I don't know if this is in a sub-topic somewhere, but it deserves its own thread. Here's my thoughts on their thoughts. Note, I did watch the special at a friend's apartment, but we left for a food run at one point and we were channel surfing a lot, so some of my comments are thin.
Also, let's understand that this is "50 Most Awesomely Bad Songs"...from the music video era. There are a lot of good '60s/'70s songs that couldn't make the list ("Disco Duck," anyone?).
50. Sunglasses at Night, Corey Burton. I don't remember this well, but wow, what an asinine song.
49. I'll Be Missing You, Puff Daddy and the Family. Mr. Puff has done some decent work, but this is pretty marginal stuff.
48. Can I Touch You...There?, Michael Bolton. Ridiculously loony video, awful song anyway, but it is Michael Bolton, so what did you expect?
47. Something in Common, Bobby Brown and Whitney Houston. Most celebrity duets are really bad.
46. Two Princes, Spin Doctors. Believe it or not but through the years I had forgotten the title and band of this song due to its ingraining in the public psyche.
45. Sorry 2004, Ruben Stoddard. It's kind of early to be picking on poor Ruben, isn't it?
44. We Didn't Start the Fire, Billy Joel.
43. Make Em Say Uhh #2, Master P. I'm not a fan of this genre, but this is really really bad.
42. Cotton Eye Joe, Rednex. The YMCA of the modern era thanks to ballparks everywhere.
41. Some Girls (Dance with Women), J.C. Chasez. J.C. is a pretty huge target.
40. What's Up, 4 Non Blondes. Off topic, but where's Ace of Base? I SAW THE SIGN, AND IT OPENED UP MY LIFE...I SAW THE SIGN.
39. Informer, Snow.
38. Mesmerize, Ja Rule and Ashanti.
37. From a Distance, Bette Midler.
36. I Wanna Sex You Up, Color Me Badd. Awful song, awful band.
35. Heartbeat, Don Johnson.
34. Butterfly, Crazy Town. Do they consider Funkytown too iconic to put on here? 'Cuz like most '80s songs, it is pleasantly bad.
33. Jenny from the Block, Jennifer Lopez. Another too easy target.
32. Broken Wings, Mr. Mister.
31. You Remind Me of Someone, R. Kelly.
30. Pimp Juice, Nelly. Two terrible songs by two (in my opinion) overrated musicians.
29. I'd Do Anything for Love But I Won't Do That, Meat Loaf. Remember when Meat Loaf was cool?
28. Never Gonna Give You Up, Rick Astley.
27. Rump Shaker, Wreckx n Effect.
26. The Only Thing That Looks Good on Me is You, Bryan Adams.
25. You Rock My World, Michael Jackson. This one is really just stylistic purposes--it's not that bad a song per se.
24. Sussudio, Phil Collins. Really annoying but catchy song. They're right on though--what do the lyrics mean?
23. Thong Song, Sisgy. Icky, icky song.
22. Dancing on the Ceiling, Lionel Richie. Again, it's the music video that cinches this one.
21. I'll Be There For You, The Rembrandts. One of those not-too-bad, but in proportion to its play time, definitely.
20. Courtesy of the Red, White, and Blue, Toby Keith. I hate songs with small I.Q.s.
19. You're the Inspiration, Chicago.
18. Pumps and a Bump, Hammer. Hammer's cartoon show was entertaining.
17. I'm Too Sexy, Right Said Fred. This is my number one, but I digress.
16. The Final Countdown, Europe. Right up there with We Built This City in a perfect example of '80s silliness. And Gob's theme song too.
15. Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm, Crash Test Dummies. Hilariously laughable song.
14. Will 2K, Will Smith. Overrated as a musician, underrated as an actor.
13. Barbie Girl, Aqua. This is in my top five.
12. Hangin' Tough, New Kids on the Block. Okay, you've got the Kids, why not pick on Hanson too?
11. Rico Suave, Gerardo. This song makes me want to vomit literally.
10. The Heart of Rock and Roll, Huey Lewis. I actually don't mind this, but Huey Lewis is a good musician.
9. Don't Worry Be Happy, Bobby McFerrin. The quintessential love-it-or-loathe-it song.
8. She Bangs, Ricky Martin. Was this just because of William Hung? The song is pretty bad though, but it shouldn't be this high.
7. Party All the Time, Eddie Murphy. Oh my, I had forgotten this one!
6. Breakfast at Tiffany's, Deep Blue Something. Pretty catchy song, but ack, the lyrics are so banal.
5. Ice Ice Baby, Vanilla Ice. Another perfect Top 5 candidate.
4. Rollin', Limp Biskit. I don't like Limp Biskit that much anyway, but they have had some decent stuff. Rollin' is tripe, ••••, etc.
3. Everybody Have Fun Tonight, Wang Chung. Might have escaped the wrath of critics if not for the lyric "everybody wang chung tonight."
2. Achy Breaky Heart, Billy Ray Cyrus. Yup. People who weren't around when it first came out cannot understand just how popular this was.
1. We Built This City, Starship. I'm listening to it right now--hilariously goony. Feel good '80s pop.
I'm Too Sexy, Right Said Fred. This is my number one, but I digress.
You haven't suffered, until you've seen a 60 year old engineer, with a bad voice and no rhythm, singing and dancing this in the hall...
Some corrections:
"Sunglasses At Night" was by Coret Hart, not Burton.
"Thong Song" was by Sisqo.
Some of those songs are, for me, guilty pleasures. "What's Up", "Thong Song", "I'm Too Sexy". It doesn't mean I don't recognize the stupidity of the tunes. I just happen to like them.
np - Danger Zone - Player
"Music is a world within itself and a language we all understand."
Whoops, Sisqo was a really bad typo.
Correction to the correction:
"Sunglasses At Night" was by Coret Hart, not Burton.
Corey Hart. ;0
I for one loathed "Paradise by the Dashboard Light". Only heard it every weekend at the bar, and the gals would scream when it started. Impossible to dance to, and the slow verbal part in the middle was excruciating if you were on the dance floor.
True, but the "video" was great.
I said "video" for lack of a better word... They used to show it on the screen before midnight showings of Rocky Horror when I was in St. Louis many MANY moons ago.
Oops. That was a typo on my part. Good catch, though, Influx. Never was much of a fan of the song, anyway...
np - Pretzel Logic - Steely Dan
"Music is a world within itself and a language we all understand."
...and all of Jessica Simpson's videos. She's rather overdoing her "I'm so dumb act" on MTV too.
np - Pretzel Logic - Steely Dan
Great album (and song!)
"I have never met Napoleon, but I'd like to find the time..."
I'm gald that VH1 exclude "The End" by The Doors. That was on Blind's orignal list. I mean, the Doors? Are you kidding?
Man, I like a lot of these songs.
"Paradise by the Dashboard Light"... UGH! I never cared for this song, and Influx has my sympathy. (I worked at a place with someone who played it every night, along with Billy Joel's "Piano Man." Can't stand either tune now.)
Not long ago VH1 did another, similar list called "50 Most Awsomely Bad Dirrrrty Songs," a list of songs that try to be sexy but fail. Anyone here see this? I only saw the top 5, which included "Sex You Up" by Color Me Badd and "Get Naked" by Methods of Mayhem. Before they showed the number 1 song they did a quick recap of the whole list. I remember seeing two Kiss songs from the 80's ("Lick it up" and "Let's Put the X in Sex"), "Pretty Mess" by the Vanity 6, and "The Stroke" by Billy Squier. The song at the top spot was, unsurprisinly, Olivia Newton-John's "Physical."