# What is the oddest song/piece of music you've ever heard? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 24, 2016, 11:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-oddest-song-piece-of-music-youve-ever-heard/775524 "2016-12-24T11:04:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2016, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-oddest-song-piece-of-music-youve-ever-heard/775524/21 "2016-12-26T22:45:28Z")
> [@femmejean](#): > > Whether it be by popular musical artists, royalty free artists, on TV shows, themes, adverts etc. It doesn’t have to be an actual song but an instrumental. > > For me it has to be an alternative media TV show called ‘On The Edge’ with an economist called Max Keiser. I don’t know if any dopers have hear of him but he’s what you would call a bit of a conspiracy theorist or maybe ‘fringe’ to be less derogatory. > > His musical intro along with the animation pretty much says it all. I don’t think I’ve ever heard something similar in my entire life. I even thought of adding it as a ringtone but I don’t want to seem ‘attention seeking’. Despite how humorous it is, I have to say it’s very enjoyable. > > [‘On The Edge’ - Episode (Youtube)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WcMq4cPd6nw) First thing it reminded me of was the [intro to Nickelodeon’s old show, _You Can’t Do that On Television_.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UcUPGAth6OY) Then I saw his guest was Alex Jones, and realized I was dealing with substantially less adult subject matter. ---
**Author:** ![River\_Hippie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/river_hippie/32/26_2.png) [@River\_Hippie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/River_Hippie)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2016, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-oddest-song-piece-of-music-youve-ever-heard/775524/22 "2016-12-26T22:51:08Z")
I agree the question is too broad. I’m going to throw out one I found recently that’s just really odd. I think someone here might have linked it and that’s how I found it. I was probably pretty drunk, you kind of have to be to appreciate it fully. [PowerSolo - Boom Babba Do Ba Dabba](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JvGJoNkOiI0&feature=youtu.be) ---
**Author:** ![TonySinclair](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/49beb7/32.png) [@TonySinclair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TonySinclair)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2016, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-oddest-song-piece-of-music-youve-ever-heard/775524/23 "2016-12-26T22:58:25Z")
Of course there are a million unlistenable songs by a million little-known groups, but I assume you mean one that was widely played. One of Bill Cosby’s TV series, before the one about the Huxtables, had a theme song that I thought was stupid, “[Hicky Burr](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PoInrzJWMoA).” While googling it to get the name right just now, I was amazed to learn that it was co-written by Quincy Jones, and was nominated for a Grammy. It still sounds stupid to me, which I guess shows that I have no taste. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2016, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-oddest-song-piece-of-music-youve-ever-heard/775524/24 "2016-12-26T23:44:34Z")
If you want the oddest piece of music heard by millions of people, I’ll nominate [Revolution 9](https://vimeo.com/13361163), from The Beatles’ white album. The album sold 9.5 million copies in the U.S. alone, so at least that many people listened to the song. Most of them only once, but still… ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2016, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-oddest-song-piece-of-music-youve-ever-heard/775524/25 "2016-12-27T01:43:07Z")
> [@Trinopus](#): > > It’s hard to beat Charles Valentin Alkan’s [Funeral March on the Death of a Parrot](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T4gaU9YERv0). Very screwy. > > Rossini’s [Comic Duet for Two Cats](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QHNeMcSdBCM) is wildly weird, but the provenance is suspect. It may have been a more ordinary duet, and the words replaced with meows by someone else. Adding to the animal theme: [The Puppy Love Song by Spike Jones](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XVuRFOI-J_s). ---
**Author:** ![Ulfreida](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ulfreida/32/8014_2.png) [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2016, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-oddest-song-piece-of-music-youve-ever-heard/775524/26 "2016-12-27T02:47:04Z")
The most unclassifiable and startling thing I think I’ve heard on the radio turned out to be a cover of Sympathy For the Devil by a Ukrainian klezmer band. ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2016, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-oddest-song-piece-of-music-youve-ever-heard/775524/27 "2016-12-27T03:09:02Z")
I loved Oh Superman. Loved that whole album. More recently, I rather like Hitchhiker’s [Eleven](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gZa4yre0uEk). ---
**Author:** ![installLSC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/54ee81/32.png) [@installLSC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/installLSC)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2016, 5:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-oddest-song-piece-of-music-youve-ever-heard/775524/28 "2016-12-27T05:18:01Z")
My standard response to odd music questions, free jazz saxaphonist Peter Brotzman’s [“Machine Gun”](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=27CpT79NMhQ). Sounds closer to malfunctioning machinery than music. ---
**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:** [December 27, 2016, 5:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-oddest-song-piece-of-music-youve-ever-heard/775524/29 "2016-12-27T05:34:08Z")
So many choices. How about Nurse with Wound: \*[Creakiness\*](http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Lirc9v5LyqU)? ---
**Author:** ![Plumpudding](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/edb3f5/32.png) [@Plumpudding](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Plumpudding)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2016, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-oddest-song-piece-of-music-youve-ever-heard/775524/30 "2016-12-27T14:01:49Z")
I’m really struggling with this topic, there’s so much to chose from. ---
**Author:** ![Plumpudding](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/edb3f5/32.png) [@Plumpudding](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Plumpudding)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2016, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-oddest-song-piece-of-music-youve-ever-heard/775524/31 "2016-12-27T14:10:42Z")
[Lime Jelly Grass](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HO2HnZg4SoQ) ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2016, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-oddest-song-piece-of-music-youve-ever-heard/775524/32 "2016-12-27T14:13:47Z")
> [@Ulfreida](#): > > The most unclassifiable and startling thing I think I’ve heard on the radio turned out to be a cover of Sympathy For the Devil by a Ukrainian klezmer band. Slovenian band Laibach’s [cover of Sympathy for the Devil](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W7muCRio2nQ) is also … unusual. ---
**Author:** ![Plumpudding](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/edb3f5/32.png) [@Plumpudding](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Plumpudding)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2016, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-oddest-song-piece-of-music-youve-ever-heard/775524/33 "2016-12-27T14:17:28Z")
From the same album, [Melvyns Repose](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ns494TXYknw). ---
**Author:** ![Plumpudding](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/edb3f5/32.png) [@Plumpudding](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Plumpudding)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2016, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-oddest-song-piece-of-music-youve-ever-heard/775524/34 "2016-12-27T15:39:34Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > Gigantic Brain is a cybergrind band, a genre typified by songs that are short with inhumanly fast bursts of drums. > > [Gigantic Brain - Exo-Brain](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AsNECCWXwXs) (yes, this is one song) > [Gigantic Brain - Obliterated By The Super Train](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_nFNgDFIMzw) This stuff is great! I’m having a blast with this. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2016, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-oddest-song-piece-of-music-youve-ever-heard/775524/35 "2016-12-27T22:54:51Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Somewhat reminds me of Locust, with such classics as > > [The Half-Eaten Sausage Will See You in the Office Now](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KeFUbQRYbYs) > > [Live from the Russian Compound](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RpLmTAFk9LQ) I am impressed that you know The Locust! Aye, both are grindcore at their heart, just different branches from the same tree. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2016, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-oddest-song-piece-of-music-youve-ever-heard/775524/36 "2016-12-27T23:00:10Z")
> [@Biotop](#): > > So many choices. How about Nurse with Wound: \*[Creakiness\*](http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Lirc9v5LyqU)? Rockette Morton Part 1 and 2 are among my favorite tape loop compositions, right up there with Steve Reich’s _Come Out_. > [@pulykamell](#): > > Slovenian band Laibach’s [cover of Sympathy for the Devil](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W7muCRio2nQ) is also … unusual. Excellent album; I’m still not sure what my favorite version is after 30 years. I do think their _Let It Be_ is a better album, just because it has more variety. Both of you, btw, have excellent taste in music IMO. ---
**Author:** ![F.U.Shakespeare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aca169/32.png) [@F.U.Shakespeare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/F.U.Shakespeare)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2016, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-oddest-song-piece-of-music-youve-ever-heard/775524/37 "2016-12-28T01:41:27Z")
> [@TonySinclair](#): > > Of course there are a million unlistenable songs by a million little-known groups, but I assume you mean one that was widely played. > > One of Bill Cosby’s TV series, before the one about the Huxtables, had a theme song that I thought was stupid, “[Hicky Burr](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PoInrzJWMoA).” While googling it to get the name right just now, I was amazed to learn that it was co-written by Quincy Jones, and was nominated for a Grammy. It still sounds stupid to me, which I guess shows that I have no taste. I loved that theme song as a kid. My mother thought I was nuts. And it wasn’t til fairly recently I learned who sung it: _Bill Cosby_. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2016, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-oddest-song-piece-of-music-youve-ever-heard/775524/38 "2016-12-28T02:16:08Z")
> [@Plumpudding](#): > > This stuff is great! I’m having a blast with this. I’m so glad! They are not for everyone, but I think they’re brilliant. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2016, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-oddest-song-piece-of-music-youve-ever-heard/775524/39 "2016-12-28T03:48:14Z")
Having the Eastman School of Music locally means that we get performances by students, faculty, and alumni that may not be heard anywhere else ever. That also means I can’t link to online recordings (or remember any names). Over the last year or two, I’d say that the two oddest I attended included a church organ presentation of atonal music and an experimental classical percussion foursome that namechecked [Meshuggah](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meshuggah)as an inspiration (strictly for an obscure factor of their favored beat: no similarity in sound implied to them or anything with a melody). ---
**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:** [December 28, 2016, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-oddest-song-piece-of-music-youve-ever-heard/775524/40 "2016-12-28T05:19:58Z")
My favorite piece from Russian surrealist project Bardoseneticcube is _Illness of Green Color_, but I cannot find a link. [\*Sand Mantras](http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Fn-YyKWuXt0)\*is a good alternative. The Residents are the ultimate choice for odd. Here is the entire [Diskomo/Goosebump](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=oLnA3FUcRv8) from 1980. The first half is Eskimo disco music. The second half is a collection of nursery rhyme songs played on instruments purchased from _Toys R Us_. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-oddest-song-piece-of-music-youve-ever-heard/775524.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-oddest-song-piece-of-music-youve-ever-heard/775524.md?page=3)