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In what universe is "We built this City" the worst song ever? I love that song. Awesome bit of 80s power pop. I'd rather hear We built this City 10 times in a

In what universe is "We built this City" the worst song ever? I love that song. Awesome bit of 80s power pop. I'd rather hear We built this City 10 times in a row than any 10 songs of Taylor Swift's. How about that?

ajross 2y ago
I think you're missing the point. WBtC is a "bad" song in exactly the same way that Swift's songs are "bad". It's unashamedly pop, aimed at tastes that sophisticated listeners try to escape, and critically: is so good that those sophisticated listeners find themselves listening to it anyway. It's basically a bouncing, bopping reminder that we aren't as smart as we think we are.
- bongodongobob 2y ago
  Yeah, if you're looking at it from a composition/music theory angle, it's not your typical 4 chord pop song. There are thirds in the bass all over place that provide interesting contrary motion to the chords, and the verse and chorus are technically in different keys. It's not genius writing but it's definitely not lazy.
  - taylorius 2y ago
    Indeed - it's full of pedal tones, and slash chords. love it, love it.
  - drivers99 2y ago
    I like that it mentions Marconi, who created the first real wireless communication system.
    - gensym 2y ago
      Yes, but for some reason he plays the "mamba". Seems dangerous.
      - iggldiggl 2y ago
        https://drawception.com/game/SfOgtYXbsj/marconi-plays-the-mamba/ https://drawception.com/game/SfOgtYXbsj/marconi-plays-the-ma...
  - shiroiushi 2y ago
    And unlike modern pop (not sure about Taylor Swift), it doesn't use Autotune or have extreme compression.
dingaling 2y ago
I remember REM self-nominating 'Shiny Happy People ' as the worst song. And even though it was one of their most successful songs in the charts they refused to play it live.
- JohnFen 2y ago
  Indeed. As with all things, "popular" and "good" are two very different qualities that aren't always correlated with each other.
- ricardo81 2y ago
  Shame they think that. Anything with Kate Pierson singing and moving gets my vote.
  - hinkley 2y ago
    On the flip side of this, generally speaking I like every duet I’ve heard with Stipe. Except this one. Campfire Song with 10,000 Maniacs. And Kid Fears with the Indigo Girls still gives me chills.
    - jeffbee 2y ago
      Stipe singing other people's songs: good. Stipe writing songs: sometimes acceptable. I like to joke/start arguments by saying that R.E.M's greatest album was "Sentimental Hygiene".
      - soylentcola 2y ago
        I was "Lucky" to hear him join Radiohead on stage to sing one of their songs back in 98 (iirc).
- hinkley 2y ago
  Denis Leary: I want you to pull this bus over on the side of the Pretentiousness Turnpike! I want the shiny people over here, and the happy people over here.
snozolli 2y ago
In what universe is "We built this City" the worst song ever? In this universe where 90% of music-related journalism boils down to competitive hipster snark. I love the song, but I was ten when it came out, so of course I do.
kstrauser 2y ago
The same one that hates Nickelback (they're not great, but terrible?, nah), clowns ("eek, let's collectively decide to feign fear at the humorously funny looking people with big shoes at the circus, even without having read "It"!"), and "moist" (who wants an arid cupcake?). There are anti-fads, too.
- renewiltord 2y ago
  Haha these internet fads are great. Especially when you hang out with people who aren’t chronically online. There was also the bit about gauges and hipsters (which just became the most mainstream). Then there was the fedora hate which I think was the funniest because I knew about it (because I’m chronically online) and then one day I’m traveling through Japan with my friends and the girls are all like “you should try out these hats at this store” and it’s piece for piece exactly what Reddit would hate. But the girls loved it on the lads and I’m married to one now. It’s like how here people are always like “oh I’d never give X a buck they’re stealing all your data” and then out in the real world people love Google, like adore it. What’s the deal with that?
- TheGRS 2y ago
  One of my coworkers stated this a few years ago: "i'm on an interesting musical journey right now: trying to identify musicians/groups/bands/artists, etc. that i've over looked because they were "mainstream" popular" And I always thought that was kind of a hilarious thing to go through. Most people I know who are music snobs are generally anti-pop music and it seems like they miss out on the fun stuff that everyone gets into. I couldn't get into Nickelback personally because they came in on a wave of similar music that I was generally over by the time they got big.
  - kristianbrigman 2y ago
    On a parallel track, I've been continually amazed at how even as someone interested in broad musical categories, how many bands I've never heard of who were 'mainstream' popular in some way - maybe not top 40 radio but at least on some radio somewhere, or were #1 at some point in some not completely niche genre. there's just so much music out there, even so much good music.
antod 2y ago
I had forgotten just how much I hated that inescapable song in the 80s. Definitely close to my worst song ever. There's plenty of 80s pop that I've softened my views on as I got older and even started to grudgingly appreciate, but not "we built this city". I don't think I'd even recognize a single Taylor Swift song. I plan to keep it that way, currently she's just a name and a face to me, knowing her music would probably only cause me to dislike her unfairly.
- kstrauser 2y ago
  Eh. Swift isn't my cup of tea; you're much more likely to find me at an industrial metal show. However, she's crazy talented, and her music is well-produced and wildly catchy. She's really good at what she does. Along those lines, I'd never pay to see Britney Spears perform, but "Toxic" goes hard. Their music shouldn't make you dislike them. It's not objectively awful, not by a long shot. If anything, just acknowledge we're not the target audience and move on.
  - mrandish 2y ago
    > She's really good at what she does. I too try to avoid falling into the all-too-typical trope of reflexively hating on what's broadly popular just because it's popular. While I'm also not a big fan of Swift's music, I agree it's consistently very well executed. I also think she deserves genuine respect for remaining both artistically and financially successful for well over a decade without imploding like so many pop stars seem to. I suspect this requires both intelligence and strength of character.
  - antod 2y ago
    Yeah I know. Because I just don't like pop music, and having understood she's got a reputation as really talented, actually hearing her music only risks downgrading my impression of her. I'm fine with being out of touch/irrelevant. My kids (and their friends too) don't listen to current music either, so I don't get much exposure to it.
    - freedomben 2y ago
nobody9999 2y ago
>In what universe is "We built this City" the worst song ever? In the universe where William Shatner covers it, as he did with "Rocket Man."[0] So yes, there are many worse songs and even worse renditions of better songs. [0] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=90Lq8hRIw8c https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=90Lq8hRIw8c
matthewdgreen 2y ago
As the father of a middle schooler I was recently forced to listen to a lot of Taylor Swift. I reluctantly came to the conclusion that she's enormously talented, even if I don't like her pop era or public personality. (And my daughter has moved past it, mostly because of the personality thing. I'm proud.)

ajross 2y ago

I think you're missing the point. WBtC is a "bad" song in exactly the same way that Swift's songs are "bad". It's unashamedly pop, aimed at tastes that sophisticated listeners try to escape, and critically: is so good that those sophisticated listeners find themselves listening to it anyway. It's basically a bouncing, bopping reminder that we aren't as smart as we think we are.

bongodongobob 2y ago
Yeah, if you're looking at it from a composition/music theory angle, it's not your typical 4 chord pop song. There are thirds in the bass all over place that provide interesting contrary motion to the chords, and the verse and chorus are technically in different keys. It's not genius writing but it's definitely not lazy.
- taylorius 2y ago
  Indeed - it's full of pedal tones, and slash chords. love it, love it.
- drivers99 2y ago
  I like that it mentions Marconi, who created the first real wireless communication system.
  - gensym 2y ago
    Yes, but for some reason he plays the "mamba". Seems dangerous.
    - iggldiggl 2y ago
      https://drawception.com/game/SfOgtYXbsj/marconi-plays-the-mamba/ https://drawception.com/game/SfOgtYXbsj/marconi-plays-the-ma...
- shiroiushi 2y ago
  And unlike modern pop (not sure about Taylor Swift), it doesn't use Autotune or have extreme compression.

dingaling 2y ago

I remember REM self-nominating 'Shiny Happy People ' as the worst song. And even though it was one of their most successful songs in the charts they refused to play it live.

JohnFen 2y ago
Indeed. As with all things, "popular" and "good" are two very different qualities that aren't always correlated with each other.
ricardo81 2y ago
Shame they think that. Anything with Kate Pierson singing and moving gets my vote.
- hinkley 2y ago
  On the flip side of this, generally speaking I like every duet I’ve heard with Stipe. Except this one. Campfire Song with 10,000 Maniacs. And Kid Fears with the Indigo Girls still gives me chills.
  - jeffbee 2y ago
    Stipe singing other people's songs: good. Stipe writing songs: sometimes acceptable. I like to joke/start arguments by saying that R.E.M's greatest album was "Sentimental Hygiene".
    - soylentcola 2y ago
      I was "Lucky" to hear him join Radiohead on stage to sing one of their songs back in 98 (iirc).
hinkley 2y ago
Denis Leary: I want you to pull this bus over on the side of the Pretentiousness Turnpike! I want the shiny people over here, and the happy people over here.

snozolli 2y ago

In what universe is "We built this City" the worst song ever? In this universe where 90% of music-related journalism boils down to competitive hipster snark. I love the song, but I was ten when it came out, so of course I do.

kstrauser 2y ago

The same one that hates Nickelback (they're not great, but terrible?, nah), clowns ("eek, let's collectively decide to feign fear at the humorously funny looking people with big shoes at the circus, even without having read "It"!"), and "moist" (who wants an arid cupcake?). There are anti-fads, too.

renewiltord 2y ago
Haha these internet fads are great. Especially when you hang out with people who aren’t chronically online. There was also the bit about gauges and hipsters (which just became the most mainstream). Then there was the fedora hate which I think was the funniest because I knew about it (because I’m chronically online) and then one day I’m traveling through Japan with my friends and the girls are all like “you should try out these hats at this store” and it’s piece for piece exactly what Reddit would hate. But the girls loved it on the lads and I’m married to one now. It’s like how here people are always like “oh I’d never give X a buck they’re stealing all your data” and then out in the real world people love Google, like adore it. What’s the deal with that?
TheGRS 2y ago
One of my coworkers stated this a few years ago: "i'm on an interesting musical journey right now: trying to identify musicians/groups/bands/artists, etc. that i've over looked because they were "mainstream" popular" And I always thought that was kind of a hilarious thing to go through. Most people I know who are music snobs are generally anti-pop music and it seems like they miss out on the fun stuff that everyone gets into. I couldn't get into Nickelback personally because they came in on a wave of similar music that I was generally over by the time they got big.
- kristianbrigman 2y ago
  On a parallel track, I've been continually amazed at how even as someone interested in broad musical categories, how many bands I've never heard of who were 'mainstream' popular in some way - maybe not top 40 radio but at least on some radio somewhere, or were #1 at some point in some not completely niche genre. there's just so much music out there, even so much good music.

antod 2y ago

I had forgotten just how much I hated that inescapable song in the 80s. Definitely close to my worst song ever. There's plenty of 80s pop that I've softened my views on as I got older and even started to grudgingly appreciate, but not "we built this city". I don't think I'd even recognize a single Taylor Swift song. I plan to keep it that way, currently she's just a name and a face to me, knowing her music would probably only cause me to dislike her unfairly.

kstrauser 2y ago
Eh. Swift isn't my cup of tea; you're much more likely to find me at an industrial metal show. However, she's crazy talented, and her music is well-produced and wildly catchy. She's really good at what she does. Along those lines, I'd never pay to see Britney Spears perform, but "Toxic" goes hard. Their music shouldn't make you dislike them. It's not objectively awful, not by a long shot. If anything, just acknowledge we're not the target audience and move on.
- mrandish 2y ago
  > She's really good at what she does. I too try to avoid falling into the all-too-typical trope of reflexively hating on what's broadly popular just because it's popular. While I'm also not a big fan of Swift's music, I agree it's consistently very well executed. I also think she deserves genuine respect for remaining both artistically and financially successful for well over a decade without imploding like so many pop stars seem to. I suspect this requires both intelligence and strength of character.
- antod 2y ago
  Yeah I know. Because I just don't like pop music, and having understood she's got a reputation as really talented, actually hearing her music only risks downgrading my impression of her. I'm fine with being out of touch/irrelevant. My kids (and their friends too) don't listen to current music either, so I don't get much exposure to it.
  - freedomben 2y ago

nobody9999 2y ago

>In what universe is "We built this City" the worst song ever? In the universe where William Shatner covers it, as he did with "Rocket Man."[0] So yes, there are many worse songs and even worse renditions of better songs. [0] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=90Lq8hRIw8c https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=90Lq8hRIw8c

matthewdgreen 2y ago

As the father of a middle schooler I was recently forced to listen to a lot of Taylor Swift. I reluctantly came to the conclusion that she's enormously talented, even if I don't like her pop era or public personality. (And my daughter has moved past it, mostly because of the personality thing. I'm proud.)