Saturday, October 25, 2014

(NON-PROFIT) CORPORATION GAMES:  Philadelphia's WXPN 88.5 FM had its listeners vote on the 88 worst songs of all time, and counted them down this afternoon.

Top ten below the fold, and I'd argue that two of them aren't bad songs at all -- Justin Bieber's "Baby" and Rebecca Black's "Friday -- but rather reflect unfortunate fuddy-duddy bias against well-crafted teen pop. "You Light Up My Life," on the other hand, is an abomination.



1 Starship, "We Built This City"
2 Baha Men, "Who Let The Dogs Out"
3 Billy Ray Cyrus, "Achy Breaky Heart"
4 Paul Anka, "(You're) Having My Baby"
5 Los Del Rio, "Macarena"
6 Debby Boone, "You Light Up My Life"
7 Rebecca Black, "Friday"
8 Justin Bieber, "Baby"
9 Nickelback, "Rockstar"
10 Rod Stewart, "Do You Think I'm Sexy"

13 comments:

  1. Becca8:47 PM

    Wow! I disagree with a lot of the worst 88. Many of the songs are very much of their time, but they're not terrible. It just looks like a list of the top 88 most overplayed songs. Or, rather, the top 88 songs often played for crowds, with some overplayed songs thrown in for fun.

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  2. Bet for next year's countdown--Magic's "Rude" shows up on it in the same manner that "Blurred Lines" showed up this year.

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  3. I think "most hated" is better than "worst." Dozens of these are perfectly reasonable hits. I don't understand the hate for "We Built This City."

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  4. The Pathetic Earthling1:50 PM

    Fun and Useless Fact: The members of the Starlight Vocal Band once co-owned a restaurant with Baltimore Sun Columnist and Conservative Pundit Bob Novak.

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  5. Who doesn't love the Starland Vocal Band? https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=wSh3WnGED6w#t=46

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  6. kdbart6:55 AM

    More like a list of the Top 88 Songs that have rammed down your throat by over play. Quite a few of the 88 are very good songs that have been killed by over play on the radio through out the years. You get quite tired of "Stairway" if you hear it on a classic rock station every 2-3 hours.

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  7. How dare they disrespect Mr. Roboto that way. He helped me escape just when I needed to.

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  8. I made a "Soundtrack to My Personal Hell" playlist a while back: http://open.spotify.com/user/wattsay/playlist/2MoVPW4oK6ZUuGIOUlwOhq


    If you can't see Spotify, here are the ones I'd vote for that didn't make their list:
    Layla- Unplugged version - Eric Clapton
    Smooth - Santana with Rob Thomas
    The Game of Love - Santana with Michelle Branch
    Baby Love - The Supremes
    Need You Now - Lady Antebellum
    Runaway Train - Soul Asylum
    The Stroke - Billy Squier
    Friends in Low Places - Garth Brooks
    God Bless the USA - Lee Greenwood
    Black Velvet - Alannah Myles
    Big Yellow Taxi - Counting Crows


    As to their list, I can definitely see some I should add to my playlist. And Philly must have a hate-on for Billy Joel.

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  9. The Pathetic Earthling1:22 PM

    I hope you said thank you in a culturally appropriate way.

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  10. The Pathetic Earthling1:24 PM

    Of course they do. The idea that there could be some other balladeer of the white working class other than Bruce Springsteen is a hateful, foreign idea.

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  11. Benner2:35 PM

    TALK ABOUT THE EARLY BIRD SPECIAL, AMIRITE?!?

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  12. Jim Bell3:49 PM

    Some of these are also on their best list. I have to say I like a lot of songs in the 88.

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  13. Genevieve1:49 PM

    Sadly, the Washington Nationals replaced their previous 7th inning stretch song, "Take On Me", with the hideous "Friends in Low Places."
    "Take On Me" was Michael Morse's walk-up song, and we kept it long after he was traded to the Giants. I understand the need to move on, but there have got to be better choices that still inspire fan sing-a-longs.

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