'The Most Mysterious Song on the Internet' Finally Solved After 17 Years — and the Band Had No Clue

Mar. 15, 2025

stock image of sheet music.Photo:Getty

Getty

If that song you can’t remember is still on the tip of your tongue, there’s still hope it can be identified. That was the case for Reddit users who obsessively tracked down what they’ve dubbed “the most mysterious song on the internet.”

In 2019, the mystery made its way to Reddit and with that came the creation of its own dedicated subreddit, r/TheMysteriousSong.Lydiaeven joined the efforts. Leads eventually pointed to German music festival Hörfest, which platformed up-and-coming bands, and its relationship toNDR Radio, the station the tape was recorded from.

User /u/marijn1412was browsing Nordwest Zeitung articles looking for information on Hörfest when they came across an article about a band called FEX. One of the members' names came up in a band that played Hörfest 1983, Phret. After reaching out and requesting some songs to be sent over, the FEX song"Subways of Your Mind"was a match.

“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,” /u/marijn1412 wrote. “In the mean time though the song did get registered at 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 also reiterated that the band wasn’t oblivious because of their age, there was just no way they would’ve heard about the mystery unless someone reached out. “We suddenly found out what was happening on the Internet without us noticing,” he explained. “And that wasn’t because we are old hands and not digital natives. There was simply no trigger.”

And as for how he views the long-forgotten song, Haedrich looks back on it fondly, saying, “When I hear the song today, I immediately have positive memories of how we tinkered around in the studio and rehearsal room (with the limited technical possibilities at the time). I think the song has a timeless appeal, and I can listen to and play it today with the same feeling that I had back then.”

Haedrich confirmed that FEX will reunite to record the song for its new audience.

This isn’t the first time this year Reddit solved a years-long mystery. In September, user /u/IndigoRoom figured out whoCelebrity Number Sixwas several years after another user asked for help identifying a mysterious celebrity silhouetteprinted on a sheethe purchased.

Thecelebrity was identifiedas Spanish modelLeticia Sarda, who also was unaware that the world had been trying to uncover her identity.

source: people.com