What is the strangest music you have ever heard?

classical

It just doesn’t resonate with me at all. I consider it “strange” because it appears to be lacking any of the emotions I have experienced in my 40+ years. Even more “strange” that it is considered the finest form of musical expression.

4’33

Chinese music like this

This is not the best (or worst) example but I tend to find it discordant and disturbing.

Once there was this group of Vietnamese musicians playing on the Mall in Washington DC. It was part of an international festival. It reminded me of cats caterwauling. Overtones that set your teeth on edge. Strange half tones and quarter tones. Nasal singing.

It was really strange at first, but after a while I came to appreciate it. I could start to see where they were coming from. I went to their tent and they let me play their instruments, which was a lot of fun.

Bagpipes, I won’t give an example for two simple reasons, you’re clearly aware of the instrument & listening to that din uncurls my pubes.

Tuvan throat singing has got to be near the top of that list.

I can sing like a Tuvan…. a little, anyway. I love their music, which I first came in contact with over a quarter of a century ago.

Black Dice, a noise band. They are strange because they use dissonance, disrythmia, and other techniques to subvert the usual concept of what music can be, and what they create is music because they wind different types of patterns, both subtle and blatant, through their songs, and because what they make is beautiful.

The whole genre of atonal music. I don’t get it. Why even call it music at all?

Here’s an example, which just happens to be the first one that came up on my google search.

Even “discordant music” sounds great compared to this.

I was going to say Frank Zappa playing a bicycle , or some of the exotic Phillip Glass things, but instead I will go with The Sex Pistols, who are the most untalented and overrated of all music.

@syz beat me to it.

The Butthole Surfers can be pretty strange, but this one really takes the cake.

Thanks for all your answers.

I came across the music of Toru Takemitsu recently. The composer says this: “My music is like a garden, and I am the gardener. Listening to my music can be compared with walking through a garden and experiencing the changes in light, pattern and texture.” His music sounds harsh and discordant and yet I feel there is a beauty there that always eludes me.

I never understood the purpose of death metal music. I wouldn’t even know what to look for to give you a Youtube video of it.

Typical “radio” music. There are different variations and not all the same, but some of it has no substance or passion.

This cracks me up, too.

@syz the singing zombie? He is a legend!