Are the only possible reasons for writing these songs:
- Lady in Red. - I am pleased to say that I don't know anyone who has bought a Chris de Burgh record. If you know me and you own anything by him then please delete me from your address book, forget I existed and move on. It will be better for both of us.
- Wonderful Tonight - One of the greatest guitarists of all time, a genuine rock god and a hero to untold people proves that even he can write total tosh when he is loved up.
- Hi Ho Silver Lining - Another of the world's greatest guitarists takes a different angle and proves that, as anthems go, maybe Stairway to Heaven isn't actually that bad.
- I just called to say I love you - Stevie gave us Superstition, Living in the City, Boogie on Reggae woman, Hotter than July and Higher Love. Then he messed it all up by coming up with that song. I am not sure if I can ever forgive him for it.
- 3 Times a Lady - they did some really funky stuff, then they needed to make some money and wrote this.
- I wish I was a Punk Rocker - A new law has just been passed in the UK. It stipulates that every radio station in the UK must play this song every 8 minutes. Sandi Thom, the singer tells us that she wishes she was a punk rocker and harks back to the good old days when music mattered. She yearns for revolution and talks about anarchy. She puts this to the most folky, radio friendly, put together by Simon Cowell feeling soundtrack possible. "I wish I was a punk rocker with flowers in my hair". I don't think so.
There we have it. 6 songs I hate. The only possible motives for writing them must have been love or money or the influence of drugs.
Or maybe all of the above.
7 comments:
funny post. :)
only too true that the worst can happen to the very best of us sometimes.
atleast most of these artists you've named haven't been guilty of releasing pile after pile of utter shit, as some artists are. i think it's far worse to have recorded one or two bad tracks in the span of your career than continously doing so...like enrique iglesias does. what a LOSER.
Ta Electra. I made a list of about 15 fucking awful songs and those are just the "highlights"
hello there....as you said, each to their own....and I have a feeling you hate it so much because of the frequent air play the song receives. Sri Lankan radio stations have still not started so at the moment, it is tolerable. To the uninitiated, i'm talking about Sandi Thom's song.
Hi Sach, thanks for looking in. You're partly right in that the amount of airplay has only served to increase my dislike for the song, but the thing that I really hated about it when I first heard it was the horrible (as I think it is) juxtaposition of rebellious lyrics with radio friendly folky music. I like your blog by the way.
The true hallmark of a great artist is well developed critical faculty.
The intial ideas need to be weeded thoroughly and worked over and over before something of any substance emerges.
Sometimes, the tuly gifted are the worst affected, music comes too easily to them, and if the critical faculty is lacking, becomes facile, trite and commonplace. Muzak, elevator music and other horrors are born of this.
On De Burgh, I think 'Carry me like a fire in your heart' is a very good song, although the other examples cited above are rubbish.
jack point - thanks for reading and commenting. I have a slightly different viewpoint. I think a great artist (or thinker) has the ability to come up with ideas and concepts as well as to be able to use critical thinking to evaluate and improve them. Many people have the ability to think of things or the ability to criticise things, but only the top eschelon can do both. A bit like Maverick and the Iceman!
ummm...ok shamefaced admission...I kinda like Woman in Red, mainly cos it gives me an oddly nostalgic feeling for the early 80's (I'm not even sure if its from the early 80's, my mind just associates it with that time period)...I don't have the song in my collection or on my ipod...but I dont switch the radio off when it comes on...
Yikes I'm gonna go listen to the Zutons for awhile and try and convince myself that I have decent taste in music :)
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