The two bands I'll mention I've been listening for too long that I was beginning to take their strangeness for granted.
The first is Swans in their 80's period. When I heard them for the first time it was the darkest and the most nihilistic, self-negating, self-loathing music I've ever heard, the most personal, desperate prayer. And it still is, be it in the form of a very assaulting and aggressive noise of their first album Filth or through very slow, repetitive, hypnotic beats of Greed and Holy Money.
The second band so obviously belongs in this thread that I'm surprised somebody didn't mention them already, of course - The Residents, one of the most unique, weird, mysterious and bizarre bands with a great sense of humor. First albums I've heard by them were probably the weirdest - Not Available, Eskimo and Meet the Residents.
Speaking of The Residents, I was discovering some interesting bands from their label Ralph Records. Renaldo and the Loaf and Snakefinger are probably the weirdest and that is not a coincidence. They were influenced by The Residents the most. Renaldo and the Loaf are hilarious, they sound like Mickey Mouse on speed.
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