atypical songs, aberrations, deviations, by fairly-well-known artists?...

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What are some songs that are unlike the kinds of songs an artist is known or expected to do? I love putting songs like this on mixtapes and the recipients saying incredulously, "That's (name of artist)?! No way!"

It can open someone's ears up a little when they find out they like a song by an artist that their own 'tastes' or their entrenchment in some 'scene' prevents them from liking.

Some examples:
the Violent Femmes song "Machine"
Morphine, "Gone for Good"
that electro Smashing Pumpkins song from the Lost Highway sndtrk
you get the idea....

More please?...
Thanks.

― Timothy Faux (Timothy Faux), Friday, 2 June 2006 18:32 (nineteen years ago)

Mudhoney - Untitled ("Techno!")

― StanM (StanM), Friday, 2 June 2006 18:41 (nineteen years ago)

Rollins Band's "Henrietta Collins And The Wifebeating Childhaters" EP

― StanM (StanM), Friday, 2 June 2006 18:43 (nineteen years ago)

The Decemberists - Like a Lion

― Steve Goldberg (Steve Goldberg), Friday, 2 June 2006 18:44 (nineteen years ago)

Neil Young - "Computer Age"

― jaymc (jaymc), Friday, 2 June 2006 18:45 (nineteen years ago)

Freur ("that's Underworld? no wai!")
Early Ministry ("that's Ministry? no wai!")

― StanM (StanM), Friday, 2 June 2006 18:49 (nineteen years ago)

Thanks, y'all! A brief explanation of what the song is like, or how/why it's atypical, would be nice too, if you have the time.

― Timothy Faux (Timothy Faux), Friday, 2 June 2006 18:52 (nineteen years ago)

The Decemberists - Like a Lion

Programmed beats, doubled vocals, samples, atypical structure/lyrical tone.

― Steve Goldberg (Steve Goldberg), Friday, 2 June 2006 18:53 (nineteen years ago)

"Computer Age" - Synth-pop song in which Neil Young sings through a fucking vocoder. Nuff said.

― jaymc (jaymc), Friday, 2 June 2006 18:54 (nineteen years ago)

Björk's Jazz thing: (atypical because it's, well, jazz, and the rest of her albums aren't) Gling-Gló.

― StanM (StanM), Friday, 2 June 2006 18:55 (nineteen years ago)

All The Tired Horses, Wigwam: Bob Dylan

Horses, the leadoff track on Self Portrait consists of a female choir singing over and over again "All the tired horses in the sun, how're we supposed to get any riding done."

Wigwam is a lush instrmental, punctuated by Bob singing La da da da da da da da

― kornrulez6969 (TCBeing), Friday, 2 June 2006 18:57 (nineteen years ago)

One band that was great at doing this, to the point where it almost seemed they were trying to alienate some of their fans (and given the band's history, this seems plausible), was Faith No More:

"Take this Bottle" (straight up country from mostly-guitar-heavy 'King for a Day' album, although a lot of their stuff is all over the place)

― Timothy Faux (Timothy Faux), Friday, 2 June 2006 19:00 (nineteen years ago)

Oh, and I like the Ministry and Bjork examples. Entire albums or periods in an artist's career are fair game, too. Keep 'em coming, this is fun.

― Timothy Faux (Timothy Faux), Friday, 2 June 2006 19:06 (nineteen years ago)

"Long About Now" - Scott Walker

a typically morose Walker ballad, except he doesn't sing it!...(some women named Esther does)...

― hank (hank s), Friday, 2 June 2006 19:14 (nineteen years ago)

weezer - I Just Threw Out the Love of My Dreams

Lead vocals are by Rachel Haden.

― Steve Goldberg (Steve Goldberg), Friday, 2 June 2006 19:20 (nineteen years ago)

"moog raga" - the byrds

― Lawrence the Looter (Lawrence the Looter), Friday, 2 June 2006 19:21 (nineteen years ago)

That Trent Reznor clip where he covers Eyes Without A Face! (it's on one of the YouTube threads and hilariously un-NIN)

― StanM (StanM), Friday, 2 June 2006 19:26 (nineteen years ago)

OMG "Take This Bottle" sucks so much ass. Listen to "RV" instead.

― mummy wrapped in bacon (nickalicious), Friday, 2 June 2006 19:28 (nineteen years ago)

Belle and Sebastian -- "Electronic Renaissance". Self-explanatory, really.

― Pessimist (Pessimist), Friday, 2 June 2006 19:36 (nineteen years ago)

Cat Stevens-Was Dog a Doughnut
Cat w/ the help of Chick Corea doing instrumental fusion electo-funk.

― Dan Selzer (Dan Selzer), Friday, 2 June 2006 19:40 (nineteen years ago)

both sides of this:

http://www.jpgr.co.uk/r6039.html

Paul McCarntey doing electro synth-pop backed with Paul doing epic Cosmic kraut groove jam.

― Dan Selzer (Dan Selzer), Friday, 2 June 2006 19:43 (nineteen years ago)

that's Paul McCartney, and I guess there's more of the same on Mac II

― Dan Selzer (Dan Selzer), Friday, 2 June 2006 19:47 (nineteen years ago)

Pet Shop Boys "The Sound of the Atom Splitting" (from PSB Song-by-song commentary web-site):

The track originated as a conscientiously experimental "jam" in which Tennant, Lowe, and Horn all played keyboards while Lipson "played the desk," manipulating the recording controls. The result is a song essentially devoid of melody.

― scnnr drkly (scnnr drkly), Friday, 2 June 2006 19:50 (nineteen years ago)

Neutral Milk Hotel - Little Birds

The only known post-Aeroplane song, filled with stark, frightening imagery concerning religious views on homosexuality. Different tone from anything on Avery Island or ITAOTS.

― Steve Goldberg (Steve Goldberg), Friday, 2 June 2006 19:56 (nineteen years ago)

The Beatles "Revolution 9" -- world famous rock/pop band takes to a 9 minute audio collage experimental piece... on The Beatles aka the White Album, one of their best selling albums.

― ((((((DOPplur)))n)))u))))tttt (donut), Friday, 2 June 2006 20:13 (nineteen years ago)

The Beach Boys "Here Comes The Night (Disco Version)".. from L.A./Light Album in 1979.... a nine minute cheeso-disco production of what was formerly a two-minute ditty from 1967's Wild Honey.

― ((((((DOPplur)))n)))u))))tttt (donut), Friday, 2 June 2006 20:17 (nineteen years ago)

(i love these Beatles and Beach Boys songs, both versions, btw)

― ((((((DOPplur)))n)))u))))tttt (donut), Friday, 2 June 2006 20:18 (nineteen years ago)

Guns 'N' Roses "My World" - last song on Use Your Illusion II (1991). Axl shows off that he likes Nine Inch Nails, and makes a miniature meatheaded version of a generic industrial rock song.

― ((((((DOPplur)))n)))u))))tttt (donut), Friday, 2 June 2006 20:19 (nineteen years ago)

Not so much, but Graham Central Station's "Earthquake"... last song from Now D U Wanna Dance from 1977, a mostly cartoonish high-envelope bassy funk album, but then ends in "Earthquake", which at worst, rivals Funkadelic's best and loudest, and at best, creates this monstrously loud wall-of-guitar-feedback-that-would-eat-Eddie-Hazel's-face-off bridge in the middle.

― ((((((DOPplur)))n)))u))))tttt (donut), Friday, 2 June 2006 20:24 (nineteen years ago)

The Chieftains and The Rolling Stones - The Rocky Road to Dublin

Stones doing traditional (Irish?) song with Keith playing riff from "Satisfaction"

― scnnr drkly (scnnr drkly), Friday, 2 June 2006 20:25 (nineteen years ago)

That Strokes song that sounds like the Magnetic Fields. "Ask Me Anything"?

― p@reene (Pareene), Friday, 2 June 2006 20:29 (nineteen years ago)

mmm obv.

― rizzx (Rizz), Friday, 2 June 2006 20:30 (nineteen years ago)

D.O.S.E. Feat. Mark E. Smith - great Propellerheads-like track, MES' vocals are totally unexpected, but the combination works very well.

― StanM (StanM), Friday, 2 June 2006 20:53 (nineteen years ago)

If this kind of unexpected guest vocal is allowed: Lazy, that dance track with David Byrne (but I can't remember the name of the dance act & can't check, am on my mobile at the mo)

― StanM (StanM), Friday, 2 June 2006 20:58 (nineteen years ago)

Dee Dee King! (Dee Dee Ramone as a rapper, very unlike the Ramones)

― StanM (StanM), Friday, 2 June 2006 21:02 (nineteen years ago)

Speaking of entire albums, there are a few songs collected on the Kirsty Maccoll anthology "From Croydon To Cuba" from her 80's Synth-Pop album "Real" which never got released.

― fandango (fandango), Friday, 2 June 2006 21:16 (nineteen years ago)

conflict - "the guilt and the glory" it's still politcally charged, but you can totally dance to it. actually one of the best punk songs to use the 16th note high-hat bit.

the only mccartney i've ever truly enjoyed is his christmas electro hit, you saying that isn't a rogue style for him?

― Dan Gr (certain), Friday, 2 June 2006 23:47 (nineteen years ago)

I don't know if you can call Jandek "fairly well known" but his career has a lot of atypical songs and aberrations - a woman singing beautifully, a side-long piano solo, three acapella albums in a row...

I might argue that the entirety of PIL's "Flowers Of Romance" album is an example of this - no bass and barely any guitar after the hallucinogen swirl of "Second Edition".

Also, METAL MACHINE MUSIC.

― sleeve (sleeve), Friday, 2 June 2006 23:58 (nineteen years ago)

i've always thought jandek's _lost cause_ was a bit of an anomoly in his catalog. so poppy.
---

philip glass - "osamu's theme" from the soundtrack to _mishima_. that's an aberration, unless glass has a long lost surf album i haven't heard. such a fucking great track to.

― Dan Gr (certain), Saturday, 3 June 2006 01:49 (nineteen years ago)

OMG, let me count the ways in which I want that Temporary Secretary 12". Amazing.

― Doctor Casino (Doctor Casino), Saturday, 3 June 2006 02:54 (nineteen years ago)

Misfits - "American Nightmare"

― grady (grady), Saturday, 3 June 2006 05:43 (nineteen years ago)

"Computer Age" - Synth-pop song in which Neil Young sings through a fucking vocoder. Nuff said.
-- jaymc (jmcunnin...), June 2nd, 2006.

But wasn't Trans an entire album of that? You could probably make a box set of atypical Neil Young songs (especially if you include the disc of feedback from Arc/Weld.)

― ramon fernandez (ramon fernandez), Saturday, 3 June 2006 06:39 (nineteen years ago)

The Roots "!!!!!!!" (it's hardcore punk)

― Marmotdeth (marmotwolof), Saturday, 3 June 2006 07:52 (nineteen years ago)

New York Dolls vs. Buster Poindexter

― StanM (StanM), Saturday, 3 June 2006 14:13 (nineteen years ago)

The Housemartins - "Rap Around the Clock".
It's The Housemartins... rapping. In a sense. Probably Norman Cook's idea.

― David Orton (scarlet), Saturday, 3 June 2006 14:58 (nineteen years ago)

Kylie duetting with Nick Cave maybe? That's not her typical comfort zone.

― Johnny Fever (johnny fever), Saturday, 3 June 2006 15:12 (nineteen years ago)

Let's see. Untangle by four tet, a little, same style, just housey rather than the usual breakbeats or whatever.

― Thomas Mehlt (Tokyo Ghost Stories), Sunday, 4 June 2006 16:22 (nineteen years ago)

Sandinista has tons of unClashlike material

― kornrulez6969 (TCBeing), Sunday, 4 June 2006 17:58 (nineteen years ago)

If this kind of unexpected guest vocal is allowed: Lazy, that dance track with David Byrne (but I can't remember the name of the dance act & can't check, am on my mobile at the mo)

X-Press 2.

(and the D.O.S.E. feat MES track is Plug Me In. Smith had already worked in similar vein once or twice before, eg "(I'm) In Deep" on Coldcut's What's That Noise?)

― kit brash (kit brash), Monday, 5 June 2006 03:26 (nineteen years ago)

four months pass...

Pepe Bradock - "Wonderbra"

http://www.sendspace.com/file/33w0g4

― Euai Kapaui (tracerhand), Monday, 9 October 2006 15:16 (nineteen years ago)

The Kinks - "Nothing Lasts Forever"...it's a duet with a female singer (Maryann Price?).

Weren't there also some awful techno white-label records by Paul McCartney and also by Eric Clapton a few years back?

― N Mallin (DocMartensBoots), Monday, 9 October 2006 15:31 (nineteen years ago)

You probably mean the Fireman albums Rushes and Strawberries Oceans Ships Forest (Macca and Youth from Killing Joke) and TDF's album Retail Therapy (TDF being Eric Clapton and Simon Climie).

― LC (Damian), Monday, 9 October 2006 15:50 (nineteen years ago)

Those are they LC...Has there already been a thread on oldsters trying to "hip" up with electronica? The Stones did that putrid thing with Chemical Brothers on Bridges to Babylon as well...

― N Mallin (DocMartensBoots), Monday, 9 October 2006 15:54 (nineteen years ago)

A much better Stones aberration: "Heaven" off of Tattoo You, which, in it's watery distorted swirl, sounds like the Cocteau Twins covering Roxy Music's "True to Life." No one I've played it for ever pegs it as the Stones. Love this song.

― Hideous Lump (Hideous Lump), Tuesday, 10 October 2006 01:58 (nineteen years ago)

"In Another Land" of course setting the bar for all Stones aberrations to follow, and packing the "by Bill Wyman" trump card.

― hearditonthexico (rogermexico), Tuesday, 10 October 2006 02:09 (nineteen years ago)

"Heaven" is actually good...weirdly I've played "Backstreet Girl" for a number of people who couldn't peg it as Stones...

― Radio Free Albemuth (DocMartensBoots), Tuesday, 10 October 2006 02:10 (nineteen years ago)

Willie Nelson's "Countryman"? not sure if its what ye want...

― J. Grizzle (trainsmoke), Tuesday, 10 October 2006 02:37 (nineteen years ago)

There probably aren't too many other Chuck Berry songs like "My Ding-a-Ling" (at least, I hope not), while most of his others sound, if not similar, at least recognizably like "Chuck Berry songs." And it was his only song that reached number one.

― Dr Benway (dr benway), Tuesday, 10 October 2006 03:49 (nineteen years ago)

I think I once heard a Chuck Berry instrumental that was very heavy on rhythm, it sounded a lot more like Bo Diddley than Chuck

Robert Johnson - They're Red Hot
Rolling Stones - Just Wanna See His Face
Blur - The Debt Collector
DJ Shadow - Artifact
Ween - Ice Castles

and my favorite
Joni Mitchell - The Jungle Line

Lots of songs from Fleetwood Mac's Tusk album might qualify, but I wouldnt list them for the same reason that I wouldn't list anything from PiL's Flowers of Romance... because I tend to expect the unexpected from both of these groups (and that's why I love them)

― Rat Nasty (ratnasty), Tuesday, 10 October 2006 05:11 (nineteen years ago)

Also, ABBA - Arrival

― Rat Nasty (ratnasty), Tuesday, 10 October 2006 05:40 (nineteen years ago)

The Rolling Stones' "Feel On Baby" from 'Undercover' is a really beautiful reggae aberration.
David Sylvian's 'Dead Bees on a Cake' ("Wanderlust" and "Cafe Europa" especially) felt like an unholy aberration to many a seasoned fan, myself included - but that really opened up some genre-shy barriers I wasn't even aware of nurturing. Such a gorgeous album now.
And of course, the post-85 Duran Duran albums have always been full of un-Duranish aberrations (enjoyable or not, but that's another story)!

― Max Blazevic (kitaj), Tuesday, 10 October 2006 07:20 (nineteen years ago)

Embrace have loads of these, mainly from around the second album and on their b-sides, and they're the reason I love them. Most prominant is probably Hooligan, which was actually a single, and is a two-chord campfire strumalong with jazzy organ fills, daft lyrics, and a kazoo solo. Other notbales include Flaming Red Hair, this Thriller-aping, digitised melange of processed beats, guitars and electronics, Love Order, a super-camp gay disco stomper that was the b-side to the World Cup single, and far superior to said single, and Thank God You Were Mean To Me, a super-dirty guitar-and-drums groove with dirty sex lyrics.

― Sick Mouthy (Nick Southall), Tuesday, 10 October 2006 07:32 (nineteen years ago)

Re; Backstreet Girl, the stones..

What did you play it on? (It's so Mick, it hurts!)

― mark grout (mark grout), Tuesday, 10 October 2006 09:06 (nineteen years ago)

Blur: "Song 2" (Blur sounding like some American post-grunge act)

― Geir Hongro (GeirHong), Tuesday, 10 October 2006 09:19 (nineteen years ago)

The Beatles:
Revolution 9 (Tuneless Avant Garde rubbish)
Helter Skelter (Satanist Metal)
Come Together (Pure R&B)
Good Night (Pure MOR Schlock, but without the great tune that McCartney's MOR classic would usually have)
Mother Nature's Son (Sounds like Donovan)
Back In The USSR (Sounds like Mike Love)
You Know My Name (Look Up The Number) (Sounds like anything else but The Beatles)
Yer Blues (Blues)

― Geir Hongro (GeirHong), Tuesday, 10 October 2006 13:50 (nineteen years ago)

Geir Hongro: "Some Of My Best Friends Are Black."

― Marcello Carlin (nostudium), Tuesday, 10 October 2006 13:53 (nineteen years ago)

Helter Skelter (Satanist Metal)

hahahahahaha

George Harrison's Electronic Sound was probably a bigger crazy sidestep than Revolution 9 and that was in 69.

also: Neil Young - Trans

― M@tt He1geson: Real Name, No Gimmicks (Matt Helgeson), Tuesday, 10 October 2006 14:00 (nineteen years ago)

Blur have had a "Song 2" type thrash on every album since Parklife, you nobhead.

― Sick Mouthy (Nick Southall), Tuesday, 10 October 2006 14:01 (nineteen years ago)

refused - the apollo program was a hoax

― Charlie Howard (the sphinx), Tuesday, 10 October 2006 14:02 (nineteen years ago)

Blur also have an instrumental waltz filler on most of their albums too.

I was very surprised the first time I heard a Beastie Boys Hardcore track.

― wogan lenin (dog latin), Tuesday, 10 October 2006 14:19 (nineteen years ago)

Small Faces "Eddie's Dreaming" at the end of the s/t Immediate album (with Georgie Fame's band?) (Calypso?)

― Bob McNichol (bmcnee), Tuesday, 10 October 2006 14:20 (nineteen years ago)

The Smiths - "How Soon Is Now?"

― hank (hank s), Tuesday, 10 October 2006 14:25 (nineteen years ago)

Parts of Yardbirds/Zeppelin => Honeydrippers...

― J. Grizzle (trainsmoke), Tuesday, 10 October 2006 14:29 (nineteen years ago)

Vangelis - One More Kiss, Dear
1950s crooner shit on the Blade Runner soundtrack

― a.b. (alanbanana), Tuesday, 10 October 2006 15:18 (nineteen years ago)

Blur - Bugman...I love that track but at least one ex-GF loathed all the feedback etc.

― Radio Free Albemuth (DocMartensBoots), Tuesday, 10 October 2006 16:03 (nineteen years ago)

Pulp - I Love Life (last 2 minutes of), and Sunrise is hardly typical of them either.
Soundgarden - Drawing Flies
The Stone Roses - The Foz
SFA - Some Things Come From Nothing

yeah, Bugman kicks ASS more than anything else they ever did, at least until Trimm Trabb 9 tracks later...

― You've Got Scourage On Your Breath (Haberdager), Tuesday, 10 October 2006 16:14 (nineteen years ago)

That Roses bonus track can't count dude.

― Sick Mouthy (Nick Southall), Tuesday, 10 October 2006 16:43 (nineteen years ago)

Yer Blues (Blues)

-- Geir Hongro (geirhon...), October 10th, 2006.

hahahahahahahahaha

― Mr. Que (Mr.Que), Tuesday, 10 October 2006 16:45 (nineteen years ago)

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