Songs you can't believe were made by certain artists

[BleuPanda]

I remember driving a few months back and listening to a 90s station when a song I had only ever heard in my childhood (like, 4 or 5 years old) came on. Curious, I remembered a line and looked it up, only to discover it was "Show Me Love" by Robyn. This was shocking to me, as I had no idea Robyn had been around that long. I'm still having trouble connecting the two styles; she got really into electronic influences by the time her work began to gather critical acclaim. Like, I honestly never knew Robyn had a few top 10 hits in the US. She went from a pop singer to, well, a different kind of pop singer, and I'm still waiting to somehow find out it's another artist with the same name.

Does anyone else have a song like that? Something that you had to do a double-take when you noticed the artist? I think what made Robyn hit hard was not just the style - a few artists go through stylistic shifts, especially when finding their true voice - but the fact that she was successful with both. It was this weird sense of discovering I was nostalgic about an artist I thought I didn't know about until my late teens.

[jamieW]

Both Robyn and Kylie Minogue are artists that made successful transitions from teeny-bop pop to something far, far deeper. The first time I heard the terrific "Can't Get You Out of My Head", and the DJ said at the end it was Kylie Minogue, I thought he was joking.

However, the one that jumped into my head as soon as I saw your topic was "Long Cool Woman (In a Black Dress)" by The Hollies. Everyone I know thinks it's Creedence Clearwater Revival, and it's certainly a monumental genre change from songs like "Bus Stop" and "The Air That I Breathe."

[babydoll]

I despise "Show Me Love" and "The Loco-Motion", especially the latter considering Little Eva was the only person who ever did it justice. I'm still wondering how some people still only know Kylie Minogue by that song especially over the far superior "Spinning Around", which was never a hit in the U.S. which is a bit strange considering those hotpants would have made it a TRL staple, and "Can't Get You Out of My Head".

[acroamor]

It'd probably have to be "Silver" by Pixies. Such a huge turn from their usual hard-driving, vaguely poppy rock songs. Instead, you get an eerie bluegrass tinged piece that sounds like it's straight out a Western. It quickly became one of my favorite of their songs, though.

Also, "Blame It on the Tetons" by Modest Mouse really surprised me by being a gentle folk song with acoustic guitar, piano(!) and strings rather than their usual noodly, hard-driving rock style.

[Harold]

The very first song that popped into my head when I saw this topic was "Voices Carry," the 1985 U.S. Top 10 hit by big-haired synth-pop band 'til tuesday. Annoying song, annoying lower-case stylization of band name, and annoying vocal performance by the lead singer-songwriter. Classic one-hit wonder, right? Except said lead singer is none other than future famously Serious Artiste Aimee Mann (don't mean to make fun, I'm a fan). Actually, you can hear signs of Mann's eventual evolution even on subsequent 'til tuesday material, but every time "Voices Carry" pops up on my local oldies station - God, when did songs from the 1980s become freakin' OLDIES? - it always takes a second or two before I remember, "Jesus, that's Aimee Mann."

[PlasticRam]

Kid Cudi - Speedin' Bullet 2 Heaven

Grunge. Unlike most people, I like that album.

[Daniel]

I've always liked the song "Big Me," but was never crazy about the Foo Fighters. It was only recently that I realized who sang the song (and the interesting fact that for that first album, the Foo Fighters was just Dave Grohl), and I've begun to develop more of an appreciation for Grohl and the group.

[Sweepstakes Ron]

Maybe not fully related to the topic, but I still having trouble bridging the gap between "The Letter" and Alex Chilton's work with Big Star.

[luvulongTIM]

Kind of topical but was pretty shocked when i found out X performed their hit "4th of July."