10 Rock Songs Too Weird To Get Big

There's always a band that comes every few generations who are meant to challenge the norms of rock music. No matter what kind of trend might be going on at the time, these artists stand alone as something either too weird to ignore or too mindbending to actually take seriously. And somehow towards the tail end of the '60s, the Velvet Underground managed to be both at the same time on The Murder Mystery.

Compared to the more anticommercial production on the previous album White Light White Heat, this is a far more polished record with songs like Pale Blue Eyes and Candy Says. Lou Reed had a little something special prepared for this song though, which is either migraine music or genius depending on who you ask. Right as the song starts to hit its stride, you start to hear a barrage of words, as Reed and Doug Yule tell this off putting story...at the same time.

The whole thing feels like sensory overload from the moment it starts, as you try desperately to follow along only to find yourself falling behind one person's dialogue. Even though rock fans might laugh at something like Reed's Lulu collaboration with Metallica nowadays, this was a good proof of concept that this kind of rambly wordplay could be at least compelling in the early days.