For nearly two decades, an online enigma has captivated a global community of internet sleuths: the quest to identify “The Most Mysterious Song On The Internet.” This musical puzzle, born from an obscure recording, has finally been solved, marking a triumphant moment for online collaboration and persistent curiosity. After 17 years of relentless searching, the answer surfaced on the online forum Reddit, revealing the track to be “Subways of Your Mind”, a creation of the little-known 1980s German band, FEX.
The revelation has deeply moved the former members of FEX. Michael Haedrich, the band’s keyboardist, guitarist, and backup vocalist, now 68, expressed to Der Spiegel magazine that they are “absolutely overwhelmed” by the news. Unbeknownst to them, their decades-old song had become the center of a significant online phenomenon.
The Genesis of a Musical Mystery
The mystery’s origins trace back to 2007 when a German brother and sister shared a digitized track online. This recording, salvaged from a cassette tape they had made as teenagers off the radio, contained a collection of songs, including tracks from well-known bands like XTC and The Cure. However, one particular song remained stubbornly unidentified. As Rolling Stone detailed in 2019, this unknown track became the focal point of an increasingly dedicated online search.
Initially, the German siblings appealed for help in identifying the elusive song. Audiophiles and music enthusiasts eagerly accepted the challenge. Despite extensive searches across music databases, the track yielded no results. Online detectives meticulously analyzed the song, dissecting the instrumentation and scrutinizing the lead singer’s accent in an attempt to narrow down its origins. The song was quickly categorized within the 1980s “New Wave” genre, but this classification, while helpful, did not lead to a definitive identification.
[Imagine an image here: A cassette tape with handwritten labels, possibly slightly worn, symbolizing the origin of the mysterious song. Alt text: Worn cassette tape, representing the source of the internet’s most mysterious song from the 1980s.]
Reddit Ignites Global Search for the Lost Tune
The search for the mysterious song gained explosive momentum in 2019 when the track was uploaded to Reddit. The platform’s vast and diverse community provided the ideal environment for collaborative investigation. A dedicated Reddit subforum, “r/TheMysteriousSong”, was created and rapidly attracted tens of thousands of members. The online hunt transcended geographical boundaries, capturing attention not only in German media but also internationally.
The breakthrough moment arrived just recently, courtesy of a Reddit user named “marijn1412.” Through diligent research into an event for emerging bands organized in the 1980s by a northern German public broadcaster, marijn1412 stumbled upon former members of FEX. This led to the crucial connection that would unravel the mystery.
[Imagine an image here: A screenshot of the Reddit “r/TheMysteriousSong” subforum, showcasing the community dedicated to solving the mystery. Alt text: Screenshot of r/TheMysteriousSong Reddit subforum, highlighting the online community searching for the internet’s most mysterious song.]
“Subways of Your Mind” Emerges from Obscurity
As marijn1412 recounted in a Reddit post, reaching out to the members of FEX, a four-piece band from Kiel, proved to be the key. The band members confirmed the song and shared a version of “Subways of Your Mind,” finally providing the elusive title that had been sought after for so long.
Marijn1412 explained the delicate process following the discovery: “After I emailed him back that the song is actually quite a famous ‘lost song,’ he asked me not to go public with it until he spoke with his old band members. In the meantime, though, the song did get registered at [the German performance rights organization] GEMA and people found out about it. But I’m happy to say that the band members agreed for me to go public with it.”
Haedrich, still active in music, admitted to Spiegel that he was completely unaware of the extensive online search until marijn1412’s discovery. He expressed astonishment that “someone was interested in music by a band that was only successful regionally, if at all, and that was over 40 years ago.”
A New Chapter for FEX and “Subways of Your Mind”
The newfound attention has ignited a spark of revival for FEX. Haedrich revealed that the band members are now eager to reissue “Subways of Your Mind.” They are currently working on locating the original recording of the song, hoping to bring it to a wider audience after decades of obscurity.
While their initial success may have been limited to their local region decades ago, Haedrich noted that this unexpected resurgence feels like a sudden stroke of fortune: “for us, it has just come suddenly.” The story of “the most mysterious song on the internet” serves as a testament to the power of online communities, the enduring appeal of unsolved mysteries, and the unexpected ways in which music can resurface and find a new audience, even after decades in the shadows.
