Another (Short) Musical Oddity

“What is the best song that uses the left and right headphone channels differently?”

“Trou Macacq” by the Squirrel Nut Zippers is the first one which comes to mind.

It bugged me the first few times I heard it on headphones – I thought the wiring was messed up. Then it became clear: the vocals and bass on the right channel, and everything else on the left.

Weird, but still a goofy and good song.

EDIT:

Ok, so this question actually got me to wondering (once again) what the song meant. I was kinda right in my interpretation years ago – that it is about the rise of fame for a band and the perils of signing recording contracts. What is neat is that I stumbled across the rationale behind why it is so unbalanced:

I actually pulled Trou Macacq as a single because that’s what the label wanted as a follow-up single, and I thought that would be the kiss of death. That’s why it’s mixed so strangely, with the vocals on one side and stuff. To make it radio unfriendly.

Yep… I like these guys even more – to intentionally do something to make it more difficult to capitalize on it. Wonderful.