Wednesday, September 02, 2009

It's Not Very Good, Is It

Be warned: checking out this discussion of the worst songs ever recorded will result in a very nasty bout of earworms. Prepare yourself with an antidote then head on in. (Remembering that one person's antidote is another's deadly poison, I will not name my antidotes.)

Update 9/4/2009: J helpfully provides this list of bad songs for review and discussion. I'd say I'm in agreement with half to two-thirds of the list, but the absence of truly execrable '70s songs (including - don't click on it, don't even mouse over it, you've been warned, OK fine - The Song That Must Not Be Named) suggests a lack of either rigor or, at the very least, direct personal experience of the 1970s as expressed via AM radio. Or it might just be self-preservation.

10 comments:

EMM said...

Bad music for me is like "gross" but good food...resistance is futile.

J. said...

"Summer Girls"?! I don't think I even know that song. However, I agree with a number of the commenters about "MacArthur Park" and "There's Got to Be a Morning After." Hmm... may have to come up with my own blog post on this topic. (For me, pretty much ANYTHING by Lionel Richie qualifies.)

rick said...

'post-crash def leppard'

What an excellent pop reference that dates anyone knowing the background

jjv said...

Say you? Say me?

Dave S. said...

I just posted over there, indicating my surprise at the lack of references to Air Supply. You're welcome.

J. said...

Blender's 50 Worst Songs Ever. With video clips! (While I agree with many -- most? -- of their selections, I have to admit a certain fondness for many, including "Rico Suave.")

Powa said...

I was shocked to see Cat Stevens covered the song that must not be mentioned .

The whole list pretty much amounts to what gets airplay on a light fm station.

JWT said...

I actually don't mind "Seasons in the Sun." It reminds me of covering endless miles on a family vacations in my parents' Oldsmobile. The same goes for the Gilbert O'Sullivan hit "Alone Again (Naturally)."

If you want my all-time list of explosive musical excrement, well, prepare to hurl. In no particular order:

"The Morning After" (Maureen McGovern); "The Night Chicago Died" (Paper Lace); "Little Willy" (The Sweet); "Fox on the Run" (also The Sweet); "Muskrat Love" (The Captain and Tennille); "Top of the World" (The Carpenters); "We've Only Just Begun" (also The Carpenters).

I also harbor a secret hatred for "Another Brick in the Wall," which is slightly embarassing, because Pink Floyd otherwise hits my lifetime top 100 list with "Comfortably Numb" and "Wish You Were Here."

Dave S. said...

Good list, JWT, although the two Carpenters songs get good treatment on the tribute album "If I Were a Carpenter."

Regarding Pink Floyd, is that Part 1 or Part 2?

I hurled in no particular order. Well done.

J. said...

For some reason, seconds after receiving the comments via email I started hearing "I'm All Out of Love" by Air Supply. (Shaking fist at Dave S. a la Stephen Colbert.) Grr.

I also suddenly had a vision of aliens coming to this world and speaking or singing song lyrics, which we've been beaming into the cosmos for decades.

"I don't know why you say goodbye I say hello..."