Because creepy songs are the best! I'm going to offer a small explanation for each as I go. So here they are...
15 "The Sinner In Me" by Depeche Mode
- Who better to start off a creepy song list? These masters of dark synth pop manage to throw an unsettling doozy with this one. With the skittery effects and lines like, "I'm still recovering, still getting over all the suffering. More known for my anger than for any other thing," it manages to give me chills just about every time.
14 "A Cautionary Song" by The Decemberists
- A song about a prostitute. 'Nuff said.
13 "Hunted By A Freak" and "Moses? I Amn't" by Mogwai
- These first two songs off their album "Happy Songs for Happy People" instill an unsettled feel before the happier middle section. The organ, especially, in the latter of these instrumentals gives an uneasy mood. The name of the first says it all.
12 "Time To Waste" by Alkaline Trio
- Perhaps the most depressing pop-punk band out there, these guys really need to open the windows every once in a while. I think I'll send them some chocolate.
11 "Your Algebra" by The Shins
- At the least, the Shins are always depressing. Always. This song, though, just
sounds evil. Plus, there's the line, "Cole and Macey lost their eyes on the finer points. Roll them up in the coffee cake and dine." The fact that they use an inhuman amount of reverb in this song does everything to enhance the total wrong-ness of their lyrics.
10 "Mein Teil" by Rammstein
- I don't want to talk about it. All I have to say is DO NOT watch the music video to this song!
9 "Scorched Earth Policy" by Far-Less
- This is actually a really cool song with some excellent screaming. The lyrics are a powerful call to rely on God, but overall, it's a rather scary picture painted with screamed lyrics like, "I witnessed you caught the Judas sickness," and "We're burning everything down." It's all about the self-destructive nature of humanity, which is always rather scary.
8 "Yes Please" by Muse
- The thing that makes this song so disturbing is the manic laughter and guitar work by Matt Bellamy. You don't even have to hear the words (every single one is distorted anyway). Muse is weird. (but oh, so good!)
7 "Morning Bell" and "Knives Out" by Radiohead
- Ah, Radiohead, how do you creep us out so? I'll tell you why! It's all in the lyrics. Knives Out is actually quite pleasant until you hear the words. With Morning Bell, though, you know something is wrong right off the bat, especially on the remake on the Amnesiac album. Then you hear the stark words, "cut the kids in half" without any reconcilable reason. Ugh. Let me go die now.
6 "Obstacle 1" by Interpol
- When Interpol isn't being sexual with their lyrics, they're bound to be creepy. Besides the words in this song, Paul Banks' wailing and bellowing of lines such as, "It's different now that I'm poor and aging, I'll never see this place again. You go stabbing yourself in the neck," in an incredibly pained fashion manage to put this song high on this dubious list.
5 "Michael" by Franz Ferdinand
- It's all in the words here, as the music is undeniably excellent (I should note that I enjoy the music to each and every one of these songs immensely), but the apparently blatant homosexuality of the lyrics is rather shocking. It was only later on that I found out that they were making fun of a friend who got plastered at a party, but the impression had been made. It's still the one and only song in Franz Ferdinand's repertoire that I do not enjoy.
4 "We Suck Young Blood" by Radiohead
- The slow, plodding piano line, plus the handclaps give an ominous backdrop to the utterly disturbing lyrics of this song. Thom Yorke sounds like a tortured banshee on this song.
3 "Chimes" by Project 86
- Lyrics partially about demons and death + hypnotic bassline + Andrew Schwab's wrenching vocals = one freakin' creepy song.
2 "Time Is Running Out" by Muse
- Always paranoid, always expressive, always brilliant, Matt Bellamy manages to express deep fears. This song is terrifyingly great.
1 "Climbing Up The Walls" by Radiohead
- As well as Matthew Bellamy expresses deep fears, not even he holds a candle to the disturbed, paranoid brilliance of Thom York and the rest of the Radiohead gang. This song effectively captures a fear that I think we all in part have of intruders coming into the house and killing you. Not to mention the music itself sounds like the soundtrack to every slow-motion nightmare you've ever had. Always the creepiest song on every creepy song list, this is should be appreciated for its expressiveness if nothing else.
So there you have it. Some of my favourite creepy songs. They're all worth listening to (except maybe for "Michael") and, of course, they're good for when your life gets boring and you just need a little jarring experience.
