Freak Anthems:
The All-time Greatest Songs about BEING WEIRD!
Do you consider yourself weird? An outsider? Do you see things a bit differently than others? Did you spend your childhood transparently observing other apparently 'normal' people and the world from a distance, or did school bullies use to give you atomic wedgies that you'd recover from only weeks later? Or are u the other kind of freak; scaring the shit out of everyone because you're so unpredictable and the slightest thing could push you 'over the edge'? Or perhaps you've just accepted the fact that you're addicted to taboo and pushing your decadent thrills to the limit? Well, whatever kind of weirdo you are, you should find solace in the fact that some of the coolest music icons were freaks too, and they actually put that bizarre feeling in their music. It gives you hope, really...
The Doors - People are Strange
The ultimate ode to being different, which will remain as relevant to weirdo's centuries down the road as it was 30 years ago. While I feel that all music by The Doors contain special windows into the mind of Jim Morrison (a legend in his own right), this is an especially personal one. Isolation, disturbance, confusion and faces in the rain. Brilliant.
Metallica - So What
A vicious cover off Garage Inc of the Anti-Nowhere League's obscene middle finger to exaggerated testosterone and extreme thrill-seeking. Some may write this song off as an adolescent attempt at trying to include as many vulgarities as possible into a track (which is legitimate), but I look at it as an expression of something deeper. When you don't have a foundation in life, be it ethical or religious, then all that is left is to connect your days with finding the next thrill, the next rush, the next risk that will grant you that surge of pleasure. But still, having done all these things, all you're left with is the original emptiness of having no solid foundation.
Gary Jules - Mad World
Perhaps the most poetic expression of youthful angst, that time of your childhood when you are just beginning to face the madness of the world, the fear and confusion of 'the other' and the fact that quite simply, we are all big lizards living on a rock travelling through space. Somewhere around puberty most of us begin letting go of these thoughts that get replaced with boobs and 'succeeding' in the competitive rat race, but there are some who carry these heavy feelings with us forever...
Korn - Freak on a Leash
Don't groan about 'whiny nu-metal' and give me a second to explain. I don't know about Korn recently or the army of fake copy cats that sprung up after their success, but I do know this...only a legitimately twisted soul could have written this track. My admiration is not specifically with either the music or the understandable portion of the lyrics (which are both very good, to say the least). The real reason this track is a freak anthem are the rabid animal grunt-like sounds lead singer Jonathan Davis spews during the epic chorus. When it first dropped, freaks worldwide grunted along and felt much about themselves, and to this day it is still very liberating.
Radiohead - Paranoid Android
It begins with an awkward shuffle, like a geeky teenager stumbling nervously into the cafeteria hoping that no one will pick on him; that slowly morphs into a monster riff seeking retaliation on a harsh world, walking back into the same cafeteria and shooting everyone in the head. Take that, jocks and cheerleaders. Weirdly enough, the more you listen to it the more the song seems to have an intricate personality in itself; a real milestone in freak anthems and music in general.
Simon & Garfunkel - The Sound of Silence
This is an automatic entry into the list because of the opening line that goes "hello darkness, my old friend." But closer inspection shows it be much more legendary and prophetic, a disturbing poetic dissection of fragmented societies and lack of real communication between people. The eerie vibe created by the soft vocals makes way for unexpected progressions that invite you into the barren space of fellow dissociated souls.
Pink Floyd - Shine on you crazy diamond
This 9 piece epic was written in tribute to ex-Floyd member Syd Barett and his LSD induced insanity. In addition to being a monumental piece of music, the lyrics are passionate and show just how much Barett was a special and bizarre character. Allegedly, during the recording of this track (and after having not seen Barett in years since his departure), he unexpectedly turned up at the recording studio, having put on a lot of weight and shaved his hair and eyebrows completely off.
Patti Smith - Land
What makes this track by punk rock pioneer Patt Smith so incredible (and an obvious candidate for weirdest song ever) is the fantastic imagery. Consisting mainly of her signature spoken word \ poetry, it describes the psychedelic experience of one person's decent into madness. The shifts in musical style complement perfectly.
Iggy Pop - I wanna be your dog
To not include him in the list would literally be blasphemy because having been in a band called 'The Stooges' and written a song called 'I wanna be your dog' qualified him even before I got the idea for this play list. If you've ever been so lustfully obsessed with someone to the point that you don't mind lying in the corner of the room until they call you for some fun, then this would be right up your alley. If not, completely ignore this one and right me some hate mail immediately.
Lou Reed - Walk on the wild side
Hmm, if you consider the last selection a bit on the deviant side, then stop reading here, because ex-velvet underground member and rock pioneer Lou Reed pretty much set the blueprint for decadence and overall bizarre behaviour. Tales of backroom groupies, trannies, hard drugs, fast living, big risks and crushed dreams, made ever the more freaky by an odd black female vocal of 'do do do do'.
Guns n Roses - Estranged
It has been argued that this the bands finest moment creatively, an epic 9 min plunge into the mind of someone who's down and out. All elements are spot on, especially Axl with his lyrical prowess ("when you're talking to yourself, and nobody's home \ You can't fool yourself, you can't end this world alone") and Slash spewing larger than life riffs, while the frequent shifts and instrumental interludes paint beautiful soundscapes of isolation and self-destruction.