10 Disturbing Songs You Hear Then Never Forget

5. The Man Who Sold The World - David Bowie

Though David Bowie traded in surreal, unnerving production and lyrics in his music for much of his career (a personal highlight being the ghostly, distorted vocals that overpower the end of early release, The Bewlay Brothers), nothing is quite as instantly nerve-wracking as The Man Who Sold The World.

Immediately, the musical landscape of the song is off-putting, creating a feeling of paranoia and mistrust only backed up by the lyrics and the alien, 'phased' effect on Bowie's vocals. Though analysis into the lyrics has never settled on anything concrete, it's commonly accepted that The Man Who Sold The World is a song about multiple personalities, and meeting your own doppelanger.

For a song often compared to the works of H.P. Lovecraft, it's no surprise that Bowie's initially forgotten track has continued to resonate in a contemporary world where identity is more fractured than ever.