Thursday, April 20, 2006

Worst Songs Radio

111 of them.

Since I discovered XFM Radio on AOL, the work day passes a little more quickly. And I will listen to just about anything, including the Gregorian Chant sampler that comes loaded with the Windows Media Player. I was in a decades cycle -- 40's one day, 50's the next -- then AOL sent a pop-up window that said "111 Worst Songs Ever."

What sparked my curiosity was... EVER? Because ever is a long time, and The ballad of Barbara Allen has got to be one of the worst. But they probably mean "in pop music."

Ditto "Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald," or as I call it, "the song with no bridge."

So I write as I listen to Achy Breaky Heart. How obvious. This might just be a drunken turkey shoot. But I throw out a few challenges to AOL as this experiment begins. I am looking specifically for
Curly Shuffle
Toad Suckers
Keep Yo' hands to Yourself (poor Georgia Satellites)

and anything that is truly "of all time"

This is Countdown Format, and we are already in the Top 20, so I may not hear them all. Please forgive; I am at work, after all.

Where we Disagreed
MMm Bop - that is a damn catchy song and you know it
Let Her Cry - Hootie? Really? We totally dug that sound in 92. Don't rewrite history.
Here Come the Hotstepper - Me lovin the reggae, mon

Pleasant Surprises
Ebony & Ivory - forgot about that. pass the treacle.
Jenny from the Block - song structure: my resume - I'm rich - you're not - but I'm real.
Ozzy and Piggy sing Born to Be Wild - who let that happen?
Once Bitten - ooo....Great White. They are big news up here, but I had to admit I had never heard of them. I would never ever crowd into a bar to hear more like this. It's like... if they were good, they would be Meatloaf.

Easy Targets
Hollaback Girl - Gwen Stefani always looked annoying, but I wasn't sure. Why is she spelling "bananas"?
David Hasselhoff - that's just mean
USA for Africa - "there comes time... when the 80's ate themselves...."

Challenge Met?
I missed the #1 song. 111 was Rock Lobster. I take some issue.
Radioland should blame itself -- this is really the list of 111 most overplayed songs. And this is really why we hate them.

What We learned
I have very unsophisticated musical tastes.
And my left headphone is busted.

2 comments:

  1. Dave Barry, columnist for the Miami Herald, had a contest many years ago for the worst song ever. MacArthur Park ("someone left the cake out in the rain...") was the winner then. He also reported on misheard, mis-sung lyrics. I still can't think about "Ain't no woman like the one-eyed gott" without laughing out loud. --kit

    ReplyDelete
  2. Loved this post. Unfortunately I also love lots of bad music.

    ReplyDelete

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