Most Embarrassing Pazz & Jop Top 3 Singles 2004-1979

kinda leaning towards 1987 honestly

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/5/5e/Wow_1997.jpg

damn, 1997 and 1998

most of these are pretty good but i voted 1985 (and "freeway of love" is good but not deathless)

'92, '87, or '85

damn, 1990

this is gonna be a tough poll

Sun City/ Freeway Of Love/ The Old Man Down The Road has pretty strong 'voting for the political cause or the artist's back catalog' vibes

1997 has my vote. ugh, even though i did love "tubthumping" well enough at the time

99 probably the trio i'd most happily never hear again though

that sun city song is pretty awesome imo, pretty uptempo and overtly political for a charity song. dunno the fogerty number at all though

i would cosign except for em

I winced at several of these, and almost voted for 1990 just on the "strength" of "The Humpty Dance", but 1997 buries the competition in turds.

1987 is like "i mean it's good but not even the 3rd best single on the album"/"i mean in the right mood ok"/"OH COME ON"

But then, there isn't a triplet in this whole list where I like all three songs. Not that I would expect to, mind you.

Oh God, "Luka" -> breaking out in hives, summer camp flashbacks

(Thank God "Tom's Diner" isn't anywhere up there)

'87's a good pick. I'm not really crazy about the first one, actually. There are a few that have one song I love and two I don't like; '97, I like all three and love none of them. I'd be happy never to hear any of the '83 songs again. Best 1-2: "Jump Around"/"Jump."

the funny thing about 1987 is that i don't HATE any of them, it's more of a weird middling vibe compared to other years with at least one AWESOME song on it. though honestly i'm cool with the majority of these tunes, even if i wouldn't necessarily call them best of the year or anything.

I do kind of hate how pointless and ordinary the "La Bamba" cover is.

missy saves 2001 for me (never liked HOVA, dunno why), beasties save 1998, every thing else i dig at least 2 of the 3 songs, most all 3

"Doo Wop" from '98 is one of my five favourite out of everything there.

lauryn's future further head down social conservatism kinda ruined that one for me

Unlike others on the main Pazz & Jop thread, '95 would be in the running for me. Never liked the Coolio ("Fantastic Voyage" was my #1 for '94), "You Oughta Know"'s a monstrosity. The Edwyn Collins is pretty good.

The only trio that provokes GOD YOU GUYS ARE BORING is Sun City/ Freeway Of Love/ The Old Man Down The Road

Never cared much for SOOT or "Word Up"

'85, quite easily. Had to look up what "The Old Man Down The Road" even was.

the sound of an old man down the road

down to 92 and 97 for me. I don't hate "Tennessee", but that's a pretty weak rap lineup. 97 is just terrible.

Most of these are fairly decent although it is painful for me to realize that the more recent the songs, the less likely I know them.

from the wikipedia page for "sun city"

As Van Zandt was writing it, Schechter suggested that he include the names of the artists who had played Sun City in defiance of a United Nations-sanctioned cultural boycott. "I was probably still thinking of 20/20's exposé of conservative Africanists 15 years earlier," says Schechter. References to specific performers who had played in Sun City appeared in the demo but were omitted from the final version of the song

would LOVE to hear that demo

1997: MMMBop /Tubthumping/ Bittersweet Symphony

^ this is my nightmare

"Sun City" sounds like Lou Reed's "Original Wrapper" with guest wraps.

'85 for me. I feel like Sun City was mostly important for political/historical reasons, but as a song it's not quite great enough

I know it's worse as a piece of songwriting and totally square but "We Are the World" >>> "Sun City" for vocals alone.

smdh

1981, 1982, and 1989 are all great

Our government tells us
We're doing all we can
Constructive engagement is
Ronald Reagan's plan
Meanwhile people are dying
And giving up hope
Well, this quiet diplomacy
Ain't nothing but a joke

^ apparently the part that kept the song off the radio

I really hope everyone's gripe against '97 isn't "MmmBop" but just the other two songs.

it's fun to think about how many enduring landmark rap singles were released in 1994 and 1995 but critics were like HOW ABOUT THAT COOLIO both years

mmmbop is the worst

I started with 1985, but...this is kind of Hyden-esque, but when you scan other years top 10s, you see something at #4 or what have you that would totally redeem the list. (e.g. 1990, the 2 Madonna singles). Running Up That Hill is from 1985.

there appears to be no redeeming 1999 however. Limp Bizkit had a song in the top 25 that year.

In a sense, they stuck it up their yeah

Gangsta's Paradise voters: http://www.clickhole.com/video/wow-only-knowing-few-words-song-didnt-stop-him-sin-1651

coolio was such a massive presence for about two years there

between these two for me

1992: Tennessee/ Jump Around/ Jump
1991: Smells Like Teen Spirit/ Losing My Religion/ OPP

1987: Sign 'O' The Times/ Luka/ La Bamba is also a good challenger but i actually find "luka" rly moving sometimes lol

idk i guess 1992

1985 is specially embarrassing considering they had way more memorable singles to pick from like:

'Running up that hill'
'How soon is now?'
'Close to me'
'Raspberry Beret'
'Just like honey'
'Shake the disease'
'Cities in dust'
'Into the groove'
'downtown train'
'everybody wants to rule the world'
'dont you forget about me'
'im on fire'
'life in a northern town'

I could go on...

I'll cop to liking Old Man Down The Road, but yeah...

I like "Luka" better than SOTT.

Why would anybody vote for any year besides 1985 in this poll?

"sun city" is probably the most embarrassing #1

fun fact: "we are the world" also placed that yr (#17)

I personally find it heartwarming & life-affirming that music critics in 1985 were just really in the mood to listen to "Freeway of Love"

'85's middling. I don't hate "Sun City," at least my memory of it--Joey Ramone has a good part. Better than its two big predecessors, anyway. "Freeway of Love" I really like. "Old Man"'s quite mediocre.

I like "Luka" too.

kinda makes u wonder who will be the chuck eddy or lord sotosyn of future decades

"no scrubs" singlehandedly redeems 1999

I personally find it heartwarming & life-affirming that music critics in 1985 were just really in the mood to listen to "Freeway of Love"

― example (crüt)

Considering the two failed Vandross-produced comebacks that precededed "Freeway" are way superior, it must've been relief that she finally went pop top ten again.

85 or 87. Went with 85.

the most recent one, duh

85 looks especially rank when you compare it to the years before it when they captured the zeitgeist pretty well

1983: Billie Jean/ Every Breath You Take/ Back On The Chain Gang

^^ prob the best

have nev understood hate for "Tubthumping"

most embarrassing music snobs: 2015

sd:

1) fuck the "zeitgeist"

2) constructive engagement was Ronald Reagan's plan

"Memphis, Egypy" was a single in '89, right? If so its absence is most embarrasssing, it being the greatest song ever etc

when the zeitgeist is "When Doves Cry" i think it's worth capturing is all

my fave version of "Dancing in the Dark" was hearing the Meat Puppets do it live in '85 in Bloomfield NJ

1997, because that year was such a great year for music as far as I'm concerned and at least two of those tracks badly represent the year.

my fave version of "Dancing in the Dark" was hearing the Meat Puppets do it live in '85 in Bloomfield NJ

― touch of a love-starved cobra (Dr Morbius), Thursday, January 15, 2015 3:50 AM (16 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Has to be the My Dick version for me!

i love "tubthumping" i get chills every time

Not enough hate for 2004 itt.

lauryn's future further head down social conservatism kinda ruined that one for me

― da croupier, Wednesday, January 14, 2015 7:59 PM (3 hours ago)

You ever discuss Miseducation (as essentially a follow up to The Score) in the NJ thread?

1997. To think "Da Funk" and "Around the World" tied for 25th.

1997 and it's not particularly close.

alfred otm re: awesomeness of 1983. 1981's not far behind, actually.

and yeah the worst one is 1997 by a long shot.

Eminem got first loser a lot huh.

The Eminem appearances should be far more embarrassing to us in 2015 than any of the '97 three.

i am totally fine with any of the 1997 songs aside from never needing to hear them again.

Most of these sounded really good when they were new. Of course "Gangsta's Paradise" isn't the best rap single of that year but literally everyone loved it. Easy consensus pick.

"MMMBop" is a weird #1. Although I knew it was critically beloved at the time.

rolling stone '97:
1. The Verve - Bitter Sweet Symphony
2. Hanson - Mmmbop
3. The Chemical Brothers - Block Rockin' Beats
4. Chumbawamba - Tubthumping
5. Missy Misdemeanor Elliott - The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)

spin '97:
1. The Notorious B.I.G. - Hypnotize
2. Hanson - MMMBop
3. The Notorious B.I.G. (Featuring Puff Daddy & Mase) - Mo Money Mo Problems
4. Prodigy - Firestarter
5. Erykah Badu - On And On

1997 is dire in retrospective but let's be honest 1985 is the only year in here that doesn't have a single song that feels 'important' for that specific year. I already exposed some singlea above but it bears repeating: how the fuck can you ignore Kate Bush with great singles like Cloubusting or Running Up the Hills. Or Madonna with one of her best singles like Into the Groove. The fucking Smiths or Jesus & Mary Chain or Tom Waits. These are all artists that have a fervient fanbase and released their most 'important' singles in 1985 and they ended up with a top 3 that almost noone remembers. It's the only year in this poll that made me look for these singles as I didn't remember any of them. And frankly, they're shit. As much as you hate the songs in a year like 1997 at least you can't accuse them of being forgettable singles.

I also nominate 1989 as a year where they picked forgettable singles.

Everything else looks fine. the 3 worst years in order are 1985, 1989 and 1997. Hope that the poll reflects these results.

1989 had the following singles to choose from:

cure: lovesong, lullaby
stone roses: wanna be adored, fool's gold
pixies: here comes your man
depeche mode: personal jesus
chris isaak: wicked game
metallica: one
de la soul: eye know
madonna: like a prayer
Klf: 3am eternal

1997 had these ones;

Paranoid android, no surprises, karma police
Joga, all is full of love, bachelorette
Everlong
Sugarcube, autumn sweater
Beetlebum
Nancy boy
Criminal
Around the world, da funk
Hypnotize
Block rockin beats

1997 feels offensive because, why wouls you choose Hanson and the Verve over Daft Punk, Radiohead and Bjork per example, but at least the songs they picked for 1997 are memorable.

best: 1979 and 1981

I liked Tubthumping and Bittersweet Symphony

toss up between 1985 and 1998

Got to be 97

Voted 1997 - willing to accept that '85 might be worse but I've never actually heard (or even heard of) 'Freeway of Love' or 'Old Man Down the Road'.

1991, 1989 and 1980 are the only years where I really like all three songs.

Surprised how many of these choices suck but only 1985 has three strikes against it.

A few years ago I combed through the P&J lists looking for songs I didn't know and could make no sense of C'mon N' Ride It (The Train) being #1. Never heard it then and I've never heard it in any other context since. It's not bad, it was just a mystery to me.

Best: 1979-1983, 1991, 1993, 2000, 2003

And I have some fondness for Chumbawamba from their early days but I'm stunned that Tubthumping was so admired. I guess P&J has always had a fondness for grating songs that captured a moment regardless of their potential for lasting appeal. cf All About That Bass.

i've genuinely heard of NONE of the 1985 top 3, what even are those? also what are "seether" and "fantastic voyage" from 1994? none of the 1996 titles spring to mind but they at least ring a vague bell.

baffling that that edwyn collins song was voted so highly, i remember it as a minor britpop single (success-wise and quality-wise) by someone i've never heard of before or since.

1997 is definitely unforgivable. "clint eastwood" in 2001 what the fuck.

"smells like teen spirit"/"losing my religion" top 2 in 1991 is horrific.

surprising at how few years have a 3 out of 3 strike rate. 2002, 2000 sooooort of but it still manages to be boring in the context of that year, 1998 if i'm being generous to that beastie boys song i tolerate but don't love, 1992, 1989?

as i said on the other thread it's very easy to calm one's fretting over current terrible results when you look back and see results that are just as terrible but also, in retrospect, hilariously inaccurate/irrelevant

i've genuinely heard of NONE of the 1985 top 3, what even are those?

'freeway of love' is aretha franklin from the same album as 'sisters are doing it for themselves' and 'who's zoomin' who'. it's terrible

'the old man down the road' is john fogerty from ccr and is most memorable for its video, but the song ain't great at all

'sun city' is an anti-apartheid song written and organised by steve van zandt from bruce springsteen's e street band. it's all very worthy and that but you would hate this dull tune for sure

Seether is a good indie-rock song by Veruca Salt. Fantastic Voyage is a boring Coolio song.

Going out on a limb here to say that Smells Like Teen Spirit and Losing My Religion were not "hilariously inaccurate/irrelevant" choices in 1991.

I almost mentioned 2002 as one of the best but I never want to hear Hot in Herre again. It feels frozen in time in a way that other Neptunes hits don't.

i will grant you that "smells like teen spirit" and "losing my religion" were not irrelevant choices but they are still bloody terrible songs

i'd be v happy if "hot in herre" ever hoved into earshot unexpectedly but it's not even the best nelly single of that era

"lose yourself" otoh is the only eminem song i would care to listen to any more (unexpected, i don't think i cared about it at the time)

It's become The One, even moreso than Stan I think. One of the few highlights of his ropey Wembley show.

Oh I like all three of the 2000 picks too. Most of these have at least one great song in them.

lol at the idea of 'Fantastic Voyage' being one of Coolio's boring songs

I do find it interesting how evenly hip hop and alt rock compete in the early 90s tho

"lose yourself" is probably the most purely functional thing he's ever done and also one of the few that transcends his own persona - eminem's old stuff dating badly isn't about the beats or songcraft per se, more that that persona seems completely out of place and embarrassing these days

As much as you hate the songs in a year like 1997 at least you can't accuse them of being forgettable singles.

― Moka, Thursday, January 15, 2015 9:07 AM (3 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Oh, if only I could!

Yes, I still have some interest in Eminem but none whatsoever in Slim Shady. Without Me, for example, is unlistenable now.

"Freeway of Love" is the saving grace of the '85 picks.

Tho, yeah, the other singles from that album were better.

1996 looks dodgy but I haven't knowingly heard the Quad City DJs track so maybe that's its saving grace.

Several 90s trios are saved by one great track.

1980 not nearly as good as it could have been.

But '85..., hard not to vote for you.

I like "The Old Man Down The Road"

Fast Car/ It Takes Two/ Sweet Child O' Mine

^^^ don't think this is terrible either

that sun city song is pretty awesome imo, pretty uptempo and overtly political for a charity song. dunno the fogerty number at all though

― da croupier, Wednesday, January 14, 2015 7:46 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

I totally love "Sun City." I don't get the hate for it...maybe it helped to hear it when it was new/when the fight against apartheid was all over the news? I still dig it, though, and the lineup...Miles Davis, Pete Townshend, George Clinton, Darlene Love, Run-D.M.C., Bob Dylan, Ringo Starr, Lou Reed, David Ruffin, Eddie Kendricks, Afrika Bambaataa...

Quad City Djs track is one of the most earwormiest songs to ever be an earworm. In a good and welcome way, that is.

Quad City DJs is by far the most surprising #1. Fairly sure I haven't heard it in the wild since the late '90s, but I loved it upon hearing it and would have voted for it if I was sent a ballot, but I worked for a VV competitor with whom Eric Weisbard looked down on: I think "C'Mon was my pick for best single in the top tens my mag published.

good for the pencil necked geeks of that year for voting for it so deep into the Pavement/"let's impress Gerard Cosloy" era. Mr. Pretend: I'm certain you would like it!

Quad City DJs ended up being the cornerstone song of my wedding reception

I heard the Quad City DJs track on the radio last week and damn if it doesn't sound as great now as it did then.

I listen to that song all the time. That train has lost none of its steam.

Don't think I'd ever heard Quad City DJs before, but it's great. Also, Sun City is not very good, but the video is quite something. One of the most wtf selections has to be Steal My Sunshine.

Nah, "Steal My Sunshine" is fab.

One of the most wtf selections has to be Steal My Sunshine.

You think? People who love that song really LOVE that song.

Re: "Steal My Sunshine", I still distinctly remember the time I was listening to "More More More" and was all "OH SHIT NO WAY". That would make a helluva transition in a DJ set (assuming it hasn't been done dozens of times before).

none of the 1996 titles spring to mind but they at least ring a vague bell.

The idea of the Smashing Pumpkins' 1979 only ringing a vague bell seems strange and foreign to me.

It's a one hit wonder with no connection to anything ever, and while I kinda like it, it's no Mmmmbob. I can explain away most songs on the list, but that one seems weirder than most.

I was halfway through a fevered response to the assertion that "1979" was a one hit wonder with no connection to anything ever before I realized you weren't talking about "1979".

i could probably name you two smashing pumpkins songs max

"tonight"

er

that's it, soz

"mellon collie and the infinite sadness" or was that an album?

Lol, no. But 1979 is no Mmmmbob either.

or was it "today"

and there's one with butterfly in the title

85, no contest

There's "Today" and "Tonight Tonight". They are separate songs.

oh and "this arm"

three-and-a-half! no idea how any of them go, never knowingly heard this band except on the chart show when they made top 40 in the '90s

xp really?! i wonder which one i thought i knew

ty, fred

And "Where It's At" is Beck, but I can understand certain people not being as familiar with that one.

omg this arm

Smashing Pumpkins were kinda inescapable in the US for a brief time in the mid-'90s. No idea how big they got overseas.

And "Where It's At" is Beck, but I can understand certain people not being as familiar with that one.

― MarkoP, Thursday, January 15, 2015 4:04 PM (8 seconds ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

goddamn i was genuinely hoping it was all saints' "i know where it's at" as that was the only song with a similar title i could think of, but that was 1997

yeah, if you don't care much about pop, it's hard to keep track

'the old man down the road' is john fogerty from ccr and is most memorable for its video, but the song ain't great at all

It was also a Cause célèbre because John Fogerty got sued for plagiarizing a CCR song written by...John Fogerty.

omfg listening to beck's "where it's at" and i didn't know he tried to RAP :oooooooo

this is so bad and embarrassing! "i know where it's at" to CLEANSE my ears please

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G4QzM9KqCQU

And I feel like "1979" and "Where It's At" were songs that got a LOT of airplay on music video stations at the time.

And "A Girl Like You" seemed to be mostly popular that time due to being on the Empire Records Soundtrack.

"1979" is probly the tune that them what don't like Corgan ride for.

there's something very year zero, absolutist about yr tastes, mr. Pretend, calling to mind (and I'm sure you will dislike this) your countrymen like John Lydon, who viscerally and vocally despised anything with a whiff of the old order. I think you have said that you dislike the Mojo/Q worldview or somesuch…

are your preferences predicated on how the british music press can't let go of guitar music? you seem like you are in yr 20s? I would imagine coming up in the UK at a time when Oasis through to Pete Doherty could be irritating as fuck. I will tell you that from a U.S. perspective, "Take me Out" was a danceable pop record in light of of the dregs of radio-rock in 2003-4: like, many non indie-rock-oriented girls I knew loved to dance to it and I heard it many times on the boardwalk in Coney Island. I spoke to whatshisname frontman at the time, and it was clear those guys were not going for the arch-rockist Deros. They were going for girls.

thanks for putting up that awesome all saints jam.

" I would imagine coming up in the UK at a time when Oasis through to Pete Doherty —are emphasized as a platonic ideal for years and years— could be irritating as fuck."

" I would imagine coming up in the UK at a time when Oasis through to Pete Doherty —are emphasized as a platonic ideal for years and years— could be irritating as fuck."

it 100% was

the 90s as they're canonised by rock critics - at the time and looking back - are not the 90s i lived through, is all

1996 would be my obvious pick, for Beck and Smashing Pumpkins (even though that's my favorite SP song, i.e., the only one I can halfway tolerate)...but that Quad City DJs' song is too unfuckwithable for '96 to get my vote.

Walk This Way/ Word Up/ Kiss

really similar jams / vibes going on here.

IT's gotta be 2007:

1997: MMMBop /Tubthumping/ Bittersweet Symphony

1997 appears to be the 1985 for the younger demo.

Quad City Dj's is a jam, though it does seem a little odd as a number 1, especially in a year of "No Diggity" and "California Love".

So critics voted for MmmBop to show their support for politcal causes?

Hanson didn't play Sun City

y'all are crazy. 1996's beck and pumpkins tracks are great, and i don't even like sp.

1997 is tempting, yeah, but i like the hanson & chambawamb tracks more than "sun city" or "freeway of love", guilty pleasures both (the former)

"c'mon ride it" and "mmmbop" prob my favorite consecutive no. 1s that aren't like "billie jean"/"when doves cry"

1985 is a nadir for popular music, and even if the top three from that year aren't terrible, the fact that those particular songs received the most votes speaks volumes about the quality of music in 1985.

VV isn't super strict about year of release are they? Old Man Down The Road shows as an 1984 release?
Noticed the same thing with Courtney Barnett this year.

Top 3 songs of 1985: Running Up That Hill, Cloudbusting, Hounds Of Love

moka made a decent case for 1985's quality upthread

1985 is a nadir for popular music, and even if the top three from that year aren't terrible, the fact that those particular songs received the most votes speaks volumes about the quality of music in 1985.

― Smoothie Operator (Old Lunch),

there was plenty of good R&B and pop in '85, but the idea has floated around that 1984 sucked the air out of that room.

an excerpt from a list I made a couple years ago:

1. Madonna – Angel/Into the Groove
2. Tears For Fears – Head Over Heels
3. Scritti Politti – Perfect Way
4. Freddie Jackson – Rock Me Tonight (For Old Times Sake)
5. Phil Collins – Sussudio
6. a-ha – The Sun Always Shines on TV
7. Rosanne Cash – I Don’t Know Why You Don’t Want Me
8. Alison Moyet – Invisible
9. Chaka Khan – Through The Fire
10. The Jesus and Mary Chain – You Trip Me Up
11. Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers – Rebels
12. Teena Marie – Lovergirl
13. New Order – Perfect Kiss (12″)
14. Nolan Thomas – Yo Little Brother
15. Whitney Houston – You Give Good Love
16. Baltimora – Tarzan Boy
17. Kate Bush – Running Up That Hill
18. George Clinton – Double Oh-Oh
19. Ready For the World – Oh Sheila
20. Wham! – Freedom
21. Jellybean – Sidewalk Talk
22. ABC – Be Near Me
23. Pat Benatar – Invincible
24. Exposé – Point of No Return
25. Hüsker Dü – Makes No Sense at All
26. Grace Jones – Slave to the Rhythm
27. Pointer Sisters – Dare Me
28. Talking Heads – And She Was
29. Shannon – Do You Wanna Get Away
30. Rene & Angela – I’ll Be Good
31. Bryan Ferry – Don’t Stop The Dance
32. Philip Bailey and Phil Collins – Easy Lover
33. Bruce Springsteen – I’m On Fire
34. The Time – Jungle Love
35. The Cure – Inbetween Days
36. Paul Young – Every Time You Go Away
37. Loose Ends – Hangin’ on a String (Contemplating)
38. Stevie Wonder – Part-Time Lover
39. Luther Vandross – It’s Over Now
40. Sade – Smooth Operator

fucking SMOOTH OPERATOR!!!

no year with that song is a nadir of anything

Yeah, there are a lot of songs I like from '85, but the overall qualitative median was definitely much lower than in the years immediately prior and subsequent.

Yeah, there is plenty to like from the year 1985, but that P&J top three is a blown opportunity to make the case.

Glad to see "Yo Little Brother" on your list, Alfred. That song has been lost to the ages.

1984 had few moments like Heart and Starship hitting number one, so 1985 played like back to normal.

Glad to see "Yo Little Brother" on your list, Alfred. That song has been lost to the ages.

― Smoothie Operator (Old Lunch), Thursday

Thanks! In Miami we had all this crazy-awesome bass and freestyle in '85.

Why are some people so into this bizarre 'X-year was so much worse than the ones just before and after it' idea? As these particular times get further away it just seems ever more ridiculous.

The bulk of pop radio in '85 just felt musty and uninspired. It stood out at the time and it definitely stands out in retrospect.

I'm pro-Pumpkins, but 1979 is a fantastic song whether you like them or not.

i can't even recognise any of the songs from 1985. literally don't know what they are.

xxpost Which, again, is not to say there wasn't good stuff released at the time. You just had to dig a little more to find most of it.

The only other time period that really stands out in a similar way was that stretch in the late '90s when you'd be forgiven for thinking a lot of pop radio stations had switched to an AC format.

The bulk of pop radio in '85 just felt musty and uninspired. It stood out at the time and it definitely stands out in retrospect.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billboard_Year-End_Hot_100_singles_of_1985

I like 'Nothin At All'.

Okay, looking at that list, it's possible that I actually meant 1986 this whole time.

Just scanning that list, easily found 25+ total winners, and only a few outright duds.

omfg listening to beck's "where it's at" and i didn't know he tried to RAP :oooooooo

Yes who would've guessed from "Loser" that Beck might incorporate rap and hip hop into his music, quelle surprise.

1985 is terrible but really only one of these options contains Chumbawumba.

1992 top three is bizarrely unrepresentative of that year, like why even Tennessee of all Arrested Development singles?

people really liked jumping in 1992

Like it's odd how some of these in retrospect seem to just nail that year while others get it so so wrong.

Is MMMBop the only boy band in this poll?

like why even Tennessee of all Arrested Development singles?

was both critically acclaimed and a big hit iirc (first time I heard it was watching the 92 VMAs and thinking 'man this is so much better than People Everyday')

Hey, remember that time that being proudly ignorant won that argument?

For such a purportedly great year for music, 1994's choices are pretty weird.

The hiphop choices from the early nineties are pretty safe, and in hindsight the lack of 'gangster rap' seems pretty glaring. That is def a situation where the critics bet on the wrong type of music.

You can see critical and musical trends waxing and waning throughout these but it really seems like no one voting in this had a clue what was going on from 1995 to 98.

Is MMMBop the only boy band in this poll?

i think the best boy band showing other than that was "i want it that way" in 1999 (#5)

these polls show more delicious vinyl pop-rap like tone-loc than rap that ppl actually like now lol

the critics bet on the wrong type of music

or they just thought it was the emptiest strain of hiphop

I know almost every song on the Billboard list for 1985 but I don't know the three in this poll.

Having just seen the results for 2014, I'd vote for that if it were included.

91

because a song gets the same note if the person puts it at #1 or #8, i don't think of these in the sense of "are these the 3 best songs of the year?" so much as "am i cool with professional music critics saying they didn't like ten singles from the year more than one of these?" this saves a year like 1997 because while i hate one of those earworms and love the other two they're all top notch earworms

while i still rep for "sun city" and "freeway of love" i'll admit it's the one that screams "you had to be there" the most

Having just seen the results for 2014, I'd vote for that if it were included.

this is exactly why i cut it off at '04 because '14 vs '09 is way less interesting to me than '85 v '97

1985 is very Best Picture: Important Social Issue; Best Actress: Meryl Streep is so good!; Best Actor: amazing comeback Dennis Hopper/John Travolta we thought you were dead but we always loved you back in the day

haha otm, except "sun city" is way livelier and bizarre than most important social issue movies

and way livelier than Streep in '85.

what Mr. Bendy sez is particularly telling in light of crits in '85 being way way into Dave marsh-esque cant.

haha otm, except "sun city" is way livelier and bizarre than most important social issue movies

yeah, despite the award-bait trappings, "sun city" isn't half bad. i seriously loved it at the time. same goes for "old man down the road", musty CCR nostalgia and all. both decent songs, but when you stack them up with "freeway of love", no other year seems half so earnestly boring.

Sun City vote had to be a bit of a backlash to We Are the World.

Sun City was def the John Sayles important issue movie to We Are the World's Spielberg issue movie.

1992 top three is bizarrely unrepresentative of that year, like why even Tennessee of all Arrested Development singles?

― Matt DC, Thursday, January 15, 2015 11:04 AM (1 hour ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

"Tennessee" was the first single released from the album, became a top-10 hit in the U.S., and therefore was the song that brought Arrested Development to most people's attention. "People Everyday" was the only other single of theirs that was anywhere near as big in 1992 ("Mr. Wendal" didn't peak until early '93, iirc), but I don't know that it was ever considered as iconic.

Ah, this might explain why you are confused:

In the United Kingdom, the song spent a seven week run on the UK Singles Chart, peaking at number forty six, but after the top ten successes of both "People Everyday" and "Mr. Wendal" on the chart, it was re-released in 1993, charting for a further six weeks and peaking at number eighteen.

Yeah, in the US there is a significant subset of people who think "Tennessee" is the only hit Arrested Development ever had.

Those other two songs are definitely more well known in the UK.

i hear "people everyday" on the radio more in recent years (in the usa)

"People Everyday" is a way better song IMO

while I'll admit "Tennessee" was immediately striking, AD's success on this poll was surely down to the sense among the electorate along the lines of "well, hip-hop is at the vanguard, but goldarnit, rappers are scary, don't sing and repurpose existing music. so let's vote for these guys! they're respectful of their elders!"

"Hell, they've even got an elder on stage! With a staff!"

possibly the most annoying thing about discourse around Arrested Development is the desire to take a group that did a lot of songs about black history in America and accuse them of being Uncle Toms

I can't defend its lyrics but I always kinda liked "Mr. Wendall."

Wendal even

"This song about selling drugs is too edgy for me, so I'm going to vote for the song about the dude exploring the area where his forbears were lynched"

The Dionne Farris single is great.

the top 3 albums list from the same period is a lot less embarrassing, though jeez didn't realize anyone liked fountains of wayne THAT much.

rappers are scary, don't sing and repurpose existing music. so let's vote for these guys

Doesn't quite hold given the previous success of PE plus the 92 top 3 representing three pretty different types of the genre in itself - plus the top 20 for that year also contains 'How I Could Just Kill A Man', 'Baby Got Back', 'TROY', 'They Want EFX' and 'Rump Shaker'.

IDK where any Chronic tracks or whatever the perceived realer rap jam for that year placed tho

"People Everyday" is a way better song IMO

― Let me help you out Charlie XCX fan (DJP), Thursday, January 15, 2015 2:59 PM (31 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Single version >>>> album version

Both of the Dionne Farris singles that got traction are great.

ugh "I Know" is a drop of water on the forehead

Single version >>>> album version

goes without saying

"oof what is this soft-ass song about?"
"a dude beating the shit out of a guy hassling a woman in the park"
"damn, why can't they rap about something hardcore, like smoking pot?"
"I know, right?"

there's a Dreaming America column SPIN ran where the author described driving around to AD that did a good job of describing both the appeal of their music and part of why it failed to endure as an alternative to gangsta but i haven't been able to find it

and to be clear, by "alternative to gangsta" i don't mean "soft"

or at least, as DJP's laid out, it'd be blatantly one-dimensional shorthand

i really want to start a thread about "black-tracking" which is my theory that white rock critics love to REALLY BACK african-americans who makes remotely avant-garde music for the maybe span of like two years and then deem it "LOL SO CORNY" by the end of the decade. It's happened as long as I've been listening to music and it's super-racist and really fucking sucks

Tracy Chapman - P&J #3, 1988
Terrance Trent D'Arby - P&J #25, 1989
PM Dawn - P&J #5, 1991
Arrested Development - P&J #1, 1992; P&J #12, 1993
Disposable Heroes Of Hiphoprisy - P&J #19, 1992

I don't feel like looking up the rest, but same shit happened to Tricky, Rawkus, Def Jux, etc.

― Attention all Whiney fans! (Whiney G. Weingarten), Friday, July 9, 2010 11:55 AM (4 years ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Oh, and grime

― Attention all Whiney fans! (Whiney G. Weingarten), Friday, July 9, 2010 11:57 AM (4 years ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

whiney please stop pretending you know shit about grime

who would have thought the highest charting of those acts this decade would be michael franti

xpost,

i make bangers not anthems, leave that to the artful dodger

who would have thought the highest charting of those acts this decade would be michael franti

This STILL trips me out

are the critics at the beginning of a decade who rave about an act the same ones who find them SO CORNY at the end?

one quote i DID find scouring old SPINs, courtesy of yo-yo in 1993

There are times when they call certain rap groups rappers that offend rappers. You call groups like Arrested Development rap, they're not rap to rappers, you know. Gang Starr is rap. Apache is rap.

Loads of critically acclaimed black music has survived this kind of rapid praise-to-mockery effect (by WRCs) - countless examples from before and during the time frame of this poll.

Would agree that the acts mentioned did become kinda unfairly unfashionable quite quickly...but surely more out of disappointment for their subsequent works rather than a disingenuous rejection of what made them big in the first place. Like many critics were too quick to write them all off on the basis of dud follow-ups while cutting artists closer to their cultural home turf more slack.

Now I'm remembering Finley Quaye here too tho... :/

many critics were too quick to write them all off on the basis of dud follow-ups while cutting artists closer to their cultural home turf more slack.

this is very true

are there any Van-Morrison-in-1986 equivalents for acclaimed R&B/hip-hop P&J finishers?

Also all the earlier records were negatively reappraised in light of later work, except maybe Maxinquaye.

maybe Elvis Costello is the equiv

'98 seems to be the only one featuring no legit good songs - although there are other entries with worse songs...

eh I take it back 1985 is pretty dire, goin with that

lotta AD fans in this thread lol

I like "Tennessee" but love "People Everyday"--people often cite the album as one of the worst album winners, but "People Everyday" more than makes up for it. I still hear it on the radio three or four times a year; I never hear "Tennessee."

no idea "steal my sunshine" placed so highly until now, i love that song even by canadian standards

That "even"'s a bad thing, right?

I just have never gotten over how AD came across at the time - which was like some focus-grouped Native Tongues ripoff that made way more money/got way more exposure than any of the original Native Tongues acts ever got. The stiff production and dopey rapping didn't help any.

You may be right about much of that, I don't know, but I don't think any of it matters with regards to "People Everyday."

the unsung episode about them was really great, though still a little vague about what the deal was with the old dude

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

As someone born in 1993, who listens to rap a lot and has heard of every other rap act on this poll, I've never before today heard or heard of Areested Development

yeah, they're a little lost to history. i occasionally hear "People Everyday" on the old folks R&B station, but that's about it.

i saw Arrested Development live at lollapalooza in nashville. All hell broke loose when they sang tennessee. so that's a thing i can say.

voted for 97 btw

1985 in a walk

i honestly don't know any of the 85 songs

'92 tho

worst by decade: 85/97/09/14

Also can someone who wasn't 4 in 1997 explain to me how Mmmbop was a critical success? Like I've always dug it, but it is a very guilty pleasure and seems like it would have been kryptonite to the rockets critic of the 90s

Pop's done better in polls than you think. Look at some of the eighties and early nineties top fives.

81/82/83/84 are all A-OK with me

rockets critic

early Hanson press leaned VERY heavy on the angle that the Dust Brothers produced their record hot on the heels of Odelay, and worked very hard to place them in the lineage of the Jackson 5. the first place i heard "Mmmbop" was in the CD that came with an issue of CMJ (which iirc also had a breathless article about Hanson).

so i queued up sun city and WOW i guess i'm too young but i have never heard this and just WOW

it's like a fever dream

Hanson also benefited from They Write Their Own Songs.

i mean joey ramone just kicked open a door

lou reed hugging john oates

To dis Reagan by name!

Xpost

'97 was also the year the Spice Girls invaded America and in general there was a self-conscious embrace of 'bubblegum pop' in the music press, albeit less than there would be in the coming years of the Britney era and 'poptimism' and all that.

i remember when the very first incarnation of Total Request Live started, at like 10pm instead of the afternoon, and the big videos every night were later Middle Of Nowhere and Spice singles.
(xpost)

this is 1997 by far

Hanson also had the benefit of arriving during a dry spell as far as not-explicity-R&Bish pop was concerned. No Britney yet, and I don't think very many cared who the Backstreet Boys were until "I Want It That Way." And yeah, all of the Jackson 5 stuff (and their thrift-store Partridge Family fashions) probably hit a bit of a nostalgic sweet spot for many Gen X-age critics.

Oh, crap--the Spice Girls. All of the stated factors tip tip the scales in Hanson's favour, but I wonder if there was some vote-splitting with the '97 Spice Girls singles.

ohhhhh, this is john fogerty huh. "u got the hideyyy hi" this is very freedom rock and has no other connection for me.
i honestly thought this song was from the early seventies!

xxpost live performances also exposed that they also had dandruff so they were just like us

i honestly thought this song was from the early seventies!

so did Saul Van Zandt.

and freeway of love is that late era 'retha track. i remember my mom liking this so i don't really bear it any animosity but man this production is for the birds.

boring old Aretha and Fogerty comeback hits are a pretty close equivalent to "Empire State of Mind" being Jay-Z's first Pazz & Jop #1

I alluded to it upthread; this shoulda been the Aretha comeback:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SsnQXghCpFg

yeah "get it right" & "jump to it" too luther knew just how to handle her production-wise

1982 is one of the BEST of this list

She already endured a half decade of failed and middling comebacks (1980's Love All the Hurt Away was big R&B, nothing on pop), so if one boomer icon deserved an MTV moment with teased-up hair and Keith Richards producing your "Jumpin' Jack Flash" cover in '86 it was Aretha.

my first reaction to 1985 was what were they (we) smoking? then I remembered: CRACK

j/k

wow the late 90s are even more barren than I remember

the era of Donna Lewis, Fun Lovin Criminals, Bloodhound Gang, and Reef. what's not to love

I like the Fun Lovin Criminals. Loko, love unlimited and their cover of Couldnt get it right are all good.

We need a counter-poll to this list with the best year. 1982 is the clear winner but curious about the 2nd and 3rd rankings.

i am tempted to say my three favorites are

1980: The Breaks/ Love Will Tear Us Apart/ Call Me
1990: Groove Is In The Heart/ Nothing Compares 2 U/ The Humpty Dance
2002: Work It/ Lose Yourself/ Hot In Herre

the first place i heard "Mmmbop" was in the CD that came with an issue of CMJ (which iirc also had a breathless article about Hanson).

― EVERY HUGH JACKMAN HAS A VAN HELSING (some dude), Tuesday, January 20, 2015 9:28 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

That reminds me, "Tubthumping" (famously not issued as a domestic cd single) also appeared on a CMJ disc in late '97. Man, if you a few more people knew about that at the time, Christmas '97 would have been much more happier.

My god 1985 is so terrible.

Old Man Down the Road is a wish-washed rip-off of Run Through the Jungle (Fogerty was actually sued by the label for this one which is funny when you consider he's ripping off himself.)
Sun City comes from an album that is the result of someone, somewhere thinking RUN DMC and Bob Dylan mixing together is cool and the end result is the equivalent of mixing Jager with Mayonaise.
Aretha Franklin sounds lame with an 80's RnB beat and most importantly, the song has the lyric "How'd you get your pants so tight?" which is super off-putting coming from her. I'm sorry I like pizza and beer so much Aretha.

Fuck the 1985 singles. I was born that year and I refuse my birth to be represented with those songs.

the era of Donna Lewis, Fun Lovin Criminals, Bloodhound Gang, and Reef. what's not to love

please take your donna lewis bashing elsewhere lest there be fisticuffs

Sun City comes from an album

stopped reading

the song has the lyric "How'd you get your pants so tight?" which is super off-putting coming from her

but you might wanna read that new biography

Only love one of the 1982 top three.

<3 donna lewis

from the wikipedia page for "sun city"

As Van Zandt was writing it, Schechter suggested that he include the names of the artists who had played Sun City in defiance of a United Nations-sanctioned cultural boycott. "I was probably still thinking of 20/20's exposé of conservative Africanists 15 years earlier," says Schechter. References to specific performers who had played in Sun City appeared in the demo but were omitted from the final version of the song

would LOVE to hear that demo

― da croupier, Wednesday, January 14, 2015 8:52 PM (1 week ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

I've read the lyrics (they're in the book published not long after the record came out), and they're awful -- not for who he calls out (not entirely), but because Van Zandt couldn't find a decent rhyme for "Iglesias."

He calls out (iirc) Rod Stewart, Linda Ronstadt, Ray Charles, Queen, Julio Iglesias, and the O'Jays. One reason he scrapped that verse was because the O'Jays actually got taken off the UN boycott list by making a public apology for having played Sun City. Any of the other artists on the UN list could have been similarly removed by similarly apologizing; none did.

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

'95-'99 was def a low point wrt songs/albums getting hyped in EOY lists that didn't come very close to completely representing the best music of the era. I know it's been a common thing for as long as EOY music lists have existed, but the late-'90s feels like a time when music writers should have known better. I might be giving the perspective of that era too much credit, but it's probably part of the reason why the late '90s had weak P&J top 3's.

Not sure why, possibly out of nostalgic curiosity, but I've been flipping through some back issues of SPIN on Google Books the past few days, and I found it kinda strange that one writer was like "1995, god what a horrible year, Silverchair was the worst amiright" and then they put Moby "Everything Is Wrong" as their album of the year.

1993: Cannonball/ Rebirth Of Slick (Cool Like Dat)/ Heart-Shaped Box 2
I don't see what's wrong with this one, but ok.

The Rockafeller Skank/ Doo Wop/ Intergalactic

^^ I don't see what's terribly wrong with this one!

Heard "Bittersweet Symphony" on the way home tonight--still like it. Meant to be the only vote for '83, forgot.

(I don't think '83's embarrassing, obviously. I just mean they're the three songs I'm cumulatively most sick of.)

The Rockafeller Skank/ Doo Wop/ Intergalactic

^^ I don't see what's terribly wrong with this one!

I wouldn't have voted for it but "Walk, Don't Run '99" is kinda embarrassing and trend-chasing for a Song Of The Year

The Rockafeller Skank/ Doo Wop/ Intergalactic

^^ I don't see what's terribly wrong with this one!

Best in the later half of the 90s.

i'd take '96 & '99 over it, chumba keeps me from saying '97

curious how different some years would be if points were assigned rather than all songs on a ballot being given equal weight. as it stands, "devil's haircut" "no diggity" and that primitive radio gods song all got 20 votes to tie at #8 in 1996. would love to see how much allowing for relative enthusiasm would alter that placing.

Really the only thing wrong with the '98 is there's no "Make Em Say Uhh!"

and Jennifer Paige's "Crush."

1999 is pretty strong too: No Scrubs/ My Name Is/ Steal My Sunshine

'98 had "Shorty Swing My Way"

Have any of you listened to "Rockefeller Skank" in the last decade?

Hourly

I know, right?!

i will listen to it right now.

worse yet: 2005-present.

rockafeller skank is ok. i can think of 100 songs from 1998 that are better, but it's not that bad.

also it sounded the same way in my head that it did on the recording so i actually didn't really need to hear it with a fresh perspective but i guess i wouldn't have known that if i didn't hear it just now.

Yup, can't complain with those results!

nothing here is as embarrassing as "fuck you" winning a few years back

How did 1992 not win this?

Just about every 80's song is great, but somebody flipped a switch around '92 and then it's about ten straight years with at least one facepalm-worthy song.

2008 Paper Planes/American Boy/Single Ladies was a pretty good top 3, so was 2011 Rolling in the Deep/Countdown/Super Bass. I'm pretty sure 2009 would have won easily if more recent years had been allowed.

xp because two of those songs are at least good?

If I used harmonic mean, I think my three favourite would be '88, '92, and '94 in some order. ('91 has two colossal songs, plus "Losing My Religion," which I've never liked.)

2012 was the best top 3 imo: no duds amongst "adorn", "call me maybe" and "climax"

2005-now is sooooooooo much worse.

2014: how the fuck does a song win single of the year and almost nobody's ever heard of it?

2012 was the best top 3 imo: no duds amongst "adorn", "call me maybe" and "climax"

― prolego,

I didn't notice it the first time but otm

1981 pretty damn good though. Who said no?

Xxpost Have you retrained your ears to hear white noise when anything other than "Speakerboxx/The Love Below" comes on

The two people who voted 2000 can go and get the hell on...they and they mothers.

Everyone who voted for 1997 is crazy, or an idiot.

add one year and I agree. mostly cos "Doo Woo" on its own absolves it (and "Intergalactic" is dope)

1994: Loser/ Seether/ Fantastic Voyage 0

Whoops, guess I forgot to vote. "Fantastic Voyage" almost saves this year. Almost.

Yeah, 94 is pretty terrible. I've always despised "Loser" from the first time I've heard it. "Seether" is like the aftertaste of "Cannonball" at best. "Fantastic Voyage" is fun but hasn't held up as well as a lot of other rap hits of that era.

actually all 3 of those rule.

i agree with billstevejim

I don't mind "Seether," but don't consider it anything special. The other two '94 songs are brilliant. I listen to "Loser" today, and it sounds as audacious as mid-'60s Dylan (a bit of an exaggeration, not much).

Found 'Loser' quite annoying at the time but liked 'Beercan'.

i like all those songs, though the degree of critical fascination there was with beck's ironic rap goofball shtick is kinda hard to defend now that he's gone from "new dylan" to "new bowie" to "new gordon lightfoot." but that coolio song is a classic of the "holy shit, this song is so happy i didn't realize he was talking about murder" genre.

lol that was an xpost re: "new dylan"

and i prob do prefer beercan, in part because the hombres reference contextualizes it as gibberish rather than zeitgeist

I prefer 1234 Sumpin New, which as far as I can remember is murder-free.

Still surprised 'Fantastic Voyage' had that big an impact. Hindsight would expect 'Juicy' or 'Regulate' way ahead of it.

"Loser" for me is the "American Pie" of the 90s: mildly and inoffensively almost-amusing at the time (though that wore off after the second or third listen), completely insufferable and hilariously dated today. Kids everywhere are screaming at their parents in the car to stop singing along to this beige half-used bar of soap of a song.

juicy wasn't an insta-critical smash - notorious big shows up at the bottom of album chart of p'n'j, and as a wee nerd i definitely heard "big poppa" more

"regulate" only got 2 fewer votes than "fantastic voyage" though

i can't truck with the "american pie" connection mostly cuz maclean was definitely trying to say something and imo beck's saving grace is that he really isn't

Everyone who voted for 1997 is crazy, or an idiot.

― maura, Thursday, January 22, 2015 9:46 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Seconded.

you guys are underestimating the crazy idiot contingent

my only sympathy for the 1997 voters is that while all three are existentialist classics, i still wish i could wipe that chumbawumba song off the face of the earth

like, on some level it is a great song and some other level it annoys the fuck out of me

but anyone who hates all three songs...why u hate the determination to survive in a cruel, unforgiving world

Anyone who hates those songs should be condemned to an eternity spent in a locked dark room with Centerfield playing on loop forever

better: with the HIIIIDE-DEE-HIIIIIIIIIDE looped forever

i didn't vote for 1997 but even "mmmbop" can't compensate for the other two horrors

"Bittersweet Symphony" is the only defensible one out of those three, and not even very.

Everyone who voted for 1997 is crazy, or an idiot.
― maura, Friday, January 23, 2015

holy shit did Chris Rea's On The Beach rip Don't Stop The Dance by Bryan Ferry or was it the other way round? could be the *same damn song*! i'm amazed by this. i love both too (it turns out).

more like everyone who DIDN'T vote for 1997 is crazy, or an idiot

pwned

holy shit did Chris Rea's On The Beach rip Don't Stop The Dance by Bryan Ferry or was it the other way round? could be the *same damn song*! i'm amazed by this. i love both too (it turns out).

Ferry came first, which makes sense because he doesn't listen to music.

wow yeah..

Someone needs to do this poll with top 3 tracks from the ILM polls.

Most Embarrassing ILM Top 3 Singles 2014-2002

2002: Work It/ Lose Yourself/ Hot In Herre

"lose yourself" is kind of melodramatic and silly but "work it" and "hot in herre" are classic! disappointed this got a vote, even if it was only just one.

We're usually on the same page with the Who and a lot of '60s music, Tarfumes, but we're far apart on "Loser." I love it even more now than then.

Agree about 2002, even more so: two amazing songs, "Lose Yourself" really corny (both words and music).

I prefer 1234 Sumpin New, which as far as I can remember is murder-free.

― how's life, Friday, January 23, 2015 7:01 AM Bookmark

Yes! Love that song. Also if memory serves me right, "Fantastic Voyage" was one of three or so rap songs that got played that year on the top 40 station they played on the school bus.

We're usually on the same page with the Who and a lot of '60s music, Tarfumes, but we're far apart on "Loser." I love it even more now than then.

Yeah, we do agree a lot on Who and 60s stuff...but I dunno, I just never liked "Loser" from the first time I heard it. At the time, I could think of many, many better/more effective examples of what Beck (who I always thought was vastly overrated) was trying for. It struck me as dull, plodding, and obvious.

per croup's ten-year cut-off rule, we're due for the 2005-2014 sequel!

lol at lex pretend lex pretending to not know anything about either Beck or the Smashing Pumpkins

i don't know if i could even name the artists behind 1985's top 3

artists against apartheid / aretha franklin / idk

i own the sun city single tho

John Fogerty with the song he got sued over for 'Self-Plagerism'.

oh that's the artists against apartheid single, i do know that one. and my parents used to play 'who's zoomin who' so i'm sure i've heard the aretha one

1994: Loser/ Seether/ Fantastic Voyage

wow, dire

"Freeway of Love" was one I initially knew through the Weird Al polka-medley version, but have definitely heard out there in the world. It's a little exhausting iirc.

"Seether" is a sold alt-rock tune, "Fantastic Voyage" is a lot of fun, but picking either among the top three singles of the year seems bonkers to me. "Loser" I never need to hear again, but at least feels representative of the era.

"Bittersweet Symphony" is the only defensible one out of those three, and not even very.

I still enjoy it, but about a decade ago, I let it play during a party, and man did that go over badly.