The ‘best’ entry level thread is interesting. What about the reverse: those tracks that scare people off who might otherwise like the artist in question? I could have introduced them by “Can We Still be Friends?” or “I Saw the Light, but my Todd Rundgren enthusiasm led me to scare off potential converts by introducing them via “Dogfight Giggle” (2 minutes of annoying pissing abut that was probably fun when they were stoned in the studio), and the attached “A Treatise on Cosmic Fire” (as above, but 35 minutes). I don’t suppose “Singring and the Glass Guitar” impressed many outside of here, either.
Worst “entry-level” song for newcomers
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I suspect that a lot may disagree with me, but if you want to put someone off of the beatles after one track, then it simply has to be Revolution 9.
Self indulgent tripe of the highest order.
How bad can Carnival of Light have been that this gets released?!
It’s well worth at least one listen. Interesting and, at times, scary.
I genuinely like Rev No.9 and I won’t skip it when listening to the White Album – clearly it’s the worst possible intro to the HJHs and a complete anomaly in the discography for sure – so I 100% agree with JackTheBiscuit on that score –
but there’s nothing wrong with it as far as a sound collage goes – and it’s got the Beatles mucking around in the background and little Beatley meme’s running through it which I like.
It does it’s job- which is to completely wrongfoot the listener before ‘Good Night’ (which sounds strangely sinister following after it) . It’s the sound of a band seeing how far they can push it – and they probably pushed the envelope off a cliff- but somebody had to do it (and only the HJHs could have got away with it). Shame they kind of swerved back into ‘Get Back’ after this.
Introduce “civilians” to the Velvet Underground with this, and you may scare the bejesus out of them if they decide to delve a little deeper
At the other end of the spectrum, try introducing them via “Sister Ray” – they may not look any deeper
Good one. I think this follows for a lot of self-conscious “weird” experiments. Not big, not clever. Up there with surrealism and socialism as childish ideas rarely done as well as the idea requires.
Even they’ve quietly forgotten this.
Bowie – The Laughing Gnome
Chuck Berry – My Ding-a-Ling
Macca …..
The Macca song is completely brilliant.
Yup only a complete dunderhead goes for the Frog Chorus card. Or The Laughing Gnome card. Two excellent records for children – in fact a perfect introduction for many a budding Beatles obsessive in 1984 I’d wager
You are correcticus potts. People get awfully sniffy about children’s songs but Macca is pretty damn good at them. So adults don’t like them? THEY AREN’T MEANT TO!
So was Ringo. Play a kid Yellow Submarine or Octopus’ Garden and (s)he’ll sing along. Play, I dunno, let’s say Julia, and they won’t.
Kaisfatdad’s choices may be debatable (though they seem to me a fair attempt to address the OP’s question). But they surely don’t warrant him being called a dunderhead, do they?
I have been called far worse! But thanks a lot for the moral support @Hawkfall.
I should have given a little more thought in my attempt to find songs that were popular but very unrepresentative of the artist. The Macca song was a very bad choice. Now I have to live with the shame of being The Rock Snob who Dissed the Frogs.
Quite interesting though to look on Spotify and see which song by a particular artists is most played. It’s often not what one expects.
I love the Laughing Gnome & Frog chorus (& not in a knowing, ironic, guilty pleasure way)
Dunce hat for me! What I was trying to find was a track that was not a lot of experimental noise but was nevertheless totally unrepresentative of the artist in question.
What about the most played Costello track on Spotify? She!
Not a very good introduction to the great mans work.
The very popular Walk the dinosaur and Papa was a rolling stone are not a very good way in to Was (not was) either.
I will add my voice to this – both a ha-ha-ha, hee-hee-heeand a bom-ba-ba-ba-berr-berr-berr.
Straightforwardly joyous records both – no wonder rock snobs hate them.
Two which spring immediately to mind:
The Police – Mother
Blondie – Victor
Quite a few unrepresentative songs on Sabbath albums – E5150, Changes and FX spring to mind. This tho has more Carl Orff to it than Ozzy and ‘ver lads:
Another one: Neil Young – Trans.
Of course, the correct answer is Landing On Water.
Aye, or anything post- Harvest Moon.
I listened to Landing On Water for the first time just last week. And for the last time too!
For some time, I’ve suspected the delay in releasing Mr Wilson’s masterful remaster of Roxy Music’s debut is down to Bob.
buy a jonnie come lately ac/dc fan a copy of Fly on the Wall or Flick of the Switch and watch them go running back to their hipperty hop.
To be honest, i’ve been listening to AC/DC since 1979 or so, and both of those would make me go running to Public Enemy.
Prince – Jughead. I’m not even gonna try and find it to post, ‘cos you’ll all hate me.
Talking Heads – Radio Head
I would go for The Overload
So let’s have a listen to this Richard Thompson that you’re always going on about…
(to be fair, this version of Psycho Street is actually quite funny)
Springsteen – Outlaw Pete.
Even Springsteenistas deride it. I imagine some members of the band actually wish they’d never heard it.
You could play someone Outlaw Pete AND Pony Boy – then they’d get a deadly double dose of the dodgier end of the Springsteen canon.
Sorry if anybody’s already mentioned this, but Don’t Fear the Reaper belongs on this thread. A brilliant song by a brilliant band, but quite radically unrepresentative of their output.
I think a few big hits by 70s rock bands are like this.
Another Brick in the Wall Part 2 is a good song, but as a 3 minute Disco track, it hardly prepares you for Wish You Were Here or Meddle. Mind you, neither does See Emily Play, I suppose.
Beth was a big hit for Kiss, and doesn’t sound like anything else they did.
Whisky in the Jar for Thin Lizzy
Drive for The Cars
That’s a good call, songs that spawned disappointed faces when their proud owner played the rest of the album…….
Uncertain which side of that coin Part of the Union by Strawbs fits, beyond it being unlistenable tosh to my silken ears.
Then again you have the beautiful Beefheart song, This is the Day, certainly played a fair bit on the trendier end of R1, Johnny Walker and Peel, that may have upset listeners seeking more, realising it was one of only two decent songs he ever got around to.
Here’s another exquisite song from the Good Captain.
A first time listener who liked this and invested in Troutmask Replica might be somewhat taken aback.
More unrepresentative Captain (from the same album)
“I’ve never heard Kraftwerk”
“Oh, you’re gonna love them!!”
Love, is it? Try Revelation off Da Capo…
Interested in the Grateful Dead, are you? Try “Day Job”…
I was trying to think of one for Elvis Costello. I personally like the track Episode of Blonde a good bit, but I imagine it encapsulates all the things that the casual haters of Elvis dislike: he’s using *that* voice in extremis, it’s overlong and wordswordswordswordswords. It’s what you might think all Elvis songs are like.
My first exposure to KIng Crimson was Earthbound, I got about a minute into 21st Century Schizoid Man before realising that things could only get better.
I wonder how many peoples only exposure to Slade is ‘Merry Christmas Everybody’? It’s a great song but not a great indicator of the greatness of which they are capable.
Worst possible introduction to New Order.
It’s basically a Killers song with him out of the Killers singing on it – it’s pleasant enough but it’s the kind of supercharged pop-by-numbers that they always hinted at, but could never quite reach – and in trying to get there they created something unique and special as opposed to something a bit….ordinary:
See also Jetstream, which features Ana Matronic and is possibly the worst thing NO ever released. What was Barney thinking of?
Excluding Hooky, by all accounts 😉