In the mood for some of the weirdest songs ever made, across alt-rock, novelty tunes, and avant-garde tracks? Look no further!
“Hey Foxymophandlemama, That’s Me” by Pearl Jam from ‘Vitalogy’ (1994)
“Stupidmop” could have made it to this list. But I went with the equally strange “Hey Foxymophandlemama, That’s Me” from Vitalogy. Honestly, much of this album seemed to be a stiff middle finger to the normies who were bumping Pearl Jam’s stuff after Ten dropped. Much of this album is quite bizarre, with serious radio-friendly hits mixed in. Eddie Vedder called the bizarre sound collage “Hey Foxymophandlemama, That’s Me” the band’s “most emotional and moving song.” Vedder is also a very sarcastic and very funny guy.
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“Philosophy Of The World” by The Shaggs from ‘Philosophy Of The World’ (1969)
We’re talking about songs and not albums on this list. But the entirety of Philosophy Of The World by The Shaggs could make it to a list of the weirdest songs ever made. They were avant-garde outside music icons, who came to be a band after their father had a premonition about their inevitable rise to superstardom. That didn’t quite happen, and The Shaggs were met with ridicule. But in the end, they became cult icons, and that album’s title track remains a strange and surreal piece of work enjoyed by many today.
“They’re Coming To Take Me Away, Ha-Haaa!” by Napoleon XIV (1966)
Not only is this novelty song absolutely bizarre, even for 1960s standards, but it was a shockingly huge hit when it was first released. The artist, dressed as Napoleon XIV with a creepy little mask, sings about his missing “love” and how he is going to be sent to an institution. In the end, the “love” in question was a lost dog. This absolutely bizarre novelty song was a smash hit in 1966, peaking at No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
“Detachable P*nis” by King Missile from ‘Happy Hour’ (1992)
I can’t find a single version of this song on YouTube that doesn’t have some sort of phallic imagery in it, so take a gander at the above deep dive into the history of this song instead. You can also easily search for this song and give it a spin, too. It’s actually a great piece of weird alt-rock goodness, complete with the strangest monologue you’ve probably ever heard. If any song deserves to be on a list of the weirdest songs ever, this King Missile classic (which was a hit at No. 25 on the Modern Rock Tracks chart) certainly does.
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