I think that's a strange viewpoint Axel, to see '60s garage comps such as Teenage Shutdown as an example of what pop culture is all about, in 2011. I can hardly imagine anything less pop, as it's showcasing music that is neither popular nor contemporary.
I really enjoy the G45Central. This is the only site (apart from ebay) I visit on a regular basis. It's kind of an ivory tower and I love it for that, and I'm thankful to be tolerated here.
But it seems that most of you are not really aware of the significance of '60s garage sounds in the outside world.
A quick look at youtube brings some clarity. I randomly picked out tunes that we considered esoteric knowledge in the 80s:
The Keggs- "To Find Out": 22321 views
The Sparkles- "No Friend Of Mine": 41851 views (+ some more 1000s on optional clips)
The Rats- "Rats Revenge": 44542 views
As opposed to some of the music I also dig, which has something between 40 and 400 views.
Of course this is not saying that all of those people will go out and buy the Keggs on vinyl, but there certainly is some potential.
Learning more about the people checking out the stuff is easy, of course, because a lot of them have got to say something. In the case of 60s garage you have either very naive people, totally enthusiastic about what they hear (the first comment on the Rats is awesome: "Wikipedia says they were active 1980-84. What's the correct year of this track?"), some wanna-be experts telling the crowd what it's all about and some friends and relatives of the groups being proud of their family ("My Grandfather is the one singing this song his name is Luck Floyd. I havn't his songs he wrote with the band in a long time i dont know where the cd's are I think my dad has them but ya they were pretty amazin" says the presumptive grandchild of the Sparkles' singer).
But, and I think this is important, most of those comments are not the usual pseudo-funny bullshit you usually read on youtube. Most of them are simply really enthusiastic about having found something that has energy, that rocks, that immediately hits them. Such are the workings of '60s rock'n'roll music.
Not that I would want to see the ivory tower overrun by hordes of ignoramuses like myself...
Axel