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I didn't know Bernie Taupin wrote the lyrics to this song. Man, that's gotta sting. But if I was making a list of Awful, Terrible Songs, I'm not sure I would h

I didn't know Bernie Taupin wrote the lyrics to this song. Man, that's gotta sting. But if I was making a list of Awful, Terrible Songs, I'm not sure I would have even included this one, mostly because I wouldn't remember it existed. Maybe that's what makes it bad--it was in constant rotation in the 80s, but as soon as they stopped playing it regularly I just... forgot it existed. Looking at various lists of "Worst Songs" always confuses me. A lot of them are just really popular songs that got overplayed. Wikipedia's page says the Spandau Ballet's "True" is one, which is just nuts.

JohnFen 2y ago
> But if I was making a list of Awful, Terrible Songs, I'm not sure I would have even included this one I wouldn't. It's not a great song or anything, but I can easily come up with a lengthy list of songs that are far, far worse.
sed_zeppelin 2y ago
> I didn't know Bernie Taupin wrote the lyrics to this song. Man, that's gotta sting. It would Sting more if we were talking about a song like "Fields of Gold."
- macintux 2y ago
  Phil Collins and Sting both went from hard-rocking tunes to elevator music with very little warning. It’s hard to believe Sting went from The Police to the sublime Bring On The Night to Fields of Gold.
cholantesh 2y ago
I think there are songs that wear listeners out from being overplayed, some that require repeated listens to appreciate, but there are ones that start out bad and do not get redeemed either by repeated listens or context. Lift Yourself (https://youtu.be/8fbyfDbi-MI?t=117 https://youtu.be/8fbyfDbi-MI?t=117), Gucci Gang (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4LfJnj66HVQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4LfJnj66HVQ), and Beautiful Things (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oa_RSwwpPaA&pp=ygUQQmVhdXRpZnVsIHRoaW5ncw%3D%3D https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oa_RSwwpPaA&pp=ygUQQmVhdXRpZ...) all exist as examples of this, I think. All fairly recent, I'll confess.
tikhonj 2y ago
It's a consequentialist sort of "worst": (lack of) artistic quality multiplied by exposure and impact. Couple that with how hard aesthetic quality is to assess and you get some odd lists.
thijson 2y ago
This song brings back good memories for me. Other songs from that era I remember are "Life in a Northern Town", "Walk Like an Egyptian", some Corey Hart songs.

JohnFen 2y ago

> But if I was making a list of Awful, Terrible Songs, I'm not sure I would have even included this one I wouldn't. It's not a great song or anything, but I can easily come up with a lengthy list of songs that are far, far worse.

sed_zeppelin 2y ago

> I didn't know Bernie Taupin wrote the lyrics to this song. Man, that's gotta sting. It would Sting more if we were talking about a song like "Fields of Gold."

macintux 2y ago
Phil Collins and Sting both went from hard-rocking tunes to elevator music with very little warning. It’s hard to believe Sting went from The Police to the sublime Bring On The Night to Fields of Gold.

cholantesh 2y ago

I think there are songs that wear listeners out from being overplayed, some that require repeated listens to appreciate, but there are ones that start out bad and do not get redeemed either by repeated listens or context. Lift Yourself (https://youtu.be/8fbyfDbi-MI?t=117 https://youtu.be/8fbyfDbi-MI?t=117), Gucci Gang (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4LfJnj66HVQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4LfJnj66HVQ), and Beautiful Things (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oa_RSwwpPaA&pp=ygUQQmVhdXRpZnVsIHRoaW5ncw%3D%3D https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oa_RSwwpPaA&pp=ygUQQmVhdXRpZ...) all exist as examples of this, I think. All fairly recent, I'll confess.

tikhonj 2y ago

It's a consequentialist sort of "worst": (lack of) artistic quality multiplied by exposure and impact. Couple that with how hard aesthetic quality is to assess and you get some odd lists.

thijson 2y ago

This song brings back good memories for me. Other songs from that era I remember are "Life in a Northern Town", "Walk Like an Egyptian", some Corey Hart songs.