Listverse commonly plays host to things bizarre, musical, cinematic, and on one particular list, all of the above. Top 10 Bizarre Music Videos saw it’s fair share of attention, but never a sequel. I have compiled a list of 10 more odd and sometimes disturbing videos. Some are humorous, others saddening, and still others scary. All are strange in their very own way, and I know very well we wouldn’t have it any other way. In no particular order.
Artist: Massive Attack
Video: Watch it here
The duo from Bristol, England, belongs to a musical genre deemed “trip-hop”. Their popular song Angel can be heard on the remake of Flight of the Phoenix, a few trailers for Watchmen, and many other venues. The video focuses on a man walking through a parking garage, when he gradually picks up more and more pursuers until a huge mob is sprinting after him. Look for a fairly interesting twist at the end.
Artist: Disturbed
WARNING Highly sensitive/graphic content. As their name suggests, Disturbed is known to have had trysts with darker material, but this video (which garnered the band their first Grammy nod) takes the cake. The first minute of the video contains a disclaimer, followed by the lead singer walking in on his girlfriend who just hung herself. The lyrics to the song are sung from the point of view of Satan tempting the main character to kill himself and join his lover in Hell. The disclaimer at the beginning has a suicide prevention hotline.
Artist: Smashing Pumpkins
The video seems like a throwback to the LSD-heavy ’70′s. Trippy colors and effects abound, and I imagine the video will be incredibly entertaining after you get high.
Artist: Serj Tankian
Made in a very unique animation style, this video loosely depicts the songs’ subject matter. The subject matter being the vocalist smiling as he throws his lover to her death. Yeah. But the upbeat piano and opera singer Ani Maldjian’s voice bring quite a different tone to the song, sugar-coating the dark material into a soap-opera romantic tragedy.
Artist: Mushroomhead
Video: Watch it here
A horror movie may open with a man and a woman being chased through a dilapidated building by some masked freaks, and it may be edited with some trippy color filters. It is to be expected. But a music video? That qualifies as bizarre.
Artist: Slipknot
As if one parade of masked weirdos wasn’t enough, Slipknot is here to contribute. The band’s breakout hit features a video of all the band members, in stop-motion puppet form, terrorizing the maggot-infested lab of some mad scientist. It all culminates when the little freaks take the doctor down and light him on fire. Fun stuff.
Artist: O-Zone
We’ve all seen the fat guy with glasses dancing in his chair, but few people have seen the ACTUAL video for the song that most know as “Numa Numa”. No, I’m sorry, the real title isn’t Numa Numa, and yes, I’m disappointed as well. But, the Moldavian pop group provides its own bizarre experiences, with comepletely irrelevant and ridiculous animations drawn over stills of the actual band. And they fly an airplane.
Artist: The Residents
I have come to the conclusion that some things do not have a deeper meaning, and that they simply exists to be ridiculous and weird. Hence, the above video was birthed. I kind of want to say it is racist, due to the outfits strikingly similar to Ku Klux Klan outfits, but at the same time, it could just be strikingly similar to the hoods worn by Catholics in Seville, so I’ll reserve judgement. I haven’t any idea what the point of the video is.
Artist: System of a Down
Video: Watch it here
A unique band and personal favorite, System of a Down has quite a few odd videos and songs. But Spiders takes the cake. As the song builds in intensity, we see flashes between a woman in some kind of dreary facility, and her implied nightmare featuring an odd landscape and disturbing inhabitants. Some of the lyrics, and shots of the facility and people observing the woman, have led many to interpret the song to be about mind control, whether it be literal mind control or social influencing.
Artist: Tool
Of course, the list couldn’t be completed without a video from Tool. This creepy and surreal video features… uh… Aliens? No. Um… Well, whatever they are, they…. Actually, I simply cannot describe the video. Tool is known for their unique music, odd videos, and surrealist lyrics. Really, a description would do the video injustice, and an explanation is beyond me.
strange this isnt here….
Rubber Johnny – Chris Cunningham + Aphex Twin
What, no Manson video? What about Disposable Teens?
Oh and what about Korn’s ‘Right Now?’ that *****’s pretty disturbing.
theres just no way anyone can make a list of the 10 most bizarre music videos. there are just to many of them. for example black hole sun from soundgarden or firestarter from the prodigy. shut me up and straight to video from mindless self indulgence are kinda weird too. but there are just to many to reference them all.
PS: ramstein are pretty bizarre too especially since they released their Music/***** video “Pussy”
“The Perfect Drug” by Nine Inch Nails, anyone?
Nice list! I love strange music videos ^^ I think there are some here that could be replaced, but overall I think it’s a pretty nice collection…
(Also…I didn’t expect Dir en grey to be on the list in the first place- with Obscure of course, but they have other weird videos, too, like Zan or Sangeki no Yoru- but I’m happy they were put in the comments x])
Ahh, scratch what I said about Dir en grey! I should’ve seen the original first! x]
yeeeaahhh i love the nutty videos! they weirder the better
@r_Bob (16): thanks for that Fever Ray link
had never heard of this before,but it is really good.
Disturbing for me would be “just” by radiohead. I’m still thinking about it after 15 years….
Cool list! Who doesn’t love an awesome music countdown? Check out my weekly show (new shows go live every Friday) here:
http://girllovesmusic.wordpress.com/
Who’re your top 5 rock and roll baby daddies?!!
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this video isn’t all THAT bizzare, its more creepy and pointless and has nothing to do with the lyrics which also are stupid.
the robot sort of looks like a chucky became the terminator.
@Andor (114): “goldfish”
Goldie:
youtube.com/watch?v=58qrdwrC480
What, no Lady Gaga “Bad Romance”?
The skeleton gave me nightmares.
I was fully expecting NIN’s Closer to be on there. Good list though!
Does anyone besides me wonder what Alice Cooper might have done with video when “Welcome to My Nightmare ” was made. Some of the lyrics are enough to give you the creeps to this day.
Quote Unquote by Mr. Bungle would be my number 1:
Quite a big fan of The Residents myself so good pick. I’d say their video for Constantinople is also pretty damn weird but I can’t link it – Maybe someone can? It’s on Youtube. Some of their albums are borderline unlistenable and only favoured by the bigest of all music posers but some are sublime..
YAY, TOOL!! I knew they’d be on here. What a great band.
I don’t get why people are hating on Lady Gaga. The woman’s trying to bring a little real art to popular music. That in itself is noble enough to earn her my respect; her live talent with the piano makes me a fan.
Daft Punk – Around the world
Herbie Hand*****– Rockit
(Already in comments but this link below works)
One of the weirdest music videos i’ve withnessed in the Land down under by Men at work. I dont get it and it has many strange bits that make no sense at all. First video on You Tube for keywords “land down under”.
Great list. I heard of most of the songs listed but never seen any of their music videos.
Weirdest in my opinion though is for the song “Rapture” by a band called HURT and the canceled music video for their song “Forever”
I would embed the video but it’s been disabled so here’s the link for Rapture:
and Forever:
@ Mr. Gallows (115)
A person who claims that others don’t research enough but doesn’t know the name of the singer that commited suicide and was put on the album cover (honestly, if you were thinking of MAYHEM, it wasn’t the FIRST album they released), and also manages to ignore the first list…
should not be casting the first stone…
But I see that you have apologized. Just think before you speak (if you don’t know how to, there’s always the internet).
@zackapalooza (140)
“I don’t get why people are hating on Lady Gaga. The woman’s trying to bring a little real art to popular music. That in itself is noble enough to earn her my respect; her live talent with the piano makes me a fan.”
Ok, I’ll state MY reasons:
1.I go to high school, and thus, I have to hear the same “bad romance” song OVER AND OVER.
2.As much as you say she’s bringing art back, she can’t sing. As far as I can tell, I hear some editing… all that means to me is that it’s definitely NOT a natural talent.
3.She’s gaining popularity off of promiscuity. That sells even if she SUCKS.
4.She is NOT being noble… She is being a trend follower. She does not write amazing pop music, and is not changing the industry, but instead contributing to it. The best example of GOOD pop is nirvana, not because they became popular, but because they highlighted talent over looks and production.
5.It’s sad to see salutations to an act like lady gaga. Comparing her to Mikael Akerfeldt, Chuck Schuldiner, and Paul Masvidal, who have all done technical accomplishments to be cemented in history, she gets the attention for being the “popular act”.
10 ‘More’ bizarre Music Videos is not 10 ‘Most’ Bizarre Music Videos. READ things before writing bul*****, people.
These are add-ons to previous lists.
Kudos on those who link more strange stuff for us to watch.
(Wierd not to see the token Tool-hater around, though…)
Cool list.
no aphex twin vids?
Cibbo Matto’s Sugar Water. Weird, fantastic, very Spike Jonez-y!
What, no Marilyn Manson? The beautiful people and sweet dreams is plenty disturbing.
Granted, I do agree with this list entirely, especially with Schism. But seriously, Marilyn Manson is the definition of disturbing. :0)
@Amandaggogo (150): First list
Numa Numa is remarkably normal to be on this list after Slipknot. Seriously?
@ bassbait (145) you are right in some respects, but Lady Gaga is a pretty good musician in her own right. There are clips of her looking completely normal a few years back and her band was pretty good. That just shows me that her Gaga is a facade and after a while will fade away. She’s not noble, she’s not bringing art to music. She’s a performer who is putting on a show. I like her music myself, but I’m not fooling myself into believing she’s anything other than a performer. Gaga is her gig.
@mrsmarvel (153):
She can’t write for *****. Her “music” can be summed up as DOOMF DOOMF DOOMF give me money DOOMF DOOMF DOOMF.
@Woyzeck (154): That’s awesome
Great list but, That Mushroomhead clip is LITERALLY NOTHING compared in bizarreness to Mushroomhead’s ‘Sun doesn’t rise’ clip about a living Scarecrow being torn to shreds by crows then stiched back together for vengance by a little girl, the effects and colours etc make it so chillingly beautiful.. :
@Trigger (156): I love that song
Strangest i’ve seen is Radiohead’s “Paranoid Android”
It seems as though bizarre only means “creepy” in this list. Here are videos which were made in the country the word “bizarre” had originated from:
These may be clips from films, but most excerpts like these are treated like music videos in the Indian subcontinent.
^
i found so many awesome song here
well, this isn’t violent, but it certainly is bizarre Baya Baya by Safri Duo:
this list SUX! not one Manson video
Where is Lady Gaga?!
@shell ikr! they’re quite good-looking. haha
Supermassive Black Hole – Muse
As if the fat guy in tights wasn’t weird enough.
Also, the vocals of the song make it weirder.
yo, i’ll have to go with obscure by dir en grey. first time i watched it, i actually threw up. before and after that i am still a HUGE dir en grey fan.
i’d suggest that rammstein’s mein teil is up there
Aphex Twin/Come to Daddy (#61) surely takes the cake. I remember seeing that on TV in 1997 and it gave me the *****s! Lulz
I have no idea what’s going on in the video for The Third Reich and Roll. However, I’m pretty sure that the album (a mess of bizarre, barely-recognizable rock covers) was designed by the Residents to equate popular music with fascism. To hammer the point home, the cover featured Dick Clark in a Nazi uniform.
You could make this list with nothing but Tool videos.
@bassbait (99):
THANNNNNNXXXXXXX!!!! great band, great song, great vid!!!!!
bow, bow, bow!!!!
@ianz09 (38):
thanx, but we have the net in Europe too… this guy is a old meme already ^^
Safety Dance?
for me here are my additions…
Soundgarden – Black Hole Sun
Radiohead – Just
She Wants Revenge – Tear You Apart
Here are two bizarre videos! One has a drug addict vanishing and the other is a religious mind trip. It was probably the weirdest s*** I've seen and I've seen a lot of s***.
http://vimeo.com/10005013 http://vimeo.com/11988757
What about Black Hole Sun by Soundgarden? That video is messed up.
No offense but this list of video's really arent bizarre and are obviously based from your taste and not from all avenues and genres. This really isnt that great of a list, I can think of a multitude of better, more bizarre music videos than this.
You should of put "I like little girls" by.. i forget his name.. haha but his video was horribly creepy. Not like, hanging and killing each other with aliens creepy, but just creepy in a pedophila way.