Songs You Never Expected
 

I'm sure we've all had this experience before, listening to an invariable record that's got a pretty constant groove when you get sidelined by an unusual or disparate track.

For example, the first time I listened to Bowie's Low I was completely taken aback by Warszawa. I mean, it's a great track, but there's a certain power about it when you listen to all the songs preceding it. It just hits you; it's supposed to be track one of side B and it just takes the album in a completely different direction.

Another song that hit me was off Spiritualized's Ladies and Gentlemen..., Electricity. The tracks leading up to it and after flow in the same way but this rocker is almost caustic the way it snags you and pushes the tempo to a different level. It's certainly a good song but I'll say that it makes the rest of the album seem like such a downer.

Anybody got any others?

Ah yes, Warzsawa. I accept it because it was on purpose. Side A and Side B are supposed to be two different entities.

Anyways, 5 - 4 = Unity by Pavement from Crooked Rain Crooked Rain was such a curve ball I actually said "what the ****" out loud the first time i heard it. Tortoise-like post-rock in an alternative rock album? WHAT THE ****?

One which instantly comes to mind for me is the Sorrowful Wife off Nick Cave's No More Shall We Part. The rest of the album just has that really mellow and smooth feel, as does the song. About 3/4 of the way through it just explodes into this really loud barrage of noise that continues 'til the song fades out. Really took me by surprise when I first heard it.

Another one would be Seen and Not Seen on Remain In Light by the Talking Heads. Just a pretty strange spoken word vocal, kinda takes the album in that more avante-garde direction it goes down towards the climax.

Lonely As Can Be by The Concretes, particularly the second half of the song - what's Animal Collective doing in here?

Electioneering breaks up Ok Computer a bit, but I'm ok with that.

Another is Boy Soprano by Xiu Xiu.. a really great song in an average album, but that's for another thread.

Another Eno doing. Side A is crazy polyrythms and side B is ominous, avant-garde.

I thought the a cappella cover of the Pixies "Mr. Grieves" at the end TV on the Radio's Young Liars EP was pretty unexpected the first time I heard it. Pretty cool though.