Bad To The Bone: The 101 Worst Songs Ever
Pat Pierson's "Radio Boy" program
Tuesday, June 27th (today)
east coast: 4pm-6pm
west coast: 1pm-3pm
WRSU-FM
airwaves: 88.7
live streaming: www.wrsu.org (click "listen")
Where do I start? I guess the best place is with the first list which was concocted in 1998 for my mag "Yeah Yeah Yeah." As a goof for the last page I ran what I felt were mainly the most annoying songs in my book, at the time. I did have input from friends, but mainly I went with my gut reaction. This time around I dug a little deeper and talked to more friends about it.
Well a lot (and not a lot) has changed since then. The power ballads are still dreadful, but I've opted to leave most of them out mainly because we know what they're about and their offensiveness has worn off a bit with time. Performers like Eminem, Shania Twain, Creed and Daniel Powter have become the newest of bad offenders. (Powter being the most recent victim of oversaturation of a mediocre/harmless song. Nowadays you can't even think of saying, "I had a bad day," without laughing.)
The stalwarts remain. And yes, VH1 & Blender's choices are in here. I, proudly was ahead of that curve with our #1 choice (which without hesitation, holds on to the crown firmly) and Europe too. Upon deeper searching there was a newer recognition of songs the radio continues to kill and/or songs that have no reason to remain as "classics," ergo the title of this piece taken from George Thorogood's meandering blues rocker that's one of the most annoyingly overplayed songs on classic rock radio still. The other "new" one for me was The Who's "Who Are You?," which never mattered much as being bad or good. I just always left it alone and didn't pay attention to it. That was until I realized how much I hear it on the radio vs. the other great Who songs like "So Sad About Us," "Pictures Of Lily," "The Kids Are Alright," and "Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere," which remain virtually untouched (and collectively maybe shorter in length than "Who Are You?;" I haven't checked). It really made me think about it a wee bit harder. At least radio's laying off "Eminence Front."
Of course there's bad songs by everyone in every genre and I sure like some songs that would turn some people's tummies, but usually that's for some youthful benign sentimental reason and/or an overtly sweet tooth. We all have them. People still like The Doors and Gary Numan, too.
But bad songs are different. Usually, the easiest ones to pick are those by artists we thought were above such junk. And that's a good reason for many placements from the likes of Mick Jagger, Queen, Genesis, Blondie, Billy Idol, Soundgarden, Kenny Loggins, Don Henley, Paul McCartney, The Firm, Aerosmith etc. Others, like Guns N' Roses' take of "Live And Let Die" and The Charlie Daniels Band, still blow my fukkin mind at how flat-out terrible they are.
Annoying novelty songs were mostly left out too mainly because they're annoying novelty songs and that's where they remain. "The Macarena" remains in the list because it's wretchedness hasn't waned. It's still one of the most annoying things committed to tape ever. "Who Let The Dogs Out" gets an honorable mention.
Other inclusions made the cut due to overt use of bad/weak lyrics and bland/bad production. The '80s is still king for bad production and probably still has the most "winners" on this list. Bad drum sounds and Miami Vice-style productions were embraced by countless dimwits far and wide. There was also the bad trend of "outside" songwriters forced to "revive" old rock bands. So Aerosmith is here. Kiss gets an honorable mention. I should've included "The Flame" by Cheap Trick.
And that's all I know. So you had a bad day... This should make it a little bit brighter.
-Pat Pierson
6.27.06
The 101 Worst Songs (as of 6-27-06)
1. We Built This City- STARSHIP (#1 in the original list)
2. Man! I Feel Like A Woman!- SHANIA TWAIN
3. Mockingbird- EMINIEM
4. Nookie- LIMP BIZKIT
5. With Arms Wide Open- CREED
6. Live And Let Die- GUNS N' ROSES
7. Cotton Eye Joe- REDNEX
8. Let's Work- MICK JAGGER (#34)
9. Another One Bites The Dust- QUEEN (#77)
10. The Final Countdown- EUROPE (#3)
11. Bad Day- DANIEL POWTER
12. The Greatest Love Of All- WHITNEY HOUSTON (#7)
13. Love Is A Battlefield- PAT BENATAR (#14)
14. All She Wants To Do Is Dance- DON HENLEY (#30)
15. Flesh For Fantasy- BILLY IDOL (#38)
16. Mama- GENESIS
17. Gold Digger- KANYE WEST
18. The Devil Went Down To Georgia- CHARLIE DANIELS BAND (#96)
19. Fire Water Burn- BLOODHOUND GANG
20. The Tide Is High- BLONDIE
21. How You Remind Me- NICKELBACK
22. You Decorated My Life- KENNY ROGERS
23. In The Navy- VILLAGE PEOPLE (#59)
24. We Don't Need Another Hero- TINA TURNER (#13)
25. Spoon Man- SOUNDGARDEN (#11)
26. Bad To The Bone- GEORGE THOROGOOD
27. Music- MADONNA
28. I'll Be There For You- BON JOVI
29. Mr. Roboto- STYX
30. Sunglasses At Night- COREY HART (#35)
31. She's Always A Woman- BILLY JOEL
32. Macarena- LOS DEL RIOS (#4)
33. Dr. Feelgood- MOTLEY CRUE
34. Danger Zone- KENNY LOGGINS (#15)
35. Watcha Gonna Do?- PABLO CRUISE
36. The Wreck Of The Edmund Fitzgerald- GORDON LIGHTFOOT (#92)
37. The Stroke- BILLY SQUIER (#87)
38. Playground In My Mind- CLINT HOLMES (#58)
39. Tragedy- BEE GEES (#48)
40. The Wild Boys- DURAN DURAN
41. The Power Of Love- HUEY LEWIS & THE NEWS
42. The Warrior- SCANDAL (#72)
43. Freedom- PAUL MCCARTNEY
44. I Believe I Can Fly- R. KELLY
45. Venus- FRANKIE AVALON
46. How Am I Supposed To Live Without You- MICHAEL BOLTON (#17)
47. All For Love- BRYAN ADAMS/ROD STEWART/STING (#54)
48. Cheap Sunglasses- ZZ TOP
49. Tom Sawyer- RUSH (#6)
50. Wake Me Up Before You Go Go- WHAM!
51. Bad- MICHAEL JACKSON
52. Feelings- MORRIS ALBERT (#12)
53. Armageddon It- DEF LEPPARD
54. Safety Dance- MEN WITHOUT HATS
55. Billy Don't Be A Hero- BO DONALDSON & THE HEYWOODS (#31)
56. (You're) Having My Baby- PAUL ANKA (#93)
57. Ring My Bell- ANITA WARD (#66)
58. Big Girls Don't Cry- THE FOUR SEASONS (#37)
59. Undercover Of The Night- ROLLING STONES
60. I Don't Want To Miss A Thing- AEROSMITH
61. Heartlight- NEIL DIAMOND
62. Total Eclipse Of The Heart- BONNIE TYLER (#51)
63. I'm No Angel- GREGG ALLMAN
64. Another Brick In The Wall- PINK FLOYD (78)
65. Eye Of The Tiger- SURVIVOR (#16)
66. United We Stand- THE BROTHERHOOD OF MAN
67. We Are The World- USA FOR AFRICA (#8)
68. That Don't Impress Me Much- SHANIA TWAIN
69. Batdance- PRINCE (#91)
70. Party All The Time- EDDIE MURPHY
71. St. Elmo's Fire- JOHNNY PARR (#39)
72. Poundcake- VAN HALEN
73. Bawitdaba- KID ROCK
74. To All The Girls I Loved Before- JULIO IGLESIAS & WILLIE NELSON (#22)
75. Old Time Rock & Roll- BOB SEGER (#41)
76. Separate Ways- JOURNEY (#19)
77. Where It's At- BECK
78. Abracadabra- STEVE MILLER
79. Nasty- JANET JACKSON
80. Mustang Sally- WILSON PICKETT
81. My Name Is- EMINEM
82. Like A Virgin- MADONNA
83. My Humps- BLACK EYED PEAS
84. That's What Friends Are For- DIONNE WARWICK & FRIENDS
85. Let The Music Play- SHANNON (#61)
86. Everything I Do, I Do For You- BRYAN ADAMS (#54)
87. The Heat Is On- GLENN FREY (#76)
88. I Just Called To Say I Love You- STEVIE WONDER
89. She Hates Me- PUDDLE OF MUDD
90. Say You Say Me- LIONEL RITCHIE
91. What's Going On- 4 NON-BLONDES
92. You Can Call Me Al- PAUL SIMON (#68)
93. Beverly Hills- WEEZER
94. Dontcha- PUSSYCAT DOLLS
95. Me So Horny- 2 LIVE CREW
96. I Only Want To Be With You- HOOTIE & THE BLOWFISH
97. If I Had A Hammer- PETER, PAUL & MARY (#36)
98. Radioactive- THE FIRM
99. When A Man Loves A Woman- PERCY SLEDGE (#57)
100. Who Are You- THE WHO
101. Fly Away- LENNY KRAVITZ
honorable mentions:
Forever- KISS
Sometimes When We Touch- DAN HILL
Living In America- JAMES BROWN
Jeremy- PEARL JAM
Got My Mind Set On You- GEORGE HARRISON
It's Now Or Never- ELVIS PRESLEY
I'll Make Love To You- BOYZ II MEN
Who Let The Dogs Out- BAHA MEN
3AM- MATCHBOX 20
I Never Been To Me- CHARLENE
Crush On You- THE JETS
Who Will Save Your Soul- JEWEL
Point Of No Return- EXPOSE
Never Gonna Give You Up- RICK ASTLEY
Sussudio- PHIL COLLINS
Everything Is Beautiful- RAY STEVENS
TOBY KEITH- ?
thanks to: Mike C, DJ Timmah, Suzie & Bobbi, Tommy Allen, & the radio dial
Tuesday, June 27th (today)
east coast: 4pm-6pm
west coast: 1pm-3pm
WRSU-FM
airwaves: 88.7
live streaming: www.wrsu.org (click "listen")
Where do I start? I guess the best place is with the first list which was concocted in 1998 for my mag "Yeah Yeah Yeah." As a goof for the last page I ran what I felt were mainly the most annoying songs in my book, at the time. I did have input from friends, but mainly I went with my gut reaction. This time around I dug a little deeper and talked to more friends about it.
Well a lot (and not a lot) has changed since then. The power ballads are still dreadful, but I've opted to leave most of them out mainly because we know what they're about and their offensiveness has worn off a bit with time. Performers like Eminem, Shania Twain, Creed and Daniel Powter have become the newest of bad offenders. (Powter being the most recent victim of oversaturation of a mediocre/harmless song. Nowadays you can't even think of saying, "I had a bad day," without laughing.)
The stalwarts remain. And yes, VH1 & Blender's choices are in here. I, proudly was ahead of that curve with our #1 choice (which without hesitation, holds on to the crown firmly) and Europe too. Upon deeper searching there was a newer recognition of songs the radio continues to kill and/or songs that have no reason to remain as "classics," ergo the title of this piece taken from George Thorogood's meandering blues rocker that's one of the most annoyingly overplayed songs on classic rock radio still. The other "new" one for me was The Who's "Who Are You?," which never mattered much as being bad or good. I just always left it alone and didn't pay attention to it. That was until I realized how much I hear it on the radio vs. the other great Who songs like "So Sad About Us," "Pictures Of Lily," "The Kids Are Alright," and "Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere," which remain virtually untouched (and collectively maybe shorter in length than "Who Are You?;" I haven't checked). It really made me think about it a wee bit harder. At least radio's laying off "Eminence Front."
Of course there's bad songs by everyone in every genre and I sure like some songs that would turn some people's tummies, but usually that's for some youthful benign sentimental reason and/or an overtly sweet tooth. We all have them. People still like The Doors and Gary Numan, too.
But bad songs are different. Usually, the easiest ones to pick are those by artists we thought were above such junk. And that's a good reason for many placements from the likes of Mick Jagger, Queen, Genesis, Blondie, Billy Idol, Soundgarden, Kenny Loggins, Don Henley, Paul McCartney, The Firm, Aerosmith etc. Others, like Guns N' Roses' take of "Live And Let Die" and The Charlie Daniels Band, still blow my fukkin mind at how flat-out terrible they are.
Annoying novelty songs were mostly left out too mainly because they're annoying novelty songs and that's where they remain. "The Macarena" remains in the list because it's wretchedness hasn't waned. It's still one of the most annoying things committed to tape ever. "Who Let The Dogs Out" gets an honorable mention.
Other inclusions made the cut due to overt use of bad/weak lyrics and bland/bad production. The '80s is still king for bad production and probably still has the most "winners" on this list. Bad drum sounds and Miami Vice-style productions were embraced by countless dimwits far and wide. There was also the bad trend of "outside" songwriters forced to "revive" old rock bands. So Aerosmith is here. Kiss gets an honorable mention. I should've included "The Flame" by Cheap Trick.
And that's all I know. So you had a bad day... This should make it a little bit brighter.
-Pat Pierson
6.27.06
The 101 Worst Songs (as of 6-27-06)
1. We Built This City- STARSHIP (#1 in the original list)
2. Man! I Feel Like A Woman!- SHANIA TWAIN
3. Mockingbird- EMINIEM
4. Nookie- LIMP BIZKIT
5. With Arms Wide Open- CREED
6. Live And Let Die- GUNS N' ROSES
7. Cotton Eye Joe- REDNEX
8. Let's Work- MICK JAGGER (#34)
9. Another One Bites The Dust- QUEEN (#77)
10. The Final Countdown- EUROPE (#3)
11. Bad Day- DANIEL POWTER
12. The Greatest Love Of All- WHITNEY HOUSTON (#7)
13. Love Is A Battlefield- PAT BENATAR (#14)
14. All She Wants To Do Is Dance- DON HENLEY (#30)
15. Flesh For Fantasy- BILLY IDOL (#38)
16. Mama- GENESIS
17. Gold Digger- KANYE WEST
18. The Devil Went Down To Georgia- CHARLIE DANIELS BAND (#96)
19. Fire Water Burn- BLOODHOUND GANG
20. The Tide Is High- BLONDIE
21. How You Remind Me- NICKELBACK
22. You Decorated My Life- KENNY ROGERS
23. In The Navy- VILLAGE PEOPLE (#59)
24. We Don't Need Another Hero- TINA TURNER (#13)
25. Spoon Man- SOUNDGARDEN (#11)
26. Bad To The Bone- GEORGE THOROGOOD
27. Music- MADONNA
28. I'll Be There For You- BON JOVI
29. Mr. Roboto- STYX
30. Sunglasses At Night- COREY HART (#35)
31. She's Always A Woman- BILLY JOEL
32. Macarena- LOS DEL RIOS (#4)
33. Dr. Feelgood- MOTLEY CRUE
34. Danger Zone- KENNY LOGGINS (#15)
35. Watcha Gonna Do?- PABLO CRUISE
36. The Wreck Of The Edmund Fitzgerald- GORDON LIGHTFOOT (#92)
37. The Stroke- BILLY SQUIER (#87)
38. Playground In My Mind- CLINT HOLMES (#58)
39. Tragedy- BEE GEES (#48)
40. The Wild Boys- DURAN DURAN
41. The Power Of Love- HUEY LEWIS & THE NEWS
42. The Warrior- SCANDAL (#72)
43. Freedom- PAUL MCCARTNEY
44. I Believe I Can Fly- R. KELLY
45. Venus- FRANKIE AVALON
46. How Am I Supposed To Live Without You- MICHAEL BOLTON (#17)
47. All For Love- BRYAN ADAMS/ROD STEWART/STING (#54)
48. Cheap Sunglasses- ZZ TOP
49. Tom Sawyer- RUSH (#6)
50. Wake Me Up Before You Go Go- WHAM!
51. Bad- MICHAEL JACKSON
52. Feelings- MORRIS ALBERT (#12)
53. Armageddon It- DEF LEPPARD
54. Safety Dance- MEN WITHOUT HATS
55. Billy Don't Be A Hero- BO DONALDSON & THE HEYWOODS (#31)
56. (You're) Having My Baby- PAUL ANKA (#93)
57. Ring My Bell- ANITA WARD (#66)
58. Big Girls Don't Cry- THE FOUR SEASONS (#37)
59. Undercover Of The Night- ROLLING STONES
60. I Don't Want To Miss A Thing- AEROSMITH
61. Heartlight- NEIL DIAMOND
62. Total Eclipse Of The Heart- BONNIE TYLER (#51)
63. I'm No Angel- GREGG ALLMAN
64. Another Brick In The Wall- PINK FLOYD (78)
65. Eye Of The Tiger- SURVIVOR (#16)
66. United We Stand- THE BROTHERHOOD OF MAN
67. We Are The World- USA FOR AFRICA (#8)
68. That Don't Impress Me Much- SHANIA TWAIN
69. Batdance- PRINCE (#91)
70. Party All The Time- EDDIE MURPHY
71. St. Elmo's Fire- JOHNNY PARR (#39)
72. Poundcake- VAN HALEN
73. Bawitdaba- KID ROCK
74. To All The Girls I Loved Before- JULIO IGLESIAS & WILLIE NELSON (#22)
75. Old Time Rock & Roll- BOB SEGER (#41)
76. Separate Ways- JOURNEY (#19)
77. Where It's At- BECK
78. Abracadabra- STEVE MILLER
79. Nasty- JANET JACKSON
80. Mustang Sally- WILSON PICKETT
81. My Name Is- EMINEM
82. Like A Virgin- MADONNA
83. My Humps- BLACK EYED PEAS
84. That's What Friends Are For- DIONNE WARWICK & FRIENDS
85. Let The Music Play- SHANNON (#61)
86. Everything I Do, I Do For You- BRYAN ADAMS (#54)
87. The Heat Is On- GLENN FREY (#76)
88. I Just Called To Say I Love You- STEVIE WONDER
89. She Hates Me- PUDDLE OF MUDD
90. Say You Say Me- LIONEL RITCHIE
91. What's Going On- 4 NON-BLONDES
92. You Can Call Me Al- PAUL SIMON (#68)
93. Beverly Hills- WEEZER
94. Dontcha- PUSSYCAT DOLLS
95. Me So Horny- 2 LIVE CREW
96. I Only Want To Be With You- HOOTIE & THE BLOWFISH
97. If I Had A Hammer- PETER, PAUL & MARY (#36)
98. Radioactive- THE FIRM
99. When A Man Loves A Woman- PERCY SLEDGE (#57)
100. Who Are You- THE WHO
101. Fly Away- LENNY KRAVITZ
honorable mentions:
Forever- KISS
Sometimes When We Touch- DAN HILL
Living In America- JAMES BROWN
Jeremy- PEARL JAM
Got My Mind Set On You- GEORGE HARRISON
It's Now Or Never- ELVIS PRESLEY
I'll Make Love To You- BOYZ II MEN
Who Let The Dogs Out- BAHA MEN
3AM- MATCHBOX 20
I Never Been To Me- CHARLENE
Crush On You- THE JETS
Who Will Save Your Soul- JEWEL
Point Of No Return- EXPOSE
Never Gonna Give You Up- RICK ASTLEY
Sussudio- PHIL COLLINS
Everything Is Beautiful- RAY STEVENS
TOBY KEITH- ?
thanks to: Mike C, DJ Timmah, Suzie & Bobbi, Tommy Allen, & the radio dial
posted 6/27/2006 07:47:00 AM
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