I’m going to have to expand the list. Something just made me think of “She’s Like the Wind,” by Patrick Swayze, the 17th song to join the countdown. Then Miss Ellie reminded me of Richard Marx — and I’ve still yet to make room for Michael Bolton. Let’s call it 25 … or 30?
Tag Archives: Music
The 20 worst pop songs ever (cont’d)
Anyone else think Rick Astley sounds like a femme version of Michael McDonald? “Together Forever” is the latest addition to my ignominious countdown, which I could’ve easily filled with songs only from the mid-to-late-1980s. Michael Jackson’s “Childhood” came a few years later — but it still belongs. Easily the creepiest entry on my list.
They join:
*”Summer Girls” — LFO
*”Waiting for a Star to Fall” — Boy Meets Girl
*”Tonight, Tonight, Tonight” — Genesis
*”All That She Wants” — Ace of Base
*”The Greatest Love of All” — Whitney Houston
*”The Glory of Love” — Peter Cetera
*”I Believe I Can Fly” — R. Kelly
*”Dancing on the Ceiling” — Lionel Richie
*”Opposites Attract” — Paula Abdul
*”Blame It on the Rain” — Milli Vanilli
*”I’ll Be There for You” — The Rembrandts
*”All for Love” — Rod Stewart, Bryan Adams and Sting
*”Leader of the Band” — Dan Fogelberg
*”Your Body Is a Wonderland” — John Mayer
Only four songs remain. This is gonna be tough.
The worst 20 — and counting — pop songs ever (cont’d)
I’m going to have to expand the list. Something just made me think of "She’s Like the Wind," by Patrick Swayze, the 17th song to join the countdown. Then Miss Ellie reminded me of Richard Marx — and I’ve still yet to make room for Michael Bolton. Let’s call it 25 … or 30?
The 20 worst pop songs ever (cont’d)
Anyone else think Rick Astley sounds like a femme version of Michael McDonald? "Together Forever" is the latest addition to my ignominious countdown, which I could’ve easily filled with songs only from the mid-to-late-1980s. Michael Jackson’s "Childhood" came a few years later — but it still belongs. Easily the creepiest entry on my list.
They join:
*"Summer Girls" — LFO
*"Waiting for a Star to Fall" — Boy Meets Girl
*"Tonight, Tonight, Tonight" — Genesis
*"All That She Wants" — Ace of Base
*"The Greatest Love of All" — Whitney Houston
*"The Glory of Love" — Peter Cetera
*"I Believe I Can Fly" — R. Kelly
*"Dancing on the Ceiling" — Lionel Richie
*"Opposites Attract" — Paula Abdul
*"Blame It on the Rain" — Milli Vanilli
*"I’ll Be There for You" — The Rembrandts
*"All for Love" — Rod Stewart, Bryan Adams and Sting
*"Leader of the Band" — Dan Fogelberg
*"Your Body Is a Wonderland" — John Mayer
Only four songs remain. This is gonna be tough.
The 20 worst pop songs ever (cont’d)
You may be wondering why you haven’t seen “We Built This City,” “My Heart Will Go On” or “Wind Beneath My Wings” yet? Certainly they belong, but what list of crappy pop songs wouldn’t include that dreck? Besides, I’d hate to leave out “Leader of the Band” by Dan Fogelberg. Or “Your Body Is a Wonderland” by one of the 100 most influential people in the world.
They join:
*”Summer Girls” — LFO
*”Waiting for a Star to Fall” — Boy Meets Girl
*”Tonight, Tonight, Tonight” — Genesis
*”All That She Wants” — Ace of Base
*”The Greatest Love of All” — Whitney Houston
*”The Glory of Love” — Peter Cetera
*”I Believe I Can Fly” — R. Kelly
*”Dancing on the Ceiling” — Lionel Richie
*”Opposites Attract” — Paula Abdul
*”Blame It on the Rain” — Milli Vanilli
*”I’ll Be There for You” — The Rembrandts
*”All for Love” — Rod Stewart, Bryan Adams and Sting
Six songs remain. While it may violate my “too obvious” rule, I’ve got to find room for Michael Bolton. But picking the worst Michael Bolton song ain’t easy. Little help?
The 20 worst pop songs ever (cont’d)
You may be wondering why you haven’t seen “We Built This City,” “My Heart Will Go On” or “Wind Beneath My Wings” yet? Certainly they belong, but what list of crappy pop songs wouldn’t include that dreck? Besides, I’d hate to leave out “Leader of the Band” by Dan Fogelberg. Or “Your Body Is a Wonderland” by one of the 100 most influential people in the world.
They join:
*”Summer Girls” — LFO
*”Waiting for a Star to Fall” — Boy Meets Girl
*”Tonight, Tonight, Tonight” — Genesis
*”All That She Wants” — Ace of Base
*”The Greatest Love of All” — Whitney Houston
*”The Glory of Love” — Peter Cetera
*”I Believe I Can Fly” — R. Kelly
*”Dancing on the Ceiling” — Lionel Richie
*”Opposites Attract” — Paula Abdul
*”Blame It on the Rain” — Milli Vanilli
*”I’ll Be There for You” — The Rembrandts
*”All for Love” — Rod Stewart, Bryan Adams and Sting
Six songs remain. While it may violate my “too obvious” rule, I’ve got to find room for Michael Bolton. But picking the worst Michael Bolton song ain’t easy. Little help?
The love you save
Enjoy this clip from Ed Sullivan of a young — and black — Michael Jackson. Almost makes you sad, but the song’s cheeriness overwhelms.
Speaking of good music
I’ve got Jarvis Cocker’s “Don’t Let Him Waste Your Time” on a continuous loop — watch the very inventive video here.
Full tilt
I could write a long review of the Arcade Fire show last night, but concert reviews generally read like crap, so I’ll keep it short. They did, indeed, rock.
The venue — the Civic Center, where it’s always 1982 — was oddly appropriate, a better place to watch a concert than I remembered. I had gone there last, on my 16th birthday, to see Sam Kinison. Do I even need to mention that Arcade Fire was more satisfying?
Many highlights, but the crowd of 4,000 (I’m guessing) singing along with “Intervention” and “Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels)” was as rousing an experience as I’ve had in years. The only disappointment: they opened with “Black Mirror” (reminescent of the Pixies, and my favorite song off Neon Bible) while I was in line for a cocktail.
The love you save
Enjoy this clip from Ed Sullivan of a young — and black — Michael Jackson. Almost makes you sad, but the song’s cheeriness overwhelms.
Speaking of good music
I’ve got Jarvis Cocker’s "Don’t Let Him Waste Your Time" on a continuous loop — watch the very inventive video here.
Full tilt
I could write a long review of the Arcade Fire show last night, but concert reviews generally read like crap, so I’ll keep it short. They did, indeed, rock.
The venue — the Civic Center, where it’s always 1982 — was oddly appropriate, a better place to watch a concert than I remembered. I had gone there last, on my 16th birthday, to see Sam Kinison. Do I even need to mention that Arcade Fire was more satisfying?
Many highlights, but the crowd of 4,000 (I’m guessing) singing along with "Intervention" and "Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels)" was as rousing an experience as I’ve had in years. The only disappointment: they opened with "Black Mirror" (reminescent of the Pixies, and my favorite song off Neon Bible) while I was in line for a cocktail.
The 20 worst pop songs ever (cont’d)
Now it gets tough — so many candidates, but only 10 spots remaining.
No way I could exclude “I’ll Be There for You” by The Rembrandts, which would top the list of worst TV theme songs. Doesn’t help that I hated “Friends,” although I do like Lisa Kudrow.
I was also determined to include songs by Rod Stewart, Bryan Adams and Sting, but how could I fit them all? Then I remembered their godawful collaboration “All for Love,” which reminded me of the Color Me Badd song of the same name (save for their clever substitution of the number 4 for for).
For some reason, I’m giving CMB a pass. Not so with the dinosaur rockers, who join:
*”Summer Girls” — LFO
*”Waiting for a Star to Fall” — Boy Meets Girl
*”Tonight, Tonight, Tonight” — Genesis
*”All That She Wants” — Ace of Base
*”The Greatest Love of All” — Whitney Houston
*”The Glory of Love” — Peter Cetera
*”I Believe I Can Fly” — R. Kelly
*”Dancing on the Ceiling” — Lionel Richie
*”Opposites Attract” — Paula Abdul
*”Blame It on the Rain” — Milli Vanilli
Eight songs to go, and still no Bette Midler — yet. Whither Will Smith? And Michael Bolton?
Hypocrites on parade
Rage Against the Machine reunited Sunday. I am not a fan. Something you probably did not know: these self-professed Communists live, or lived (with the exception of Zack de la Rocha) in Hollywood mansions. I’ve got nothing against people enjoying their wealth, save for those who espouse a collectivist agenda.
I definitely have a beef with artists who support authoritarian regimes (see my review of “The Lives of Others”; I guess RATM would’ve been rooting for the Stasi).
Anyway, during the 2000 Democratic National Convention, the band staged a protest concert outside the Staples Center, attracting a fair share of Orange County “anarchists” wearing Che T-shirts and hammer and sickle pins (remember all those free concerts in Leningrad?) They were an easy crowd to incite — and for that I don’t hold RATM accountable. The police definitely overreacted, spraying the crowd with tear gas, rubber bullets and pepper spray. (Although I have to admit, it was fun running away from the cops amongst a crowd of sweaty pseudo-revolutionaries.)
De la Rocha said of the incident, “I don’t care what fucking television station said the violence was caused by the people at the concert, those motherfuckers unloaded on this crowd. And I think it’s ridiculous considering, you know, none of us had rubber bullets, none of us had M16s, none of us had billy clubs, none of us had face shields.”
He failed to mention the motorcade of SUVs that transported the band away from the riot. I watched them leave after they finished their set. Perhaps De la Rocha came back to join the fun, but I doubt it. In my account of the incident (written for an MTV subsidiary), that little detail was excised, less the corporate weasels offend one of the bands that was helping them all get rich.
RATM, it should be noted, was signed to Epic Records, a subsidiary of Sony Records. So really, they were just a cog in the machine they raged against.
And now they’re back, no doubt ready to capitalize on our blundering Commander-in-Chief. Don’t believe their hype.
Haven’t they suffered enough?
Alternate headline: Soon to join the 20 worst pop songs of all time
R. Kelly has written a new song, “Rise Up,” about healing in the aftermath of the April 16 shootings at Virginia Tech. A gunman killed 32 people and himself on the university’s campus in Blacksburg, Va. …
The lyrics include the lines: “Rise up, when you feel you can’t go on, rise up, and all of your hope is gone, rise up, when you’re weak and you can’t be strong.”
