# 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:** 4
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2006, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-music-you-love/378870/61 "2006-11-04T20:49:25Z")
[QUOTE=Argent Towers] The standout track is our fast-paced, dixieland-style instrumental version of Pop Goes The Weasel (in a minor key.) I can listen to this song over and over again, it just rocks so hard. The weird instrumentation, plus the sound quality, make it sound like it was recorded in the 1920s on a wax cylinder. Here’s a [link to the song](https://oncourse.iu.edu/access/content/user/akentisa/Filemanager_Public_Files/weasel2.mp3) in case you wanted to actually hear it. […]I can still listen to all these tracks and enjoy them. But maybe it’s just because I’m playing in them. [/QUOTE] Most likely it’s because you have the username and password. Permission pleeeeze? I love pseudo-1920s stuff if it’s well done. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Campion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4491bb/32.png) [@Campion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Campion)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2006, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-music-you-love/378870/62 "2006-11-04T22:02:13Z")
I’ve gotten fond of space age bachelor pad music; currently playing is Enoch Light’s “Hernando’s Hideaway.” ---
**Author:** ![Eutychus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Eutychus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eutychus)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2006, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-music-you-love/378870/63 "2006-11-05T01:03:53Z")
If you want something that’s not really weird, but definitely offbeat, try Moondog. ---
**Author:** ![Biotop](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biotop/32/321_2.png) [@Biotop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biotop)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2006, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-music-you-love/378870/64 "2006-11-05T02:17:52Z")
Warning! There’s weird, and then there’s weird. This stuff is _really_ weird. **The Residents** : Anything and everything. Not only have they been around for thirty years without revealing their identities (they wear disguises when they play), this strange group has created some of the most original and the most moving weird music you will ever hear. Absolutely essential! **Hafler Trio** : Despite the name, its only one guy. Great stuff, but hard to find. **Lucisferrato** : This Russian group will give you nightmares. Hard to find, but worth the effort. **Coil** : Jon Balance’s death a couple of years ago ended this incredible art project. _Music to Play in the Dark_ vols 1 and 2, are highly recommended. **Cold Meat Industry** : This Swedish label has a stunning array of talented, and very weird artists. My current favorite: **Beyond Sensory Experience**. **Nurse With Wound** : Steve Stapleton’s work is nothing short of amazing. Dozens of CD’s, each weirder than the last. **Current 93** : This band’s _Black Ships Ate the Sky_ is hands down the best CD I’ve heard this year. Maybe the best in several years. **Inade** : Weird awesome European music. I could name dozens more. There is some just phenomenal music coming out of Europe right now. ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2006, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-music-you-love/378870/65 "2006-11-05T02:30:20Z")
Define weird. A couple I doubt anyone would disagree were weird, though: Stovokor - Klingon Death Metal Voltaire - A lot of his stuff isn’t weird at all, but then he has things like Dead Girls (about necrophilia), Future Ex-Girlfriend (a love song about a girl he knows he’s going to dump soon after getting together with her), or the entire Banned on Vulcan album (particularly Sexy Data Tango - which is…a series of Star Trek themed double entendres about Data. Also I love William Shatner’s singing…that’s probably weird to some. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Lance\_Murdoch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/47e85d/32.png) [@Captain\_Lance\_Murdoch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Lance_Murdoch)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2006, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-music-you-love/378870/66 "2006-11-05T04:41:50Z")
[QUOTE=Tengu] I love William Shatner’s singing…that’s probably weird to some. [/QUOTE] Really? I have a few of his tracks. I have a collection of the worst Beatles covers I could find (don’t ask, but I am curious about that I am the Walrus track) and that’s pretty weird, but I love it only in the sense that I love Plan 9 From Outer Space. I really like The Fiery Furnaces’ Rehearsing My choir. It’s a tribute to the band’s grandma featuring the frog-voiced woman croaking her reminiscences through every track with no regard for anything approaching conventional song structure. But what qualifies as weird is indeed an open question. And imagine my shock that a guy calling himself Fast ‘n’ Bulbous would mention Captain Beefheart. And I love the XTC cover of Ella Guru by the way. ---
**Author:** ![NicePete](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ee7513/32.png) [@NicePete](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NicePete)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2006, 6:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-music-you-love/378870/67 "2006-11-05T06:09:13Z")
[QUOTE=Fast ‘n’ Bulbous] The time is 5+5+7. Can I get that cookie now? 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. Also **James “Blood” Ulmer** , who sounds like a cross between Muddy Waters and Ornette Coleman and is, in my opinion, one of the best guitarists on Earth [/QUOTE] Bulbous, also tapered. ---
**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:** [November 5, 2006, 6:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-music-you-love/378870/68 "2006-11-05T06:39:04Z")
Polyphonic Spree. Look them up and be sitting down when you do. ---
**Author:** ![gredbioz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/6a8cbe/32.png) [@gredbioz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gredbioz)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2006, 7:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-music-you-love/378870/69 "2006-11-05T07:22:27Z")
[QUOTE=Gatopescado] Polyphonic Spree. Look them up and be sitting down when you do. [/QUOTE] 😕 Indie pop is weird? ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Rieux](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@Dr.Rieux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Rieux)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2006, 10:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-music-you-love/378870/70 "2006-11-05T10:15:10Z")
[QUOTE=gredbioz] 😕 Indie pop is weird? [/QUOTE] Indie \*anything \* is weird! 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2006, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-music-you-love/378870/71 "2006-11-05T16:06:50Z")
It’s almost scary how many of the musicians already mentioned that I listen to. Several of them have come up on my iPod in just the last hour. > [@OpalCat](#): > > I’ll launch it off by saying pretty much anything by **Laurie Anderson**. I love almost all of it, have several VHS tapes, and have seen her live… but it’s definitely weird stuff. Of her stuff that actually gets (albeit rare) radio play, I am particularly attached to “Oh Superman” but really, I have all of her albums and love all of it. “My Eyes” and “The Day the Devil” are two other favorites. I got hooked on her music when I watched _Home of the Brave_ with a friend of mine. And I’ve seen her live a few times, but they were always smaller sorts of concerts. Were you a fan before or after the movie? I really wish I’d seen that tour in person. Vaguely similar is **Blue Man Group**. They’re known for the live performances, but they’ve released some music that stands on its own, too. Lots of non-traditional instruments. (Home Depot is a music store, who knew?) Much more rhythmic than Anderson; I usually describe them as techno-tribal. > [@CalMeacham](#): > > **Big Daddy** ’s ouevre. I wish more of their stuff was available. They do contemporary songs in 1950’s Doo Wop style (and in the styles of various 1950s and 1960s songs). My favorite is “My Heart Will go On” from Titanic done as an upbeat Elvis Presley tune. I used to have a tape copy of their first two albums, good stuff; _Sussudio_ in the style of _Runaround Sue_, _Jump_ a la _Summertime Blues_. When something happened to the tape, I asked the guy who made it for me if he still had the albums. He’d sold them for a nickel each. Haven’t heard their take on Celine Dion, but I’ll try to track it down. > [@jackelope](#): > > 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 Definite Bobs fan here, since Janie Bob was still with them (barely missed the Gunnar Bob days). See if you can find anything by **DaVinci’s Notebook**. _Title of the Song_ is a brilliant take on the whole boy band phenomenon. > [@ralph124c](#): > > Is Theremin Music Still used? > > * * * > > I like those weird sounds (produced by the theremin machine). Is this stuff still being made? There’s a great [documentary](http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0108323/) about Theremin from a few years ago. I saw a screening of it ith the director there to answer questions, and a five-piece theremin band playing. A little theremin goes a long way. I got to try one. It’s harder than it looks. > [@ENugent](#): > > **Uncle Bonsai** is probably the least-known group that I really like. I also love a number of a cappella groups, including Toxic Audio, Vox One, and the Bobs. Now we’re talking; **Uncle Bonsai** were great. They should have made it bigger than they did, although I wasn’t much help on that score, I only discovered them after they’d broken up. I’ve been to a couple of the reunion shows, though. Be sure to check out Andrew’s other projects, **Mel Cooleys** and **Electric Bonsai Band**. You can’t get the complete Doug songs without them. > [@Derleth](#): > > I like remixes. **Negativland** and I get along real well, as do me and rx. rx’s stuff is downloadable, in fact: His album “The Party Party” contains such gems as Dubya singing “Sunday, Bloody Sunday” and “White Lines” as well as original music created out of a collage of various politicians’ voices. I have some friends who were big Negativland fans, maybe still are. They got their copies of _U2_ the day it was released and it wasn’t very much later that it was taken off sale because of a lawsuit. > [@Tuckerfan](#): > > Lou Reed’s Metal Machine, if you’re pissed at your record label, this how you get out of your recording contract! When CDs were starting to displace vinyl, my friends and I used to wonder if some recordings would become unknown or if everything would eventually be rereleased. This album figured prominently in such debates. And it was. To add a few new ones: **Christine Lavin** , songs about dancing amoebae and whether Pluto is a planet or not (written back when we all thought it was). **Moxy Früvous** , kind of a canadian They Might Be Giants. **Saturday Morning: Cartoons Greatest Hits** , a compilation album of alternative bands covering old cartoon theme songs. The Reverend Horton Heat turns the Jonny Quest Theme into scorched-earth rockabilly/surf, and Liz Phair can sing “Fleegle, Bingo, Drooper and Snork” and make it sound really sexy. **Shonen Knife** , a cross between Hello Kitty and the Ramones. **Wir Sind Helden** , german (the name means “We Are Heroes”), I don’t know what they’re saying, but it rocks. Ooh, _The Ballad of Bilbo Baggins_ (Leonard Nimoy) just came on the shuffle play… ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2006, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-music-you-love/378870/72 "2006-11-05T16:21:31Z")
Shonen Knife…weird? I grant, they have a surprisingly broad pallet of songs, but weird? ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2006, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-music-you-love/378870/73 "2006-11-05T17:02:32Z")
_Riding on the rocket I wanna go to Pluto Space foods are marshmallows, asparagus, ice cream, ooh Blue eyed kitty cat said, “Please let me go with you”_ I’d say that’s at least slightly odd. ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2006, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-music-you-love/378870/74 "2006-11-05T17:16:48Z")
I dunno, it’s just CUTE, not particularly strange. Then again, 90% of what I listen to has stuff like that. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2006, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-music-you-love/378870/75 "2006-11-05T17:24:14Z")
The Langley Schools Music Project: > **[The Langley Schools Music Project: "INNOCENCE AND DESPAIR"](http://www.keyofz.com/langley/)** > > Outsider musicians have an utter lack of conventional tunefulness, yet they often outmatch contenders for originality. It’s a collection of covers of rock songs done in 1976 and 1977 at end-of-school concerts at some rural British Columbia junior high schools. The music director for the schools was a hippie ex-musician who didn’t know exactly what he was supposed to teach his students to sing. The CD is collected from the two albums he put together (as the typical sort of school music album that no one but parents will buy), but the albums were mostly forgotten till they were discovered in a junk shop more than twenty years later. Read the blurbs on the webpage from a number of interesting people. The website is part of something called “Songs in the Key of Z” that collects strange music. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2006, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-music-you-love/378870/76 "2006-11-05T17:34:14Z")
Also, read the reviews on the Amazon webpage for this album (which is subtitled “Innocence and Despair”). ---
**Author:** ![koeeoaddi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/koeeoaddi/32/408_2.png) [@koeeoaddi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/koeeoaddi)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2006, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-music-you-love/378870/77 "2006-11-05T18:11:38Z")
I did try to restrain myself, but [one trick pony] dammit, The Incredible String Band _is_ magnificently weird[/otp] [YouTube example](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=011w7n_-EY8&search=robin%20williamson%20mike%20herron%20incredible%20string%20band%20folk%20rock) I live my life with “turn that shit off” ringing in my ears. 😉 ---
**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 5, 2006, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-music-you-love/378870/78 "2006-11-05T18:50:08Z")
[QUOTE=fishbicycle] My wife has 2 CDs by Pizzicato Five, although I haven’t heard them. [/QUOTE] If the two CDs are _Made in USA_ and _Happy End of the World_, you should definitely give them a listen. Those two are my favorites. Also excellent was _The Sound of Music_. Pizzicato Five’s sound is hard to categorize – lounge, bossa nova, '60s hipster are all influences, but the synthesis of these styles is uniquely theirs. And I’m gonna toss another vote on the pile for Shonen Knife being weird. How many other pop bands do you know that would have two versions of _Tortoise Brand Pot Scrubbing Cleaner’s Theme_ on one album, along with a song the refrain of which screams out “SHE’S AN INSECT COLLECTOR!”? Fun group, though. ---
**Author:** ![Boulter\_s\_Canary](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e79b87/32.png) [@Boulter\_s\_Canary](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boulter_s_Canary)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2006, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-music-you-love/378870/79 "2006-11-05T18:57:30Z")
**The Morrigan** are a mixture of progressive rock and folk. Imagine the offspring of Peter Gabriel era Genesis and Fairport Convention. ---
**Author:** ![Ranchoth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranchoth/32/1066_2.png) [@Ranchoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranchoth)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2006, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-music-you-love/378870/80 "2006-11-06T01:06:20Z")
Almost forgot—I’ve got a few tracks from [Doctor Steel](http://worlddominationtoys.com/drsteel/toyland.html). Kinda hard to describe…make that REALLY hard to describe. But it’s sung, in character, by a Mad Scientist. With such themes as building a robot army, nuking the world, or going mad after being fired from a toy factory then attacking it with an army of knife and flamethrower-wielding dolls. Cool guy. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-music-you-love/378870.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-music-you-love/378870.md?page=5)