What's the weirdest "mainstream" song you've ever heard?

Always thought the same thing about that song, OP. Really foolish message to put out there.

When did this turn into Fraulounge?

When I first started working at my job, they used to inflict the mouldy oldies station upon me. I hated "The Leader of the Pack." There were actually a couple of them along the same line; songs where boyfriend dies in a big crash. Then, there's "This Band of Gold," which I like, but it's a song about a woman obviously getting hitched to an asexual or gay man. For that time period, odd stuff. What else could it be about? Honeymoon without sex? Finally, Alone Again, Naturally." I love the song, but it's wonderful camp. Melodrama at its dark and stormiest.

[quote]When I first started working at my job, they used to inflict the mouldy oldies station upon me.

If it's "mouldy," how come it isn't "ouldy"?

[quote]I hated "The Leader of the Pack."

You have no taste.

Leader of the Pack? Reminds me of my mother. How old are you?

"White Rabbit" is one of the least likely and most 'inappropriate' hit songs. Was that considered mainstream? I'm all for it, of course, but WOW.

Agree about the Heart song. I was always kind of grossed out by it, even as a kid in the 80s.

"Wild Boys" by Duran Duran owns this topic.

Damn Yankees "High Enough" comes to mind. You'd think with all that talent, a cohesive thought could be communicated. No, apparently not.

Is that what it's about? And I thought hearts song was about a woman married to a gay guy and he can't satisfy her so she find a young kid.

"Breaking My Stride," a song from the 80s, performed by a man whose first name is Matthew. One line mentioned ..."you had to get your laundry cleaned; didn't want anyone to hold ya: what does that mean?"

Catchy, fun tune, strange lyrics.

R7 any Duran Duran song, for that matter. But thank you for bringing to mind the beefy Wild Boys video

"Twist in My Sobriety," by Tanita Tikaram (and later, Liza).

"We just poked a little empty pie/For the fun that people had at night" -- ?

Also, "Sugar Don't Bite," a dance hit for Sam Harris:

"Sugar don't bite/You know I'm a bleeder..."

"The Man in My Little Girl's Life" sung by that famous, gifted singer -- Mike Douglas.

You have to hear it to believe it. The lyrics you can't help but create for it are numerous.

Never Been to Me by Charlene.

One Night In Bangkok from the Chess Concept Album went to #2 in the U. S. and was #1 all over the rest of the world.

I love it, but looking back it's hard to believe!

Thar Kylie Minogue/Nick Cave song. Creepy as hell

R6 All of Nick Cave for that matter. Still, a very very good song.

Relax

The End of the World As We Know It REM

Matthew Wilder R10.

I always liked the Heart song. Never understood why it was lambasted so much. (And from what I remember hearing, Heart themselves aren't too fond of the song, either).

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"Freeek!" by George Michael.

"Every breath you take," by the Police.

Overall creepfest about stalking and unwanted surveillance. Oddly enough some people think this is a love song.

I watched this song Beyonce was "singing" on the Grammys last night about being drunk and riding a surfboard. She kept displaying her buttocks. I thought is was the weirdest thing.

"Angel of the Morning" by Juice Newton.

Having My Baby by Paul Anka is the true winner of this thread.

Timothy-- a song about eating a friend....

Wildfire -- girl dies, horse dies, and death is impending for narrator at the end of the song.

70's had some interesting story songs to go with the car crash songs of the early 60's.

MacArthur Park

R28 - Don't you leave cakes out in the rain every day?

Oh, there are a few. I was just thinking about "Hot Child in the City" by Nick Gilder this morning on my way to work. (Sample lyrics: "Stranger dressed in black, she's a hungry child / No one knows who she is or what her name is / I don't know where she came from or what her game is ...So young to be loose and on her own / Young boys, they all want to take her home ... Come on down to my place, woman / We'll make love")

Also, Rod Stewart's classic, a sure-fire favorite of child molesters, "Tonight's the Night" (Stay away from my window ... Disconnect the telephone line (while I bind your arms with the telephone cord) ... Don't say a word my virgin child / Just let your inhibitions run wild / The secret is about to unfold / Upstairs before the night's too old") Seventies perv-rock gold, baby!

Dr. Hook's "A Little Bit More" should also be mentioned, just for the lyrics "When your body's had enough of me / And you're laying flat-out on the floor / When your body's had enough of me / I'm gonna love you a little bit more!" I think that was the song playing on the jukebox at that bar during "The Accused."

[quote]Overall creepfest about stalking and unwanted surveillance. Oddly enough some people think this is a love song.

"Every Breath You Take" has got to be one of the most misconstrued songs ever! I heard that some people had it played at their weddings!

I remember when the late Andy Gibb and Marilynn McCoo were lovingly singing this song to each other on "Solid Gold"! I was laughing out loud.

This was a huge hit in Europe - not sure about the States. I first heard it in a gay bar in London.

Well, hell, pretty much every. Fucking. Song. EVER. Released in the 1980's qualifies.........

This.

"IN A GADDA DA VIDA" WTF????????????????

"Hot Child in the City" sounds like it was written by R. Kelly

R35, that was written when the authors were very VERY stoned. It stands for "In the Garden of Eden." Seriously. LOLOL

Young girl, get out of my mind! My love for you is way out of line! You gotta run girl, your much too young girl.

I can see being a little too young. Like if the singer was say 30 and the girl was 18. 17 even. But MUCH too young? How old is she, 14? 12? 8?

Safety Dance by Men Without Hats

It would be hard to out-weird Three Little Fishes by Kay Kyser. It sold millions of copies in 1939 and later. I remember singing this in first grade in 1956.

R11 ... yeah, "Union of the Snake" is seriously up there too.

"Telegram, force, and ready... I knew this was a big mistake. There's a fine line drawing my senses together, and I think it's about to break..."

Mr. Roboto by Styx blew my little mind at age seven and still does.

Live - Lightning Crashes: Lightning crashes, a new mother cries, her placenta falls to the floor

Eminem - Love The Way You Lie: Now you get to watch her leave out the window, guess that’s why they call it window pane.

R41 New Moon on Monday?

Last time La Luna// I light my torch and wave it for the New moon on Monday// And a firedance through the night// I stayed the cold day with a lonely satellite

R41, et al: Simon LeBon has said many times that he would just string words and phrases together, depending on the beat and the music that the rest of the band put together. None of it was supposed to make any sense. So don't even try.

[quote]Oddly enough some people think this is a love song.

Sting once called it "poison" in an interview.

[quote]I nominate "All I Want to Do is Make Love to You" by Heart.

"All I wanna do is have sex with you. Come fuck my brains out, I want you too".

Even the number one "Reflex"...

"The Reflex-flex-flex-flext ... is a lonely child..."

Sha-na-na-na! Sha-na-na-na! The-the-the-the-THE REFLEX!

"Hey Matthew" by Karel Fialka

"Fish Heads". It was actually all over the radio, back in the day.

[quote]Safety Dance by Men Without Hats

You know this is about unsafe sex, right?

R46, Sting calling his song "poison" meant very little to people who were casual listeners and were seduced by the romantic aspect of the tune.

Many people simply enjoy songs, a lot of people who listen to pop music aren't real fans of the musicians performing hit songs. There's a pretty good chance a lot of people who bought "Every Breath You Take" never read even one Sting interview.

[quote]IN A GADDA DA VIDA" WTF????????????????

I recall my older brother arguing with our sister telling her it was a play on the words, "In the Garden of Eden." Sounds like it might be.

I was a kid when this song came out, but my brother had all the Iron Butterfly albums, I heard it relentlessly.

Digging Your Scene - The Blow Monkeys

A great song. It was pretty popular in '86, but I don't think many people listened closely to it. During the worst of the AIDS era it's a song about having HIV and not telling your partners.

Invisible by Gay Claiken. Super creepy stalker song.

"Don't Touch Me There" by the Tubes. Bizarre for its time. "I Know What Boys Like" by the Waitresses. Punkish, repetitive nonsense that kind of grew on you the more you listened to it. An ear worm. "People Are Still Having Sex" by LaTour, a big hit in clubs at the time. And my all time favourite ... "Tusk" by Fleetwood Mac. After two huge fuckin' albums they return from a hiatus with this amazing song.

[quote]Sting calling his song "poison" meant very little to people who were casual listeners and were seduced by the romantic aspect of the tune.

I never said otherwise. But his comment confirms what a lot of people have always known about it.

"Go Tell Aunt Rhody"

Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll by Ian Dury. It was a hit in the late 1970's

Is it really possible that no one has mentioned Lou Reed's Walk On The Wild Side yet?

I used to Love Her by Guns N' Roses

"Give It Away" by Red Hot Chili Peppers

Sunny Came Home by Shawn Colvin. Girl goes back home and torches the house of her abuser.

Dry is good and wind is better

Count the years, you always knew it

Strike a match, go on and do it

I love that Tanita Tikaram song, R12. She's family, which gives some context.

The weirdest MOR/Pop songs I know of are those Lee Hazelwood & Nancy Sinatra hits of the 60's. Ladybird, Some Velvet Morning, Lightning's Girl...so ginchy and so surreal.

She's only had one top 40 hit here, the sort of weird "Running Up That Hill", but Kate Bush has had a bunch of UK hits, and they are all weird as shit.

[quote]"People Are Still Having Sex" by LaTour, a big hit in clubs at the time.

Oh man, I'd forgotten about that one. Brings back memories!

"Bohemian Rhapsody" is right weird (and brilliant).

"Short Dick Men".

I win the thread!!!

90% of 90s alt songs were weird

This thread just makes me realize how much more fun and diverse music was at other times. After watching the Grammys last night my reaction was that I'm tired of the same old sensationalist shit we have now.

You are so right R64. I looked up SOME VELVET MORNING on YouTube thinking it would be something as good as SUMMER WINE. What a bizarro world piece it was. He had to have been blasted when he wrote it. Ah, the 60's!

"Walking My Cat Named Dog" made it to #22 on the Billboard charts in the late 60s. I remember hearing it in the car on the way to school and giggling.

Convoy - CW McCall

This was a #1 hit.

Undercover Angel by Alan O'Day

Why is Undercover Angel the "weirdest" one you've ever heard?

"One Way or Another" by Blondie. It's a crazy stalker story that most think is a love song, just like "Every Breath You Take" by the Police

Clap for the Wolfman If I see a fucking Wolfman I ain't clapping I'm running! What the fuck is that weirdass song even about?

Father Figure. I love it but I also have daddy issues so...

r61 wasn't that about his dog?

It was before my time, but I read last year that Bobby Darin's rendition of "Mack the Knife" from THE THREEPENNY OPERA was a big hit and won him a Grammy despite its gruesome content. Until I read that, I'd never paid much attention to the lyrics before, because the light melody makes it sound like an upbeat song, but it's really about a serial killer who robs, rapes, and kills his victims.

Macarena

What moron could possibly think "One Way Or Another" is a love song? There's nothing in the lyrics OR the music that suggests romance. "I'll follow / your bus downtown / see who's hanging hot" Pure menance. What the fuck? I refuse to believe anyone could be that stupid.

"Some specials and rat food / get lost in the crowd"

"Rubber Band Man"

"Stick Out Your Can, Here Come the Garbage Man"

"They're Coming to Take Me Away"

"Light My Fire", by the The Doors; it's always a hoot to hear middle-of-the-road lounge singers utter lyrics like "... and our love become a funeral pyre."

[quote]I light my torch and wave it for the New moon on Monday

For 20 years, I thought the lyrics were "I'd lock my door, Jack, WAY before the new moon on Monday." Now my friends and I sing it that way on purpose, inflection and all.

[77] It's about a deejay called Wolfman Jack who was big in the 1970s. "Clap for the Wolfman, he gonna rate your record high." That's his voice on the song.

[quote]"People Are Still Having Sex" by LaTour, a big hit in clubs at the time.

I remember that! The uncensored version you'd hear in clubs had the lyric "Nothing makes them stop/This AIDS thing's not working", whereas the radio edit was "This safe thing's not working."

"Blinded by the Light"

"Horse with No Name"

R 56, I LOVE Tusk!!

Hotel California by The Eagles, owns this thread. I think it's just about the creepiest song I've ever heard.

Rumor has it that it's about the Manson Murders, but I'm not sure.

R28: The extended remix of MacArthur Park, by La Summer, is probably the best disco song ever created.

"Justified & Ancient" by The KLF and Tammy Wynette

This song was a big worldwide hit and almost cracked the Top 10 in the US.

Last Kiss by Pearl Jam (someone else sang the original version in the 50s or 60s).

Into the Night by Benny Medina.

R80 wins. Mac the Knife is by far the most oddball song to become a megahit. The original lyrics are even more gruesome than the toned down popular English version. It's weirder to even think how old the song is. It was written 86 years ago in Berlin and is still incredibly well known all over the world. There are multiple translations, some more lewd than other. My favorite translation has this: And the ghastly fire in Soho,/ Seven children at a go-/In the crowd stands Mack the knife, but/ He's not asked and doesn't know./And the child bride in her nightie,/ Whose assailant's still at large Violated in her slumbers-/Mackie how much did you charge?

"Afternoon Delight", sung by some one hit wonder band in the 70s.

An entire song dedicated to a lunchtime fuck. Priceless.

Convoy.

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I always thought "Sunny Came Home" was about sobriety.

And all these posts and no one mentions "Blurred Lines"? A song glorifying date-rape performed by a piece of shit.

Not mainstream.

No excuse.

But funny if you can get to the end.

Blurred Lines is NOT about rape!! Why doesn't anyone pay attention to the lyrics?

"But you're a good girl

The way YOU GRAB ME

Must wanna get nasty

Go 'head get at me."

If she's grabbing him, how is that rape?

"Justified and Ancient" is definitely weird

The "Father Figure" lyrics sound like a Jerry Sandusky love letter

No love for "The Curly Shuffle"?

R88: "A Horse with No Name" referred to heroin addiction & recovery. One of heroin's nicknames was "horse".

"I've been to the desert on a horse with no name, it felt good to be out of the rain"...."

"Relax", Frankie Goes to Hollywood.

When you wanna cummmmmmmmmm!

Justified and Ancient is on my running playlist.

I loved the crazy mythology that the KLF created around themselves.

Agree what the fuck is up with Justified & Ancient.

I love Justified & Ancient, but I only have it on (rapidly degenerating) cassette ... and it's not available as an MP3 on iTunes or Amazon.

Oh, that's right, Whoopi Goldberg/R101, she *asked* for it, therefore it's not rape.

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That weird MMM MMM MMM song: "Once, there was a girl who..." song sung in a very low register. Just the dumbest, most literal lyrics and horrible singing voice. 90s.

Jethro Tull's Aqualung. "sitting on a park bench eying little girls with bad intent". It's not pro child molestation or anything, but it's very strange subject matter for a hit song. I remember one of my friends thought it was a Spinal Tap song when she first heard it. She couldn't believe it wasn't a joke.

R113 that was Crash Test Dummies

R110 do a web search for youtube to mp3. You can thank me later.

[quote]One Night In Bangkok from the Chess Concept Album went to #2 in the U. S. and was #1 all over the rest of the world. I love it, but looking back it's hard to believe!

C'mon it's a great song and it was written for a show so it's not weird. You want to go strange Asian mainstream song, how about this world wide number one hit, eleven million selling song that won the Grammy Award for Best Selling Single....

Ohhh ohhh ohh ohhhhh........

I Eat Cannibals - Toto Coelo So 80's.

"Welcome to the Jungle" - everyone's favorite Top 40 hit that sounds like its sung by a cartoon witch.

R89 has it, Hotel California is weird as hell.

"Dinah-Moe Hum" by Frank Zappa. Backing vocals were by Tina Turner... uncredited, but once you listen it is obvious. It was recorded at Ike & Tina's studio Bolic Sound.

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This wasn't normal. Or was it÷?

Oh yes, Angie Baby! Certainly one of the weirdest #1 hits.

I've always wondered what the fuck drugs KLF were on to make Justified & Ancient. WTF is muumuu land? And Tammy Wynette is singing??

That I Wanna Be a Cowboy song from the 80s is pretty weird for a hit.

I don't get why anyone thinks that Mike Douglas song is creepy. It's just a sentimental father talking about his daughter growing up and the various boys in her life. Schmaltzy, sentimental claptrap but hardly creepy. You all are reaching with that one.

Games Without Frontiers -- Peter Gabriel Catchy but creepy. I still have no idea what he's talking about, but now I've got it stuck in my head.

Run Joey Run Dad aims shotgun at boyfriend and kills daughter instead, complete with angel chorus as she dies. 'Nuff said.

All those weird 50's/60's teenage death songs always creeped me out.

How big was "Get Dancin'" by Disco Tex and the Sex-O-Lettes? It's pretty easy to understand that it's a song about forgetting about the world via dance, but the campy lyrics and gibberish performed by a possibly drunk singer make it a truly bizarre song.

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Virtually nobody here was even born when this hit #4 in 1944, yet it's always been our passport to be carefree and gay once again.

Let's give it up for one of the earliest music videos, made for the 'Soundie' film jukeboxes!

Only Women Bleed

by Alice Cooper

I Am the Walrus. Yellow Submarine. Octopus's Garden...

Can't believe no Beatles songs have been mentioned yet, there are a few weird ones.

Dude Looks Like a Lady

R126

Games without Frontiers is about the Cold War.

Hazard by Richard Marx. It was such a weird fucking song, but it was being played non-stop on all of the radio stations in the early 90s.

No one understood what I felt for Mary. No one cared until the night she went out walking alone.And never came home ...

^ That was definitely a departure from all the cliched love songs Marx used to do

"Hazard" is simply an awesome song.

"Sledgehammer"

A song so blatantly about fucking, even naïve little me "got it" when I first heard it back in 1986. Number one song for MONTHS.

Nothing but talk about vaginas, penises, and fucking. Seriously.

I been through the desert on a horse with no name, 'cause it's good to be out of the rain... In the desert, you can't remember your name, 'cause there ain't no one for to give you no name...

"Hot Child in the City" - very creepy and weird.

What is it with the psychotic overuse of the word "creepy"? This is a word that you would rarely hear 20 or 30 years ago unless you were talking about halloween monsters and ghouls or horror movies. Now, every dimwit with an IQ under 80 applies it freely to anything their stupid little minds can't comprehend.

or it could mean that in a lot of minds the word "weird" and "creepy" are synonymous.

I'll a few R&B songs:

Rick James- 17 (But sexy)

Prince - If I was your Girlfriend

Bell Biv Devoe - Do Me (Talking about underage adolescents back stage. Smack it up flip it, rub it down)

Super Tramps' The Logical Song... I think it's about mental illness/depression?!?!

Ode to Billie Joe- suicide and possible infanticide.

R54, I can't get over that. I had no idea the song was about AIDS. I was 16 or 17 when it came out, and I loved it. I actually called a friend and played it for her, and she said she had no idea either. Weird that I loved it and missed the whole damn meaning.

Disco Tex was better known as Monti Rock the Third, he was a hairdresser turned signer. I think he was a Puerto Rican from NYC. He was a frequent guest on Merv Griffin's and Johnny Carson's talk shows.

He announced his retirement on Carson's show, then serenaded Johnny with "My Way"! Hilarious!

I'll Do Anything For Love (But I Won't Do That)

Da da da by Trio. #1 in Germany in the 80s.

Also, Psycho chicken by the Fools. I was cackling the song all the time and my parents thought I made it up because no real song would sound like that.

This one was a semi-tongue-in-cheek take on all those tragic death songs of the sixties, complete with wailing girls and wailing sirens.

Even the name of the group is total camp.

Lola by the Kinks and Lou Reeds "Walk on the wild side", both about transsexuals. Not really weird per se, but how many mainstream songs today contain a story about transsexuals?!? A good mainstream song. The two above are well written and catchy. And considering when they came out, way ahead of their time,

"I'll Do Anything For Love (But I Won't Do That)"

I used to love that song in junior high.

"Now, every dimwit with an IQ under 80 applies it freely to anything their stupid little minds can't comprehend."

You're the one who is coming across as stupid. It's just a harmless thread about music. We're not talking about serious political issues. Lighten up.

"Sugar Walls" - Sheena Easton

"Angel" by Sarah McLachlan. Isn't that song about suicide? And yet it's always used as a comforting song in times of crises. I remember it was played on the radio constantly after 9/11, and on TV they'd show montages of the victims and their grieving families as the song played.

"I'm on fire" Bruce Springsteen has always felt squicky. And I love the song "Crimson and Clover" but what the hell is it about???

"Flying Purple People-Eater."

Well, R155, quite a few people did commit suicide during 9/11. The men who downed the plane to prevent further tragedy and those who jumped from the windows of a skyscraper to choose their own fate rather than let the fire consume them.

Not sure if it was that mainstream, but it was on MTV a lot in the 80s: "Peek-a-Boo" by Souxie and the Banshees.

"Angel" is about the heroin overdose of the Smashing Pumpkins keyboardist (who, incidentally was the brother of Wendy Melvoin from Wendy & Lisa/Prince and the Revolution).

I think it's pretty weird that this was a million selling single in 1974.

"I ain't going to bump no more with no big fat woman" From the mid to late 70s. Not sure who sang it though

r158, what would Bruce Springsteens's I'm On Fire have to do with 9/11 when it was written and released nearly 20 years earlier?

Weirdest mainstream song I've ever heard is Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen, unparalleled in its weirdness and a beacon for weirdness for music forever.

The Divinyls I Touch Myself was pretty weird, especially hearing it on the radio at WORK. Nobody knew where to look.

"Relax" by Frankie Goes to Hollywood

I love the point in Relax where Holly Johnson says "Cum!" and there's this big, gushing sound effect. I picture jizz flying everywhere.

"He Hit Me (And It Felt Like A Kiss)" by The Chrystals.

The Shangri-Las - "Past, Present And Future"

This song. It was big for a second in the 90s, sung by Jordy, a French baby.

The 90s were weird.

"Run,Joey,Run" by David Geddes.

In a nutshell:

The titular Joey impregnates his girlfriend.

The angry father of the knocked-up gf attempts to gun down Joey.

The unfortunate mother with child in an attempt to shield Joey is shot instead.

As she lays dying in her lover's arms she says:

"Daddy, please don't -- it wasn't his fault. He means so much to me! "Daddy, please don't: we're gonna get married; just you wait and see."

Chorus reapeats "Run,Joey,Run!" and out!

Only in the 70s.

Hotel California...reputedly about the Manson Murders.

Cars, Gary Numan

?

MacArther Park (spell?) .. "Someone left the cake out in the rain."

What kind of imagery is THAT!!??

Rapture (by Blondie) was quite weird and trippy, back in '81. It went to #1.

Lot of coke and weed floating around during the Heart Era. Everything probably made sense to them way back then.

But R158 that's not why the played that song ad nauseam. It's because the chorus talks about being "in the arms of the angel" and it has a soothing melody, so people assumed it was about angels comforting their loved ones.

But the song as a whole is about a lonely and depressed person who commits suicide in a hotel room, and as s/he lays dying envisions being enveloped by an angel. Sarah McLachlan based it on the death of Smashing Pumpkins drummer Jonathan Melvoin, who died of a heroin overdose in his room at the Regency Hotel in NYC.

Into The Night by Benny Mardones.

But Oz never did give nothing to the Tin Man

That he didn't, didn't already have

And Cause never was the reason for the evening

Or the tropic of Sir Galahad

R120, I had no idea that was Tina Turner singing "buns up" and "whatta mean cooties, no cooties on me."

Her "Funkier than a Mosquito's Tweeter" song fits this thread.

^ whaddya, not whatta.

Before new wave hit the charts, Rock On by David Essex. Had a weird and creepy vibe that was pretty unique on the charts at the time. The cover by that Sony/CBS/Bell soap star totally missed the strangeness of the original.

Sometimes the context makes a straightforward song a bit WTF.

Case in point: The Manic Street Preachers singing Some Kind of Nothingness, which is about suicide.

On Strictly Come Dancing.

"My Sharona" by The Knack

[quote]I love the point in Relax where Holly Johnson says "Cum!" and there's this big, gushing sound effect. I picture jizz flying everywhere

Did you never see the video, R166? Jizz or piss at 3:16

[quote]Into The Night by Benny Mardones.

Beautiful, emotional track, even though its about him fucking a sixteen year old.

[quote]It was before my time, but I read last year that Bobby Darin's rendition of "Mack the Knife" from THE THREEPENNY OPERA was a big hit and won him a Grammy despite its gruesome content. Until I read that, I'd never paid much attention to the lyrics before, because the light melody makes it sound like an upbeat song, but it's really about a serial killer who robs, rapes, and kills his victims.

Bobby Darin's version was an "adaptation", as opposed to a translation, and highly sanitized. The 1976 NY Shakespeare Festival's recording is closer to the original translation, and appropriately menacing:

Not too weird, r161, when you consider this was around the time when "Spirit In The Sky" and "Jesus Christ Superstar" were huge hits.

"Peek-a-Boo" is a favorite of mine

Any number of Kate Bush songs that got radio airplay come to mind.

Ultravox : Vienna

Seems to drag on forever. Stunned it became a big 80s hit.

r165, I never heard that song until Agnetha Faltskog covered it about 10 years back. Never saw her video version of it until just now. I don't want to upset the "creepy" troll but that song is CREEPY! And the video is even worse. I don't think the guy made it out alive.

Run Joey Run...

Punk Rock Girl...

"No, we only serve iced"

"Timothy" from 1971. Really creepy song about cannibalism. Three men trapped in a mine without food. The man telling the story, Joe and Timothy. To survive they decide to eat Timothy, The song got an amazing amount of play time on mainstream radio.

Timothy, Timothy, Joe was looking at you Timothy, Timothy, God what did we do.

Has to be "Jungle Fever" by Chakachas. I was 7 y/o when it came out. It was actually played on mainstream radio---moans and all!

I had NO idea what the song was about, but I remember my mom would quickly change the station as soon as that distinctive opening riff started.

"But, Mom! I LIKE that song!"

"It's nothing you need to listen to dear!"

"Telstar" by the Tornados

"Popcorn" by Hot Buttered

"O Superman" by Laurie Anderson

This classic from the Ohio Players--"Funky Worm". This is quite possibly THE most sampled song in rap / hiphop history.

Sat In Your Lap by Kate Bush. It was a top 20 hit in the UK. I sang a few bars of it to someone once and immediately got accused of making the song up off the top of my head. We found it on YouTube and all I can remember afterwards is my friend's jaw hanging wide open.

R195 that's the least bizarre Kate song. The Man With The Child in his Eyes is my vote for most WTF. Both songs I love though.

Can I just say George Michael's Father Figure is really weird. Even as a kid I knew he wasn't talking paternal.

Another vote for Angie Baby by Helen Reddy - written by the recently deceased Alan O'Day, who also wrote and sang the nutso Undercover Angel.

He was an eccentric pop genius!

"The Hut-Sut Song" was a hit for the King Sisters and the Andrews Sisters back in the '40s.

"Hut-Sut Rawlson on the Rillerah and a brawla, brawla sooit."

Blurred Lines wasn't about rape. At all.

It was about the singer taking advantage of his friendship with a girl who already had a boyfriend.

It was a funny, but juvenile song that I didn't think was sexist at all---"You wanna hug me, What rhymes with hug me?"

My Heart Belongs to Daddy.

The original Mary Martin 30s' version is downright dirty when compared with Monroe's suitable for the 50s' version.

Put the lime in the coconut...

"Three Little Fishies" was a big hit for the Andrews Sisters.

...Boop boop dittum dattum wattum, choo And they swam and they swam all over the dam.

"The Cat's in the Cradle" by Harry Chapin

Muskrat Love! REALLY???

Brandy by The O'Jays. It's about a dog people not a woman!

Rebel, Rebel by David Bowie

"Along Comes Mary" by The Association, mainly because of the somewhat malicious lyrics and the almost proto-rap singing style.

"almost proto-rap" :ROLLS EYES:

It's about pot, isn't it?

[208] Are you one of those preppy Pitchfork writers?

R209, huh?

Oops I Did It Again, by Britney. It's some of that early 2000s, white trash, pedo, jailbat, Disneyskank mind control programming TRL shit. A child minx who just can't help getting everybody hard then acting on it. With that creepy vocal fry song styling that sounds like T-Boz from TLC, except undead and from beyond the grave.

"I'm NOT THAT INNOCENT!"

[quote]Do that to me one more time, Once is never enough with a man like you, Do-oo that to me one more time, I can ne-vah get enough with a man like you, Ohhhhh, ki-sssss me like you just did...oh baby, Do that to me once again...

What ON EARTH could that woman be singing about?

BTW, please send Ike's valet up to my room. You know, the tall colored one with the big hands. I have um...a crick in my neck. And have him bring a big pitcher of Pink Lady Cocktails with him too.

I'm going to take a couple of Miltowns, so make sure no one disturbs me.

Shakespeare's Sister, Stay. It has an even weirder music video.

Metal Mickey was the first Brit Pop song I ever heard (not including Oasis which isn't good enough to count). I got hooked but my friend thought I had awful music taste. It has an odd, glam rock sound, especially the Brett Anderson's voice. For the hell of it, here is a link of one of the best live performances.

"Troglodyte" ( Bertha Butt ) by Jimmy Castor Bunch. I had the 45 when I was as kid and would play it constantly. My dad threatened to break it.

Here's a classic video starring Cleveland TV legend Lil' John Rinaldi and The Butt Sisters.

Whip It

Has Sugar Walls been mentioned?

Never forget.

"Don't Be Afraid" - Arron Hall, he's basically singing about raping someone

Tusk by the baby killer Stevie Nicks

r51

No, it was a response to "slam dancin'"

I had a Spotify pl of creepy '70s AM Radio tunes that were hits when I was in elementary school or even before. We had a few of those KTEL tapes and 45s kicking around the house.

(Oh yes, we did.)

"Having My Baby" by Paul Anka.

"Angie Baby" by Helen Reddie. (This is a creepy ass song.)

"Delta Dawn" by Tanya Tucker (Delta Dawn was the Miss Havisham of KHJ.)

"That's the Night that the Lights Went Out in Georgia" by Vicki Lawrence

"I Never Promised You A Rose Garden" by Lynn Anderson (They made us read a book with the same name in school that was about a girl that had an imaginary world in her head, so I associate the two.)

"Rocky" by Austin Roberts (Wife/gf dies in pregnancy and no one knows why.)

Others have mentioned "Run, Joey, Run."

2000s - now: Pretty much anything from Eurovision.

Sara Cynthia Sylvia Stout:

Many years ago, I saw the video to a horrible song called "Fish Heads" about the joys of eating them. Awful video, awful song.

"Tusk" is one of Lindsey's songs, R220.

"Billy, Don't Be a Hero" on youtube is even better. The fat-elvis-jumpsuit-wearing singer is playing it straight and earnest, like he's making a Bob Dylan-level social statement.

How is "Rose Garden" creepy?

"Timothy" by the Buoys - 1971. Trapped miners eat one of their own.

R 227: In the parenthetical comment I explained that I associate the Rose Garden song with a book that was on the reading list in elementary school. There was also a 1977 film. Those both dealt with schizophrenia and I always associated them with the song - which isn't really fair, but there you go.

Afternoon Delight OWNS this thread!

Pumped Up Kicks is a pretty fucked up song, although idk if it's considerd mainstream

"Cambodia" by Kim Wilde, who has a bunch of weird ones, come to think of it. ("Water on Glass" -- tinnitus; "Child Come Away" -- rape; "Tuning In Tuning On" -- sound is a living thing; "View From a Bridge" -- ghost thwarts suicide, or something.)

Sugar Walls

Geek in the pink