Bubbling Under #2

As the voting gets hotter and heavier, we're starting to see some major movement in the top ten -- songs that were bubbling under are now in, songs that were in last week have dropped out, and a few songs have come from out of nowhere to challenge for the Top Ten. Excitement, danger, romance and adventure.

Bubbling Under

#11 -- "Don't Worry Be Happy" -- Bobby McFerrin
#12 -- "I'm Too Sexy" -- Right Said Fred
#13 -- "London Bridge" -- Fergie
#14 -- "Love Shack" -- B-52s
#15 -- "Money for Nothing" -- Dire Straits
#16 -- "My Heart Will Go On" -- Celine Dion
#17 -- "Oh Sherry" -- Steve Perry
#18 -- "Seasons in the Sun" -- Terry Jacks
#19 -- "The Thong Song" -- Sisqo
#20 -- "Wind Beneath My Wings" -- Bette Midler

10 days until the end of voting. Vote now!

Why do we love bad music?

Here’s a conversation I had yesterday – some friends were talking about the Worst Song of All Time Poll (and if you haven’t voted yet, click here now) and we started tossing around song titles. For every song title we threw out there, somebody would say this:

“No! I love that song! That’s a great song!”

This was said about such awful classics as “We Built This City,” “Escape (The Pina Colada Song),” “Hangin’ Tough” and even – no lie – “Seasons in the Sun.” Seasons in the fucking sun. So there we were – five grown adults with supposedly good taste defending Terry Jacks and Starship with zeal and passion. It was a great Bad Song Brawl.

It strikes me every year that the songs people hate the most are also some of the songs people love the most. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that the songs that top our Worst Song list every year also happen to be huge hits. The four songs mentioned above all went to #1 in the US. All four have stood the test of time and are remembered to this day. How do these terrible songs do this? What’s their secret? Can they be destroyed?

I’ve got theories on this:

THEORY #1 – OVER-SATURATION

A decent pop song can be deemed “bad” if it’s overplayed and over-heard. Songs that hit the top of the charts got to the top partly because of airplay, so they run the risk of over-saturation. For example, Britney Spears’ “…Baby One More Time” has made our Top Ten Worst Songs list in the past – but after learning the song and playing it, we decided as a band that it wasn’t really that bad of a song. Of course, if we hear that song on the radio one more time we might take a hostage.

THEORY #2 – SUPERIORITY COMPLEX

People have an affinity for the awful. Bad music, bad movies, bad novels, bad television etc. – we enjoy hating. It gives us a feeling of superiority; we are able to judge correctly, much in the same way we judge something that is good. It’s why we watch American Idol -- there's something satisfying and addicting about using your own 'good' taste to cast stones down on the offenders. Of course, in doing so, we run the risk of elevating these offenders to fame and fortune (hello, Sanjaya.)

THEORY #3 – YIN AND YANG

The bad song and the good song strike similar emotional responses in the listener. “Wow, this rocks” and “Wow, this sucks” are twin sons of different mothers. The pop song is written to elicit a strong response and whether the passion is for or against almost doesn’t matter. Love it or hate it -- as long as you buy it.

THEORY #4 – PEOPLE ARE MASOCHISTS

People are masochists.

Theory #4 has a lot of appeal. Feel free to share yours. And if you can defend “Seasons in the Sun,” do your worst.

Bubbling Under...

I don't know if Billboard still does this, but they used to have a chart called"Bubbling Under" -- a list of songs that had not quite made the Hot 100. In this spirit, we have the list of the songs just out of our Top Ten right now. It's early, and this list will change -- if you see your favorite Worst Song on the Bubbling Under list, you might want to make a vote or two...

Bubbling Under

#11 -- "Trapped in the Closet" -- R. Kelly
#12 -- "I Ran" -- A Flock of Seagulls
#13 -- "Cum On Feel the Noize" -- Quiet Riot
#14 -- "I'm Too Sexy" -- Right Said Fred
#15 -- "...Baby One More Time" -- Britney Spears
#16 -- "Bad" -- Michael Jackson
#17 -- "Sexyback" -- Justin Timberlake
#18 -- "U Can't Touch This" -- MC Hammer
#19 -- "Mmmbop" -- Hanson
#20 -- "Seasons in the Sun" -- Terry Jacks

Notes: R. Kelly made a strong run last year at the top ten, so I'm not surprised he's up so high...We've received a lot of votes for various Britney songs -- maybe we should pool them together and do a medley...Quiet Riot has already surpassed its entire 12 year vote total -- apparently metal health will drive you mad...And I'm a little surprised at the Timberlake votes -- I thought he was cool now...I'm never surprised by the perennial appearances by Hanson, Jacks and Right Said Fred -- three songs that have made our Top Ten in years past...

We'll post the Bubbling Under list every Tuesday until voting ends...

This is why we do this...

The video above is for "Life is a Rock (But the Radio Rolled Me)" -- a #8 from 1974 for the band Reunion. It's bloody awful -- and it received a couple of votes last week for Worst Song.

Here's the thing -- I've never heard this song before in my life. I thought maybe watching the video and hearing the song would jog a memory or two (the fact it's from '74 isn't a consideration -- I've got a pretty good memory for songs as old or older than I am.) But nothing. Nada. Zip. This was the first time hearing this song. And that's why we do this.

Now -- don't vote for it anymore. I can't possibly sing that fast.


Fun Fact: the singer for Reunion is Joey Levine, who also sang lead on the Ohio Express bubblegum hit "Yummy Yummy Yummy" -- and, if that wasn't cool enough, was the inspiration for Joey Ramone's name. Rock on.

First Day Results

No, we won't be giving day-to-day tallies (we want the top ten to be something of a surprise, y'know?) but I always like to give a first day report, just to show which way the wind is blowing.

1. "Five Hundred Miles (I'm Gonna Be)" -- The Proclaimers
2. "True" -- Spandau Ballet
3. "I'd Do Anything For Love (But I Won't Do That)" -- Meat Loaf
4. "The Best of Times" -- Styx
5. "Don't Worry Be Happy" -- Bobby McFerrin
6. "Hip to Be Square" -- Huey Lewis and the News
7. "Bad" -- Michael Jackson
8. "Invisible" -- Clay Aiken
9. "Oh Sherry" -- Steve Perry
10. "My Humps" -- Black Eyed Peas

44 songs have already received one vote. We're well on our way...

And the first vote has been cast...

"Convoy" -- CW McCall. It's the early leader -- with one vote.

VOTING HAS BEGUN!

And we're off to the races:

DMQ's Worst Song Voting Page

1. You may enter as often as you want (we do keep an eye on “Chicago-style” ballot stuffing, so be crafty.)
2. Songs can be from any era, any genre.
3. When possible, please put the name of the song and the artist.
4. One lucky voter will receive TWO FREE PASSES to our Halloween show on Saturday, October 27th at the Tractor in Seattle. Only entries with full names and verifiable e-mail addresses will be eligible to win the free passes.
5. Voting ends Friday, October 5^th.

That's it for now. Get crack-a-lackin'.