# Hidden tracks on CDs **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 11, 2002, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hidden-tracks-on-cds/131856 "2002-10-11T18:55:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2002, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hidden-tracks-on-cds/131856/41 "2002-10-12T22:15:41Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Musicat \* > \*\* > Unh, I have the original Sgt Pepper LP, and I don’t know what you mean by a hidden track, as I’ve played it enought to almost wear it out. (The LP’s hidden somewhere in my basement, or I’d run and look at it right away.) Do you mean a concentric spiral inside the main one, like the Monty Python LP? Or what? \*\* It’s in the runout groove on (I think) the B side. Mine’s tucked away as well and it’s been too long to remember for sure. There’s nothing much there, just a bunch of people laughing and talking at once, rather like at a party. I remember having to disable the auto-off feature on my changer to hear more than a moment of it before the needle was lifted. DD ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2002, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hidden-tracks-on-cds/131856/42 "2002-10-13T01:41:04Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Skeezix \* > \*\*I seem to recall Alannis Morissette’s (or however she spells it) big breakthrough album… ‘Jagged Little Pill?’… anyway, that one had an unlisted track at the end, after a significant chunk of dead air. Something about her comitting a stalker-like B&E on some ex-boyfriend of hers, or summat like that. Pretty much a 180 from the rest of the material on that one…[/sub] \*\* It’s called " Your house," and it happens to be my favorite song of hers. It used to annoy me before I got my stereo, since my portable cd player wouldn’t fastforward through tracks, so I’d have to listen to the song on the track it shares to hear it. **Better than Ezra** has bonus tracks on Deluxe and Friction Baby. **Cool For August** has hidden song on the end of Grand World, but if as many as 5 other dopers knew who they were I’d die of shock. \*\* Poe\*\* has one on the end of Hello that’s just her telling people that they should leave. A site [http://www.turbine.com/oddcd/](http://www.turbine.com/oddcd/) I just looked at claimed that **Everclear’s** Afterglow has " I’ll be hating you for christmas" on the cd, yet I don’t think I’ve ever heard it while playing the cd…I know that I have other cds with hidden tracks, but I can’t remember which. ---
**Author:** ![Junior\_Spaceman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Junior\_Spaceman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Junior_Spaceman)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2002, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hidden-tracks-on-cds/131856/43 "2002-10-13T01:43:41Z")
The song at the end of **Pearl Jam’s** _Ten_ is called “Master/Slave”, so the fact it has a name which isn’t listed anywhere on the sleeve suggests that it is an actual hidden track, not just the last part of “Release” (the last song). BTW, On the Japanese version, it’s listed as “?”. The **Willie Nelson** tribute record _Twisted Willie_ has a hidden track before the start of track 1, which is an interview with Johnny Cash about Willie - it’s not that interesting though, as it’s basically the same as the liner notes of the album. **Mr Bungle’s** great _Disco Volante_ album has a thoroughly worthless sorta bonus track, which sounds like a garage band stuffing around. I think it’s listed inside, but not indexed or listed on the back. ---
**Author:** ![angelicate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@angelicate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/angelicate)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2002, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hidden-tracks-on-cds/131856/44 "2002-10-13T02:05:55Z")
Everclear’s “I’ll be Hating You For Christmas” is a great song. I had the CD in my car for a while, and I kept forgetting it was on there, so the CD would go off and I wouldn’t realize I was driving along in silence, and then that song would kick in. HenrySpencer- The fact that it actually is titled is why I called it a “hidden” track, but then if you think about it, it’s not really hidden, just uncredited. I don’t know. ---
**Author:** ![KGS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/90ced4/32.png) [@KGS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KGS)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2002, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hidden-tracks-on-cds/131856/45 "2002-10-13T02:06:23Z")
Hidden tracks on CDs are one of my biggest pet peeves. I hate, hate, HATE them. Did I mention that I hate them? In fact I’d like to find the first person that did that and blow his head off with a shotgun!!! Who was it, anyway? Nirvana? Oh…umm, nevermind. 🙂 Even worse are those tracks “hidden” by placing them on track #69 (how original) with dozens of short, silent tracks between them and the rest of the CD. Forget about playing those CDs on shuffle mode, folks!!! As for truly ingenious hidden tracks – **Course of Empire** ’s _Initiation_ has two of 'em. The first is called “Running Man” and is placed on track zero, so you have back up from track one to play it (as described earlier in this thread.) The second is called “Tomorrow” and comes during a horrible 4-minute burst of ear-splitting feedback on track #10. It’s recorded “out of phase” so you need a mono CD player to hear it, or rewire your speakers in a bizarre way that I was always too scared to try. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Torque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Max\_Torque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Torque)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2002, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hidden-tracks-on-cds/131856/46 "2002-10-13T03:01:30Z")
There’s a hidden song on Stephen Lynch’s CD **A Little Bit Special** , and I think he may have hidden it for a reason. If you’ve never heard Lynch’s stuff, he’s a comedy musician. He has a great voice and I think he’s quite talented, but he chooses themes for his songs that are, well, harsh. Anyway. The hidden track is a song called “Kill A Kitten.” He’s received so much flak for the lyrics that he had to [remove them from his webpage](http://www.stephenlynch.com/killakitten.html). ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2002, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hidden-tracks-on-cds/131856/47 "2002-10-13T03:56:30Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Max Torque \* > \*\*There’s a hidden song on Stephen Lynch’s CD **A Little Bit Special** , and I think he may have hidden it for a reason. If you’ve never heard Lynch’s stuff, he’s a comedy musician. He has a great voice and I think he’s quite talented, but he chooses themes for his songs that are, well, harsh. > > Anyway. The hidden track is a song called “Kill A Kitten.” He’s received so much flak for the lyrics that he had to [remove them from his webpage](http://www.stephenlynch.com/killakitten.html). \*\* I don’t know if that tracks any worse than some of his other songs… Special Fred, for example 🙂 \ I love him…or at least have a serious celebrity-crush on him. He’s funny, twisted, and very attactive to boot. What’s not to love? \ ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2002, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hidden-tracks-on-cds/131856/48 "2002-10-13T04:08:16Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by DesertDog \* > It’s in the runout groove on (I think) the B side. Mine’s tucked away as well and it’s been too long to remember for sure. There’s nothing much there, just a bunch of people laughing and talking at once, rather like at a party. I remember having to disable the auto-off feature on my changer to hear more than a moment of it before the needle was lifted. I don’t have my Sgt. Pepper LP copy handy to check this. It would be interesting if anyone has a CD version of the album to see if that can be heard near the end. But it sounds like you are defining anything that appears after your pickup arm is lifted as a “hidden” track. So how do you know that everyone’s arm is lifted at the same place? And what makes you think the Beatles didn’t intend for the average listener to hear it? Otherwise, it’s just a long record and your automatic pickup is set for short ones. I remember a classical record once that always quit prematurely on my turntable. But I doubt that Beethoven planned it as a hidden track. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![ElwoodCuse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/edb3f5/32.png) [@ElwoodCuse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElwoodCuse)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2002, 7:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hidden-tracks-on-cds/131856/49 "2002-10-13T07:44:33Z")
The CD version of SPLHCB has the hidden track. The tape does not. ---
**Author:** ![TigoleBitties](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/cab0a1/32.png) [@TigoleBitties](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TigoleBitties)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2002, 8:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hidden-tracks-on-cds/131856/50 "2002-10-13T08:09:57Z")
**The Aquabats** loads their cds with hidden surprises. Often or not the hidden ones are some of their best work. ---
**Author:** ![Skijumper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3e96dc/32.png) [@Skijumper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skijumper)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2002, 10:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hidden-tracks-on-cds/131856/51 "2002-10-13T10:43:34Z")
An earlier thread on hidden tracks can be found [here.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=81895) Now that hidden tracks are so commonly found, perhaps we should start a list of albums that DON’T have them at all… ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2002, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hidden-tracks-on-cds/131856/52 "2002-10-13T15:03:23Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by ElwoodCuse \* > The CD version of SPLHCB has the hidden track. The tape does not. Interesting. On the CD, is it a separate track number as shown on your player, but not mentioned in the printed documentation? How long is it? Inquiring minds want to know! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Legomancer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/779978/32.png) [@Legomancer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Legomancer)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2002, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hidden-tracks-on-cds/131856/53 "2002-10-13T15:35:33Z")
I too hate the hidden tracks. Well, I don’t mind them per se, but I do mind them when they obnoxiously impede shuffle mode or worse, put a huge chunk of blank space in a song. There’s no decent reason to do that. Dramarama, on their “Vinyl” CD, has a track called “Steve is Here” which is about a minute long. Instead onf one track clocking at one minute, though, iot’s about 60 tracks each a second long. So as it plays, the track counter increases, not the time. Fun. And a real bitch on shuffle mode. As for the “track zero” tracks, Mono Puff (a TMBG side project) has a truly frightening one called “Hidden Track” on their “It’s Fun to Steal” CD. It’s bizarre, with an electronic voice saying, “Help. I am trapped in the hidden track. It’s cold and dark here. All of my friends are gone.” IF bands want to put an unlisted track on a CD, that’s fine, but don’t make me play games to hear it, and don’t screw up my possibilities in enjoying your CD to hear it. ---
**Author:** ![evilyam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f475e1/32.png) [@evilyam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/evilyam)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2002, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hidden-tracks-on-cds/131856/54 "2002-10-13T18:27:46Z")
**buckgully** , how did you manage to rip a track 0? What software do you use? I’ve been trying to rip the 0 tracks on some of my CDs, like Less Than Jake’s Losing Streak. ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2002, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hidden-tracks-on-cds/131856/55 "2002-10-14T00:34:56Z")
**evilyam,** could you hear it? Then you can rip it! If all else fails, run the preamp output from a Hi-Fi CD player into your sound card and capture the sound. Works always, even on “protected” CDs. Not the first choice, but always a backup method. ---
**Author:** ![vivalostwages](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/d07c76/32.png) [@vivalostwages](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vivalostwages)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2002, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hidden-tracks-on-cds/131856/56 "2002-10-14T00:51:43Z")
Travis slipped a few onto _The Invisible Band_ . They are not heard unless you let the CD keep going for a few minutes after the last regular track. ---
**Author:** ![Skeezix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/839c29/32.png) [@Skeezix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skeezix)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2002, 7:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hidden-tracks-on-cds/131856/57 "2002-10-14T07:07:18Z")
> [@](#): > > _Originally posted by **elfkin477** _: > **It used to annoy me before I got my stereo, since my portable cd player wouldn’t fastforward through tracks, so I’d have to listen to the song on the track it shares to hear it.** I dug this CD outta storage, and replayed it a bit earlier. It actually _is_ on its own (unlisted) track, 13. There’s about 20-30 seconds of silence at the beginning of the track itself, though. Dunno if this copy’s a first or third or whatever ‘printing’ of the CD, so YMMV. Oh, and **Musicat** : That Mad magazine record was “Makin’ Out,” wasn’t it? I think. Or possibly it was the ‘burping song’, which I cannot for the life of me recall any more clearly than that. Damn. I’d completely forgotten about those until this thread. [sub]And do you have any of the “monster cereals” records, from the back of the boxes, way back when? Count Chocula, and that gang? I’ve been trying to find copies/mp3s/for sale cheap of those blasted things for years now.[/sub] ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2002, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hidden-tracks-on-cds/131856/58 "2002-10-14T14:02:17Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Skeezix \* > That Mad magazine record was “Makin’ Out,” wasn’t it? I think. Or possibly it was the ‘burping song’, which I cannot for the life of me recall any more clearly than that. I think the [burping song](http://www.wfmu.org/MACrec/mad.html) was earlier, and not a multi-track gimmick record. The multi-track might have been Makin’ Out, but I can’t remember. I just went downstairs and found the box of 30 Eva-Tone sound sheets or so, but couldn’t find the Mad one, damn. It must exist only in my memory. > [@](#): > > [sub]And do you have any of the “monster cereals” records, from the back of the boxes, way back when? Count Chocula, and that gang? I’ve been trying to find copies/mp3s/for sale cheap of those blasted things for years now.[/sub] That isn’t in my collection, either. Sorry – I must have been addicted to the wrong cereal! ---
**Author:** ![Legomancer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/779978/32.png) [@Legomancer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Legomancer)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2002, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hidden-tracks-on-cds/131856/59 "2002-10-14T14:33:11Z")
The multi-track Mad recording was called something like “It’s a Big Bright Beautiful Day”. ---
**Author:** ![buckgully](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/eb9ed0/32.png) [@buckgully](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buckgully)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2002, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hidden-tracks-on-cds/131856/60 "2002-10-14T22:30:09Z")
I usually use itunes under mac os X, but when that doesn’t work (like for that cd) I use cdparanoia under linux. It does a lot more than most other rippers. It can work around a lot of problems that other rippers have problems with, like scratched or damaged discs, or (as I’ve be told) discs with certain kinds of copy protection. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hidden-tracks-on-cds/131856.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hidden-tracks-on-cds/131856.md?page=4)