Second Verse, Same as the First^*

OCD, Music, and Musicians

Updated 14-Mar-2016

^*from "I'm Henry VIII, I Am" (1910, Wikipedia) performed by Herman's Hermits with Peter Noone.

Many of the artists listed on this page made their music available through the original MP3.com, which went out of business in December 2003. Fortunately, I had already downloaded their songs (and purchased a number of the albums). I apologize for the invalid MP3.com links and, as time permits, I will attempt to track down the artists and update the links.

OCD

Count On It

Music that is definitely OCD-related!

• Chris Bilodeau - a "jack-of-all-trades, master-of-all", multi-talented musician, wrote "O.C.D." from personal experience:

  "O.C.D. or Obsessive Compulsive Disorder is something that I've had for years ... instead of avoiding it, I wrote a song about it. The song, like O.C.D. has a couple of different moods to it. I'm very proud of this one."

  The song is from his beautiful Moments CD.

• Greenhouse (Anthony P. Ingram, SoundCloud) - a ska band. Their Tomorrow The World album includes a song called "Obsessive Compulsive Disorder":

  No boys date my sister They know she's quite strange Diagnosed as OCD I admit she's deranged I once tried to take her to the park But she hid in the bushes until it got dark Washed her hands a hundred times more Bloody suds On the bottom of the floor Chorus: My obsessive compulsive sister Purely a manic schizo No thorazine's gonna do the trick Can't help a girl who's just plain sick Took her to the doc Prozac is the way But she puts foil on her head to block the Martian rays 'O' is for obsessive 'C' is for compelled Her brain lacks serotonin As far as I can tell Washes through the night Has heart palpitations Delusions of grandeur And lucid hallucinations Chorus: My obsessive compulsive sister Purely a manic schizo No thorazine's gonna do the trick Can't help a girl who's just plain sick

  OCD! OCD! OCD! Can't help a girl who's just plain sick (To get control of a mind like that) What's the buzz? Tell me what's happenin' What's the buzz? Tell me what's happenin' What's the buzz? Tell me what's happenin' What's the buzz? Tell me what's happenin' When will we ride into Jerusalem? When will we ride into Jerusalem? When will we ride into Jerusalem? When will we ride into Jerusalem? What's the buzz? Tell me what's happenin' What's the buzz? Tell me what's happenin' What's the buzz? Tell me what's happenin' What's the buzz? 1! 2! 3! 4! Chorus: My obsessive compulsive sister Purely a manic schizo No thorazine's gonna do the trick Can't help a girl who's just plain sick OCD! OCD! OCD! Can't help a girl who's just plain sick (music by E. Ottens, lyrics by B. Smiley)

• Kêlì~Jôtè - recorded the spare and haunting "OCD":

  Where are you going, sweet daughter of mine? I can't hang the clothes by myself ... Everyone's watching, I need an opinion, Are they straight in line? Where are you going, sweet daughter of mine? My hair is blowing away ... The pictures are crooked, the dust is staring, Holes into my spine ... Can't drink the water, The specks will poison me, Daughter, don't leave me, I'm dying. Where are you going, sweet daughter of mine? The soap bars must be replaced. Can't touch my piano, my bed isn't made, Oh, please, don't leave me behind.

  Where are you going, sweet daughter of mine? Was it something I said, have I been unkind? Please stay here, oh daughter, I'm afraid to move. I may be losing my mind. The blood is spilling, Across my wrists, The germs are killing, My hopefull bliss. I can't sing for you tonight, When you ever return. You'll have no home to sleep, girl. I'm here, watching it burn. (by K.T. Pierce and Anthony Willingham)

• KrackJack - recorded "OCD" on their Symptom 2002 CD.

  Washed my hands again
  Before I wave you goodbye
  Stop to count to ten
  Recurrent threat, don't know why
  
  Broken glass
  People might get cut
  Sweep it with bare hands
  Arrange it in the shape of a gun
  
  O! C! D! It's not you, it's me.

• Pike - (originally formed in 1995; re-formed in 2002) describes "O.C.D." as "[a]n ode to the germaphobe in all of us. I knew a girl with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and thought it would make a cute song." The song begins with a really nice guitar riff that, in a slightly modified form, continues as the rhythm guitar backing for the verses. Thank you to the band themselves for supplying the lyrics:

  Right hand Wash the left hand Wash the right hand All night long I need another cigarette Just one more holds me through the night I'm gonna need so many more Chorus: The summer time is coming too fast for me now I want to stay I want to play Please show me how And take me to a doctor who'll see me for free I want to stay I want to play Please let me be

  Right hand Wash the left hand Wash the right hand 'Til it's gone I haven't slept an hour long But don't you tell me that it's wrong I've got so many things to do Chorus ... solo ... Chorus (by R.k. Kombrinck and Holly Knepfle)

• Rank Strangers - recorded a song called "Can't Stop OCD" on their 1997 Target album:
  
  

  (Green light, go! Green light, go! Yeah!) Oh, you can walk on the water You can fly like a bird You can run like the wind Taste fire and not get burned Oh, but Jesus is all one man might do He'd hang from the cross as a favor to you Must have been righteous to see I imagine that He Could have stopped you as sure As He could have stopped me But He couldn't stop Judas Judas couldn't stop OCD Oh, no, no, no, no Oh, you can win the rich man's lottery and buy a big white house on a hill You can marry for love, you can marry for money Get that rock to the top o' the hill Yeah, yeah, but when you're gone, each day will dawn One o' your young will come undone They'll be unable to breathe 'Til they come and see me 'Cause we will tell them the truth and then we'll teach them to see That you can't stop OCD Oh, no, no, no No, you can't stop OCD I say so - hey go

  Oh, you may be just like me You may walk your house at night You may lie awake Your eyes wide in the dark, Check Please, Please, check that light You may rip your skin from your legs and your arms Count down each hour until tomorrow dawns Now you see three sure things for you Poor, poor me    giggle Birth, death, taxes, and OCD Oh, no, no, no, No, you can't stop OCD I say so - stop, go No, no, no, no No, no No, no No, no, no    whoop Oh, you can walk on the water You can float to the bottom But you can't stop No, you can't stop, ... No, you can't stop, no, no (The End) (by Michael Wisti and Jacques Wait)

  "Clean Machine" is from their 1996 Mystery Spot album:

  Well, I washed my hands today But the dirt wouldn't go away What else can you say About a dirty world? So I washed my hands again 'Til my skin was raw and then I understood where I'd been Was in a dirty world. And I spell it   D   I-R-D   Y-W   O-R   L-D So I washed my hands three times 'Til I couldn't cut the grime Washing, washing wastes my time In this dirty world The dirt was in the ground But now it's spread around And it sits here by the pound In this dirty world And I spell it   D   I-R-D   Y-W   O-R   L-D I was a man, a fan of mud as a right I believed that dirt was part of my life

  I don't wash much anymore Now I won't be running sores But I'm seeing more and more That it's a dirty world My sheets will all come clean But I just get more mean And it gets more obscene It's a dirty world And I spell it   D   I-R-D   Y-W   O-R   L-D I wore my rope-a-soap like it was a crown I learned to sell by smell and by sound I was a pope of hope to boys and girls They followed me around As I drove my clean machine from town to town Rub-a-dub-a-dub-a-dub-dub I write self-improvement books alone in my tub Me and Dale Carnegie We give seminars for free Now all I see is dirty mirrors here to scrub (by Michael Wisti and Jacques Wait)

  Special thanks to Kevin Thomas, supercomputer superprogrammer and long-time Rank Strangers fan (he's seen them in person!), for helping with the lyrics to "Can't Stop OCD" and supplying the lyrics to "Clean Machine".

• John Melendez AKA Stuttering John's second album, Everybody's Normal But Me received the following review from Steve Snider (note that the "Buy It" link takes you to the wrong CD!):

  The songs are strong little ditties about life in New York City and John's day-to-day dealing with obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD). The first cut of the recording "Everybody's Normal But Me," talks about his illness and it really opened my eyes as to what the people with OCD deal with every day.

• Yort - recorded "Obsessive Compulsive Behavior". (Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA) The song has a WWV radio broadcast in the background, inexorably counting off the seconds and periodically announcing the time:

  (At the tone, 1 hour, 57 minutes, Coordinated Universal Time)
  
  I've got a problem
  (I can't control)
  I keep it well hidden
  (Nobody knows)
  I never acknowledged it
  (Could never admit it)
  I accidentally mentioned it
  I hope you just forget about it
  
  Chorus:
  Obsessive Compulsive Behavior
  (1, 2, 3, 4)
  wash my hands again, look behind the door
  Obsessive Compulsive Behavior
  like human nature, you can't ignore
  
  (At the tone, 1 hour, 58 minutes, Coordinated Universal Time)
  
  I never knew I had it
  Sometimes I doubt it
  Maybe they won't notice it
  if I just joke about it
  I thought I was superstitious
  But maybe there's just a snag
  in my synapses
  
  Chorus
  
  (At the tone, 1 hour, 59 minutes, Coordinated Universal Time)
  
  (Uncontrollable
  Emotional
  A hole you can't patch
  An itch you can't scratch
  When you're sleeping
  You're dreaming
  of counting and cleaning
  and double checking
  It's never ending)
  
  (At the tone, 2 hours, 0 minutes, Coordinated Universal Time
  ...
  At the tone, 2 hours, 1 minute, Coordinated Universal Time
  ...
  At the tone, 2 hours, 2 minutes, Coordinated Universal Time)

• 1925 - recorded a song, "OCD", on their Past Damage No Refund album. (Port Charlotte, Florida, USA) I can't understand all of the lyrics; the chorus seems to be:

  I never thought the worst enemy
  would be in my mind - my mind!
  And how long must this persist?
  I'm know I'm strange,
  but not strange as this.
  And OCD is killing me.
  And how many years must I be with this?
  I hope it passes and it passes quick.
  ...

• Antiba - recorded "Obsessive Compulsive Disorder" with the following lyrics:

  ...
  There's no need for me to feel shame, it's not my fault.
  It's just a case of OCD, I know I'm right, regardless of, what they say.
  ...

• The DJ Rex Project - recorded an electronic dance song, "OCD", with the following two "lyrics":

  God, why am I cursed with this racing mind?
  ...
  Obsessional thoughts, impulses, or images are the product of his or her own mind.

  In the last 30 seconds of the song, a phrase is repeated over and over, but I can't understand it.

• O.C.D. Circus - had a great web site and great music. The animated graphic on the home page read "OCD CIRCUS ... Delicious Sine Waves ... Cognitive Behavioral Therapy ... muSICK" and their FAQ included questions such as "Why is leaving my residence a half-hour process?" (Pennsylvania?, USA)

• The Provocative Whites (SoundCloud) - recorded a song, "OCDDD":

  I can't understand this
  misfiring in my brain
  Obsessive acts are
  so very hard to explain
  ...

  (Tucson, Arizona, USA)

• The Get Along Gang - is a punk rock group which recorded a short song, "OCD" (YouTube; nice graphics!):

  I touch the dog,
  I wash my hands, I wash my hands.
  Turned out the light,
  I wash my hands, I wash my hands.
  I ate some food,
  I wash my hands, I wash my hands.
  Another hand,
  I wash my hands, I wash my hands.
  ...
  (It's never clean enough.
  It's never clean enough.
  It's never clean enough.
  It's never clean enough.)
  ...
  Open the door,
  I wash my hands, I wash my hands.
  When I touch the sink,
  I wash my hands, I wash my hands.
  I use the soap,
  I wash my hands, I wash my hands.
  I wash my hands, I wash my hands,
  I wash my ... wash ... my ... hands.

  (Tucson, Arizona, USA)

• Edison (Wayback Machine) - recorded a song, "Cracks Reside" (Wayback Machine). Band member "Simon's almost embarrassed to admit that Cracks Reside is actually about obsessive compulsive disorder."

  ...
  Don't touch the line
  That's where we know
  The cracks reside
  We're lost it seems
  Where can we be
  Where can we be?
  Get it right
  ...

  (Brisbane, Australia)

• Jessie J - recorded a song, "OCD", whose chorus is:

  So just clean it!
  Polish, scrub, bleach!
  Mr. Sheen it!
  Reveal that clean layer,
  and conceal it!
  Don't get dirt on me.
  So just clean it!
  Cuz I got OCD!

  (Full lyrics)

• Alisha's Attic - a late 1990's duo featuring Karen and Shellie Poole. An article by John Harp, "Like a Roman in Your Heart", touches on Shellie's OCD.
• Evelyn Smith - a Christian song writer and singer who suffers from OCD.

• OCD Music Group, Inc. - had a cool logo: two hands washing a CD.

• Faith No More's song, "From Out of Nowhere", is not about OCD, but it has a line I've seen used in an OCDer's E-mail signature line:

  "Obsession rules me ..."

• And unwittingly borrowing from Faith No More's lyric, my own "Obsessions Rule Compulsions' Fool".

Grin and Bear It

• Food Safety Music - "The Artist Formerly Known as Prince of Pesticides"? The "Elvis of E. coli"? The "Sinatra of Salmonella"? No, Carl K. Winter and the FOODSAFE Program. To the tune of "I Want To Hold Your Hand":

  "Oh yeah I'll, tell you something
  I think you'll understand
  For the sake of sanitation
  You'd better wash your hands
  You'd better wash your hands
  You'd better wash your hands
  ...
  And when you're finished you'll feel happy inside
  Washin' so thorough that microbes
  They can't hide, they can't hide, they can't hide"

• Stephen Sykes' "The Hypochondria Song" is sung to the tune of "I Am The Very Model of a Modern Major-General":

  "...
  I say Doctor have you heard me, listened to everything I've said
  Quite plainly I'm diseased, in fact I'm nearly dead
  He said thank you for your list dear sir, you're really most well read
  And dismissing me with a wave said .. 'Take two aspirins and go to bed'
  ..."

Rational Doubt?

Music that is not OCD-related or that I'm not sure about (i.e., I haven't heard it or seen the lyrics, etc.).

• Sarah Brightman recorded "Ghost in the Machinery". The song is probably not about OCD, but it sure captures Lee Baer's The Imp of the Mind:

  In the heat of the moment
  In the dark of the night
  You never see his face
  For he's the ghost inside
  
  In the heat of the moment
  He will laugh at you
  How can you make peace
  When he's at war with you
  
  In the heat of the moment
  You're a perfect guy
  Born to make mistakes
  He knows the reason why
  
  He's a shock to the system
  He's a wicked clown
  No matter what you do
  He turns it upside down
  
  Hu hu hu hu hu hu
  Ghost in the machinery
  Hu hu ...
  
  (music by Frank Peterson, lyrics by Peterson and Mark Ravenhill)

• Symposium - an indie band. Their On the Outside album includes a song called "Obsessive Compulsive Disorder" (full song) (lyrics) in which the author obsesses about a lost love:

  "...
  Once in my mind it never goes away
  I close my eyes but it still remains
  Inside my head and there it's gonna stay
  Once in my mind it never goes away
  ..."   (lyrics by Wojciech Godzisz)

• Amazing Meet Project - has a song called "Obsessive Compulsive" on their Undrugged album.
• Arab on Radar - is a now-defunct band whose members were Mr. Type A on guitar, Mr. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder on vocals, Mr. Clinical Depression on guitar, and Mr. Obsessive Compulsive Disorder on drums. (Connecticut, USA)
• Branded - has a song called "O.C.D" on their Next to Nothing album. The lyrics are not OCD-related: "No matter what I do, no matter what I try, I can't seem to forget that I've made you cry."
• Compulsive Behavior - has a CD called Trichotillomania; the lyrics don't seem to indicate an OCD connection.
• Compulsives - "Music to Obsess by". (Maryland, USA)
• The Corrections - recorded a song, "OCD", for their Repeat After Me album. There's no obvious OCD relation in the lyrics, that I could tell, but it's a great rocker.
• joe e. daddario - when asked in an interview, "Is there anything else you want to mention?", responded: "I have an obsessive compulsive disorder. I have an obsessive compulsive disorder. I have an obsessive compulsive disorder. I have an obsessive compulsive disorder. I have an obsessive compulsive disorder. I have an obsessive compulsive disorder."
• Depths of Despair - performs electronic music (no vocals), with song titles such as "obsessive compulsive", "bipolar moodswings", etc.
• Double Bind - recorded an album, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder Casebook. (Tampa, Florida, USA)
• FLUXad - released an EP titled "Obsessive Compulsive". I liked their music, but there's no obvious tie-in to OCD.
• Hibernate (Joseph Michael Borg) - recorded an electronic music CD called OCD: "After spending so long on this project I figured that OCD could be the only fitting name."
• Jiveharp! - recorded a song, "Obsessive Compulsive". (Also see the authors' Not proud website.)
• Love Child - featuring Alan Licht. Their Witchcraft album includes a song, "Obsessive Compulsive". Piero Scaruffi's review (in Italian) had this to say: "Obsessive Compulsive, ma il baricentro e` una forma di psichedelia molto disordinata".
• Lowcloudcover - has a song called "O.C.D." on their Separation Anxiety CD.
• Mr. O.C.D. - "a modern pop/rock band" based in Connecticut, USA.
• Obsessive Compulsive - a Manchester, England band consisting of Kelii (vocals) and others. No obvious OCD connection. (Biography; music.)
• Obsessive Compulsive - a New Mexico, USA band; no obvious OCD connection.
• Obsessive Compulsive Disorder - a Liverpool, UK heavy-metal/industrial band. I couldn't understand the lyrics on the songs I downloaded, but the blurb on the web page alone is worth reading: "[Listeners] feel anxious, distressed and guilty but are powerless to cope with the flood of impulsive and irrational thoughts, brought on by such a varied and unpredictable style. Many become taken over by habits and rituals: they cannot stop themselves from the endless cycle of ... Insert CD, press Play, repeat ... repeat ... repeat ... Obsessive Compulsive Disorder - virus or musical phenomenon[?]"
• OCD - the one track available sounded like a repetitive mandolin riff with some drums and rhythmic clapping in the background. (Cincinnati, Ohio, USA)
• OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder) - industrial rock; the song lyrics don't appear to be OCD-related. (Mountain View, California, USA)
• The OCD - mosh pits and stuff. (Covina, California, USA)
• OCD - a power trio with great guitar playing; no apparent OCD connection. (New Jersey, USA)
• O.C.D. (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder) - recorded two albums, Hoard-Wash-Pray-Repeat and, their latest, Ritualistic. I listened to several tracks from the latter - not too bad, but not for the faint of heart!
• OCPD: Obsessive Compulsive Percussion Disorder - is a drumline enthusiast's page and has nothing to do with OCD.
• Pretty in Stereo - has a song, "OCD, on their Ugly in Mono EP. (Orange County, California, USA)
• Publik Records recorded an electronic track, "O.C.D." (By Nat Eichler?)
• Samicide - has a song, "O.C.D. - (first passing)", on his samicide ... like pesticide but less useful CD. (Long Island, New York, USA)
• Secondhand Saviour/Peter Hassall - recorded "Obsessive and Compulsive", by Timothy Hassall, Benjamin Jones, and Gregory Cargopoulas. (Dubai, UAE) The lyrics are not OCD-related: "And all the things you dream about ... have suddenly become real ... become so real ..."
• Sergeant Buzfuz - recorded an album called Obsessive Compulsion Pour Homme. (London?, UK)
• Silence - "big fun songs with lots o' orchestration, big guitars, and kill vocals". Their Wave Without a Shore album includes a song called "Obsessive Compulsive Disorder". (Wayback Machine)
• Smug - recorded a song, "OCD". (Norwich, UK)
• Super Villain - recorded "O.C.D."; the lyrics are not OCD-related.
• theOCD - "the OCD music Rock Band not related to obsessive-compulsive-disorder."
• THRODL - recorded a song, "OCD". Although I'm not a slasher fan, I liked the song. (Reading, Pennsylvania, USA)

Tourette Syndrome

• Rick Fowler and Friends' Welcome Companions (sound clips) is a "benefit CD for Tourette Syndrome research and education"; proceeds from sales of the CD go to the Tourette Syndrome Association of Georgia. (Also see his autobiographical book, The Unwelcome Companion: An Insider's View of Tourette Syndrome.) A master of Southern blues/rock, Fowler wrote about half of the songs on the album; the other songs are by various friends. Only Debbie Norton's "Potion #99" is specifically about TS:

  You seem very well, then there's a tremor
  You know you're very well and there's a twitch of your head
  You are very well until they look at you
  like you're completely out of your head
  
  They say you're a drug addict, with much conviction
  They say something ain't right with your nerves
  Healers guess at the potions, you guess at their systems
  that drive you in and out of your bed
  
  You know very well that you're not crazy
  Maybe it's no sleep, maybe it's just dread
  Maybe it's your fear, maybe it's your fate
  It just got inside and closed the gate
  
  You say this unwelcome companion
  It stays in time, tuned to your head
  And like the free will that is in nature,
  it drinks you up and knows you're led
  
  You seem very well but there's a tremor
  You know you're very well and there's a twitch of your head
  You are very well even though they look at you
  like you're completely out of your head
  
  (©1999 Debbie Norton, Where's Anita Music, BMI)

• Tourette's - is found on Nirvana's In Utero album. I haven't heard it yet, but the guitar tablature notes: "this song has no words. tourette's is a disease that causes uncontrollable noises to emit from the aflicted person, sometimes curse words, mostly just gutteral noises. kurt just screamed whatever came to mind ..."
• Tourette 23 - one song, but more musical than some of the other bands' songs!
• Tourettes - "More energy than talent" - who knows?!
• Tourettes Syndrome - heavy metal or something ...
• Tourette's Without Regrets - "Vallejo's bi-weekly poetry slam/carnival".

Other Disorders

• The late Duster Bennett's "Jumping At Shadows", often performed by Peter Green, seems to have psychological overtones. From Peter Green's performance (includes video):

  What can you say?
  There isn't much to tell.
  I'm going down hill
  and I blame myself.
  I've been jumping at shadows,
  thinking about my life.
  
  Everybody points their hand at me.
  I know I'm just a picture
  of what I should have been.
  I've been jumping at shadows,
  just thinking about my life.
  
  God have mercy,
  I think I'm going insane.
  The Devil's been gettin' at me,
  he's got me down again.
  Got me jumping at shadows,
  just thinking about my life.

• Manic Street Preachers' This Is My Truth Tell Me Yours album has a song about depression, "Black Dog on My Shoulder" (lyrics, sound clip):

  "...
  My dilemma but not my choice
  Winston Churchill can you hear my voice
  ...
  This black dog is out of control
  My mouth is so dry
  My eyes are shut tight
  There's a black dog a coming tonight
  Black dog's a coming tonight
  ..."

Music Therapy

• Freudian Slip Therapeutic Rock Band - Matthew J. Bush, MSW, LSW has created a fascinating and extensive site of "information on how to help children and adolescents use popular music, something they already listen to and enjoy, as a way to express their feelings". His article, "Using Popular Music in Therapy", provides a brief introduction to the motivation behind his approach and to the results he's achieved. The site features MP3 samples of Freudian Slip songs, an on-line forum, a newsletter, and suggestions of songs - by others and by Freudian Slip - to use for particular disorders. Although OCD is not among those disorders, the music is intended as a means of establishing a comfortable, more open line of communication between the therapist and the child. Consequently, any of the OCD songs above could be candidates for music therapy.