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=> GENERAL DISCUSSION => Topic started by: mankie on April 20, 2004, 05:54:00 pm
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Entertainment
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
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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...)
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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. (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000068ZVP/qid=1082499593/sr=2-1/ref=sr_2_1/102-6458473-9323340)
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[- The Beatles' "Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da" (crappy song, but come on, it's the White Album, you gotta have that...) [/QB][/QUOTE]
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.
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heyyyy, whatcha talkin' 'bout? everybody loves wang chung!!!! :eek:
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Originally posted by StarSpree:
heyyyy, whatcha talkin' 'bout? everybody loves wang chung!!!! :D
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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.
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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.
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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.....
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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. [/b]
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.
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"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.
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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. [/b]
Another thing we agree on (shudder). Great book and movie. V.entertaining.
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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!
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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.
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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?"
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Toby Keith's "Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue"
I dare anyone to say that this song sucks at a NASCAR event!
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"He's been compared to Elvis Costello but I think Huey has a more bitter, cynical sense of humor."
From UBL (http://www.artistdirect.com/) :
"Clover (http://ubl.artistdirect.com/music/artist/bio/0,,415750,00.html?artist=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.
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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.
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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.
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Finally, someone posted the list so you don't have to buy the filthy rag.
From 98Rock via DCRTV (http://www.dcrtv.com) :
Blender Magazine's 50 Worst Songs of All Time
1. STARSHIP - "We Built This City"
2. BILLY RAY CYRUS - "Achy Breaky Heart"
3. WANG CHUNG - "Everybody Have Fun Tonight"
4. LIMP BIZKIT - "Rollin'"
5. VANILLA ICE - "Ice Ice Baby"
6. HUEY LEWIS & THE NEWS - "Heart of Rock 'n Roll"
7. BOBBY MCFERRIN - "Don't Worry Be Happy"
8. EDDIE MURPHY - "Party All The Time"
9. MADONNA - "American Life"
10. MCCARTNEY/WONDER - "Ebony & Ivory"
11. CLAY AIKEN - "Invisible"
12. BEACH BOYS - "Kokomo"
13. GENESIS - "Illegal Alien"
14. BETTE MIDLER - "From A Distance"
15. REMBRANDTS - "I'll Be There For You"
16. 4 NON BLONDES - "What's Up"
17. HAMMER - "Pumps And A Bump"
18. CHICAGO - "You're The Inspiration"
19. MR. MISTER - "Broken Wings'
20. LIONEL RICHIE - "Dancing On the Ceiling"
21. SPIN DOCTORS - "Two Princes"
22. TOBY KEITH - "Courtesy Of the Red White and Blue (The Angry American)"
23. COREY HART - "Sunglasses At Night"
24. FIVE FOR FIGHTING - "Superman (It's Not Easy)"
25. P.DIDDY/FAITH EVANS/112 - "I'll Be Missing You"
26. THE DOORS - "The End"
27. EUROPE - "The Final Countdown"
28. JOHN MAYER - "Your Body Is A Wonderland"
29. DEEP BLUE SOMETHING - "Breakfast At Tiffany's"
30. WHITNEY HOUSTON - "The Greatest Love Of All"
31. CRASH TEST DUMMIES - "Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm"
32. WILL SMITH - "Will 2K"
33. AQUA - "Barbie Girl"
34. DAN FOGELBERG - "Longer"
35. R.E.M. - "Shiny Happy People"
36. MASTER P./SILKK/MYSTIKAL - "Make 'Em Say Uhh!"
37. GERARDO - "Rico Suave"
38. REDNEX - "Cotton Eye Joe"
39. RICKY MARTIN - "She Bangs"
40. COLOR ME BADD - "I Wanna Sex You Up"
41. BILLY JOEL - 'We Didn't Start The Fire"
42. SIMON & GARFUNKEL - "The Sounds Of Silence"
43. UNCLE KRACKER - "Follow Me"
44. MEAT LOAF - "I'd Do Anything For Love But I Won't Do That"
45. JA RULE/ASHANTI - "Mesmerize"
46. NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK - "Hangin' Tough"
47. BRYAN ADAMS - "The Only Thing That Looks Good On Me Is You"
48. THE BEATLES - "Ob La Di Ob La Da"
49. RIGHT SAID FRED - "I'm Too Sexy"
50. CELINE DION - "My Heart Will Go On"
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All of the REM catalogue, but honorable mentions
Stand
End of the World
Losing my religion
Other songs that make my ears bleed and/or give me migraines.
Smells like teen spirit, Nirvana
That, "I wanna fuck you like an animal" one by NIN
Sweet child oh mine, GNR
Many more but that will do for now.
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I have three.
Originally posted by beetsnotbeats:
26. THE DOORS - "The End"
42. SIMON & GARFUNKEL - "The Sounds Of Silence"
48. THE BEATLES - "Ob La Di Ob La Da"
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I'll have to rescind my proclamation after seeing the complete list.
I actually do have a couple.
Notably:
Shiny Happy People
Maybe the worst decision by any band...ever.
Tarnished their reputation for me - Ruins what is otherwise a fairly solid record - the 4 tunes immediately following Shiny Happy People are some of my fav REM:
7. Belong
8. Half a World Away
9. Texarkana
10. Country Feedback
11. Me in Honey
Too bad I never pull the record out for fear of hearing the B52's pop up.
Aaaah - the power of shitty music.
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5 here:
7. BOBBY MCFERRIN - "Don't Worry Be Happy"
26. THE DOORS - "The End"
35. R.E.M. - "Shiny Happy People"
42. SIMON & GARFUNKEL - "The Sounds Of Silence"
48. THE BEATLES - "Ob La Di Ob La Da"
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How did "Who Let the Dogs Out?" escape the wrath?
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Originally posted by grotty:
Shiny Happy People
Maybe the worst decision by any band...ever.
Personally, I find "Radio Song" to be much more annoying. REM and KRS-One just don't mix well at all. At it's worst, "SHP" is just a little too cutesy. "Radio Song" is just absolutely horrible.
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Originally posted by Skeeter:
Originally posted by grotty:
Shiny Happy People
Maybe the worst decision by any band...ever.
Personally, I find "Radio Song" to be much more annoying. REM and KRS-One just don't mix well at all. At it's worst, "SHP" is just a little too cutesy. "Radio Song" is just absolutely horrible. [/b]
How about they just re-master that cd & eliminate them both? Just pretend it never happened...
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Originally posted by grotty:
How about they just eliminate them ? Just pretend REM never happened... [/b]
AMEN!
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Originally posted by Bollocks:
Originally posted by grotty:
How about they just eliminate them ? Just pretend REM never happened... [/b]
AMEN! [/b]
Fine by me.
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Originally posted by Bollocks:
Originally posted by grotty:
How about they just eliminate them ? Just pretend REM never happened... [/b]
AMEN! [/b]
Next you'll be wanting to rid us of Nirvana, G&R, & NIN.
All we'd be left with is a weird little Mankie utopia featuring 24/7 Pogues/Beautiful South/& Waterboys.
Worse than XM for me! :D
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Originally posted by grotty:
Originally posted by Bollocks:
Originally posted by grotty:
How about they just eliminate them ? Just pretend REM never happened... [/b]
AMEN! [/b]
Next you'll be wanting to rid us of Nirvana, G&R, & NIN.
All we'd be left with is a weird little Mankie utopia featuring 24/7 Pogues/Beautiful South/& Waterboys.
Worse than XM for me! :D [/b]
Well Courtney already eliminated Nirvana,
GNR eliminated themselves
NIN can stay...I just don't like that song.
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Originally posted by Dupek Chopra:
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! [/b]
Good point, that is a classic. The frantic call to his lawyer was in there though, and is a keeper. Following the book up in 90 minute form was going to be tough, but I think that Mary Harron did a good job.
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It's official. I have the worst collection of music.
3. WANG CHUNG - "Everybody Have Fun Tonight" (on a compilation of 80's tunes)
5. VANILLA ICE - "Ice Ice Baby" (don't even knock it - you all know you liked it)
6. HUEY LEWIS & THE NEWS - "Heart of Rock 'n Roll" (on cassette)
12. BEACH BOYS - "Kokomo" (on a greatest hits, but I skip it every time - heard Jason Scwartz say some funny things about it on Kimmel though) 21. SPIN DOCTORS - "Two Princes" (still listen to the album on occasion)
24. FIVE FOR FIGHTING - "Superman (It's Not Easy)" (on one of the 9/11 tribute albums I own)
26. THE DOORS - "The End" (this song has no business on this list)
28. JOHN MAYER - "Your Body Is A Wonderland" (guilty pleasure...me and smackette's song awwwww)
29. DEEP BLUE SOMETHING - "Breakfast At Tiffany's" (I enjoy the chord progression)
31. CRASH TEST DUMMIES - "Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm" (great album, not the best song on the album though)
35. R.E.M. - "Shiny Happy People" (ridiculous choice considering I have yet to see a single acoustic hairband song on this list)
39. RICKY MARTIN - "She Bangs" (does the William Hung version count?)
41. BILLY JOEL - 'We Didn't Start The Fire" (can still sing it all the wat through without the music...I was really sharp in those days - not drinking much yet)
42. SIMON & GARFUNKEL - "The Sounds Of Silence" (see #26)
48. THE BEATLES - "Ob La Di Ob La Da" (seriously, see #26 and #35)
49. RIGHT SAID FRED - "I'm Too Sexy" (got to listen to something before I go out - just kidding, I don't have this one)
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6. HUEY LEWIS & THE NEWS - "Heart of Rock 'n Roll"
A classic.
13. GENESIS - "Illegal Alien"
Weak song, great frikin' album.
26. THE DOORS - "The End"
OH come on!! how can you NOT have this album??
27. EUROPE - "The Final Countdown"
Don't have it, but I saw them open up for Def Leppard on the Hysteria tour back in the day... man they sucked.
35. R.E.M. - "Shiny Happy People"
Not the greatest REM album, but OK. The only truly bad REM album was Monster. Some of the rest... ahhh man, if you don't get Fables or Murmur or Chronic Town, you're retarded.
42. SIMON & GARFUNKEL - "The Sounds Of Silence"
Try 50 GREATEST songs.
48. THE BEATLES - "Ob La Di Ob La Da"
How can you NOT have the White Album????
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Originally posted by vansmack:
12. BEACH BOYS - "Kokomo" (on a greatest hits, but I skip it every time - heard Jason Scwartz say some funny things about it on Kimmel though)
oops. I forgot about that Beach Boys greatest hits thing we got a few months ago. Bumps me up to 6 from the list.
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I have the Wang Chung and Right Said Fred tracks - and what might be worse, is that I actually like them. :)
P.S. Anyone from this board catch Wang Chung's live show at Jaxx back in summer 2000? It was great! I lose points for saying that, I know!
Cheers
DJ Medusa.
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Originally posted by Medusa:
I have the Wang Chung and Right Said Fred tracks - and what might be worse, is that I actually like them. :)
P.S. Anyone from this board catch Wang Chung's live show at Jaxx back in summer 2000? It was great! I lose points for saying that, I know!
Cheers
DJ Medusa.
There's nothing wrong with either. BTW, Right Said Fred had a couple of more hits in Europe, besides Too Sexy.
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I am sorry to report that NONE of these songs are on any of my 500+ cd's.
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Originally posted by grotty:
Too bad I never pull the record out for fear of hearing the B52's pop up.
grotty, grotty, grotty. The only endearing aspect of that song is the lovely and amazing Kate Pierson. Not the B-52s, the *best* B-52. She even makes Iggy Pop shine..."Candy" is one of my favorite songs.
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Originally posted by J'Mal:
26. THE DOORS - "The End"
OH come on!! how can you NOT have this album??
Very, very easily.
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Originally posted by My Balls Can DJ:
I am sorry to report that NONE of these songs are on any of my 500+ cd's.
Not even this one?
38. REDNEX - "Cotton Eye Joe"
I'm shocked. What kind of alt-country fan do you claim to be?
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Oh the tricks DJ's will play on one another ... At a recent guest spot I did, the DJ that followed my set chose that Rednex song as their first track. Strangely, I felt the need then to tell people, "No, that *wasn't* me [who put that on]." Lovely. ;)
Cheers
DJ Medusa.
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Originally posted by Bags:
Originally posted by grotty:
Too bad I never pull the record out for fear of hearing the B52's pop up.
grotty, grotty, grotty. The only endearing aspect of that song is the lovely and amazing Kate Pierson. Not the B-52s, the *best* B-52. She even makes Iggy Pop shine..."Candy" is one of my favorite songs. [/b]
There's nothing wrong with the B-52s. Cindy Wilson has the better voice, BTW. When the B-52s first came unto the scene they were mind-blowing. I remember seeing them on the old Saturday Night Live program, back when it was cutting-edge. They effin' rawked!
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Har har. They used to play that song endlessly at my gym, between Hootie and Dave Matthews, before they upgraded to Muzak.
Originally posted by vansmack:
Originally posted by My Balls Can DJ:
I am sorry to report that NONE of these songs are on any of my 500+ cd's.
Not even this one?
38. REDNEX - "Cotton Eye Joe"
I'm shocked. What kind of alt-country fan do you claim to be? [/b]
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I'd like to shag Kate Pierson.
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