# Most Unlikely or Unusual Popular Song? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** music\ **Created:** [June 26, 2022, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-unlikely-or-unusual-popular-song/966902 "2022-06-26T18:05:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![wguy123](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wguy123/32/3161_2.png) [@wguy123](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wguy123)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2022, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-unlikely-or-unusual-popular-song/966902/101 "2022-06-28T21:46:44Z")
> [@Pardel-Lux](#): > > Though for the weirdest music album ever, Lou Reed’s Metal Machine Music is unbeatable. Was any song on that album ever consider popular? ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2022, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-unlikely-or-unusual-popular-song/966902/102 "2022-06-28T21:57:20Z")
> [@wguy123](#): > > Was any song on that album ever consider popular? Was anything on there ever considered a song? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2022, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-unlikely-or-unusual-popular-song/966902/103 "2022-06-28T22:11:02Z")
> [@Pardel-Lux](#): > > Though for the weirdest music album ever, Lou Reed’s Metal Machine Music is unbeatable. Neil Young’s “Arc” is close. It’s a 35 minutes compound of guitar feedback from his 1990 tour with Crazy Horse. If you listen carefully, there’s a real sense of composition in this piece though (done by editing in the studio). [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/q9Z5KIMqoLA/maxresdefault.jpg "Arc (Live)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q9Z5KIMqoLA) ---
**Author:** ![wguy123](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wguy123/32/3161_2.png) [@wguy123](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wguy123)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2022, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-unlikely-or-unusual-popular-song/966902/104 "2022-06-28T22:31:21Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > Was anything on there ever considered a song? Good point. > [@EinsteinsHund](#): > > Neil Young’s “Arc” is close. It’s a 35 minutes compound of guitar feedback from his 1990 tour with Crazy Horse. If you listen carefully, there’s a real sense of composition in this piece though (done by editing in the studio). I’ve listened to both these albums and at least Arc has parts I would call “musical”. Metal Machine Music…not so much. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2022, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-unlikely-or-unusual-popular-song/966902/105 "2022-06-28T22:31:44Z")
I was unable to find a chart position but this is Utah Phillip’s most popular “song”(spoken actually) and it involves shit eating(no mention of grinning). [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/0zb1qsVqjwg/hqdefault.jpg "Utah Phillips - Moose Turd Pie") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0zb1qsVqjwg) ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2022, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-unlikely-or-unusual-popular-song/966902/106 "2022-06-28T22:49:24Z")
> [@wguy123](#): > > I’ve listened to both these albums and at least Arc has parts I would call “musical”. Metal Machine Music…not so much. I congratulate your adventurousness, I couldn’t listen to the whole of Metal Machine Music other than in snippets, that convinced me that it’s unhearable. I even OWN a copy of Arc, and at least listened twice, and yes you’re right, it still has a resemblance to music. But I love both guys, bless 'em even for their “experiments”. At least they gave us some peculiarities to talk about on message boards. ---
**Author:** ![phs3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8491ac/32.png) [@phs3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phs3)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2022, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-unlikely-or-unusual-popular-song/966902/107 "2022-06-29T02:12:45Z")
And it has an interesting history. [The Strange Story Of 'Convoy': How A Trucker's Protest Anthem Became A '70s Hit : NPR](https://www.npr.org/2017/06/06/531749486/the-legacy-of-convoy-how-a-trucker-s-protest-anthem-became-a-70s-hit) and [“Convoy” Creators Chip Davis and William Fries Roll On To Success](https://www.thecountrydaily.com/1995/12/12/convoy-creators-chip-davis-and-william-fries-roll-on-to-success/) are fun reads. And note that one of the two dudes founded Mannheim Steamroller, which is about as far as you can get from _Convoy_. I have fond memories of hearing that song as a young teen! ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2022, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-unlikely-or-unusual-popular-song/966902/108 "2022-06-29T02:14:34Z")
> [@phs3](#): > > I have fond memories of hearing that song as a young teen! It was the first 45 RPM record that I ever bought, and I played it so often (on such cheap equipment) that it’s now full of pops and scratches – yes, I still have that 45. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![wguy123](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wguy123/32/3161_2.png) [@wguy123](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wguy123)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2022, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-unlikely-or-unusual-popular-song/966902/109 "2022-06-29T02:17:32Z")
I might’ve fast-forwarded MMM a bit 😉 I also love both artists and also own Arc and have listened to it a few times(came with the Arc Weld set and I do like Weld). I nearly always try albums a few times and sometimes I find that I love them after I come to “understand” them. That didn’t happen with Arc. Another Young album I had to listen to multiple times but I did come around to: Trans. I love that version of Mr. Soul! ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2022, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-unlikely-or-unusual-popular-song/966902/110 "2022-06-29T04:12:35Z")
Mr. Young released an electronic album called “Trans” a decade earlier. This had an official video, although I didn’t find one. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/zWwMGTVanLc/maxresdefault.jpg "Neil Young & Crazy Horse - Sample and Hold (LP Version)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zWwMGTVanLc) ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2022, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-unlikely-or-unusual-popular-song/966902/111 "2022-06-29T04:32:21Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > …went #1. In Sweden. I’d love to Be #1 in Sweden. For just about anything. ---
**Author:** ![I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/i_love_me_vol.i/32/521_2.png) [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_Love_Me_Vol.I)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2022, 6:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-unlikely-or-unusual-popular-song/966902/112 "2022-06-29T06:20:03Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > He recently did one, with his wife, on side 1 of Boston’s debut album (something else that ended up being WAY more popular than anyone could have imagined) and incredibly, he did not recognize “Foreplay/Long Time.” Okay. I could maaaaybe see somehow not recognizing _Foreplay_. It’s a long instrumental intro that an expert could maaaaaybe confuse with various other prog\* organ noodlings. But no WAY this guy didn’t recognize _Long Time._ . \*I don’t necessarily consider Boston to be prog but the quotee mentioned this guy is into prog rock so he’s likely got a lot of organ noodling stuck in his head. ---
**Author:** ![I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/i_love_me_vol.i/32/521_2.png) [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_Love_Me_Vol.I)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2022, 6:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-unlikely-or-unusual-popular-song/966902/113 "2022-06-29T06:44:19Z")
> [@Odesio](#): > > My uncle, whose name was Mike, absolutely hated “Playground in My Mind” from 1972. > > [Playground in My Mind - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Playground_in_My_Mind) That song always seemed to me to reek of pedophilia. Maybe it was just the whole grown man singing a duet with a little boy thing. But also playgrounds and buying candy and shit. Just creepy as all fuck to me. ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2022, 6:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-unlikely-or-unusual-popular-song/966902/114 "2022-06-29T06:58:34Z")
“Rock On,” by David Essex, from 1973: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/-XfmHyG8y-g/maxresdefault.jpg "David Essex - Rock On (Audio)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-XfmHyG8y-g) It made number 3 in the UK, number 1 in Canada, and number 5 in the USA. But just what was it? Wikipedia calls it “glam rock,” but it’s not at all like what other glam rockers were putting out. It sure wasn’t “singer-songwriter with a guitar.” It wasn’t a story song, or early disco, or bubblegum. It was … just _different_. ---
**Author:** ![Chad\_Sudan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chad_sudan/32/4509_2.png) [@Chad\_Sudan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chad_Sudan)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2022, 8:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-unlikely-or-unusual-popular-song/966902/115 "2022-06-29T08:29:44Z")
“One Night in Bangkok” – Murray Head (1984) [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/rgc_LRjlbTU/maxresdefault.jpg "Murray Head - One Night In Bangkok "From CHESS"") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rgc_LRjlbTU) ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2022, 8:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-unlikely-or-unusual-popular-song/966902/116 "2022-06-29T08:43:03Z")
> [@Spoons](#): > > It made number 3 in the UK, number 1 in Canada, and number 5 in the USA. And then Michael Damian’s cover made #1 on the Hot 100 sixteen years later. ---
**Author:** ![Jim\_B](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jim_b/32/4338_2.png) [@Jim\_B](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jim_B)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2022, 9:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-unlikely-or-unusual-popular-song/966902/117 "2022-06-29T09:54:22Z")
REM’s song _Losing My Religion_ still perplexes me. And it is over thirty years old. ([Here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xwtdhWltSIg) is the official video and [here](https://genius.com/Rem-losing-my-religion-lyrics) are the lyrics.) It seems totally nonsensical, from beginning to end. But it has to have some meaning, if only to the artist. And BTW the artist, Michael Stipe, has long maintained that it is _NOT_ about religion (even though oddly that is still the dominant theme of the video). ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2022, 12:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-unlikely-or-unusual-popular-song/966902/118 "2022-06-29T12:17:38Z")
> [@Jim\_B](#): > > REM’s song _Losing My Religion_ still perplexes me. And it is over thirty years old. ([Here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xwtdhWltSIg) is the official video and [here](https://genius.com/Rem-losing-my-religion-lyrics) are the lyrics.) I think the song is a bit easier when you understand that “losing my religion” is an expression meaning you’re losing your temper or otherwise becoming disjointed. I had never heard that expression before 1991, but the lyrics make a lot more sense when you know what that means. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2022, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-unlikely-or-unusual-popular-song/966902/119 "2022-06-29T18:55:49Z")
The video is mostly animated versions of religious art. I’d consider this an unlikely hit, and it was one of their first. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/Z0GFRcFm-aY/maxresdefault.jpg "R.E.M. - It's The End Of The World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z0GFRcFm-aY) ---
**Author:** ![2\_More\_Bits](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/2_more_bits/32/4148_2.png) [@2\_More\_Bits](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/2_More_Bits)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2022, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-unlikely-or-unusual-popular-song/966902/120 "2022-06-29T20:26:01Z")
[Prisencolinensinainciusol](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-VsmF9m_Nt8) was a big Italian hit song in the 70s. The lyrics are gibberish meant to sound English to Italian ears. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-unlikely-or-unusual-popular-song/966902.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-unlikely-or-unusual-popular-song/966902.md?page=7)