When you want to find out more about some unknown song that’s blaring from the radio, Shazam and Google is usually your best friend. 99 percent of the time this method works every time, but there’s one new wave tune out there that’s stumped literally everyone, so much so it’s been dubbed “the most mysterious song on the internet.”
This isn’t some random indie song only hipsters know, literally no one has any idea when or where the tune in question – the title of which remains unknown and thus shall be known as ‘The Most Mysterious Song
On The Internet’ from henceforth – came from and it’s been driving the internet mad.
From what we know (via Rolling Stone), it is believed that the tune was recorded off a German public-radio station during the early 80s by a new wave fan only known as Darius S. He liked the song but had no clue who the artist behind ‘The Most Mysterious Song On The Internet’ was – he didn’t record any DJ introduction or any commentary – and he tucked the cassette away in a box for the next two and half decades.
While Darius S. doesn’t have a shred of info about the song, we can deduce from the dry synth-pop beat and deep-voiced monotone vocal delivery that ‘The Most Mysterious Song On The Internet’ is definitely something ripped straight out of the 80’s new wave era.
You can also 100 percent guarantee the band who recorded it were all dressed in black (except for the keyboard player), wore sunglasses and super-dark eyeliner, and had record collections with plenty of Bauhaus and Sisters of Mercy therein.
After ‘The Most Mysterious Song On The Internet’ sat in a box for two or so decades, Darius S’ sister, Lydia H., simply needed to know where the song came from, presumably after years of listening to it on repeat.
She digitised a snipped of the tune and uploaded it onto a German new wave/synth-pop site as well as a Canadian music site that’s essentially Shazam but with fans in 2007 and crossed her fingers. Sadly, this ultimately didn’t lead anywhere as no one came forth to claim credit for ‘The Most Mysterious Song On The Internet’ or provide any useful info about its origins.
However, the internet became interested in solving the origins of ‘The Most Mysterious Song On The Internet’ again in April of 2019 when YouTuber Gabriel da Silva Vieira became transfixed by the tune and posted a video on his channel, as well as a few Reddit communities with the hope some random middle-aged new wave rocker could shed some light.
Unlike earlier efforts in the 80s and 2007, this time the internet went wild in an attempt to figure out the origin story of ‘The Most Mysterious Song On The Internet’.
Thousands of people jumped on the mystery, Reddit and Discord communities were formed in order to dig up info and dissect aspects of the song like the lyrics and singer’s accent, and other YouTubers started hopping on the bandwagon.
But despite all the renewed attention and focus in identifying ‘The Most Mysterious Song On The Internet’ – which even included tracking down the original DJ who played the song back in the 1980s when Darius S. recorded it – the search has been fruitless (at the time of writing).
The search in of itself is a unique thing because of the sheer level of obsession over what is objectively a pretty meh song. Beyond that, would the musicians behind the song (if they’re still alive) even want to attach their name to it if it is eventually identified?
Maybe the reason they haven’t stepped forward is because they themselves think the song is crap and don’t want to ruin the mythology that’s burned into the internet’s head.
For what it’s worth, GOAT’s resident musician, Andrew P Street, had a listen and noted that ‘The Most Mysterious Song On The Internet’ has real drums but with very mid-80s guitar and key sounds.
Going off this, his best guess is that the song is a mere demo from some random 80s recording session and not a release as the standard thing at the time was to have someone program in the drums to a drum machine, even if the drummer was good.
That would explain why it’s been so difficult to dig up info about ‘The Most Mysterious Song On The Internet’. It’s just one of literally thousands of demo tunes that have been recorded and forgotten over the years and it just so happened to be recorded by a new wave fan during the one time it was played on the radio.
While it would be nice to finally identify ‘The Most Mysterious Song On The Internet’, perhaps it’s origins is something that’s forever lost to history. But hey, the internet is capable of some crazy things so perhaps there’s still one last twist in this story yet and it’s in some old shoebox hidden underneath someone’s bed.