How many in your music collection?

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04/20/2004 16:24:39 EST 'Built This City' Tops Worst Songs List


NEW YORK - Starship may have built this city on rock and roll, but Blender magazine is tearing it down, naming the band's "We Built This City" as the worst song ever.
Some tunes on the "50 Worst Songs Ever!" list were selected for their melodies, others "are wretchedly performed" and "quite a few don't make sense whatsoever," the magazine said.

The list, which appears in the May issue, includes songs by New Kids on the Block, Meat Loaf, The Doors, Lionel Richie, Hammer and The Beach Boys, among others.

Blender describes 1985's "We Built This City" as "the truly horrible sound of a band taking the corporate dollar while sneering at those who take the corporate dollar."

Starship lead singer Grace Slick says, "This is not me," when the magazine reminds her of the tune. "Now you're an actor. It's the same as Meryl Streep playing Joan of Arc."

Rounding out the top 10: "Achy Breaky Heart," Billy Ray Cyrus; "Everybody Have Fun Tonight" Wang Chung; "Rollin'," Limp Bizkit; "Ice Ice Baby," Vanilla Ice; "The Heart of Rock & Roll," Huey Lewis and the News; "Don't Worry Be Happy," Bobby McFerrin; "Party All the Time," Eddie Murphy; "American Life," Madonna; and "Ebony and Ivory," Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder.

Other songs on the list: Toby Keith's "Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue" (No. 22); Whitney Houston's "Greatest Love of All" (No. 30); Ricky Martin's "She Bangs" (No. 39); Billy Joel's "We Didn't Start the Fire" (No. 41); Simon & Garfunkel's "The Sounds of Silence" (No. 42); The Beatles' "Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da" (No. 48); and Celine Dion's "My Heart Will Go On" (No. 50).

Blender and VH1's TV special "50 Most Awesomely Bad Songs … Ever" airs May 12.

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Originally posted by Bollocks:


"50 Most Awesomely Bad Songs … Ever"
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I usually sheepishly have some of the records/songs being trashed on those type of lists, but this time I can proudly stand up and scream "I HAVE NONE OF THOSE TRULY CRAPPY TUNES!"
:D
Uh oh…..

I have:

- "Everybody Have Fun Tonight" Wang Chung (on vinyl which I haven't listened to in about 15 years)
- Simon & Garfunkel's "The Sounds of Silence" (which I disagree is a crappy song)
- The Beatles' "Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da" (crappy song, but come on, it's the White Album, you gotta have that…)
Funny. For years I had thought of "We Built" as the second worst song of the 80s. The worst 80s song: "St. Elmos Fire (Man in Motion)" by John Parr.

Conveniently, those songs are back-to-back on Rhino's 7-CD 80's box.
[- The Beatles' "Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da" (crappy song, but come on, it's the White Album, you gotta have that…) [/QB]

Not me!

The Beatles were great but only in the early days…after that they could've farted on vinyl and the kids would've put it at #1….and they did put out some crap. Sgt Peppers is total bobbins…and what the hell is that shite about eggmen and walrus's all about? Come on!! If it wasn't the Beatles producing that shit it would've been laughed out of the recording studio.
heyyyy, whatcha talkin' 'bout? everybody loves wang chung!!!! :eek:
Originally posted by StarSpree:
heyyyy, whatcha talkin' 'bout? everybody loves wang chung!!!! :D
There must be some kind of Manchester-Liverpool rivalry….

Sgt. Peppers is an astonishing album that is very enjoyable as such, regardless of its Importance In History and all that crap. And I totally disagree with Obladi being on the worst song list. I also don't think Huey Lewis Heart of Rock n' Roll is all that bad, Sports is a great album (no it's not sgt. peppers but it is fun). Simon & Garfunkle's Sounds of Silence is a GREAT song, maybe it's not everyone's favorite but can it really be annoying like Starship????

They also give waaay too much credit to that whitney houston song. It should be #2 or #3 of the all time worst.

Everything else is spot on. Starship… ugh. Man that shit is bad. Horrible, horrible, horrible.
Originally posted by J'Mal:
I also don't think Huey Lewis Heart of Rock n' Roll is all that bad, Sports is a great album
So sayeth Patrick Bateman.
I had to google to find out who Patrick Bateman is. Ummm… if there were a list of 50 worst books, Rules of Attraction and The Informers would be on it. Never bothered with American Psycho…

Talk about shitty. Yeeech…..
Originally posted by Bollocks:
Not me!

The Beatles were great but only in the early days…after that they could've farted on vinyl and the kids would've put it at #1….and they did put out some crap. Sgt Peppers is total bobbins…and what the hell is that shite about eggmen and walrus's all about? Come on!! If it wasn't the Beatles producing that shit it would've been laughed out of the recording studio.
talk about bollocks…

The Beatles early days? You mean up until they started releasing masterpieces? Rubber Soul through Abbey Road has to be the greatest run in rock history…and if it meant they did a drug or two, (and wrote about the odd walrus), more power to 'em.

And Sgt Peppers is just brilliant. They broke every rule they themselves wrote and STILL managed to come up with tunes you and your mother could recognize in a heartbeat.
"Their early work was a little too New Wave for my taste. But then Sports came out in 1983, I think they really came into their own, commercially and artistically."

Bateman walks to his bathroom, taking a large ax out of the shower. He takes two Valium.

"The whole album has a clear, crisp sound and a new sheen of consummate professionalism that gives the songs a big boost."

Bateman puts on "Hip To Be Square."

BATEMAN crosses the room and picks up the ax.

We follow BATEMAN from behind as he walks up to J'Mal, the ax raised over his head.


Bateman comes back out and leans the ax against the wall. He walks to the foyer and puts on a raincoat, watching J'Mal from behind all the time.

"He's been compared to Elvis Costello but I think Huey has a more bitter, cynical sense of humor."


Originally posted by J'Mal:
I had to google to find out who Patrick Bateman is. Ummm… if there were a list of 50 worst books, Rules of Attraction and The Informers would be on it. Never bothered with American Psycho…

Talk about shitty. Yeeech…..
"In 1987 Huey released this, FORE!, their most accomplished album. I think I their undisputed masterpiece is "Hip To Be Square," a song so catchy that most people probably don't listen to the lyrics. But they should because it's not
just about the pleasures of conformity and the importance of trends. It's all a personal statement about the band itself."

"Hey, J'Mal?"


As J'Mal turns around, FROM J'Mal's POV we see Bateman swing the ax toward his face.
Originally posted by Dupek Chopra:
"Their early work was a little too New Wave for my taste. But then Sports came out in 1983, I think they really came into their own, commercially and artistically."

Bateman walks to his bathroom, taking a large ax out of the shower. He takes two Valium.

"The whole album has a clear, crisp sound and a new sheen of consummate professionalism that gives the songs a big boost."

Bateman puts on "Hip To Be Square."

BATEMAN crosses the room and picks up the ax.

We follow BATEMAN from behind as he walks up to J'Mal, the ax raised over his head.


Bateman comes back out and leans the ax against the wall. He walks to the foyer and puts on a raincoat, watching J'Mal from behind all the time.

"He's been compared to Elvis Costello but I think Huey has a more bitter, cynical sense of humor."


Originally posted by J'Mal:
I had to google to find out who Patrick Bateman is. Ummm… if there were a list of 50 worst books, Rules of Attraction and The Informers would be on it. Never bothered with American Psycho…

Talk about shitty. Yeeech…..
"In 1987 Huey released this, FORE!, their most accomplished album. I think I their undisputed masterpiece is "Hip To Be Square," a song so catchy that most people probably don't listen to the lyrics. But they should because it's not
just about the pleasures of conformity and the importance of trends. It's all a personal statement about the band itself."

"Hey, J'Mal?"


As J'Mal turns around, FROM J'Mal's POV we see Bateman swing the ax toward his face.
Another thing we agree on (shudder). Great book and movie. V.entertaining.
Originally posted by keithstg:
Another thing we agree on (shudder). Great book and movie. V.entertaining.
I thought that the movie didn't really do the book justice. For instance, where was the scene with the chocolate dipped urinal cake?

But I am a huge Wilhelm Dafoe fan!
A good friend of mine tells a story about how "We built this city" was actually chosen by his senior class to be their class song and how they played it at graduation and all the associated events.

The horror!

Speaks volumes of the culture of the average late 80's Fairfax county teen.
The REAL worst song ever is What A Wonderful World by Louis Armstrong. Every time I hear it I cringe, "What is it being used to sell this time?"

I wonder, "War? Peace? Buicks? Dog Food?"
Toby Keith's "Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue"

I dare anyone to say that this song sucks at a NASCAR event!
"He's been compared to Elvis Costello but I think Huey has a more bitter, cynical sense of humor."
From UBL :

"Clover is one of those bands that is remembered for its illustrious associations rather than its actual accomplishments. It was a country-rock band formed in Mill Valley, CA, in July 1967, by Johnny Ciambotti (bass), John McFee (guitar, vocals), Alex Call (guitar, vocals), and Mitch Howie (drums). This lineup made two albums for nearby Fantasy Records in the early '70s; after which Howie left and the group was expanded to a sextet with the addition of Huey Lewis (harmonica, vocals), Sean Hopper (keyboards, vocals), and Mickey Shine (drums). Clover moved to England in 1976 at the behest of Nick Lowe, where they made two more albums and served as the backup group on Elvis Costello's debut album, My Aim Is True. They returned to the U.S. in 1978 and broke up, with McFee going on to the Doobie Brothers and Lewis and Hopper forming the nucleus of Huey Lewis & the News. ~ William Ruhlmann, All Music Guide"

However, Mr. Lewis didn't play on MAIT.
I think we can all agree that most (not the Beatles) of those songs are crap, but what about the songs you absolutely despise that might actually be in some of our record collections?

For me, when I hear "88 Lines About 44 Women" (or that ripoff of it by the Butthole Surfers) I want to put my fist through a wall.
Originally posted by Dupek Chopra:
The REAL worst song ever is What A Wonderful World by Louis Armstrong. Every time I hear it I cringe, "What is it being used to sell this time?"

I wonder, "War? Peace? Buicks? Dog Food?"
Terrific song. Shameless marketing.