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I strongly object that "We built this city" is the worst song of all time. Especially when we live in a world where "Sweet Caroline" (specifically sung by Neil

I strongly object that "We built this city" is the worst song of all time. Especially when we live in a world where "Sweet Caroline" (specifically sung by Neil Diamond) is a thing.

devilbunny 2y ago
Looking Glass: "Brandy (You're a Fine Girl)" occupies that space in my brain.
- Mountain_Skies 2y ago
  The Muzak system at a retail job I worked played it all the time and we came to despise the song. It became a bit of a proto-Rickroll for those of us who worked there to trick others into hearing it. But the song became much more interesting once I learned about the urban legend connecting it to Mary Ellis. That the writer of the song says there's no connection just makes it that much more enticing. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Ellis_grave https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Ellis_grave
JKCalhoun 2y ago
Not "Total Eclipse of the Heart"? Or "Ghostbusters" (sorry, Ray, loved your earlier stuff)? Or Huey Lewis and the News entire catalog?
- bongodongobob 2y ago
  Total eclipse of the heart is a fuckin banger.
  - mindcrime 2y ago
    As a self-identified metalhead who hated 80's pop in the 80's, I have to agree. Over the years I've gained a newfound respect for a lot of that stuff. So much great music by Bonnie Tyler, Belinda Carlisle, Meatloaf, Bryan Adams, REO Speedwagon, Carly Simon, The Eurythmics, The Bangles, etc. etc. I wouldn't have been caught dead listening to that stuff in 1989 (my metalhead friends would have crucified me, although I did manage to sneak in liking Madonna all along), but these days I dig quite a bit of that stuff.
- danesparza 2y ago
  For a teenage boy in the 1980's, Huey Lewis was a god.
- rightbyte 2y ago
  What are you... Total Eclipse of the Heart is all in power. Were you alive when it was playing on radio all the time? Being played too much doesn't make it bad.
  - petersumskas 2y ago
    When you realise the song is about vampires there’s no way this ever goes back on any “worst song” list.
    - defrost 2y ago
      That's a superficial gloss over an even deeper and weirder back story behind the filthiest song ever scrawled on a napkin: https://youtu.be/LGqYnj_Y3CI?t=73 https://youtu.be/LGqYnj_Y3CI?t=73
    - rightbyte 2y ago
      Hah no way. It would seem like a reasonable interpretation. ... I don't know what to do, I'm always in the dark ... Once upon a time, there was light in my life But now there's only love in the dark ...
- yazantapuz 2y ago
  > Or Huey Lewis and the News entire catalog? Under no circumstances can "power of love" be a bad song
  - mixmastamyk 2y ago
    Heart and Soul is probably my favorite. And Sports has more hooks than a tackle shop.
- nonameiguess 2y ago
  15 years ago when video chat with strangers was still a popular thing to do on the Internet, whenever I hosted a room, I always used the name "NumberOneBonnieTylerFan" and played her hits in the background. That you do not appreciate her music tremendously saddens me.
- shiroiushi 2y ago
  What's wrong with Ghostbusters? It was a perfect song to go with the movie. On its own, it's probably not something I'd want to listen to much, but while watching the movie, it was fantastic, just like the rest of the movie. It's much like any soundtrack music. The music by Howard Shore on Lord of the Rings probably isn't something you want to listen to by itself while you're jogging or whatever, but in the movie it's a perfect complement.
- nineteen999 2y ago
  Isn't "Ghostbusters" practically part of the Huey Lewis catalog? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghostbusters_(song)#Lawsuit https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghostbusters_(song)#Lawsuit
- yellowapple 2y ago
  > Or Huey Lewis and the News entire catalog? Their early work was a little too "new wave" for my taste, but when Sports came out in '83, I think they really came into their own, commercially and artistically.
vundercind 2y ago
Let’s all take a moment to recognize that, really, this discussion is about good bad songs. Bob Dylan made three records of Christian music and 80% of the tracks from those are definitely worse than anything anyone’s discussing here. There’s bad, and then there’s bad. The bad stuff is so bad it doesn’t even come up in worst-song conversations. Nor in so-bad-it’s-good conversations.
- blast 2y ago
  Dylan's gospel albums are classics. Documentaries have been made about how good they are. IIRC "Shot of Love" is one of Dylan's favorites of his own records. Many fans rejected them at the time because of the culture shock of his religious pivot, but that reaction was about the content, not the music, and has long faded. Nowadays it's understood that the sudden-fan-alienation-move is a Dylan thing, just like when he went electric at Newport in the first place. I'm not gonna argue that "Man gave names to all the animals" is one of Dylan's finest, but I'd be interested to know which specific tracks you think are terrible, because those records are full of great songs, and so are some of the outtakes. If you want awful Dylan I think you're a few years too early–Empire Burlesque anyone?
  - vundercind 2y ago
    Admittedly, I’ve only listened to the supposedly-best one (Slow Train Coming, maybe? It’s been a while) and the supposedly-worst one (Saved?) of the three. The former got my toe tapping a couple times IIRC but was mostly forgettable—it was on its account that I allowed that as much as 20% of the three albums, together, might not qualify as very-bad. The latter was back-to-front a slog of a listen. The musical equivalent of contractor-beige painted walls with off-white trim. One of the dullest albums I’ve ever heard, and I owned some stinkers in my high school years. I sometimes like religious music, so that aspect’s not a deal-breaker for me. One of my favorite local bands was kinda secretly a Christian rock band, they just veiled the references enough and shifted things more-poetic so they didn’t sound ultra cheesy from the very first line like that stuff usually does, and probably some listeners didn’t even notice (they didn’t bill themselves as Christian rock and played normal venues). I love the couple of very-Christian tracks on Springsteen’s Nebraska. > If you want awful Dylan I think you're a few years too early–Empire Burlesque anyone? Sadly(?) that album-trilogy is the latest Dylan I’ve heard, so I can’t say whether it gets worse (but I’d believe it).
gedy 2y ago
Neil Sedaka's Bad Blood is pretty awful in my book
neverartful 2y ago
Tiny Tim's "Tiptoe through the tulips" beats that by a country mile. Watch it on youtube and be horrified.
- jhbadger 2y ago
  But that was a "novelty song" -- you weren't supposed to like it unironically even at the time.
FireBeyond 2y ago
How about some Big Head Todd, with this riveting chorus: It's bittersweet More sweet than bitter Bitter than sweet It's a bittersweet surrender It's bittersweet More sweet than bitter Bitter than sweet It's a bittersweet surrender (these 8 lines are repeated 4 times through the song)

I strongly object that "We built this city" is the worst song of all time. Especially when we live in a world where "Sweet Caroline" (specifically sung by Neil Diamond) is a thing.

devilbunny 2y ago

Looking Glass: "Brandy (You're a Fine Girl)" occupies that space in my brain.

Mountain_Skies 2y ago
The Muzak system at a retail job I worked played it all the time and we came to despise the song. It became a bit of a proto-Rickroll for those of us who worked there to trick others into hearing it. But the song became much more interesting once I learned about the urban legend connecting it to Mary Ellis. That the writer of the song says there's no connection just makes it that much more enticing. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Ellis_grave https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Ellis_grave

JKCalhoun 2y ago

Not "Total Eclipse of the Heart"? Or "Ghostbusters" (sorry, Ray, loved your earlier stuff)? Or Huey Lewis and the News entire catalog?

bongodongobob 2y ago
Total eclipse of the heart is a fuckin banger.
- mindcrime 2y ago
  As a self-identified metalhead who hated 80's pop in the 80's, I have to agree. Over the years I've gained a newfound respect for a lot of that stuff. So much great music by Bonnie Tyler, Belinda Carlisle, Meatloaf, Bryan Adams, REO Speedwagon, Carly Simon, The Eurythmics, The Bangles, etc. etc. I wouldn't have been caught dead listening to that stuff in 1989 (my metalhead friends would have crucified me, although I did manage to sneak in liking Madonna all along), but these days I dig quite a bit of that stuff.
danesparza 2y ago
For a teenage boy in the 1980's, Huey Lewis was a god.
rightbyte 2y ago
What are you... Total Eclipse of the Heart is all in power. Were you alive when it was playing on radio all the time? Being played too much doesn't make it bad.
- petersumskas 2y ago
  When you realise the song is about vampires there’s no way this ever goes back on any “worst song” list.
  - defrost 2y ago
    That's a superficial gloss over an even deeper and weirder back story behind the filthiest song ever scrawled on a napkin: https://youtu.be/LGqYnj_Y3CI?t=73 https://youtu.be/LGqYnj_Y3CI?t=73
  - rightbyte 2y ago
    Hah no way. It would seem like a reasonable interpretation. ... I don't know what to do, I'm always in the dark ... Once upon a time, there was light in my life But now there's only love in the dark ...
yazantapuz 2y ago
> Or Huey Lewis and the News entire catalog? Under no circumstances can "power of love" be a bad song
- mixmastamyk 2y ago
  Heart and Soul is probably my favorite. And Sports has more hooks than a tackle shop.
nonameiguess 2y ago
15 years ago when video chat with strangers was still a popular thing to do on the Internet, whenever I hosted a room, I always used the name "NumberOneBonnieTylerFan" and played her hits in the background. That you do not appreciate her music tremendously saddens me.
shiroiushi 2y ago
What's wrong with Ghostbusters? It was a perfect song to go with the movie. On its own, it's probably not something I'd want to listen to much, but while watching the movie, it was fantastic, just like the rest of the movie. It's much like any soundtrack music. The music by Howard Shore on Lord of the Rings probably isn't something you want to listen to by itself while you're jogging or whatever, but in the movie it's a perfect complement.
nineteen999 2y ago
Isn't "Ghostbusters" practically part of the Huey Lewis catalog? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghostbusters_(song)#Lawsuit https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghostbusters_(song)#Lawsuit
yellowapple 2y ago
> Or Huey Lewis and the News entire catalog? Their early work was a little too "new wave" for my taste, but when Sports came out in '83, I think they really came into their own, commercially and artistically.

vundercind 2y ago

Let’s all take a moment to recognize that, really, this discussion is about good bad songs. Bob Dylan made three records of Christian music and 80% of the tracks from those are definitely worse than anything anyone’s discussing here. There’s bad, and then there’s bad. The bad stuff is so bad it doesn’t even come up in worst-song conversations. Nor in so-bad-it’s-good conversations.

blast 2y ago
Dylan's gospel albums are classics. Documentaries have been made about how good they are. IIRC "Shot of Love" is one of Dylan's favorites of his own records. Many fans rejected them at the time because of the culture shock of his religious pivot, but that reaction was about the content, not the music, and has long faded. Nowadays it's understood that the sudden-fan-alienation-move is a Dylan thing, just like when he went electric at Newport in the first place. I'm not gonna argue that "Man gave names to all the animals" is one of Dylan's finest, but I'd be interested to know which specific tracks you think are terrible, because those records are full of great songs, and so are some of the outtakes. If you want awful Dylan I think you're a few years too early–Empire Burlesque anyone?
- vundercind 2y ago
  Admittedly, I’ve only listened to the supposedly-best one (Slow Train Coming, maybe? It’s been a while) and the supposedly-worst one (Saved?) of the three. The former got my toe tapping a couple times IIRC but was mostly forgettable—it was on its account that I allowed that as much as 20% of the three albums, together, might not qualify as very-bad. The latter was back-to-front a slog of a listen. The musical equivalent of contractor-beige painted walls with off-white trim. One of the dullest albums I’ve ever heard, and I owned some stinkers in my high school years. I sometimes like religious music, so that aspect’s not a deal-breaker for me. One of my favorite local bands was kinda secretly a Christian rock band, they just veiled the references enough and shifted things more-poetic so they didn’t sound ultra cheesy from the very first line like that stuff usually does, and probably some listeners didn’t even notice (they didn’t bill themselves as Christian rock and played normal venues). I love the couple of very-Christian tracks on Springsteen’s Nebraska. > If you want awful Dylan I think you're a few years too early–Empire Burlesque anyone? Sadly(?) that album-trilogy is the latest Dylan I’ve heard, so I can’t say whether it gets worse (but I’d believe it).

gedy 2y ago

Neil Sedaka's Bad Blood is pretty awful in my book

neverartful 2y ago

Tiny Tim's "Tiptoe through the tulips" beats that by a country mile. Watch it on youtube and be horrified.

jhbadger 2y ago
But that was a "novelty song" -- you weren't supposed to like it unironically even at the time.

FireBeyond 2y ago

How about some Big Head Todd, with this riveting chorus: It's bittersweet More sweet than bitter Bitter than sweet It's a bittersweet surrender It's bittersweet More sweet than bitter Bitter than sweet It's a bittersweet surrender (these 8 lines are repeated 4 times through the song)