10 Underrated Rock And Pop Songs About Obsession

Feature Photo: Victor Diaz Lamich, CC BY-SA 3.0 <http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/>, via Wikimedia Commons

Obsession can range from a simple crush to something much darker. These songs look at desire, jealousy, fixation, unrequited love, and the point where wanting someone or something starts to take over.

# 10 – No Other Way to Love You – Maria McKee

“No Other Way to Love You” appears on Maria McKee’s 2007 album Late December, her sixth solo studio album. Written by McKee and Jim Akin and produced by the pair, the song fits the album’s intense emotional tone and turns devotion into something that feels almost impossible to control.

# 9 – Hey, I’m Gonna Be Your Girl – The Donnas

“Hey, I’m Gonna Be Your Girl” opens The Donnas’ self-titled 1997 debut album. The song is less threatening than some of the obsession tracks on this list, but its narrator sees a boy she wants and immediately decides he is going to be hers. At under two minutes, the band gets the idea across with the fast, direct garage-punk approach that defined their early records.

# 8 – His Goodlooking Girlfriend – The Undertones

“His Goodlooking Girlfriend” comes from The Undertones’ 1981 album Positive Touch. Written by Damian O’Neill and Michael Bradley and produced by Roger Bechirian, the song follows a man whose sudden popularity has everything to do with everyone’s fascination with his girlfriend, Marie. The obsession here belongs as much to the people around the couple as it does to anyone inside the relationship.

Read More: Top 10 Undertones Songs

# 7 – Special to Me – Jessica Harper

“Special to Me” is Jessica Harper’s performance as Phoenix in Brian De Palma’s 1974 film Phantom of the Paradise. Written by Paul Williams, the song warns someone so consumed by ambition that his dreams are becoming an obsession. That makes it a different kind of entry on this list, focusing on fixation with success rather than romantic possession.

Read More: Top 10 Paul Williams Songs

# 6 – In Need – Sheryl Crow

“In Need” is a non-album Sheryl Crow track from the period surrounding her 1996 self-titled album and appeared as a B-side on single releases including “Everyday Is a Winding Road” and “Hard to Make a Stand.” The song centers on emotional need and the uncomfortable pull between wanting connection and knowing how exposed that need can make you feel.

# 4 – You Can’t Quit Me Baby – Queens of the Stone Age

“You Can’t Quit Me Baby” appears on Queens of the Stone Age’s 1998 self-titled debut album. The narrator follows someone home, enters through a window, injures himself, and desperately wants to be noticed, making this one of the darkest examples of obsession on the list. The slow, hypnotic groove only makes the fixation feel more disturbing.

# 3 – Living Next Door to Alice – Smokie

Smokie released “Living Next Door to Alice” in 1976, taking the Nicky Chinn and Mike Chapman song to No. 5 on the UK Singles Chart. The narrator has spent 24 years living beside Alice without telling her how he feels, only confronting that obsession when she finally moves away. The final appearance of Sally makes the situation even more painful because he has been so focused on Alice that he has missed someone who wanted him.

Read More: Top 10 Smokie Songs

# 2 – Your House – Alanis Morissette

“Your House” is the a cappella hidden track on the original CD edition of Alanis Morissette’s 1995 album Jagged Little Pill. The narrator enters someone’s home without permission, moves through his private space, wears his clothes, and ends up discovering evidence of another relationship. With no instruments behind Morissette’s voice, the boundary-crossing obsession is left completely exposed.

# 1 – I Want You – Elvis Costello

“I Want You” comes from Elvis Costello and the Attractions’ 1986 album Blood & Chocolate. Produced by Nick Lowe and Colin Fairley, the slow, tense recording turns jealousy and betrayal into an obsessive refrain that grows more uncomfortable every time Costello repeats the title. Few songs capture the ugly side of romantic fixation as directly, making it an easy choice for the top spot.