Examples of songs that are "dissonant" between music and subject?
December 27, 2020 6:44 AM Subscribe
Songs that are musically pretty/poignant while addressing obscure or unorthodox subjects are super interesting to me. Examples I was thinking about recently were a couple of songs by Sufjan Stevens ("Concerning the UFO Sighting Near Highland, Illinois" and "John Wayne Gacy Jr."), and "Golden Brown" by The Stranglers (simultaneously about a love interest, and heroin). Do you have any other suggestions I could check out?
Skinned by Blind Melon uses joyful, fun and zany music (with kazoo!) for a song about a murderer/cannibal.
posted by SaltySalticid at 7:11 AM on December 27, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by SaltySalticid at 7:11 AM on December 27, 2020 [1 favorite]
Fake Palindromes by Andrew Bird is peppy and upbeat, and also about a serial killer who uses personal ads to lure victims
In a Week by Hozier is very pretty, and also about a couple's bodies gradually decaying in a field
posted by egregious theorem at 7:26 AM on December 27, 2020 [3 favorites]
In a Week by Hozier is very pretty, and also about a couple's bodies gradually decaying in a field
posted by egregious theorem at 7:26 AM on December 27, 2020 [3 favorites]
Mountain Goats' "Dance Music" comes to mind.
posted by entropone at 7:29 AM on December 27, 2020 [3 favorites]
posted by entropone at 7:29 AM on December 27, 2020 [3 favorites]
The Smiths have a lot of songs with catchy, peppy music and mordant lyrics. It's sort of one of their specialties. Songs that come to mind:
- Unhappy Birthday
- You Just Haven't Earned It Yet, Baby
- Girlfriend in a Coma
- Cemetery Gates
- Panic
posted by Leontine at 7:40 AM on December 27, 2020 [6 favorites]
- Unhappy Birthday
- You Just Haven't Earned It Yet, Baby
- Girlfriend in a Coma
- Cemetery Gates
- Panic
posted by Leontine at 7:40 AM on December 27, 2020 [6 favorites]
Oh gosh, The Sun Is Burning by Simon and Garfunkel is exactly this.
posted by Jemstar at 7:58 AM on December 27, 2020 [3 favorites]
posted by Jemstar at 7:58 AM on December 27, 2020 [3 favorites]
Speaking of The Smiths, I think "Suffer Little Children" (about the Moors murders) also qualifies as an answer to this question.
posted by soundofsuburbia at 7:59 AM on December 27, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by soundofsuburbia at 7:59 AM on December 27, 2020 [1 favorite]
Ue o Muite Arukō is a classic example. It's not actually a peppy song about beef (that's just the racist name given to it in English). It's actually a peppy song about trying not to cry, inspired by failed protests against the US military.
posted by Kutsuwamushi at 8:01 AM on December 27, 2020 [2 favorites]
posted by Kutsuwamushi at 8:01 AM on December 27, 2020 [2 favorites]
Vienna Teng, Hymn of Acxiom. Brilliantly satiric horror in the form of religious-sounding choral music.
posted by humbug at 8:03 AM on December 27, 2020 [2 favorites]
posted by humbug at 8:03 AM on December 27, 2020 [2 favorites]
Response by poster: Thanks for the great suggestions so far! I should clarify that my interest isn't restricted solely to songs about death or purveyors of same... thinking of songs that have inspirations or subjects that are unusual or unexpected, especially when considering the musical wrappings. Here's another example that fits this loose "genre" I'm handwaving at: "Baby Mosquito" by Hawksley Workman (link), which treads this odd line between metaphor and literality. Thanks again everyone!
posted by jackrational at 8:11 AM on December 27, 2020
posted by jackrational at 8:11 AM on December 27, 2020
... The Bee Gees' "New York Mining Disaster 1941" (which was inspired by the Aberfan disaster) might also be what you're looking for.
posted by soundofsuburbia at 8:12 AM on December 27, 2020 [2 favorites]
posted by soundofsuburbia at 8:12 AM on December 27, 2020 [2 favorites]
Leonard Cohen - Hallelujah
Green Day - Good Riddance (Time of Your Life) (the hint is in the actual full title)
Springsteen - Born in the USA
Blues Traveler - Hook
posted by Pax at 8:35 AM on December 27, 2020 [3 favorites]
Green Day - Good Riddance (Time of Your Life) (the hint is in the actual full title)
Springsteen - Born in the USA
Blues Traveler - Hook
posted by Pax at 8:35 AM on December 27, 2020 [3 favorites]
Pumped Up Kicks by Foster The People was a big upbeat catchy hit; the actual lyrics are extremely clearly about a school shooting.
posted by cpatterson at 8:44 AM on December 27, 2020 [12 favorites]
posted by cpatterson at 8:44 AM on December 27, 2020 [12 favorites]
I'll add another Vienna Teng song to the list: "Landsailor" is an ode to technology, and in particular the logistics and shipping industries.
On the more morbid side, "The Commander Thinks Aloud" by The Long Winters. The first few verses don't really give away the fact that it's a song about
posted by teraflop at 8:45 AM on December 27, 2020 [1 favorite]
On the more morbid side, "The Commander Thinks Aloud" by The Long Winters. The first few verses don't really give away the fact that it's a song about
(spoiler)
the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster.posted by teraflop at 8:45 AM on December 27, 2020 [1 favorite]
Creeps Like Me - Lyle Lovett
Hostage-O - Warren Zevon
the Steve Gunn cover version of Astro Zombies
The Boy With the Arab Strap or Century of Fakers - Belle and Sebastian
posted by Redstart at 8:47 AM on December 27, 2020 [4 favorites]
Hostage-O - Warren Zevon
the Steve Gunn cover version of Astro Zombies
The Boy With the Arab Strap or Century of Fakers - Belle and Sebastian
posted by Redstart at 8:47 AM on December 27, 2020 [4 favorites]
The Who’s Pictures of Lily and Happy Jack always struck me this way, too (bouncy light songs that are both essentially pornographic).
posted by Pax at 9:01 AM on December 27, 2020 [3 favorites]
posted by Pax at 9:01 AM on December 27, 2020 [3 favorites]
The Cardigans do a "Sweet Sixteen" style version of Iron Man.
posted by yclipse at 9:07 AM on December 27, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by yclipse at 9:07 AM on December 27, 2020 [1 favorite]
And 99 Red/Luft Balloons.
posted by Pax at 9:13 AM on December 27, 2020 [6 favorites]
posted by Pax at 9:13 AM on December 27, 2020 [6 favorites]
Eid Ma Clack Shaw by Bill Callahan might possibly fit, especially if you hear the first line as "working through gas pain".
posted by trig at 9:20 AM on December 27, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by trig at 9:20 AM on December 27, 2020 [1 favorite]
Frank Black had a certain fascination with William Mulholland.
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 9:22 AM on December 27, 2020 [2 favorites]
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 9:22 AM on December 27, 2020 [2 favorites]
Mountain Goats - Ezekiel 7 and the permanent efficacy of grace
The song is apparently about one man torturing another man to death in a desert, but it has that sort of pretty/poignant musical style I think you might be looking for, with dissonant/unusual song meaning.
posted by litera scripta manet at 9:52 AM on December 27, 2020 [1 favorite]
The song is apparently about one man torturing another man to death in a desert, but it has that sort of pretty/poignant musical style I think you might be looking for, with dissonant/unusual song meaning.
posted by litera scripta manet at 9:52 AM on December 27, 2020 [1 favorite]
Two entire albums by the Weakerthans: Reconstruction Site, and Reunion Tour. I was trying to pick a few songs but so many of them resonate with me in the way you describe! Civil Twilight (from the perspective of a city bus driver) is a good one to start with.
posted by esoterrica at 9:59 AM on December 27, 2020 [3 favorites]
posted by esoterrica at 9:59 AM on December 27, 2020 [3 favorites]
Bleachers' entire oeuvre is this, based on Jack Antonoff's between-song patter at shows (and, well, listening to the lyrics).
posted by Alterscape at 10:06 AM on December 27, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by Alterscape at 10:06 AM on December 27, 2020 [1 favorite]
The Monkees Cuddly Toy has a bouncy happy tune and may be about a Hell’s Angels gang rape. That’s what the liner notes for my CD said, though I can’t verify it online. What I’m finding now is that it’s about a promiscuous woman. Harry Nilsson wrote the song and the Monkees supposedly missed how dark the lyrics really are, though I think the subject matter is pretty obviously disturbing, at least to anyone paying attention to the lyrics in this day and age.
posted by FencingGal at 10:13 AM on December 27, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by FencingGal at 10:13 AM on December 27, 2020 [1 favorite]
The Cole Porter standard Night & Day is the saddest song in the world if you actually listen to the words.
posted by Violet Hour at 10:18 AM on December 27, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by Violet Hour at 10:18 AM on December 27, 2020 [1 favorite]
Ninette's "Push a Little Button" Modern's English's "I melt with you" ,Young Marble's Giant's "Final Day" and Jane's "Its A Fine Day" are all pretty or joyful songs about dying in (probably nuclear) wars.
Oh gosh, The Sun Is Burning by Simon and Garfunkel is exactly this.
And, seasonally, "7 O'clock News / Silent Night"
The Divine Comedy's "Your Daddy's Car" (for choice this version) is nominally another song about going motoring and road trips - but bad, bad things are happening.
In a similar vein Mungo Jerry's carefree sounding "In the Summer Time" contains the line this was not lost on the makers of this public information film
posted by rongorongo at 10:54 AM on December 27, 2020 [2 favorites]
Oh gosh, The Sun Is Burning by Simon and Garfunkel is exactly this.
And, seasonally, "7 O'clock News / Silent Night"
The Divine Comedy's "Your Daddy's Car" (for choice this version) is nominally another song about going motoring and road trips - but bad, bad things are happening.
In a similar vein Mungo Jerry's carefree sounding "In the Summer Time" contains the line this was not lost on the makers of this public information film
posted by rongorongo at 10:54 AM on December 27, 2020 [2 favorites]
I'm Falling Out of Love with You, by the 6ths. Very perky upbeat song about the death of love.
posted by nixxon at 12:34 PM on December 27, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by nixxon at 12:34 PM on December 27, 2020 [1 favorite]
Everything is Awful - The Decemberists
posted by Aznable at 12:46 PM on December 27, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by Aznable at 12:46 PM on December 27, 2020 [1 favorite]
Maxwell's Silver Hammer was allegedly the other three's least favourite Beatle song.
posted by Rash at 1:17 PM on December 27, 2020 [3 favorites]
posted by Rash at 1:17 PM on December 27, 2020 [3 favorites]
Grandaddy does a lot of this kind of songwriting:
Ghost of My Old Dog
posted by under_petticoat_rule at 1:45 PM on December 27, 2020 [2 favorites]
- The Group Who Couldn't Say (one of my all-time favorite songs)
- Jed the Humanoid
- Jed's Other Poem (Lyrics by Jed from the previous song)
- Broken Household Appliance National Forest
- I'm On Standby
- Saddest Vacant Lot in All the World
Ghost of My Old Dog
posted by under_petticoat_rule at 1:45 PM on December 27, 2020 [2 favorites]
The Mountain Goats are great for this. In addition to the songs already posted by other commenters, there's No Children, which is a super upbeat and catchy song about a relationship between two self-destructive people falling apart. The chorus is "I hope you die / I hope we both die", which is delightfully hilarious to sing gleefully along with hundreds of other fans at live shows.
posted by rhiannonstone at 1:51 PM on December 27, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by rhiannonstone at 1:51 PM on December 27, 2020 [1 favorite]
Forgive me for the self-link, but I tried to do this when I wrote a wistful tune about the givewell astroturfing incident from way back when in mefi history.
When I wrote the song, I had just found out that my mom was about to have risky brain surgery. I didn’t realize it at the time, but my mood seeped into my voice, even though the lyrics were more biting than poignant.
posted by umbú at 2:07 PM on December 27, 2020 [2 favorites]
When I wrote the song, I had just found out that my mom was about to have risky brain surgery. I didn’t realize it at the time, but my mood seeped into my voice, even though the lyrics were more biting than poignant.
posted by umbú at 2:07 PM on December 27, 2020 [2 favorites]
It looks like others are veering away from your request that the music be "pretty", and are just going for the mismatch element. So -
Semi-Charmed Life by Third Eye Blind and There She Goes by the La's are both the kind of perky, upbeat things that get used in fluffy movies where there's a montage of the lead character going on some kind of self-affirming shopping trip or getting a makeover or something, but they're both songs about drug addiction.
(I think that Semi-Charmed Life actually has been used for such a montage.)
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 2:07 PM on December 27, 2020 [4 favorites]
Semi-Charmed Life by Third Eye Blind and There She Goes by the La's are both the kind of perky, upbeat things that get used in fluffy movies where there's a montage of the lead character going on some kind of self-affirming shopping trip or getting a makeover or something, but they're both songs about drug addiction.
(I think that Semi-Charmed Life actually has been used for such a montage.)
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 2:07 PM on December 27, 2020 [4 favorites]
Fairytale of New York
What are we Fighting for
posted by BoscosMom at 2:16 PM on December 27, 2020 [1 favorite]
What are we Fighting for
posted by BoscosMom at 2:16 PM on December 27, 2020 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: Sincere thanks to everyone who contributed to my crowdsourced listening for the afternoon! So many great discoveries here for me, and hopefully, for anyone else who checked out some of these songs. It's so interesting (and often moving) to hear all these different ways of expressing/processing basic human experiences of love, death, loss, horror, and relationship to society, all wrapped in music that is insidiously "earwormy", and/or beautiful in its construction.
posted by jackrational at 2:20 PM on December 27, 2020
posted by jackrational at 2:20 PM on December 27, 2020
I was also gonna kick in Maxwell's Silver Hammer, the old classic of this trope, and worst Beatles song ever.
posted by ovvl at 2:42 PM on December 27, 2020 [2 favorites]
posted by ovvl at 2:42 PM on December 27, 2020 [2 favorites]
Don't You Want Me by The Human League has a nice 80s beat, but it's really about a possessive person threatening his partner if they leave.
posted by Fister Roboto at 3:05 PM on December 27, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by Fister Roboto at 3:05 PM on December 27, 2020 [1 favorite]
Lights of LA County by Lyle Lovett.
It's both a beautiful song with a shimmering chorus and a taut short story about fatally shooting the ex who dumped you and their just-avowed new spouse. Jim Connelly unpacks these contradictions in an excellent 2017 Medialoper post.
posted by virago at 4:15 PM on December 27, 2020 [1 favorite]
It's both a beautiful song with a shimmering chorus and a taut short story about fatally shooting the ex who dumped you and their just-avowed new spouse. Jim Connelly unpacks these contradictions in an excellent 2017 Medialoper post.
posted by virago at 4:15 PM on December 27, 2020 [1 favorite]
This feels like cheating, but... "Weird Al" Yankovic - Trapped In The Drive-Thru
posted by clawsoon at 5:14 PM on December 27, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by clawsoon at 5:14 PM on December 27, 2020 [1 favorite]
Everyday I Love You Less and Less by the Kaiser Chiefs is catchy and upbeat.
posted by NotTheRedBaron at 6:41 PM on December 27, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by NotTheRedBaron at 6:41 PM on December 27, 2020 [1 favorite]
Serge Gainsbourg's Chatterton might count. Perhaps Chumbawamba's El Fusilado. (And rather a lot of folk and pop versions of the same.)
posted by eotvos at 7:55 PM on December 27, 2020 [2 favorites]
posted by eotvos at 7:55 PM on December 27, 2020 [2 favorites]
"Enola Gay" by Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark is a dance song about the bombing of Hiroshima.
posted by donpardo at 7:57 PM on December 27, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by donpardo at 7:57 PM on December 27, 2020 [1 favorite]
If novelty songs are of interest, We will All Go Together when we Go is on topic.
posted by eotvos at 8:02 PM on December 27, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by eotvos at 8:02 PM on December 27, 2020 [1 favorite]
My first and favourite example of this "Out the Window" by the Violent Femmes.
posted by Jilder at 8:43 PM on December 27, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by Jilder at 8:43 PM on December 27, 2020 [1 favorite]
The happiest song ever about crushing depression is “Graycoated Morning” by David and the Citizens.
posted by sesquipedalia at 9:14 PM on December 27, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by sesquipedalia at 9:14 PM on December 27, 2020 [1 favorite]
If we can have Tom Lehrer then you should probably also include Poisoning Pigeons in the Park (and I suspect there's a gold mine if you keep looking for more of his work).
Python's Medical Love Song, in a similar vein, is probably not as cheerful for the participants as it sounds.
posted by How much is that froggie in the window at 1:45 AM on December 28, 2020 [2 favorites]
Python's Medical Love Song, in a similar vein, is probably not as cheerful for the participants as it sounds.
posted by How much is that froggie in the window at 1:45 AM on December 28, 2020 [2 favorites]
Nick Lowe wrote some 'power pop' songs with dark lyrics.
I Love the Sound of Breaking Glass
"I need the noises of destruction
When there's nothing new"
Marie Provost
"As her nights grew long and her days grew bleak
It's all downhill once you've passed your peak"
Cruel To Be Kind
"You say your love is bonafide
But that don't coincide
With the things that you do
And when I ask you to be nice, you say
You gotta be cruel to be kind in the right measure"
Nutted by Reality
It's about a fictional physical humiliation of Fidel Castro.
posted by Homer42 at 7:55 AM on December 28, 2020
I Love the Sound of Breaking Glass
"I need the noises of destruction
When there's nothing new"
Marie Provost
"As her nights grew long and her days grew bleak
It's all downhill once you've passed your peak"
Cruel To Be Kind
"You say your love is bonafide
But that don't coincide
With the things that you do
And when I ask you to be nice, you say
You gotta be cruel to be kind in the right measure"
Nutted by Reality
It's about a fictional physical humiliation of Fidel Castro.
posted by Homer42 at 7:55 AM on December 28, 2020
Bye, Bye, Love by the Everly Brothers. Totally cheerful song with lyrics like "I feel like I could die."
posted by SemiSalt at 8:39 AM on December 28, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by SemiSalt at 8:39 AM on December 28, 2020 [1 favorite]
SemiSalt: Totally cheerful song with lyrics like "I feel like I could die."
Singing about alienation and disconnection in those yummy close harmonies.
(Lyrics by Felice and Boudleaux Bryant.)
posted by virago at 9:28 AM on December 28, 2020
Singing about alienation and disconnection in those yummy close harmonies.
(Lyrics by Felice and Boudleaux Bryant.)
posted by virago at 9:28 AM on December 28, 2020
Not sure if this is the right sort of thing, but Mack the Knife(Moritat) (there was a fantastic version on Youtube by cast of Threepenny opera but it was removed)
posted by Dub at 5:52 PM on December 28, 2020
posted by Dub at 5:52 PM on December 28, 2020
Existential Crisis by the Young Dads. The barbershop quartet seems like an odd approach to nihilism until you really experience nihilism, so YMMV.
posted by snerson at 1:00 PM on February 1, 2021
posted by snerson at 1:00 PM on February 1, 2021
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by SaltySalticid at 7:07 AM on December 27, 2020 [1 favorite]