10 Best Experimental Rock Songs Of All Time
6. David Bowie - V-2 Schneider
Bowie’s Berlin trilogy was essentially one long experiment, the star decamping to Germany with Tony Visconti and Brian Eno in order to reinvent himself and alternative music in one long high point of creativity. If you had to pick one song that perfectly straddles the line between anthemic rock and the weird instrumental side of this period, it would be “V-2 Schneider”.
Kicking off the second half of the “Heroes” album, “V-2 Schneider” is based around Bowie’s charmingly rudimentary saxophone playing, which floats in and out of the track, often in the most unexpected places. This is joined by a light, skittering drum beat that wouldn’t sound out of place on a disco track, and a delightfully jolly bassline.
The only lyrics are the song’s title, a nod to Kraftwerk founder Florian Schneider, a major influence on the record and period of Bowie’s career. His voice is phased, distorted, and pushed in and out of the tune, sounding as though he’s lost in the mixing desk.
There are more adventurous and obliquely experimental tracks on the record, but here Bowie sounds as though he’s stumbled upon a new style altogether, radio friendly without kowtowing in the least to trends or expectations.