Top Ten Weirdest Songs of the 2010s
Weird... what exactly does that mean? Unusual, bewildering, strange. It doesn't necessarily mean something bad, but it often does, although sometimes it's exactly what makes a song so entertaining. Weirdness is often unintentional, created simply by trying to deliver a certain premise but failing to execute it well, using unfitting lines or musical aesthetics instead, or having a very bizarre and random premise in the first place that is delivered with outstanding seriousness. But sometimes the weirdness is fully part of the premise in and of itself. Comedians, YouTubers or soundtracks often make use of exactly these things for humorous effect, which often results in the lyrics being weird, while the music is actually quite catchy. Other times, you can't tell whether a weird song is a joke or intentional. This is mostly the case when the performer is not famous before and left no information about the song's intention. But the effects of weirdness can also be quite the opposite of fun: weirdness is sometimes disturbing, nightmarish and unsettling. After all, the music sounds off, broken and just not right, which are all characteristics spooky horror fiction uses.So to sum it up: weird music can be horrible or brilliant, funny or frightening, barely listenable or really addictive; depending on its intention and execution.
I... really don't think I need to explain this. This is just so over the top in being random and strange that "I wanted to make the weirdest song of all time" is written all over it. It just tries way too hard to be bizarre and pointless that all I can say about this mess of a song is... they succeeded.
I... don't get it. This guy released 14 albums and 10 EPs (and 29 singles) between 2004 and 2012, none of which had any notable success, and then vanished completely. No trace on any website gives a clue about him. It's a mystery.
Another mystery is his premise. A third of his songs sound like regular scene music: synth beats, autotune, and a mix of emo-esque lyrics and party tunes. Nothing great and lacking any personality, but for what it is, solid.
Another third are parodies of famous pop songs. Not the funniest ones, but okay, although pretty contradictory to his other output. And the final third are songs like... this. What the...!? Those are songs that sound intentionally bad. Cheap beats, cat-hat rhymes, slow flow, and random topics (on other scene artists, whether you like them or not, you could at least see some sort of intention behind it - at least they tried). None of his discography fits together.
And while I think none of it is really good... it's kind of fascinating. Really, it's fascinating to figure out what he's all about.
Having read into the matter of this guy, he was just inexperienced back then and didn't manage to record it better. Nothing wrong with that. The autotune and reverb effects are used too heavily, his vocals are out of sync, and he barely raises his voice while singing, which makes the song sound weird.
Okay, that's funny. Like, the funniest song on the list.
This song hit number one on the Austrian Ö3 Charts in 2017. Despite that, I never heard of it before I made my list about Austrian number-one hits of 2017.
It received no notable airplay, and these guys aren't well known at all. But somehow this video got a million views, which is impressive for Austria with only 8 million citizens. Maybe this song was featured on Austrian TV, which often promotes local artists.
So yeah... the premise is that Dave asks Marco questions to which the answers are obvious, and Marco answers sarcastically. Need examples?
"Your eyes are closed, are you asleep?
No, I'm washing my car in the bathroom!"
"You're soaking wet, is it raining?
No, I just vomited, eww, gross!"
"Hey Marco, are you singing?
No, I'm putting butter on my bread!"
So, since few people seem to know: Ylvis are a comedy group. They have had stand-up comedy live shows since the 2000s and host a talk show, but they are only well known in Norway.
At one point, most comedians record a fun song that fits into the context of their overall performances. Ylvis had a few. Just that this one here, for some reason, got international attention and huge success outside of Norway.
Now without any background information and out of said context, it might have appeared like... you know, an unintentionally funny song? At least Ylvis were immediately called a music group internationally, which isn't true. They are comedians who recorded a comedy song about a most trivial thing, much like Weird Al Yankovic.
This song was released in several languages and was successful in a bunch of countries.
The Italian version hit number one in Italy, the French version number 9 in France and 15 in Belgium, the German version number 10 in Germany and number 23 in Austria, the Spanish version number 7 in Spain, and the Dutch version number 2 in the Netherlands and number 5 in Belgium.
The whole premise is that the singer (a heavily pitched and autotuned voice) says that he hears several animals and their respective sounds on the radio. As in "Old MacDonald Had a Farm," in each verse there's a new animal. In the end, a tractor runs over the chick, but don't worry, it survived and takes revenge in the song's sequel.
The first time you hear the song, it's just... weird and stupid. But believe me, you'll hear it hundreds of times. It's just too catchy.
This song, and "Deepthroat," were mostly responsible for why I dismissed Cupcakke as a rapper. In the other song, she shouts sex instructions in an extremely slow flow. On here, she makes weird barking noises instead of a chorus.
It took me until 2018 to completely change my mind about her, as her "Ephorize" album is simply great. She can spit creative punchlines with a wonderfully fluent flow. Often her topics are much more varied. Also, she can deliver her sex songs with the cleverness and dominant persona needed.
So that leaves the question... why did she record songs like "Doggy Style" or "Deepthroat"? On here, her talent at least sparks through in the verses, although not as strongly as on her newest album. But really, with a chorus like that, it just kind of screws up the mood they might create.
So that you know: this song features Volksmusik in the background, which is a traditional music genre in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. It is common in the hill regions but appears very ridiculous and embarrassing to people in the cities. It's what people yodel to.
The song also features two middle-aged to older ladies speaking in a Bavarian dialect who advise you not to eat salad because it makes your biceps shrink, with a music video shot in the Alpine region.
Furthermore, it contains two muscular, menacing-looking rappers who have each released a handful of chart-topping albums, both in a dark, gangsta rap style. One of them is hailed as the possible King of German Rap because of his intelligent wordplay, extremely advanced vocabulary, and multisyllabic rhyming. They rap about eating huge amounts of food.
It's such a bizarre scenario, especially since this curiosity has been uploaded on the regular channel of one of the two main rappers. You'd expect an atmospheric, complexly worded banger.
After a bit more than 3 minutes, just when you think they went crazy, Kollegah says "April Fool" to the camera. It's nevertheless one of his most viewed videos on YouTube. But it was well received for its humor.
The Newcomers
It's from the movie "Get Him to the Greek," and it is meant to be tasteless. It has the singer stylizing himself as a savior saving those poor African children, with overly cheesy first-world metaphors.
The movie, by the way, is awesome. It has its laughs and is sometimes very satirical of the music business, but it also has a lot more depth than expected, and its main character is much more complex than he appears at first glance. The movie also has a song called "Furry Walls." I might add that one too. You just gotta win with a title like that.
