History MindScrew / Music

* ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qLrnkK2YEcE Frontier Psychiatrist]]'' by Music/TheAvalanches. The song is very strange, with lyrics and backing track all comprised from samples from a wide range of sources. The real stars of the show are the visuals, which present the song as being performed by an equally eclectic group of people, animals, etc: a choir of {{Bedsheet Ghost}}s, a turtleguy, a monkey drummer, lots of old people, a skeleton with a golden eyeball, a giant bird, and rapping psychiatrists. You'll need a therapist to recover from the trauma of this mindfuck.

* ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qLrnkK2YEcE Frontier Psychiatrist]]'' by Music/TheAvalanches. The song is very strange, with lyrics and backing track all comprised from samples from a wide range of sources. The real stars of the show are the visuals, which present the song as being performed by an equally eclectic group of people, animals, etc: a choir of BedsheetGhosts, a turtleguy, a monkey drummer, lots of old people, a skeleton with a golden eyeball, a giant bird, and rapping psychiatrists. You'll need a therapist to recover from the trauma of this mindfuck.

* ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qLrnkK2YEcE Frontier Psychiatrist]]'' by Music/TheAvalanches. The song is very strange, with lyrics and backing track all comprised from samples from a wide range of sources. The real stars of the show are the visuals, which present the song as being performed by an equally eclectic group of people, animals, etc: a choir of BedSheetGhosts, a turtleguy, a monkey drummer, lots of old people, a skeleton with a golden eyeball, a giant bird, and rapping psychiatrists. You'll need a therapist to recover from the trauma of this mindfuck.

* ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qLrnkK2YEcE Frontier Psychiatrist]]'' by Music/TheAvalanches. The song is very strange, with lyrics and backing track all comprised from samples from a wide range of sources. The real stars of the show are the visuals. Sheet ghosts, a turtleguy, a monkey drummer, lots of old people, a skeleton with a golden eyeball, a giant bird, and rapping psychiatrists. You'll need a therapist to recover from the trauma of this mindfuck.

::They've kept to this philosophy ever since. In short, Sigh are among the most Widgetty of WidgetSeries.

* Pick a song by Music/CaptainBeefheart. ''Any'' song by Captain Beefheart. Founder Don Van Vliet is also very fond of TrueArtIsIncomprehensible; both in his music and his painting.

* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=etxd0z5TfiA The music video]] for the Music/{{Madness}} song "(Waiting for the) Ghost Train" is a fairly mild example. It features the band dressed in suits that look like newspapers, a random [[UsefulNotes/TheLondonUnderground London Underground]] sign for a station that doesn't exist, a man dressed as a frog appearing out of nowhere and disappearing just as suddenly, lead singer Suggs wearing a succession of funny hats for no good reason, the saxophonist dressed as a Japanese man with angel wings being thrown out of a plane and the drummer's head appearing from a pot of baked beans, among other truly weird things. In spite of this bizarreness, the song's meant to be about [[UsefulNotes/TheApartheidEra apartheid]] in UsefulNotes/SouthAfrica.

* Music/PhilOchs was known as a protest singer who dealt with fairly straightforward subjects (anti-Vietnam War, workers' movement, civil rights, etc.) so his eight-and-a-half minute long allegory of ultimate mindfuckery known as "Crucifixion" [[WhatDoYouMeanItWasntMadeOnDrugs seems even more crazy in comparison.]]

* Doseone (perhaps best known for his involvement in Music/{{cLOUDDEAD}}) was an ordinary battle rapper once upon a time. Nowadays his lyrics tend to form weird, tightly-interlocked cadences that may or may not actually mean anything in particular.

* The music video for [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d-diB65scQU Bobby McFerrin's Don't Worry, Be Happy]]. Includes a white tux McFerrin wearing no shoes, McFerrin levitating out of his shoes and socks, and McFerrin reclining on top of a limousine, which has been parked inside of a room. Strange music video indeed.

* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=etxd0z5TfiA The music video]] for the Music/{{Madness}} song "(Waiting for the) Ghost Train" is a fairly mild example. It features the band dressed in suits that look like newspapers, a random [[UsefulNotes/TheLondonUnderground London Underground]] sign for a station that doesn't exist, a man dressed as a frog appearing out of nowhere and disappearing just as suddenly, lead singer Suggs wearing a succession of [[CoolHat funny hats]] for no good reason, the saxophonist dressed as a Japanese man with angel wings being thrown out of a plane and the drummer's head appearing from a pot of baked beans, among other truly weird things. In spite of this bizarreness, the song's meant to be about [[UsefulNotes/TheApartheidEra apartheid]] in UsefulNotes/SouthAfrica.

* ''Music/{{Nightwish}}''. What a grand old time it is to figure out what half of the lyrics are saying, especially since half of them are of [[WordSaladTitle word salad]] quality. Stargazers, The Poet and the Pendulum, and Ghost Love Score are all huge mind screws, especially the second one with all of its MoodWhiplash.

** "1984" from ''Music/DiamondDogs'' was written as part of an aborted stage musical version of Creator/GeorgeOrwell's famous novel ''[[Literature/NineteenEightyFour 1984]]''.

* The music video for Music/{{Genesis}}'s "Land of Confusion", which involves puppet-version of the band, as well as [[OurPresidentsAreDifferent the Reagans]], a [[BodyHorror swamp with heads instead of plants]], and [[ImAHumanitarian the keyboardist using his own tongue as a hot dog bun]].

* The very lifeblood of Music/DirEnGrey is this trope. They take their GenreBusting seriously, producing nigh-[[NeoclassicalPunkZydecoRockabilly unclassifiable]] material with lyrics that [[WordSaladLyrics don't really make much sense]] unless analyzed. In addition, vocalist Kyo's HarshVocals make both his English ''and'' his Japanese completely [[TheUnintelligible incomprehensible]]. To top it off, all their music videos are just plain weird.

* Music/TheCaretaker ‘s album [[https://youtu.be/wJWksPWDKOc Everrywhere at the End of Time]] is a giant mindscrew trip into dementia, Alzheimer’s and fading memories clawing at the back of your mind.

** The music videos for their other songs, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M5K7I7UEQ7Q "Back2Leto" ("Back2Summer")]] and [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PeRCDH_zUnU "Pesnya 404" ("Song 404")]], are similarly bizarre.
** The music video for another of their songs, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q--5Ht49vNY "Troll"]], also counts to a slightly lesser extent.

* Music/PinkFloyd's ''Music/TheWall'' is pretty straightforward conceptually (it's a metaphor based on RogerWaters trying to open up—basically, tear down his emotional walls—after a CreatorBreakdown) but how it's told does raise questions as to what's literal or metaphorical. [[Film/TheWall The movie]] only serves to make things even ''more'' confusing.

** The music video for their another of their songs, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q--5Ht49vNY "Troll"]], also counts to a slightly lesser extent.

** The music videos for their other songs, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M5K7I7UEQ7Q "Back2Leto"]] and [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PeRCDH_zUnU "Pesnya 404" ("Song 404")]], are similarly bizarre.
** The music video for their another of their songs, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q--5Ht49vNY "Troll"]], also counts to a lesser extent.