Let’s talk weird bands.  Like REALLY weird. Today we give you our top picks for the strangest, most confusing bands of our time. For this list we’ve decided not include performers or groups that are definitely weird but also currently famous. So you won’t be seeing the likes of Lady Gaga or Die Antwoord here. Let’s not waste any time and get weirded out BIG TIME.

THROBBING GRISTLE

Our first band was industrially weird before it was cool. Throbbing Gristle was a music and visual arts group, widely viewed as the early pioneers of industrial music. The English band, formed in 1976, started their career with performances including pornography, bloody tampons and dirty diapers. Using loud, abrasive sounds, volumes you’re not supposed to endure, bright flashing lights, terrifying imagery, Throbbing Gristle never had the intention of making their shows enjoyable. Their sole purpose was to shock, provoke and damage. This led to a member of parliament giving them the title “wreckers of civilization”. Fair enough. It’s not surprising they happily embraced the description.

“Discipline” by the Throbbing Gristle:

MAX NORMAL

This next act is every bit as weird as you would expect from the band that later evolved into Die Anwoord. That’s right, Max Normal was Ninja and Yo-landi’s early project (2001) and it included a few other members. The group’s name was taken from a Judge Dredd comic book character. Your favorite South African couple laid the foundations of the insanely weird electronic hip-hop goodness you associate Cape Town today.

Everything but normal, here is Max Normal’s ‘Total F*** UP’: 

DEVO

To be considered weird in the 70’s is quite the achievement. Devo, an American rock band formed in 1972, was really good at it. Perhaps it was the right time to feature science fiction themes in live shows and use weird surrealistic humor so Devo did both, shaping a genre of satirical social commentary through their discordant songs. Their unusual choice of instruments, irregular time signatures and bold music videos have had a huge influence on subsequent new wave, industrial and alternative rock artists.

“Uncontrollable Urge” by the uncontrollably weird Devo:

DEATH GRIPS

Next: possibly the weirdest experimental rap project that ever existed. Formed in 2010 in Sacramento, California, Death Grips have not given a single f*ck about what the audience might think since the day the band came to be. They have a pretty rich reputation for not showing up for their own concerts and have even announced disbandment in 2014, despite releasing a new album and going on tour shortly after. Their unique sound was a defiant mix of hip-hop, punk rock, electronic glitch and pure noise that most probably results in some serious amount of brain damage but is quite addictive once you start losing your mind. Good thing they created TONS of music which is still being produced and released as we speak.

‘Guillotine (It goes Yah)’ by Death Grips is on a whole different level of weirdness 😀

GG ALLIN

Born Jesus Christ Allin (for real), GG Allin confused the crap out of sane people for more than two decades, before he died in 1993 at the age of 36. The punk rock singer-songwriter was the very definition of punk rock. GG Allin was definitely an entertainer, that is if you enjoy your favorite singer eat feces, bleed on stage and fight audience members. He performed and recorded with numerous groups during his career and always managed to destroy himself and his surroundings (including nearby fans), viciously enjoying himself. This guy took the phrase “sex, drugs, and rock n roll” to a whole new level.

Best Of GG Allin and The Murde:

PRIMUS

Next on our list is a band that’s been around for so long and has been so successful that people have started to ignore their weirdness, maybe because what they do is so different than anything else you hear on the radio, that it’s turned into its own genre. Primus is a Zappa-inspired experimental rock band based in San Francisco, California. Their music is a unique jazz/funk/rock jam, held together by Les Claypool’s mumbling, half-spoken vocals and signature slap-bass. Their songs, costumes and absurd videos have inspired countless weirdoes everywhere. These guys have been sailing the seas of weird since 1984 and are still going. Kudos!

‘Jerry Was A Race Car Driver’ by Primus:

BUCKETHEAD

This next musician is literally a bucketful of weird. Know as Buckethead, American guitarist and multi-instrumentalist Brian Patrick Carroll has worked within many, many (many) genres of music. Born in 1969, he has released, prepare yourselves, 256 studio albums, four special releases and one EP. For the most part his music is more amazing and mind-blowing than weird but some of his stuff is pretty messed up AND the dude wears a bucket on his head. Buckethead is definitely one of the most talented musicians on our list.

Live performance of ‘Jordan’ by Buckethead:

KING GIZZARD & THE LIZARD WIZARD

Our next contestants picked a name that suits their weirdness. King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard are an Australian psychedelic rock band from Melbourne. They formed in 2010 and have managed to win a place on our list for just being… weird in a classical way. Even though it’s fairly new, the band strongly resembles a classic psychedelic band, reminding us of Frank Zappa’s early work with the Mothers of Invention – another weird bunch that didn’t make our list for being too famous. King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard have experimented with tons of styles, including film music, folk, jazz, soul and Krautrock.

As weird as it gets 😀 ‘Cellophane’ by King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard:

TISM

You know what’s seriously weird? A band called TISM – and acronym for This Is Serious Mum. T’s a seven-member anonymous alternative rock band, again, from Melbourne, Australia. They formed in 1982 and were weird even for 80’s standards. In 1986, they released their first song, a cute little tune called “Defecate on My Face”. Sung from the perspective of Adolph Hitler. Who supposedly enjoyed a little scat play with Eva Braun from time to time. ‘Nuff said. Their 1993 EP, ‘Australia the Lucky Cunt’,  was canceled due to a lawsuit and was later reissued as ‘Censored Due to Legal Advice’. Their most famous single, ‘(He’ll Never Be an) Ol’ Man River’, is better known by its opening refrain, “I’m on the drug that killed River Phoenix.” We LOVE how offensive these guys are to nearly everyone.  Well, were – they broke up in 2004 but, at least, left us with a beautiful heritage of weird music.

The Stop Sign by TISM:

AUTOPSY REPORT OF DROWNED SHRIMP

Finally, JAPAN. Okay, hold on to your socks because it doesn’t get any weirder than this. The last band on our messed up list is called, we’re not kidding, Autopsy Report of Drowned Shrimp. The original name should sound something like Oboreta Ebi No Kenshi Houkokusyo and we do hope none of you speak Japanese. This experimental jazz/funk band comes from Osaka and is basically a seven-piece freak fest of anonymous musicians who dress up in giant shrimp masks with creepy green light-up eyes. They play long, droney jam sessions which kinda sound like all these other bands we told you about so far, doing the soundtrack for a Japanese horror movie and playing at the same time. Enjoy.

溺れたエビの検死報告書, whatever that means, by the Drowned Shrimps 😀

Need more weird in your life? Stay tuned 😉