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{{BoxRed}}
{{Infobox Lostwave
[[File:The_Most_Mysterious_Song_on_the_Internet_track_list.jpg|alt=Track list of the mysterious song|thumb|Track list for "The Most Mysterious Song on the Internet"]]
|Box = BoxGreen
'''The Most Mysterious Song On The Internet''' (also known as “'''Like The Wind'''”, “'''Blind The Wind'''”, “'''Check It In, Check It Out'''”, “'''Take It In, Take It Out'''”, and “'''The Mysterious Song'''”) is the name given to a recording of an unidentified song, recorded by Darius S.  It was recorded sometime around 1983-1984 from the North German radio station "Norddeutscher Rundfunk," or NDR for short.
|ShowBox = Yes
|Name = Subways Of Your Mind
|Image = SubwaysOfYourMind.jpg
|Caption = Demo cassette tape containing the song
|Alt_name = Blind The Wind, Like The Wind, "Check It In, Check It Out", "Take It In, Take It Out", The Most Mysterious Song On The Internet, The Mysterious Song; SOYM, CII, CIO, TII, TIO, TMMSOTI, TMMS, TMS, LTW, BTW
|Language = English
|Artist = FEX
|Status = Solved; Almost full version available
|Genre = Post-punk, New Wave
|Year = 1983
|OP = Darius S
|Search_started = 2004
|Search_ended = 2024
|Media = TMS-new 32-bit PCM.wav
|Search_community = ''various'' (mostly [https://reddit.com/r/TheMysteriousSong r/TheMysteriousSong])
}}
'''Subways Of Your Mind''' (previously known as '''The Most Mysterious Song On The Internet, The Mysterious Song,''' '''Like the Wind''', '''The Sun Will Never Shine''', '''Blind the Wind''', '''Check It In, Check It Out''', '''Take It In, Take It Out''', and '''Summer Blues''') is a solved new wave/post-punk song recorded by the German new wave band Fex in 1983.  


== Origins and search ==
It was recorded in 1984 from the North German radio station "Norddeutscher Rundfunk," or NDR, and was solved on November 4th, 2024 by Reddit user marijn1412.  
Around 1982 to 1984, Darius recorded the song off radio and onto a cassette tape, leaving out DJ chatter, and thus important info, for a cleaner recording.  This tape was used for several mixtapes, though the original source tape remains lost.


On March 18, 2007, Darius' sister, Lydia, asked for help, posting the song on the websites best-of-80s.de and [https://spiritofradio.ca/SongComments.asp?SongID=1737 Spirit of Radio.] 
== Background ==
=== Origins; 1982-2004 ===
Between 1983 and 1984, Darius S, a teenage music fan from Wilhelmshaven, Germany, taped a radio program on a BASF Chromdioxid II 90 cassette tape<ref>https://www.reddit.com/r/TheMysteriousSong/comments/eny5lg/year_of_basf_cassette/</ref> from the North German public radio station Norddeutscher Rundfunk (NDR). The original tape before adding it to any mixtapes included new songs from XTC and the Cure. He believes he recorded the song in 1984 based on the release dates of other songs on the tape and the Technics tape deck he had at the time.<ref>https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/most-mysterious-song-on-the-internet-885106/</ref> The synthesizer used in the song is a Yamaha DX7, which was released in May 1983.<ref>https://www.reddit.com/r/TheMysteriousSong/comments/j05psy/just_a_video_for_those_who_dont_think_that_the/</ref> 
Darius' older sister, Lydia H, bought him a website domain for his birthday in 2004, which he used to raise awareness about the 25 unidentified songs in his personal collection. He then digitized his radio recordings, saving the songs as alif and m4a files, and uploaded them to his website, Unknown Pleasures, which is named after the 1979 album of the same name by English rock band Joy Division.<ref>https://www.spontis.de/musik/most-mysterious-song/</ref>


In April of 2011, redalfo uploaded the song to his YouTube channel, with the original title as [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qus5eOALnMY “Unkonow Song - Cancion Desconocida - Track Id.”]   
=== Early Search; 2007-2009 ===
On March 18th, 2007, Lydia requested assistance by posting the song under the pseudonym "Anton Riedel" on the websites best-of-80s.de<ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20190706172927/http://www.best-of-80s.de/80er-80s-musiksuche-sound-search-27/gesucht-80er-indie-wave-song-15895/</ref> and spiritofradio.ca<ref>https://spiritofradio.ca/SongComments.asp?SongID=1737</ref>  where user Jugge suggested that it sounded like "Statues in Motion" or "Metro Decay". 
The song spread around the internet, first posted to WatZatSong on December 17th, 2009 by user Konstantinos.<ref>https://www.watzatsong.com/en/name-that-tune/31435.html</ref>


In July, 2017, the song was uploaded to WatZatSong by user [https://www.watzatsong.com/en/name-that-tune/511126.html azthriller.]  
== History ==
=== Before Popularity; 2011-2017 ===
On April 16th, 2011, Spanish user Redalfo first uploaded the song to YouTube.<ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qus5eOALnMY</ref>  


In 2019, Gabriel Pelenson started the search in earnest, posting the song to many Song Identification and investigative subreddits, including r/helpmefind, r/rbi, and r/tipofmytongue, as well as creating the r/TheMysteriousSong subreddit. Not long after, on July 12th, u/Johnnymetoo posted a complete version of the song, downloaded from one of Lydia's earlier posts before the post was removed.
The search received a surge of popularity in 2017, with it being reuploaded several times to WatZatSong that year<ref>https://www.watzatsong.com/en/name-that-tune/489269.html</ref><ref>https://www.watzatsong.com/fr/name-that-tune/530509.html</ref><ref>https://www.watzatsong.com/en/name-that-tune/511126.html</ref><ref>https://www.watzatsong.com/en/name-that-tune/520694.html</ref> and on September 17th, 2017, the Spanish independent record label Dead Wax Records uploaded Anton's snippet of the song to YouTube, which would catch the attention of the person who would finally bring the search to mainstream attention.  


On July 9th, 2019, Whang! posted the first of many [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=90JvgNQicp0 videos about the song] on his Tales from the Internet series.
=== Popularity; 2019-2024 ===
From April 20th to June 29th, 2019, Gabriel da Silva Vieira, a 16-year-old from São Paulo, Brazil, posted the song 44 times on various subreddits with the title "THE MOST MYSTERIOUS SONG ON THE INTERNET!".<ref>https://www.reddit.com/user/gabgaskins/submitted/</ref>, eventually forming his own subreddit for the song on June 30th, 2019.<ref>https://www.reddit.com/r/TheMysteriousSong/comments/c7l2dw/themysterioussong_has_been_created/</ref> User newacountz quickly discovered Lydia's original uploads of the song, scrolling through the post history and determining that the uploader recorded it from the NDR2 radio station, most likely off the program Musik für junge Leute (Music for young People).<ref>https://www.reddit.com/r/TheMysteriousSong/comments/c7l8az/comment/esh7mf0/</ref> They also discovered NDR presenters Peter Urban and Paul Baskerville. Paul was focused on because he spoke English and was known for playing completely unknown independent new wave music.<ref>https://de.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Paul_Baskerville&oldid=157447844&useskin=vector</ref><ref>https://www.reddit.com/r/TheMysteriousSong/comments/c7l8az/comment/esii4e2/</ref> 
On July 9th, 2019, popular YouTuber Justin Whang discussed the search for the song on an episode of his YouTube series called ''Tales From the Internet.''<ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=90JvgNQicp0</ref> The next day, after searchers posted on the r/germany subreddit, a user named johnnymetoo claimed to have downloaded the full version of the song from Lydia's UseNet post<ref>https://www.reddit.com/r/germany/comments/cbb2xv/comment/eteguvs/</ref>, uploading it to r/TheMysteriousSong two days later.<ref>https://www.reddit.com/r/TheMysteriousSong/comments/cc8bhe/heres_the_complete_song_downloaded_it_in_2007/</ref> On July 21st, 2019, Paul Baskerville aired the song on his radio program "Nachtclub" after requests from the song's rapidly growing search team.<ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IFPST7GgTgI</ref> On August 20th, 2019, Radio1 interviewed Paul Baskerville and played the song on the air,<ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LwvnRZob3Gc</ref> which alerted Darius and Lydia to the search,<ref>https://www.reddit.com/r/TheMysteriousSong/comments/idayxm/anniversary/</ref> with Lydia joining the subreddit and Discord the next day.<ref>https://www.reddit.com/r/TheMysteriousSong/comments/ct570y/comment/exkycuv/</ref>       
On September 22nd, 2019, Lydia uploaded the first known tape of the song, known as BASF 4|1, to wetransfer.com.<ref>https://www.reddit.com/r/TheMysteriousSong/comments/d7wgk4/update_6_from_lydia_full_tape_recording/</ref><ref>https://archive.org/details/basf41</ref>, containing songs from the United States,<ref>https://www.discogs.com/master/85613-Ray-Parker-Jr-Ghostbusters</ref> United Kingdom,<ref>https://www.discogs.com/master/63022-Heaven-17-Sunset-Now</ref> Scotland,<ref>https://www.discogs.com/master/58954-Simple-Minds-Up-On-The-Catwalk</ref> Canada,<ref>https://www.discogs.com/master/84580-Corey-Hart-Sunglasses-At-Night</ref> Germany<ref>https://www.discogs.com/release/971774-Willem-Wat-</ref> and the Netherlands<ref>https://www.discogs.com/master/125615-Golden-Earring-Twilight-Zone</ref> ranging from 1982 to 1984. Numerous mainstream news publications began covering the story at this time, the first being Rolling Stone on September 24th, 2019.<ref>https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/most-mysterious-song-on-the-internet-885106/</ref>     
On June 26th, 2020, Lydia uploaded a mixtape containing the song, known as Compilation A, which had the song in lower quality than the previous tape<ref>https://www.reddit.com/r/TheMysteriousSong/comments/hghkee/another_mixtape_containing_tms/</ref><ref>https://mega.nz/file/fb4hGaxS#p0HATOWeaUyMSaxmW-Xxaq4taiZvVU9Z97_nG_BRz-0</ref>       
On July 9th, 2020, reddit user u/FlexxonMobil received a list of every song Paul Baskerville played on Musik für Junge Leute from 1982 to 1984<ref>https://www.reddit.com/r/TheMysteriousSong/comments/hofedh/world_exclusive_i_have_obtained_the_1984_song/</ref>, but after searching through the available playlists<ref>https://www.reddit.com/r/TheMysteriousSong/comments/hp0iam/breaking_paul_baskerville_likely_did_not_play_the/</ref>, the song could not be found, even after receiving the partial 1984 playlists from other shows including Der Club and Nachtclub.<ref>https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1SGKnBTvV7aBSM5Gi0BwUydxXkNooK6ZIVDfYvKUGJ68/edit?gid=274459647#gid=274459647</ref> Through this, searchers were able to estimate that the song aired in September or November 1984 based on several discovered playlists containing songs Darius had to have recorded during that time period.<ref>https://www.reddit.com/r/TheMysteriousSong/comments/1bhdizt/tmms_likely_played_on_sept_28_1984_or_november_28/</ref> There are still several missing Nachtclub and Der Club playlists that could contain the song, spanning August to October 1984.<ref>https://www.reddit.com/r/TheMysteriousSong/comments/1d9cmz8/a_few_crucial_playlists_missing_tms_could_be_on/</ref>     
On December 22nd, 2020, user fliere discovered a 10 kHz line in the song via spectrogram analysis, which was present on NDR broadcasts at the time. It is also confirmed that the 10 kHz modulation scheme was only used by NDR, because Darius recorded from other stations, like Hilversum, which did not have the 10 kHz line, effectively ruling out the possibility of the song being aired on any station other than NDR.<ref>https://www.reddit.com/r/TheMysteriousSong/comments/kidd3m/update/</ref><ref>https://www.reddit.com/r/TheMysteriousSong/comments/l80581/the_10khz_line/</ref>     
On November 7th, 2021, Lydia posted the final mixtape known as N01, which contains the highest quality version of the song, after discovering it in a box of tapes while renovating her apartment with her son.<ref>https://www.reddit.com/r/TheMysteriousSong/comments/qkwo2x/higher_quality_version_of_the_song_thanks_to/</ref><ref>https://mega.nz/file/mGpUTCZa#UczM2QtoS8k5UUH5PEcosQ7Obu52WZ0kMRePWHLj2J4</ref>     
On April 3rd, 2024, reddit user Successful-Bread-347 discovered that the Stasi, a German government agency that managed the archives of the former German Democratic Republic and kept an enormous amount of data on life in Germany,<ref>https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stasi_Records_Agency?useskin=vector</ref> may have archived information about some NDR shows.<ref>https://www.reddit.com/r/TheMysteriousSong/comments/1bv2d70/stasi_archives_have_ndr_radio_recordings/</ref> As of July 25th, 2024, the archives are still being searched through.<ref>https://www.reddit.com/r/TheMysteriousSong/comments/1ebvdrr/stasi_update_7/</ref>
On July 18th, 2024, the search team discovered that NDR held an event called Hörfest, which was a competition designed to promote new bands and was held in September 1984, matching the likely recording date of the song.<ref>https://www.reddit.com/r/TheMysteriousSong/comments/1e66o30/ndr_h%C3%B6rfest_1984/</ref> Additionally, the Hörfest broadcast aired in Lower Saxony, where Darius and Lydia lived at the time of the recording, on November 28th, 1984,<ref>https://www.reddit.com/r/TheMysteriousSong/comments/1ehutqk/ndr_h%C3%B6rfest_1984_broadcast_date_fits_previous</ref> and it was previously suggested that the song was most likely played on this date based on the other songs on Darius' tapes.<ref>https://www.reddit.com/r/TheMysteriousSong/comments/1bhdizt/tmms_likely_played_on_sept_28_1984_or_november_28/</ref>
On August 1st, 2024, Discord user Beko discovered information that the festival involved a person named Uwe Sandhop, who was also a bassist that played in five different obscure bands,<ref>https://www.rockinberlin.de/index.php?title=Uwe_Sandhop</ref> and potentially has a song registered under his name in the GEMA database from May 1984<ref>https://www.reddit.com/r/TheMysteriousSong/comments/1ehqmpm/comment/lg1bqro/</ref> called "Like The Wind", though its details are incomplete and only lists the artists first name.<ref>https://www.reddit.com/r/TheMysteriousSong/comments/1ehqmpm/uwe_sandhop/?sort=top</ref> However, this was debunked on August 4th, 2024, when the owner of the GEMA listing, Uwe, was contacted and confirmed that he did not create the song.<ref>https://www.reddit.com/r/TheMysteriousSong/comments/1ek9xpw/gema_listing_like_the_wind_has_been_ruled_out/</ref>


On July 21, 2019, after requests from the song's researchers, Paul Baskerville played the song on "Nachtclub," his radio program. This alerted Darius and Lydia to the search, with Lydia joining the subreddit and Discord.
== Discovery ==
In late October 2024, Reddit user marijn1412 discovered an old newspaper article about a band from Kiel, Germany called FEX, who won a talent contest in Bremen in 1984. They recognized one of the band members, Michael Hädrich,<ref>https://www.reddit.com/r/TheMysteriousSong/comments/1gjbrs6/comment/lvc3b9o/</ref> from a band called Phret, who played at Hörfest 1983.<ref>[https://www.reddit.com/r/TheMysteriousSong/comments/1gjbrs6/tms_is_found_the_song_is_called_subways_of_your/?sort=top https://www.reddit.com/r/TheMysteriousSong/comments/1gjbrs6/tms_is_found_the_song_is_called_subways_of_your/]</ref>


However, the song couldn't be identified on playlists for Baskerville's "Music Für Junge Leute," program.
After contacting Hädrich and asking for songs they recorded with Fex, they sent a 3-song demo tape containing an alternate more-complete version of the song, fully identifying it as "Subways Of Your Mind" by Fex.<ref>https://vocaroo.com/19NFyeqYi7Zj</ref> The band also registered the song with the GEMA music database and sent Discord user damn peggy a live version recorded at the Roxi Paderborn on May 25th, 1985, confirming the authenticity of the recording.<ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D6xhT6hxSXk</ref>


On September 24, 2019, The Rolling Stone's David Browne posts the article [https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/most-mysterious-song-on-the-internet-885106/ "The Unsolved Case of the Most Mysterious Song on the Internet."] 
== Lyrics ==
{| class="wikitable mw-collapsible" role="presentation"
|'''Presumed Lyrics'''
|-
|'''(Verse 1)'''
Like the wind


In late 2020, one of the researchers discovered that the recording had a 10 kHz line, present on most NDR broadcasts of the time, except Hilversum's broadcasts. 
You came here running'


On November 2, 2021, [https://new.reddit.com/r/TheMysteriousSong/comments/qkwo2x/higher_quality_version_of_the_song_thanks_to/ Lydia posted a higher quality copy of the song,] found in a box of tapes while she and her son were renovated her apartment.
Take the consequence of livin'


== Key Findings in the Search ==
There's no space


==== Key Milestones: ====
There's no tomorrow


* '''Recorded on German Radio''': Most likely on [[NDR Radio]] in late 1984.
There's no sense for communication
* '''Initial Search''': First questions about the song posted online in 2007 (Usenet)
* '''Full recording''': July 12, 2019 - the full song is [https://www.reddit.com/r/TheMysteriousSong/comments/cc8bhe/heres_the_complete_song_downloaded_it_in_2007/ re-found and uploaded].
* '''Original Poster Located''': 2019 - the original recorders / posters (Lydia and her brother Darius are located)
* '''Technical Analysis''': [[10khz line|A distinct 10 kHz line]] was found in the song's spectrum, typical for 1980s FM broadcasts from NDR Radio, supporting its origin from that radio station. The line was very recently found to be broadcast at exactly 10khz and differences on the frequency found on the tapes are [https://www.reddit.com/r/TheMysteriousSong/comments/1bqlr47/10khz_was_always_exactly_10khz_tms_as_broadcast/ mostly due to tape copying and wear] (this has been helpful in identifying airdates).
* '''Radio Playlists''': [[NDR Playlists|Obtaining playlists from NDR radio]] resulted in hundreds of pages of bands  reviewed and narrowed down potential air dates but did not locate the song.
* '''November 1st, 2021:'''  a higher quality version of the song was found while reviewing tapes and is [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zQk1IH9Trsg now on YouTube].
* '''Possible Air Dates''': 2024 - Research points to dates like [https://www.reddit.com/r/TheMysteriousSong/comments/1bhdizt/tmms_likely_played_on_sept_28_1984_or_november_28/ September 28, November 28], December 2, or [https://www.reddit.com/r/TheMysteriousSong/comments/1980yqv/is_the_recording_date_of_tms_possibly_17091984/ September 17], 1984, as to when the song likely aired.
* '''Current Research''': Searching through the [https://www.reddit.com/r/TheMysteriousSong/comments/1bv2d70/stasi_archives_have_ndr_radio_recordings/ Stasi Archives] is now underway for any possible recordings or surveillance data  to find if East Germany might have recorded or transcribed the broadcast of the song,  given their extensive media monitoring during the Cold War era.


== TMS Leads ==
'''(Chorus)'''
A constantly changing list of categorized leads can be viewed [https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1GePlaroCOz_jYHlR5Gcr4DfdGjUq-12C967ZBIn0Rns/edit#gid=0 here].


== Notes ==
Check it in, check it out, for the sun won't ever shine,
The synth in the song is a Yamaha DX7, [https://new.reddit.com/r/TheMysteriousSong/comments/j05psy/just_a_video_for_those_who_dont_think_that_the/ using several presets, like Syn Lead 5.]  This means the song couldn't have been released any earlier than 1983, at a minimum.


Brandi and Urini have both tried to claim the song, but an associate of theirs says it sounds nothing like them.
Paranoid anyway, in the subways of your mind


Paul Baskerville thinks it could have been a demo that aired on NDR, but was thrown away afterwards.
'''(Verse 2)'''


[[Category:Unidentified]]
Like the wind
 
You're going somewhere
 
Let a smile be your companion
 
There's no place, and there's no sorrow
 
In the young and restless dreamer
 
'''(Chorus)'''
 
Check it in, check it out, for the sun won't ever shine,
 
Paranoid anyway, in the subways of your mind
 
Check it in, check it out, for the sun won't ever shine,
 
Paranoid anyway, in the subways of your mind
 
'''(Outro)'''
 
Check it in, check it out, it's the summer blues
 
Tear it in, tear it out, it's the real excuse
 
Check it in, check it out, it's the summer blues
 
Tear it in, tear it out, it's the real excuse
 
Check it in, check it out, it's the summer blues
 
Tear it in, tear it out, it's the real excuse
 
Check it in, check it out, it's the summer blues
 
Tear it in, tear it out, it's the real excuse
|}
 
== Leads ==
''A constantly changing list of categorized leads can be viewed [[TMS Leads|here]].''
'''Major Leads'''
* Hörfest
* [https://www.reddit.com/r/TheMysteriousSong/comments/1bv2d70/stasi_archives_have_ndr_radio_recordings/ Stasi Archives]
== Key Milestones ==
{{#tag:timeline|ImageSize=width:370 height:600
PlotArea = left:50 right:0 bottom:50 top:10
DateFormat = yyyy
Period = from:1982 till:2024
TimeAxis = orientation:vertical order:reverse format:yyyy
ScaleMajor = unit:year increment:10 start:1982
ScaleMinor = unit:year increment:2 start:1982
 
Colors =
  id:gray value:gray(0.8)
  id:blue value:blue
  id:green value:green
  id:orange value:orange
  id:red value:red
 
Define $now = {{CURRENTYEAR}}
 
PlotData=
  bar:Events color:gray width:45 mark:(line,white) align:left fontsize:L
  from:1982 till:1983 text:"Song recorded (1982-1983)" color:red shift:(45,0)
  from:1983 till:1984 text:"Radio recording (1984)" color:red shift:(45,0)
  from:1984 till:2007 text:"No significant events" color:gray shift:(45,0)
  from:2007 till:2007 text:"Online post by bluuue (2007)" shift:(45,0)
  from:2011 till:2011 text:"YouTube upload by redalfo (2011)" shift:(45,0)
  from:2017 till:2017 text:"Upload to WatZatSong (2017)" shift:(45,0)
  from:2019 till:$now text:"Subreddit search begins (2019)" color:blue shift:(45,23)
  from:2020 till:2020 text:"10 kHz line discovery (2020)" shift:(45,-10)
  from:2021 till:2021 text:"New tape (N01) found (2021)" shift:(45,-10)
  from:2024 till:2024 text:"Identified (2024)" shift:(45,0)}}
 
== Personnel ==
* [https://www.discogs.com/artist/15283629-Ture-R%C3%BCckwardt Ture Rückwardt] – vocals, guitar
* [https://www.discogs.com/artist/6092184-Michael-H%C3%A4drich Michael Hädrich] – keyboards
* [https://www.discogs.com/artist/15287328-Norbert-Ziermann Norbert Ziermann] – bass
* Hans Sievers – drums
 
== References ==
<references />
 
== Links ==
* [https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1WDtZaXuQ-XadFgS2ah0mC0lzB_xcCC6-uolcHECxi0k/edit?gid=0#gid=0 Lead Document]
* [https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1SGKnBTvV7aBSM5Gi0BwUydxXkNooK6ZIVDfYvKUGJ68/edit?gid=1759222071#gid=1759222071 Playlist Analysis]
 
[[Category:Identified]]
[[Category:The Most Mysterious Song On The Internet]]
[[Category:Post punk]]
[[Category:New wave]]
[[Category:English-language songs]]

Revision as of 17:03, 14 November 2024

ⓘ This lostwave is classified as solved.

Subways Of Your Mind

Demo cassette tape containing the song
Alternative name(s) Blind The Wind, Like The Wind, "Check It In, Check It Out", "Take It In, Take It Out", The Most Mysterious Song On The Internet, The Mysterious Song; SOYM, CII, CIO, TII, TIO, TMMSOTI, TMMS, TMS, LTW, BTW
Language English
Artist(s) FEX
Genre Post-punk, New Wave
Year 1983
Status Solved; Almost full version available
Original poster Darius S
Search duration 2004 - 2024
Search community various (mostly r/TheMysteriousSong)
File:TMS-new 32-bit PCM.wav

Subways Of Your Mind (previously known as The Most Mysterious Song On The Internet, The Mysterious Song, Like the Wind, The Sun Will Never Shine, Blind the Wind, Check It In, Check It Out, Take It In, Take It Out, and Summer Blues) is a solved new wave/post-punk song recorded by the German new wave band Fex in 1983.

It was recorded in 1984 from the North German radio station "Norddeutscher Rundfunk," or NDR, and was solved on November 4th, 2024 by Reddit user marijn1412.

Background

Origins; 1982-2004

Between 1983 and 1984, Darius S, a teenage music fan from Wilhelmshaven, Germany, taped a radio program on a BASF Chromdioxid II 90 cassette tape[1] from the North German public radio station Norddeutscher Rundfunk (NDR). The original tape before adding it to any mixtapes included new songs from XTC and the Cure. He believes he recorded the song in 1984 based on the release dates of other songs on the tape and the Technics tape deck he had at the time.[2] The synthesizer used in the song is a Yamaha DX7, which was released in May 1983.[3]

Darius' older sister, Lydia H, bought him a website domain for his birthday in 2004, which he used to raise awareness about the 25 unidentified songs in his personal collection. He then digitized his radio recordings, saving the songs as alif and m4a files, and uploaded them to his website, Unknown Pleasures, which is named after the 1979 album of the same name by English rock band Joy Division.[4]

Early Search; 2007-2009

On March 18th, 2007, Lydia requested assistance by posting the song under the pseudonym "Anton Riedel" on the websites best-of-80s.de[5] and spiritofradio.ca[6] where user Jugge suggested that it sounded like "Statues in Motion" or "Metro Decay".

The song spread around the internet, first posted to WatZatSong on December 17th, 2009 by user Konstantinos.[7]

History

Before Popularity; 2011-2017

On April 16th, 2011, Spanish user Redalfo first uploaded the song to YouTube.[8]

The search received a surge of popularity in 2017, with it being reuploaded several times to WatZatSong that year[9][10][11][12] and on September 17th, 2017, the Spanish independent record label Dead Wax Records uploaded Anton's snippet of the song to YouTube, which would catch the attention of the person who would finally bring the search to mainstream attention.

Popularity; 2019-2024

From April 20th to June 29th, 2019, Gabriel da Silva Vieira, a 16-year-old from São Paulo, Brazil, posted the song 44 times on various subreddits with the title "THE MOST MYSTERIOUS SONG ON THE INTERNET!".[13], eventually forming his own subreddit for the song on June 30th, 2019.[14] User newacountz quickly discovered Lydia's original uploads of the song, scrolling through the post history and determining that the uploader recorded it from the NDR2 radio station, most likely off the program Musik für junge Leute (Music for young People).[15] They also discovered NDR presenters Peter Urban and Paul Baskerville. Paul was focused on because he spoke English and was known for playing completely unknown independent new wave music.[16][17]

On July 9th, 2019, popular YouTuber Justin Whang discussed the search for the song on an episode of his YouTube series called Tales From the Internet.[18] The next day, after searchers posted on the r/germany subreddit, a user named johnnymetoo claimed to have downloaded the full version of the song from Lydia's UseNet post[19], uploading it to r/TheMysteriousSong two days later.[20] On July 21st, 2019, Paul Baskerville aired the song on his radio program "Nachtclub" after requests from the song's rapidly growing search team.[21] On August 20th, 2019, Radio1 interviewed Paul Baskerville and played the song on the air,[22] which alerted Darius and Lydia to the search,[23] with Lydia joining the subreddit and Discord the next day.[24]

On September 22nd, 2019, Lydia uploaded the first known tape of the song, known as BASF 4|1, to wetransfer.com.[25][26], containing songs from the United States,[27] United Kingdom,[28] Scotland,[29] Canada,[30] Germany[31] and the Netherlands[32] ranging from 1982 to 1984. Numerous mainstream news publications began covering the story at this time, the first being Rolling Stone on September 24th, 2019.[33]

On June 26th, 2020, Lydia uploaded a mixtape containing the song, known as Compilation A, which had the song in lower quality than the previous tape[34][35]

On July 9th, 2020, reddit user u/FlexxonMobil received a list of every song Paul Baskerville played on Musik für Junge Leute from 1982 to 1984[36], but after searching through the available playlists[37], the song could not be found, even after receiving the partial 1984 playlists from other shows including Der Club and Nachtclub.[38] Through this, searchers were able to estimate that the song aired in September or November 1984 based on several discovered playlists containing songs Darius had to have recorded during that time period.[39] There are still several missing Nachtclub and Der Club playlists that could contain the song, spanning August to October 1984.[40]

On December 22nd, 2020, user fliere discovered a 10 kHz line in the song via spectrogram analysis, which was present on NDR broadcasts at the time. It is also confirmed that the 10 kHz modulation scheme was only used by NDR, because Darius recorded from other stations, like Hilversum, which did not have the 10 kHz line, effectively ruling out the possibility of the song being aired on any station other than NDR.[41][42]

On November 7th, 2021, Lydia posted the final mixtape known as N01, which contains the highest quality version of the song, after discovering it in a box of tapes while renovating her apartment with her son.[43][44]

On April 3rd, 2024, reddit user Successful-Bread-347 discovered that the Stasi, a German government agency that managed the archives of the former German Democratic Republic and kept an enormous amount of data on life in Germany,[45] may have archived information about some NDR shows.[46] As of July 25th, 2024, the archives are still being searched through.[47]

On July 18th, 2024, the search team discovered that NDR held an event called Hörfest, which was a competition designed to promote new bands and was held in September 1984, matching the likely recording date of the song.[48] Additionally, the Hörfest broadcast aired in Lower Saxony, where Darius and Lydia lived at the time of the recording, on November 28th, 1984,[49] and it was previously suggested that the song was most likely played on this date based on the other songs on Darius' tapes.[50]

On August 1st, 2024, Discord user Beko discovered information that the festival involved a person named Uwe Sandhop, who was also a bassist that played in five different obscure bands,[51] and potentially has a song registered under his name in the GEMA database from May 1984[52] called "Like The Wind", though its details are incomplete and only lists the artists first name.[53] However, this was debunked on August 4th, 2024, when the owner of the GEMA listing, Uwe, was contacted and confirmed that he did not create the song.[54]

Discovery

In late October 2024, Reddit user marijn1412 discovered an old newspaper article about a band from Kiel, Germany called FEX, who won a talent contest in Bremen in 1984. They recognized one of the band members, Michael Hädrich,[55] from a band called Phret, who played at Hörfest 1983.[56]

After contacting Hädrich and asking for songs they recorded with Fex, they sent a 3-song demo tape containing an alternate more-complete version of the song, fully identifying it as "Subways Of Your Mind" by Fex.[57] The band also registered the song with the GEMA music database and sent Discord user damn peggy a live version recorded at the Roxi Paderborn on May 25th, 1985, confirming the authenticity of the recording.[58]

Lyrics

Leads

A constantly changing list of categorized leads can be viewed here.

Major Leads

Key Milestones

Personnel

References

  1. ↑ https://www.reddit.com/r/TheMysteriousSong/comments/eny5lg/year_of_basf_cassette/
  2. ↑ https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/most-mysterious-song-on-the-internet-885106/
  3. ↑ https://www.reddit.com/r/TheMysteriousSong/comments/j05psy/just_a_video_for_those_who_dont_think_that_the/
  4. ↑ https://www.spontis.de/musik/most-mysterious-song/
  5. ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20190706172927/http://www.best-of-80s.de/80er-80s-musiksuche-sound-search-27/gesucht-80er-indie-wave-song-15895/
  6. ↑ https://spiritofradio.ca/SongComments.asp?SongID=1737
  7. ↑ https://www.watzatsong.com/en/name-that-tune/31435.html
  8. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qus5eOALnMY
  9. ↑ https://www.watzatsong.com/en/name-that-tune/489269.html
  10. ↑ https://www.watzatsong.com/fr/name-that-tune/530509.html
  11. ↑ https://www.watzatsong.com/en/name-that-tune/511126.html
  12. ↑ https://www.watzatsong.com/en/name-that-tune/520694.html
  13. ↑ https://www.reddit.com/user/gabgaskins/submitted/
  14. ↑ https://www.reddit.com/r/TheMysteriousSong/comments/c7l2dw/themysterioussong_has_been_created/
  15. ↑ https://www.reddit.com/r/TheMysteriousSong/comments/c7l8az/comment/esh7mf0/
  16. ↑ https://de.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Paul_Baskerville&oldid=157447844&useskin=vector
  17. ↑ https://www.reddit.com/r/TheMysteriousSong/comments/c7l8az/comment/esii4e2/
  18. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=90JvgNQicp0
  19. ↑ https://www.reddit.com/r/germany/comments/cbb2xv/comment/eteguvs/
  20. ↑ https://www.reddit.com/r/TheMysteriousSong/comments/cc8bhe/heres_the_complete_song_downloaded_it_in_2007/
  21. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IFPST7GgTgI
  22. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LwvnRZob3Gc
  23. ↑ https://www.reddit.com/r/TheMysteriousSong/comments/idayxm/anniversary/
  24. ↑ https://www.reddit.com/r/TheMysteriousSong/comments/ct570y/comment/exkycuv/
  25. ↑ https://www.reddit.com/r/TheMysteriousSong/comments/d7wgk4/update_6_from_lydia_full_tape_recording/
  26. ↑ https://archive.org/details/basf41
  27. ↑ https://www.discogs.com/master/85613-Ray-Parker-Jr-Ghostbusters
  28. ↑ https://www.discogs.com/master/63022-Heaven-17-Sunset-Now
  29. ↑ https://www.discogs.com/master/58954-Simple-Minds-Up-On-The-Catwalk
  30. ↑ https://www.discogs.com/master/84580-Corey-Hart-Sunglasses-At-Night
  31. ↑ https://www.discogs.com/release/971774-Willem-Wat-
  32. ↑ https://www.discogs.com/master/125615-Golden-Earring-Twilight-Zone
  33. ↑ https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/most-mysterious-song-on-the-internet-885106/
  34. ↑ https://www.reddit.com/r/TheMysteriousSong/comments/hghkee/another_mixtape_containing_tms/
  35. ↑ https://mega.nz/file/fb4hGaxS#p0HATOWeaUyMSaxmW-Xxaq4taiZvVU9Z97_nG_BRz-0
  36. ↑ https://www.reddit.com/r/TheMysteriousSong/comments/hofedh/world_exclusive_i_have_obtained_the_1984_song/
  37. ↑ https://www.reddit.com/r/TheMysteriousSong/comments/hp0iam/breaking_paul_baskerville_likely_did_not_play_the/
  38. ↑ https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1SGKnBTvV7aBSM5Gi0BwUydxXkNooK6ZIVDfYvKUGJ68/edit?gid=274459647#gid=274459647
  39. ↑ https://www.reddit.com/r/TheMysteriousSong/comments/1bhdizt/tmms_likely_played_on_sept_28_1984_or_november_28/
  40. ↑ https://www.reddit.com/r/TheMysteriousSong/comments/1d9cmz8/a_few_crucial_playlists_missing_tms_could_be_on/
  41. ↑ https://www.reddit.com/r/TheMysteriousSong/comments/kidd3m/update/
  42. ↑ https://www.reddit.com/r/TheMysteriousSong/comments/l80581/the_10khz_line/
  43. ↑ https://www.reddit.com/r/TheMysteriousSong/comments/qkwo2x/higher_quality_version_of_the_song_thanks_to/
  44. ↑ https://mega.nz/file/mGpUTCZa#UczM2QtoS8k5UUH5PEcosQ7Obu52WZ0kMRePWHLj2J4
  45. ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stasi_Records_Agency?useskin=vector
  46. ↑ https://www.reddit.com/r/TheMysteriousSong/comments/1bv2d70/stasi_archives_have_ndr_radio_recordings/
  47. ↑ https://www.reddit.com/r/TheMysteriousSong/comments/1ebvdrr/stasi_update_7/
  48. ↑ https://www.reddit.com/r/TheMysteriousSong/comments/1e66o30/ndr_h%C3%B6rfest_1984/
  49. ↑ https://www.reddit.com/r/TheMysteriousSong/comments/1ehutqk/ndr_h%C3%B6rfest_1984_broadcast_date_fits_previous
  50. ↑ https://www.reddit.com/r/TheMysteriousSong/comments/1bhdizt/tmms_likely_played_on_sept_28_1984_or_november_28/
  51. ↑ https://www.rockinberlin.de/index.php?title=Uwe_Sandhop
  52. ↑ https://www.reddit.com/r/TheMysteriousSong/comments/1ehqmpm/comment/lg1bqro/
  53. ↑ https://www.reddit.com/r/TheMysteriousSong/comments/1ehqmpm/uwe_sandhop/?sort=top
  54. ↑ https://www.reddit.com/r/TheMysteriousSong/comments/1ek9xpw/gema_listing_like_the_wind_has_been_ruled_out/
  55. ↑ https://www.reddit.com/r/TheMysteriousSong/comments/1gjbrs6/comment/lvc3b9o/
  56. ↑ https://www.reddit.com/r/TheMysteriousSong/comments/1gjbrs6/tms_is_found_the_song_is_called_subways_of_your/
  57. ↑ https://vocaroo.com/19NFyeqYi7Zj
  58. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D6xhT6hxSXk

Links

Retrieved from "https://lostwaves.org/wiki/index.php?title=Subways_Of_Your_Mind&oldid=8635"