The Five Weirdest Songs in My Library

As you tens of readers know from my occasional Shuffleboard© posts, I have a ton of music. A ton of really varied music. Over the years I've collected quite a few tunes (I'm up to 9032 songs, 24.1 days, or 42.48GB), so a few of them are bound to be weird, even to my eclectic ear.
Ooo. I'm saving Eclectic Ear for when I have a band.


1. "Art of Life" by X-Japan
My senior year of college, I had an...interesting roommate. I won't go into the (shudder) gory details, but I'll give you this detail: he listened to metal. Metal and only metal.
One night he and one of his friends watched a concert DVD of a speed-metal band, X-Japan. Ten people on stage, huge hair, blistering guitar riffs, etc. The thing was, the song was 29 minutes long. I was transfixed.
The band plays flatout (I'm talking 32nd notes) for around 8 minutes before a huge orchestral sweep, which transfers to a balladish chorus, which transfers to a mind-numbing guitar solo backed by the rhythm guitar and an orchestra, which then transfers to a jaw-droppingly long dueling piano solo, which transfers back to another few minutes of thrashing.
The lead singer, Toshi, sings in English, but his accent is so strong I have yet to make out what he says. Even after ten or so listens (that's over three hours of listening, mind you).
It's bizarre, and it makes my fingers/brain hurt, but maaaan is it a showcase of extraordinary musical talent.


2. "Blut Im Auge" by Equilibrium
Okay, I promise, this is the last speed metal song.
"Blut Im Auge" is an exceedingly strange melding of Celtic melodies, German growling and screaming thrash metal. I found it on an Amazon metal sampler, and I giggle every time I listen to it. It's such a strange combination, the cheery Irish jig paired with grungy German Rammsteinness paired with speed metal.
My wife says the guy sounds like Christian Bale's Batman voice.


3. "Insect Eyes" by Devendra Banhart
This is actually classified as "Weird" in my iTunes. I guess I was sorting through my music years ago and decided the label fit.
Banhart is a weirdo. I don't really dig the whole "I'm weird, and it's your fault for not liking me, and I'm going to be mad about it" hipster thing. And he looks smelly.
But the song is creepily catchy. The messy/simple guitar and Banhart's droning voice make it sound like an otherworldly open mic night. But the lyrics make NO sense.

And each lash in her eye is really white roots

And each line in her skin is really red roots

And the neck her head's on is a tunnel of dawn

But darkness will come, but darkness will come

4. "Naqoyqatsi" by Philip Glass
Philip Glass is a New-Agey composer who has some truly unique stuff. I first listened to Glass via his score for "The Illusionist." He uses very unique and interesting-sounding chord progressions, and cool instrumentation.
Glass wrote the score for Naqoyqatsi, an art film that looks in no way appealing to me whatsoever. But Glass' style is so unique and strange sounding, Yo-Yo Ma's cello adds a dark weight, and the guttural vocals repeating "Naaaaah-koy-kaaaatsee" over and over in the beginning makes this a strange one indeed.


5. "Fire Coming Out of the Monkey's Head" by Gorillaz
Gorillaz is perhaps the world's only "virtual" band. Damon Albarn, a British rocker, started a band with only himself (and a comic book artist to draw the characters of the band) as the band's sole permanent member. Countless people contribute to every Gorillaz song. Most of their tracks are by definition a little strange, but none are as unnerving as their story/song listed above.
Dennis Hopper (yes, that Dennis Hopper) reads a fable-esque story about evil shadows who mine too deep into a volcano (called Monkey) where the Happy Folk live.
And while "Demon Days," the album on which this track is featured, plays like one long symphony, this one is strange all by itself.

Note: This video is AWESOME. Dennis Hopper himself and Gorillaz performing live in Harlem=outstanding.