The personal blog of author Kelly Sedinger, chronicling the adventures of one overalls-clad wanderer.
Thursday, September 01, 2016
Something for Thursday
I don't often share bad music intentionally, but I'm really curious, after reading this entertaining article last night: How many of you would agree that this is "the worst song of all time"? Or that it is, at least, "in the conversation"? I do think it's a pretty bad song. The lyrics are incomprehensible gibberish. The tune, however, does have an oddly compelling sound to it. I mean, hell -- there's got to be some reason that it's still heard quite frequently. Bad songs don't often have this much staying power. So, is this a bad song?
Here's Starship and "We Built This City".
My opinion? Yes, this song sucks. It's just plain old bad.
I think I'll play it again.
(Shades of Data on Star Trek, the first time he sampled alcohol after installing his emotion chip:
I like it. It's nowhere near the worst. If I can think of any maybe I'll come back and tell you the worst. I usually only think, "that's the worst song ever" when I'm unlucky enough to hear one on the radio but the rest of the time I can never bring any worst songs to mind. Which, I suppose, is a useful talent.
I've always thought the fuss made over the supposed awfulness of this song was waaaaaaaay overblown. Is it really worse than, say, "Rock Me Amadeus," a song that is at least the equal of "We Built This City" when it comes to gibberish lyrics, but is (to my ear anyhow) far more irritating, sonically speaking? I know which one I'm more inclined to skip over, and it's not Starship's signature tune. Yeah, it's basically a dumb '80s pop trifle... but it's catchy and it's harmless.
Honestly, I think the reason the haters gang up on this song is because it was recorded by the remnant of the iconic Jefferson Starship, and all the folks at Rolling Stone hold the bloody '60s bands on a pedastal. If Starship had comprised a bunch of 20-year-olds who'd come out of the midwest and recorded this one song before vanishing again into the corn, I guarantee the song would be more highly regarded. Or at least less reviled.
5 comments:
Oh, it sucks. I used it in a comic book I cowrote.
I like it. It's nowhere near the worst. If I can think of any maybe I'll come back and tell you the worst. I usually only think, "that's the worst song ever" when I'm unlucky enough to hear one on the radio but the rest of the time I can never bring any worst songs to mind. Which, I suppose, is a useful talent.
There are entire genres of music worse than this one song.
The words bear comparison with some of the Beatles' sillier lyrics, and musically it's fine. I enjoyed hearing it again.
I've always thought the fuss made over the supposed awfulness of this song was waaaaaaaay overblown. Is it really worse than, say, "Rock Me Amadeus," a song that is at least the equal of "We Built This City" when it comes to gibberish lyrics, but is (to my ear anyhow) far more irritating, sonically speaking? I know which one I'm more inclined to skip over, and it's not Starship's signature tune. Yeah, it's basically a dumb '80s pop trifle... but it's catchy and it's harmless.
Honestly, I think the reason the haters gang up on this song is because it was recorded by the remnant of the iconic Jefferson Starship, and all the folks at Rolling Stone hold the bloody '60s bands on a pedastal. If Starship had comprised a bunch of 20-year-olds who'd come out of the midwest and recorded this one song before vanishing again into the corn, I guarantee the song would be more highly regarded. Or at least less reviled.
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