t recognize at least half the names.

5

Steven Universe is so worth your time, however limited it is. Unlike a lot of TV cartoon canon these days (cough Adventure Time cough) it doesn’t take much time to spin up and get real interesting, and the last couple of seasons have just been extraordinary TV.

I’ve been thinking about the thread topic, but wanted to comment this while I remembered to :)

6

Hey, we’re all of a certain age here (mostly.) I had the following conversation last night while my girlfriend was closing at her bar. Some song was on and her junior employee knew it and was humming it, it was hip hop, which I still thought I knew a bit of. But then it dawned on me. I’ve become an old fart. Since the election I’ve nearly listened to MSNBC on workdays on the drive into work, and NPR on the drive home from work. I don’t turn on the radio anymore. What music I do hear is streamed playlists off Spotify. I’ve entrenched myself in my old person castle and didn’t realize what was happening outside the moat.

So, apologies to Cardi B, I don’t know you and didn’t know your single, I Like It.

And this is where I realize I’ve crossed over into old, I didn’t particularly care for the tune. You could say, I Don’t Like It.

7

Oh dang, I knew it felt “off” while I typed it, thank you for the proper name. I just checked and it is actually on my local Netflix!
I don’t want to spoil myself by looking it up, but is the series finished or on-going (I get the feeling by the way you phrased it is ongoing)?

I hope I won’t regret having played the game before, if I get hooked.

8

With all due respect to popular music, pretty much everything from Eminem to Beyonce to Faith Hill to Drake to Taylor Swift is Not For Me. And that’s how it should be, tbh, and i wouldn’t worry about it.

There are a couple of Kayne songs i don’t mind, though i doubt how much input he actually had in that video of “Power” because it feels so glossy and high studio.

I don’t listen to the crap i listened to as a kid either though (but you will have to take Cake from my cold dead Dad hands).

9

Ongoing, though there’s a lot of meaningful closure for lots of major storylines so far!

There are some episode guides available online that suggest a handful of eps you can skip early on to let the story get going a little faster, but A) the episodes are literally ten minutes long, and B) one of the things that’s impressed me most about the latest seasons is how tiny bits of worldbuilding and characterization for even very minor supporting cast slowly build into something much more meaningful.

The show seems like it’s all about the crazy scifi adventures of Steven and then Gems, but the sweet girl at the doughnut shop and the weird kid on the docks are treated with just as much respect and care throughout, and it’s a richer show for it.

Sorry, I could wax poetic about SU for hours!

10

I’m trying not to worry about it. but I think what struck me is that I realized I stepped COMPLETELY out of the main stream pop bubble and didn’t realize just how little I miss it. If I remember this period for my parents, not long from now I will encounter the next stage, which is the lock-in of hair style and fashion that will then not change until the day I eventually pass.

11

It’s inevitable, I think. Old farthood waits to claim us all. I listen to the radio and I’m occasionally surprised to find a song that I actually do kind of like. Mostly all this Imagine Dragons and Twenty-One Pilots crap just annoys me. Give me The Clash and The Pixies and Elvis Costello and I’m just fine. That’s right, I am embracing old farthood. If I’m going down in flames, may as well enjoy the ride.

12

I don’t know if that counts, but I had never even heard of Namie Amuro until this September 16th, which is when she retired from showbiz for good. By the way, today (in Japan, that is, since it’s the 20th there already) is her 41st birthday, so happy birthday to her!

13

Funny story time that seems to fall into this thread, but it’s super-long so I’ll hide it;

Summary

I’ve led a weird life. A really weird life. I never really appreciated it until an old girlfriend listened to me talking about something one day and just said “If I didn’t know this was all true, I’d swear you were making everything up.” It should be noted that I’m a very unfamous guy. Occasionally, I’ll bump into people who recognize me from something I’ve done (my favorite-yet-most-awkward was when someone came up out of the blue and thanked me for saving his life … in front of my son, who to this day has no clue why), but I actually take pains to go unnoticed as I’ve had a ringside view of how stressful and sometimes destructive notoriety can be, and decided I want no part of it.

Still, I grew up with a very behind-the-scenes-yet-public family, and I met numerous famous people because of it. Of course, being a little kid who hadn’t yet stumbled into the social ladder competition of middle- or high school, this didn’t carry a whole lot of personal weight. Seeing someone in person or on TV was pretty much the same, except in person they’d ruffle my hair or give some bland “cute kid” compliment while annoyingly taking me away from whatever I was having fun doing at the time. Perhaps the only time it felt special was when I met my hero, John Glenn. I really wanted to be an astronaut when I grew up, and so that was pretty darn cool. But yeah, I was about as spoiled and unappreciative of the amazing people around me as one could be. I can’t blame my parents, as this was more due to the very limited perspective of a little kid.

So one day when my parents told me a guest was coming for dinner, I didn’t pay much attention. The nice china was out, but that happened from time to time. I was calculating in my head whether I’d be able to watch my favorite tv show that night or not when eventually our guests came; an old man and his wife who I pretended to know and shook their hands with a smile. I’d done this a million times before. Most of the talk was between my father and the old man, while my mom talked with his wife. They’d glance over toward me and occasionally say something about how proud they were, etc… I was basically twiddling my thumbs, and my mom eventually said the food should be ready and asked me to help her serve.

After that was done, I sat down across from the older man, and he started up a conversation with me. He asked what I liked to do with my time, what my hobbies were, what I hoped to do when I grew up, and so forth. He must have been good with kids, as he quickly picked up I was giving generic answers and changed subjects fast. He asked me about what I liked to watch on tv and what sports I liked. I went on and on about tv shows he probably couldn’t have cared less about, but he asked why they were good. I explained I was a baseball and football fan, even though I really didn’t have too much of a grip on the intricacies at that age. He was a nice guy. He asked if there were big plans for the weekend, and I said we were going to a parade the next day. He said he’d see me there with a big smile.

Then night came to an end and they left. I liked him.

At the parade, I was up close to the edge so I could see everything, and there he was walking down the street. He looked over and saw me, waved me over and with my parents permission I ducked under the ribbon and ran over. For brief while, he lifted me up and put me on his shoulders. Despite being in his 60’s and rail-thin, there was surprising strength. This was REALLY awesome! He and I were both waving to the people at the side of the street and they were cheering. Eventually, he put me back down and gave a huge smile, saying I should probably head back to my folks, now, or else they might worry. I waved to him, and of course I waved to the people in the crowds one more time. My parents gave me hugs when I got back to them.

Curious, I finally asked my dad who he was, and that forever more became “the time I met Jesse Owens.”

14

Now that is a cool story. I’ve met a few famous people but what strikes me is the wide span of “famous,” and how broad the reaction is. Also hiding my semi-long winded tale.

Summary

I met Andy Griffith when my family lived in Mount Airy, NC. Mount Airy is or is close to where he actually grew up. The show is loosely based on that town and nearby Pilot Mountain, NC, thus Mayberry and Mt. Pilot in the show. Each year the town of Mount Airy has a festival where they have events and sometimes some old folks who were on the show, etc. He came one year. I saw and met him, and he was surrounded by people who absolutely adored this old man. It was surreal. I’m sure, to him, it was like, oh crap, that festival is going on again.

More recently in life I volunteered at the Panthers games for about 6 years, back when they were atrocious. I worked in the press box (not broadcast box,) with the very easy job of setting up a network for the stats crew that records the play-by-play each game. At any rate, occasionally you would see a player running late to the game in the back entrance to the stadium or whatnot. Or more occasionally an game broadcaster walking by during a break. But one particular Monday game I had to walk out pretty late from the stadium with none other than Boomer Esiason. Boomer wasn’t a super huge star, but he was with the league for quite a while and was an analyst for 20 years I think before retiring this year. I saw and recognized him and chatted with him while he walked out to the parking lot. I’m assuming he had his own ride or whatever. And … nobody knew him. Nobody noticed him: not in the elevator, not outside the stadium, not in the parking lot, etc. He was a nobody, just leaving work and going off to do whatever he wanted to do. Seeing him in jeans and a golf shirt, I doubt even I would recognize him again.

Thus is the wide variety of “being famous.”

15

I keep an ear to pop radio from time to time and there are occasionally songs that are good for what they are, but the stuff that passes for rock these days is such garbage. Imagine Dragons are such a boring band to me.

16

In your defence, she pretty much jumped out from an 18 years old wormhole ;)

Wow.

17

That’s really pretty awesome! (and I loved Andy Griffith, lol)

18

When Kanye West blurted out “George Bush doesn’t care about black people” at the Katrina relief telethon, it was the first time I’d ever heard of Kanye West.

And then when he crashed Taylor Swift’s music video award acceptance speech, it was the first time I’d ever heard of Taylor Swift.

What I’m saying is Kanye West tends to be my gateway to knowing who’s who in the pop music scene.

19

I made a commitment to consume a ton of new music this year. Up to about 275 new releases so far, and that’s pretty laser-targeted on a handful of genres.

I haven’t loved all of it, but overall I’m hovering around 40%, which is gonna make my best-of list this year a real bastard to produce.

But then I look at, for instance, the recent Hopscotch music festival held here in Raleigh, at which I knew approximately 4 bands out of like 100. Two of whom were local bands at an afterparty. And I just get kinda overawed. I’ll never be able to keep up with the sheer quantity of music in the world, but it’s so exciting to know there’s so much of it :-D

and @delirium there’s a huge ton of great rock n roll being produced in 2018. Not all of it makes it to the radio, though. . .

20

I agree there is good rock music being made, but almost none of it is the popular stuff you hear out and about.