And welcome to your Friday Mini Mixtape: This week’s theme is “What the hell was that?“; songs that are weird, loud, or outright noisy. But still count as being crazy awesome. Click the song title and crank the volume.

Sonic Youth – Silver Rocket
A perfectly normal rocker (well, as normal as 80s SY would get) until the 1:30 when the band decides “Fuck all” and launches into one of their trademark noisefests. Steve Shelly’s manic drumming brings it all back together.

The Pixies – River Euphrates
The Pixies made a career out of bent pop, and the chant vs vocal on the chorus is one of the most delightfully weird moments on their debut album.

Dirty Projectors – Useful Chamber
Friend of mine once described this song as “it makes the colors bleed together”. Check the beautiful harmonies at 3:10-3:38. And the rest of the song is euphoric on its own.

My Bloody Valentine – Only Shallow
Yes. That is all guitar. “Only Shallow” makes a compelling case for the best shoegaze song ever; two seconds in, it takes you somewhere else entirely: it’s chaotic, noisy, confusing, and beautiful.