Number 9 (Beatles), though it's hardly even a song.
There are many more lyrical songs that after hearing just the first few notes, I can immediately recognize even if I have not heard them for many years. Like the first 6 notes of Aqualung (Jethro Tull). But if I were more knowledgeable, I bet one could come up with influences to show very few songs are all that unique. They're all re-using the same musical scale and the same rather small set of musical instruments (which nevertheless can be re-combined in a virtually infinite number of ways.) Otherwise it'd probably just be noise. We seem to expect a balance of familiar and new. |
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Wait, wait! The soundtrack to "Eraserhead"... |
Zappa’s “Do You Like My New Car” |
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"In C," by Terry Riley. Or "Fast Car," by Tracy Chapman. |
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Not really sure, but if there is a good chance of being one, it might have been by the Eels. |
Nasty
by Vincent Ingala
Watermelon Man
by Herbie Hancock |
+1 to Schmitty for Inca Roads.
"Roads to Moscow" by Al Stewart, more for subject matter rather than musically. |
Roads to Moscow is like reading a novel ..... That guy could write lyrics ..
And I loved his music... Something about his voice was kind of sissy, but we can't all be macho men .... |
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Pretty much anything by Godspeed You! Black Emperor. The music collective from Montreal shows there is beauty in chaos. |
+1 for 21st Century Schizoid Man - King Crimson
Echoes - Pink Floyd |
"most unusual"? No contest. "Rosie" by Jackson Browne. The ode to onanism and the only one ever written as far as I know.
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Someone else by Queensryche.....Geoff Tate gives me chills...... |
The Wizard by Black Sabbath....harmonica in a metal song.....AWESOME |
Troglodyte by The Jimmy Castor Bunch. Funny. Awesome funk baseline. https://youtu.be/JNS42Na2mpcHappy Boy by the Beat Farmers. Possibly the only song in history to include a gargling solo. https://youtu.be/LEZtII8rt_Y@clearthink The New Oxford American Dictionary usage note says it is acceptable to use the word unique in the non absolute sense. Besides, from a philosophical standpoint everything is unique since even two identical things are not the other thing. As in: Remember that you are unique. Just like everyone else. ;-) |
The Police - On any other day.
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"Baby Let Me Bang Your Box" by Doug Clark & The Nuts, a 7" 45RPM single in 1963. How on earth did that get by the censors?!
My friends and I rode our bikes to the record shop in downtown San Jose (which had a bank of record players hooked up to headphones) and listened to the song. |
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Jimi Hendrix
1983... (A Merman I Should Turn To Be)
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skywatchr, I'm pretty sure Pictures of Lily by The Who was about wanking also. As for unusual songs, many of the Who’s early singles/songs would qualify. Magic Bus, I’m a Boy, Maryann with the Shaky Hand, Tattoo, Happy Jack etc. |
2 Tracks from YAZ - Upstairs at Eric’s Album
* I Before E Except After C
* In My Room” |
Letter by Yosi Horikawa.. great sound experimentations, with exquisite recordings. Jefferson Airplane would be on this list too. And of course Zappa, J Tull.. |
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Modern Music by BeBop Deluxe. It's a short suite that takes you away and brings you back |
Very unique Vangelis Papathanassiou’s 1972 take on Revelations in the Bible Title “00”, Aphrodite’s Child
not as unique as Chopsticks |
Cats in the cradle for sure. Honorable mention would be blinded by the Light. Imho. Cheers Dick H. |
"tomorrow" [from "Annie"] played and sung by Major "mule" Holley and "slam" stewart, on string basses. the unique part is that major holley was a human contrabass and could and did sing in unison with the strings of his string bass, all the way down to low E. it is a weird effect, he demonstrated it to frank sinatra and it made frank grin broadly at the novelty of it. |
Anything by the Dixie Dregs |
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Every song on Van Dyke Parks' debut album Song Cycle will sound odd to most listeners, none more so than "The All Golden." You think Syd Barrett sounds unusual?!
After you listen to Song Cycle, go back and listen to Smile. You will then hear how much VDP influenced Brian Wilson musically in 1966 and 7. Smile was really a collaboration between the two, too good to be reduced to a mere Beach Boys album. Mike Love could barely deal with Brian's musical wisdom; Van Dyke's was just too much for him.
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Aja by Steely Dan
Almost everything in non conventional but it melds together beautifully! Many time changes and melody changes is confusing and still so intriguing! I have it on LP Mobile Fidelity so it sounds incredible on my system! |
Timothy - The Buoys. Although there may have been other songs about cannibalism, I don't believe any other one made it to the top 20 on Billboard as did Timothy. Trivia note: It was written by Rupert Holmes, famous for Escape (The Piña Colada Song) and he played piano on Timothy.
Honorable mention: Can't believe no one mentioned Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen. Very unique in its day and made it into the top 10 twice in two different decades. |
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+1 for Friends of Mr. Cairo, Jon and Vangelis. I love the ending when the audio dies and the film flops off the reel.
Tori Amos, Icicle.
Klaatu, Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft
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A Day in the Life
2112
+1 on Calling Occupants (Klaatu version)
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There are so many unusual songs by They Might Be Giants:
Particle Man
Birdhouse In Your Soul
Istanbul
Boss of Me (the theme song to "Malcolm in the Middle") |
Ca Plane Pour Moi
by
Plastic Bertrand |
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Brain Salad Surgery by Emerson, Lake and Palmer. |
Hawkwind - Orgone Accumulator |
Marvin Gaye - The incredible layering of What's Going ON |
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