Music you like that you find disturbing

[Barkworm]

The rap music thread made me think about how we sometimes like something but (or maybe because) it makes us feel uncomfortable. Sometimes it‘s the lyrics, sometimes it‘s something about the music. Two examples come to my mind:
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I first listened to it when I was a teen and coming from a strict Christian household, the way the lyrics glorify drug use but at the same time the music makes you feel like you‘re in hell was deeply disturbing to me. Still one of favourite tracks of them.

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This is famous German Punkrock-band „Die Ärzte“ (The Doctors), who are about as big as Rammstein here and who are known for their crass humorous lyrics. The video includes their most controversial song „Geschwisterliebe“ (translates to „siblings in love“, starts at about 2:30) which is about a guy who dreams of banging his teen sister and finally succeeds in the end. The lyrics are just juvenile nonsense but the chord progression makes it sound like a sad love song and that makes it SUPER creepy.

Do you have examples of songs that have a similar effect on you?

[KROW]

Off the top of my head, two spring to mind. First would be "Xero Tolerance" by Type O Negative, about a man who snaps after a break up and murders his ex and her new lover. It's very straightforward and not poetic at all, but the use of the synthesizer sliding up and down is jarring and gives you the impression that this guy is giving in to his madness. Then the song has this weird, up-tempo beat that's enjoyable as he hollers in fun and shouts how much drugs and booze he took to prepare the deed. Then, at the end... you hear chopping.

Lyric warning:
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The other would be "Breaking the Habit" by Linkin Park. Definitely more profound than the previous song and not as gruesome. When I first heard it years ago, I enjoyed the rhythm, the arrangement, the emotion, and chalked it up to random dark angst. Then I paid more attention to the lyrics on a second go 'round and found out what, "breaking the habit" meant. Whoa. Then when Chester Bennington passed, the song just gets more haunting. Hell, I'd say all of their songs do, but this one stuck out for me.

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[Barkworm]

Those are cool examples. I was never a big Linkin Park fan (too formulaic) but they had some awesome tracks and Chester's suicide made me realize how heartfelt his lyrics had been.

[Mad Dog McMutt]

That is a really cool Type O Negative song. It sounds very punk rock. I guess I should add basically every Misfits song to this list. I am a big fan of the Danzig version of the Misfits. There are a lot of disturbing punk songs that aren't meant to be taken seriously like tons of TSOL and Dead Kennedy songs. Songs about raping corpses, killing the poor, starting forest fires, and all kinds of stuff. Basically almost any song that you look up by those bands will be disturbing. I think even GBH has a song about raping corpses as well. Don't even get me started on death metal bands like Cannibal Corpse and Cattle Decapitation.

[Cowabung-Gal]

Two of them are both by Pearl Jam

The lyrics for “Jeremy” were inspired by a true story of a high school student shooting himself in front of his classmates, and the music video for it even has a young boy putting a gun into his…well, you know.

“Alive” is undoubtedly a classic, but it’s about a young man being…touched by his own mother. :teek:

[triplexxx]

Many people are very nostalgic for Bone Thugs N Harmony's hits in spite of the topics and themes a number of them clearly illustrate.

[KROW]

That is a really cool Type O Negative song. It sounds very punk rock.

It's definitely got punk undertones in it. Funny enough, when they played this song live, they would sing the up tempo part with Cockney accents.