The 10 Best Songs About Being Crazy

Part of blogging is becoming creative at wasting time, convincing yourself that a given exercise was somehow productive, and later realizing that you are in fact gifted at accomplishing nothing. In that spirit, as someone who is obsessed with March Madness, it just seemed right to go on a hunt for the 10 best songs about being crazy. They have absolutely nothing to do with basketball and everything to do with actually being nuts, but remember the part about wasting time.

 

“Brain Damage” by Pink Floyd (1973)

It’s only fitting that this list start with the masters of psychedelia, no strangers to messing with the minds of their fans (and themselves). This is track number nine from their legendary album The Dark Side of the Moon, and it’s not for the faint of brain.

 

“Crazy on You” by Heart (1976)

Seattle is well-represented on this list—we’ll blame it on the rain. In any event, Heart may have been referring to a different type of crazy with this tune.

 

“Psycho Killer” by Talking Heads (1977)

After meeting in Rhode Island, this cast of characters found its stride in New York City, rocking the stage at CBGB and releasing gems like this French-infused glimpse into the mind of a psychopath.

 

“I Wanna Be Sedated” by The Ramones (1978)

More from New York City, this one courtesy the icons of punk…and the creators of a lot of songs about being crazy.

 

“Crazy Train” by Ozzy Osbourne (1980)

The guitar riff. Mental wounds. Going off the rails. A classic.

 

“Where Is My Mind?” by Pixies (1988)

The pride and joy of Boston (along with a bunch of other bands, sports teams, and science geeks), Pixies weighed in on the idea of disorientation.

 

“Insane in the Brain” by Cypress Hill (1993)

Leave it to the Southern California types to lighten the mood, as accomplished by this upbeat crossover hit.

 

“Down in a Hole” by Alice in Chains (1993)

There’s nothing light about this song (or any song on the Seattle band’s album Dirt). In fact, depressing is a reasonable description for most of Alice in Chains’ portfolio, made all the more gloomy by the fact that lead singer Layne Staley spent his last years as an emaciated recluse before his overdose-related death at age 34.

 

“Basket Case” by Green Day (1994)

Back to California for something less heavy, though it’s still safe to call this piece neurotic to the bone.

 

“Flagpole Sitta” by Harvey Danger (1998)

And finally, the Seattle band we have all forgotten—as it dabbled in lunacy, it also gave us one of the greatest lines of all time: Been around the world and found that only stupid people are breeding.

 

Please feel free to add to this unnecessary list in the comments below.