# Weird music you love **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 2, 2006, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-music-you-love/378870 "2006-11-02T18:01:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Hodge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Hodge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hodge)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2006, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-music-you-love/378870/21 "2006-11-03T00:39:30Z")
Heh! Most people find most of my favourite music a little strange if not downright unlistenable (free jazz). Some stuff that pops into my mind:[ul][li][Jim Thirlwell a.k.a. Foetus](http://allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:8at67uq0h0j3~T1). Trent Reznor _wishes_ he was this guy.[/li][li][Sun Ra](http://allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:j6jleau14xs7~T1). Far-out space jazz.[/li][li][Tin Hat Trio](http://allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:rn6jtr6wkl1x~T1). Less weird than above but still a strange mix of country, jazz, classical and tango.[/li] [/ul] ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2006, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-music-you-love/378870/22 "2006-11-03T00:44:44Z")
[Black Tape For A Blue Girl](http://www.blacktapeforabluegirl.com/) is pretty weird, even for a goth group. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2006, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-music-you-love/378870/23 "2006-11-03T00:57:19Z")
Traditional Irish folk, or Russian balalaika music (think “Lara’s Theme”). ---
**Author:** ![Moirai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/96bed5/32.png) [@Moirai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moirai)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2006, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-music-you-love/378870/24 "2006-11-03T01:17:01Z")
[QUOTE=CalMeacham] Sandra Boynton’s **Grunt** , a parody of the Gregorian chant album **Chant**. It’s in pig Latin, and in some real latin, with puns (“Gloria in egg shells Deo”), but if you don’t listen closely, it sounds like for-real Gregorian chant. [/QUOTE] The same Sandra Boynton who drew the adorable critters on my coffee cup? _Engaging Google-fu…_. Wow. Apparently it is the same [gal](http://www.sandraboynton.com/sboynton/boyntonmusic.html). Fascinating. ---
**Author:** ![LawMonkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d6d6ee/32.png) [@LawMonkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LawMonkey)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2006, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-music-you-love/378870/25 "2006-11-03T04:18:27Z")
Probably the single weirdest would be [Alamaailman Vasarat](http://www.vasarat.com/) , who self-identify as “a Finnish group playing kebab-kosher-jazz-film-traffic-punk-music with a unique Scandinavian acoustic touch!” Check out the samples on their site and I suspect you’ll see what I mean. On the relatively normal side of the weird spectrum a few other of my favorites, like …In the Woods and Ulver. Honorable mention to Windir, who while a fairly ‘routine’ Viking metal act, have incorporated what is, so far as I know, the only accordion solo in metal history into one of their tunes. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2006, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-music-you-love/378870/26 "2006-11-03T04:56:21Z")
[QUOTE=Fast ‘n’ Bulbous] While I’m here I really should mention **Trout Mask Replica** by **Captain Beefheart and his Magic Band** , an album that almost no-one listens to more than once, but is one of my favourite albums when I’m in a weird kind of mood. [/QUOTE] I still get the phrase “fast and…bulbous” going through my head from time to time, and strange images of people sitting on waffle irons despite not having heard that album since high school… ---
**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2006, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-music-you-love/378870/27 "2006-11-03T04:59:07Z")
[QUOTE=Guinastasia] Traditional Irish folk, or Russian balalaika music (think “Lara’s Theme”). [/QUOTE] I think almost by definition, music defined as “traditional” can’t be categorically “weird”. My point was more to discuss “weird music” from our own culture not “typical music from other cultures that may be unfamiliar to people in our culture” ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2006, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-music-you-love/378870/28 "2006-11-03T05:07:10Z")
[QUOTE=OpalCat] I still get the phrase “fast and…bulbous” going through my head from time to time, and strange images of people sitting on waffle irons despite not having heard that album since high school… [/QUOTE] Hmm…I’m still not convinced that Captain B was actually doing some new and artsy with his music. I much more get the feeling that he was more of playing regular music, but failing due to being high. Anyhoo. A good short list of bands: Geinoh Yamashirogumi Tiger Lillies The Eccentric Opera/Nahoko Kakiage downy Cirque du Soleil (Allegria/Mystere) Crash Worship (Espontaneo) Deer Hoof JA Seazer Mogwai Queen (Bohemian Rhapsody – only famous one of the bunch!) Selections of Yoko Kanno ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2006, 5:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-music-you-love/378870/29 "2006-11-03T05:18:04Z")
JS Bach organ music. ---
**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2006, 5:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-music-you-love/378870/30 "2006-11-03T05:33:31Z")
In what way is Bach considered “weird music”??? ---
**Author:** ![Bambi\_Hassenpfeffer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Bambi\_Hassenpfeffer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bambi_Hassenpfeffer)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2006, 5:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-music-you-love/378870/31 "2006-11-03T05:49:45Z")
Not sure they count as “weird”, but definitely singular: Pizzicato Five. ---
**Author:** ![Ins\_Outs\_What-have-yous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/8797f3/32.png) [@Ins\_Outs\_What-have-yous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ins_Outs_What-have-yous)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2006, 5:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-music-you-love/378870/32 "2006-11-03T05:49:51Z")
Is Frank Zappa still considered weird by today’s standards? ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2006, 6:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-music-you-love/378870/33 "2006-11-03T06:25:21Z")
John Oswald’s **Plunderphonics** is pretty far out there, to me. I’ve also got a recording of a friend of mine who was a classical sax player, and you might be surprised how odd modern classical sax music is. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2006, 6:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-music-you-love/378870/34 "2006-11-03T06:55:35Z")
[QUOTE=OpalCat] I think almost by definition, music defined as “traditional” can’t be categorically “weird”. My point was more to discuss “weird music” from our own culture not “typical music from other cultures that may be unfamiliar to people in our culture” [/QUOTE] Yat-Kha, while using a singing style that is “traditional” for another culture, definitely play music from your culture. “Love Will Tear Us Apart”, for instance. **silenus** , I would say BTFABG is very typical Projekt-Goth. They don’t set off my weirdo-meter at all. **Hodge** , Foetus is free-jazz? I’d have said “Alternative Noise” a-la early Swans. ---
**Author:** ![aclubs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e68b1a/32.png) [@aclubs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aclubs)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2006, 9:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-music-you-love/378870/35 "2006-11-03T09:07:36Z")
They can probably be described as “wierd.” I’ve mentioned them before. **Godspeed You! Black Emperor** fits squarely in the post-rock genre (alongside bands like **Explosions in the Sky** and the aforementioned **Mogwai**. **Godspeed** is a band of nine folks from Canada, currently on hiatus. Songs typically run for 20 minutes or so (almost all of them more than 10) and are mostly instrumental, save a few “found recordings” interspersed within the songs. (Such things as a just-this-side-of-insane preacher, an old guy talking about Coney Island when he was young, how a part of Montreal is a good place to get mugged, and a computer voice announcing an atomic clock, some folks talking about when the end of the world is coming, and even barely-recognizable human voices distorted as a radio broadcast. Often creepy, but still really awesome.) Their most recent album eschewed the human element and goes straight instrumental. The songs are diced into smaller “movements,” which makes it easier to digest. Think **Mogwai** but wierder. Yeah, I love this band. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![fishbicycle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aeb1de/32.png) [@fishbicycle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fishbicycle)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2006, 10:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-music-you-love/378870/36 "2006-11-03T10:57:44Z")
I haven’t heard of quite a few names listed here so far. I guess the _weird_ music I like is fairly conventional. I have hundreds of novelty records, nearly all of Frank Zappa’s albums, I like Brian Eno and The Bonzo Dog Band and Kraftwerk. I can’t really play this music for anybody I know, except maybe “Apostrophe” and “Overnite Sensation.” My wife has 2 CDs by Pizzicato Five, although I haven’t heard them. “Who’s that bangin’ on the piano?” “I dunno.” ---
**Author:** ![Hodge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Hodge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hodge)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2006, 11:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-music-you-love/378870/37 "2006-11-03T11:37:04Z")
[QUOTE=MrDibble] **Hodge** , Foetus is free-jazz? I’d have said “Alternative Noise” a-la early Swans. [/QUOTE] Oops, I never really intended to imply that. I guess I phrased my post a little awkwardly (and we won’t get into my problem with premature submission). I suppose I’d label Foetus as proto-industrial noise-rock with occasional hints of swing and classical. Regardless, he’s got a depth and versatility that most industrial acts can only dream of and it’s a shame he isn’t more widely recognized and appreciated. **Sage Rat** , Yoko Kanno is a genius. Most jpop and anime soundtracks annoy the crap out of me, but I’m always willing to check out her stuff. Again, her versatility is awe-inspiring. **aclubs** , Godspeed You! Black Emperor is another favourite of mine. I might have to check out Mogwai because your post isn’t the first time I’ve seen these bands mentioned together. ---
**Author:** ![RumMunkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b19c9b/32.png) [@RumMunkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RumMunkey)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2006, 12:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-music-you-love/378870/38 "2006-11-03T12:05:09Z")
“Light and Day” by the Polyphonic Spree is a little off-main stream but I really dig it. ---
**Author:** ![Small\_Clanger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9fc348/32.png) [@Small\_Clanger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Small_Clanger)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2006, 12:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-music-you-love/378870/39 "2006-11-03T12:44:04Z")
[QUOTE=ArchitectChore] Is Frank Zappa still considered weird by today’s standards? [/QUOTE] Most people would probably regard _The Dangerous Kitchen_ or _Jazz Discharge Party Hats_ as pretty out there. As well as the Bonzos, Uncle Frank and Steve Vai’s left field stuff I occasionally listen to: [Conlon Nancarrow](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conlon_Nancarrow) Piano music written for player-piano, not humanly playable. **Eight Songs for a Mad King** by (Sir) [Peter Maxwell Davies](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Maxwell-Davies) not coming to the West End. Ever. Originally written for a singer with an enormous pl^M^M range who could sing two notes at once. [The Diagram Brothers](http://oneofthethree.co.uk/andydiagram/diagrambrothers.htm) I have the single _Bricks/Postal Bargins_ and some stuff on old tapes of the Peel show. Deadpan absurdly banal lyrics and atonal punk/Beefheartian guitars. And of course music from [The Clangers](http://www.trunkrecords.com/turntable/clangers.shtml) > [@](#): > > The music itself is beautiful, quite wistful and a little crazy. It has both classical and folk overtones and will appeal to cool kids of all ages. The special effects, whistles, whoops and bangs were all created by Mr Postgate in his basement using tape loops, swanee whistles and a tin guitar. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2006, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-music-you-love/378870/40 "2006-11-03T13:08:34Z")
> [@](#): > > Not exactly the same, but you might enjoy the music of The Bobs as well. Check out the “multimedia” page for a couple of samples. Their a capella version of “Helter Skelter” still makes me laugh. Thanks. Pepper Mill has been a big fan of The Bobs for ages (she used to be associated with a group that arranged concerts, and did one for The Bobs). We’ve got several of their CDs. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-music-you-love/378870.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-music-you-love/378870.md?page=3)