But I digress. Anyway, during the course of the evening Bon Jovi's Livin' on a Prayer came on and I mentioned to Christy that, after much thought, I'm putting that song on "The List". To clarify, The List was invented for and necessitated by Paradise City. It was the first, and for a long time only, entry that I classified under the category of "songs that I think are good but that I can happily go the rest of my life without ever hearing again." I just think that there is a little counter in each of our brains that keeps track of how many times we've been exposed to a particular stimulus and once we reach a certain point (which I think is variable) there's no longer any reaction. You're just numb to it. It's not like you actively dislike it now; it's just that you can no longer (and can't ever envision being able to) "get into it". Off the top of my head, here are the songs on the list:
1. Paradise City
2. Livin' on a Prayer
3. Pour Some Sugar on Me
4. Runnin' with the Devil
5. We Didn't Start the Fire
6. You Shook Me All Night Long
7. Baby Got Back
8. Jeremy
9. American Pie
10. Piano Man
One caveat I should mention regarding numbers 9 and 10. Both of those songs I actually CAN still listen to and enjoy but only briefly. I want them to end after about 2 minutes, but of course they go on for another 4, so I'd rather they not come on at all.
Then there are also the following 5 songs which, while not on the list quite yet, will inevitably be on there. The slide is irreversible; it's just a matter of time. They are:
1. Here I Go Again
2. Like a Prayer
3. Billie Jean
4. Jessie's Girl
5. Welcome to the Jungle
I'm sure there are many more that I'm just not thinking of right now. Yes, most of the songs on the list are from the 80s. Make of that what you will.
So, fellow readers, what's on your list? Keep in mind the rules. We're NOT talking about "songs you can't stand" or "songs that are overplayed". These are specifically songs where if someone said to you "this is a good song" you'd absolutely agree, but you still wouldn't want to listen to it. For instance, I'm reasonably sure that "Smells Like Teen Spirit" would be on a lot of people's list, but it doesn't make mine for the simple fact that I never liked it in the first place. Similarly, I never need to hear "Ice, Ice Baby" again but I don't put it on the list because even though I did like it at one time I would never defend it as "good".
4 comments:
Only thing that comes to mind is Sweet Carline (Don't tell Bickham.)
1) What A Wonderful World - Louie Armstrong
2) Somethin To Believe In - Poison
3) You've Lost That Lovin Feelin - Righteous Brothers
4) Signs - 5 Man Electrical Band
5) I Will Survive - Gloria Gaynor (Cake cover is still great, though)
6) Imagine - John Lennon
7) I'm A Believer - Neil Diamond/Monkees/Smashmouth
8) Sympathy For The Devil - Rolling Stones
9) Pour Some Sugar On Me - Def Leppard
10) Candle In The Wind - Elton John
Bennie & The Jets gets an "honorable" mention, and a side note on #1: It wouldn't be so bad if every time I heard it sung, it wasn't by some drunk ass power tool in a karaoke bar who thought it'd be "cool" to do What A Wonderful World, and try to mimic Louie Armstrong's vocals.
Mikey, I too said I Will Survive would be on my list but not the Cake version- funny!
There are some more recent songs that would be on my list. That new Train song, Hey Soul Sister, was pretty catchy (even though the lyrics are stupid), and I really liked it until they played it way too much on the radio. And now I think I could go the rest of my life without hearing it, although I still do like it. Also that one by the Black Eyed Peas, Tonight's Gonna Be a Good Night.
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