# Absolutely crap songs that yet induce nostalgia **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 20, 2008, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/absolutely-crap-songs-that-yet-induce-nostalgia/438341 "2008-02-20T01:30:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Coldfire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a587f6/32.png) [@Coldfire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Coldfire)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2008, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/absolutely-crap-songs-that-yet-induce-nostalgia/438341/1 "2008-02-20T01:30:44Z")
You know what I’m talking about. Songs so shitty that you wouldn’t admit to groovin’ to them, at that campsite discoteque in Southern France, back in 1989. Replace “campsite discoteque” with “high school prom”, “Southern France” with “Eastern Minnesota”, “1989” with “2001”, whatever. 😃 But as shitty as the song is, and even was then, it brings back all those memories of that open air camping pub, those beautiful girls, those sultry nights under the stars… you get the picture. Mine? [The Soca Dance](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SALgXnL61gY), by a dude called Charles D. Lewis, as I just found out. And YES, it’s crap. I know. 😃 What’s your horrible song that you still like for nostalgic reasons? ---
**Author:** ![Omniscient](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omniscient/32/3290_2.png) [@Omniscient](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omniscient)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2008, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/absolutely-crap-songs-that-yet-induce-nostalgia/438341/2 "2008-02-20T01:34:58Z")
[QUOTE=Coldfire] Mine? [The Soca Dance](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SALgXnL61gY), by a dude called Charles D. Lewis, as I just found out. [/QUOTE] Wow, that is really atrocious. Just…damn. My worst one that gets be happily reminiscing about 1991 would have to be _Ice Ice Baby_. ---
**Author:** ![TheLoadedDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/35a633/32.png) [@TheLoadedDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheLoadedDog)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2008, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/absolutely-crap-songs-that-yet-induce-nostalgia/438341/3 "2008-02-20T01:50:29Z")
Looks like it’s down to me to get the obligatory _99 Luftballons_ out of the way. Nena was hot though… ---
**Author:** ![River\_Hippie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/river_hippie/32/26_2.png) [@River\_Hippie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/River_Hippie)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2008, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/absolutely-crap-songs-that-yet-induce-nostalgia/438341/4 "2008-02-20T01:57:44Z")
“Separate Ways” by Journey Reminds me of special times in my life. ---
**Author:** ![Coldfire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a587f6/32.png) [@Coldfire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Coldfire)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2008, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/absolutely-crap-songs-that-yet-induce-nostalgia/438341/5 "2008-02-20T01:59:07Z")
[Nena’s still all right for 47](http://www.nena.de/cover-me/2/fotos/album/show/fotoshooting-cover-me.html) 😃 (Edited to make more sense…) ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2008, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/absolutely-crap-songs-that-yet-induce-nostalgia/438341/6 "2008-02-20T02:32:08Z")
OK, I’ll admit it. I have a soft spot in my heart for Terry Jacks’ unfogettable “Seasons in the Sun” because a young lady of my acquaintance and I bonded through our mutual hatred of the song. Every time I hear it I get a warm feeling in my heart right along with the sick feeling in my stomach. ---
**Author:** ![Cicero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cicero/32/3594_2.png) [@Cicero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cicero)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2008, 10:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/absolutely-crap-songs-that-yet-induce-nostalgia/438341/7 "2008-02-20T10:09:16Z")
_See the tree how big it’s grown…"_ ---
**Author:** ![DfrntBreign](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f6c823/32.png) [@DfrntBreign](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DfrntBreign)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2008, 10:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/absolutely-crap-songs-that-yet-induce-nostalgia/438341/8 "2008-02-20T10:45:42Z")
“Up, up and away in my beautiful, my beautiful ballooooon”. My first paid gig at the tender young age of twelve. (Entertainment at the local county beauty pageant.) ---
**Author:** ![hawthorne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@hawthorne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hawthorne)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2008, 12:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/absolutely-crap-songs-that-yet-induce-nostalgia/438341/9 "2008-02-20T12:48:50Z")
Europe’s _The Final Countdown_. And while I still think _Wind of Change_ by the Scorpions is crappy, I feel rather differently about it after a drunken night in a karaoke bar in Vietnam. The straightened shoulders and puddles of tears from the locals sure wiped the smirk off my face. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2008, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/absolutely-crap-songs-that-yet-induce-nostalgia/438341/10 "2008-02-20T15:50:00Z")
[QUOTE=Cicero] _See the tree how big it’s grown…"_ [/QUOTE] Ugh…_Honey_! We used to have an elderly gentleman who sang that at karaoke every damn time… Crap that evokes nostalgia, huh? There was a novelty record out in 1980 by a performer named Joe Dolce, [Shaddap You Face](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d-BKcKMS748). It’s _HORRIBLE_…horrible faux-Italian-broken-English, faux-Italian street music style. But my brother LOVED this song…he played the 45 until the grooves wore out. And just hearing the intro music can take me back 28 years. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2008, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/absolutely-crap-songs-that-yet-induce-nostalgia/438341/11 "2008-02-20T15:57:18Z")
[QUOTE=hawthorne] And while I still think _Wind of Change_ by the Scorpions is crappy, I feel rather differently about it after a drunken night in a karaoke bar in Vietnam. The straightened shoulders and puddles of tears from the locals sure wiped the smirk off my face. [/QUOTE] I don’t get it. What would Vietnamese locals care about some crappy early 90s Scorpions song? ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2008, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/absolutely-crap-songs-that-yet-induce-nostalgia/438341/12 "2008-02-20T18:56:08Z")
[QUOTE=jayjay] Crap that evokes nostalgia, huh? There was a novelty record out in 1980 by a performer named Joe Dolce, [Shaddap You Face](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d-BKcKMS748). It’s _HORRIBLE_…horrible faux-Italian-broken-English, faux-Italian street music style. But my brother LOVED this song…he played the 45 until the grooves wore out. And just hearing the intro music can take me back 28 years. [/QUOTE] I used to think I had hallucinated that! Mine is Never Been to Me, by Charlene. All us little girls sang along with the radio when it came on during that slumber party…fifth grade, maybe? We all went to the same Christian school and felt so daring singing that racy song. ---
**Author:** ![Windwalker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/5e9695/32.png) [@Windwalker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Windwalker)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2008, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/absolutely-crap-songs-that-yet-induce-nostalgia/438341/13 "2008-02-20T19:13:18Z")
“Who Let The Dogs Out” reminds me of baseball games in an open-air stadium at night. Good times, good times… Horrible song, but good times… ---
**Author:** ![Eonwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eonwe/32/240_2.png) [@Eonwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eonwe)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2008, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/absolutely-crap-songs-that-yet-induce-nostalgia/438341/14 "2008-02-20T19:14:14Z")
[QUOTE=msmith537] I don’t get it. What would Vietnamese locals care about some crappy early 90s Scorpions song? [/QUOTE] WAG: It’s a song about the fall of Russian Communism; my guess is that that would be somewhat symbolic for a nation like Vietnam. ---
**Author:** ![koeeoaddi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/koeeoaddi/32/408_2.png) [@koeeoaddi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/koeeoaddi)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2008, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/absolutely-crap-songs-that-yet-induce-nostalgia/438341/15 "2008-02-20T19:16:24Z")
I can almost smell the manure whenever I hear _My Boy Lollipop_ by Millie Small. Takes me right back to the summer I spent hanging out in a barn, grooming horses and listening to Top 40 on my camp counselor’s white plastic Philco am radio. […say, where you been, **Coldie**?] ---
**Author:** ![Silver\_Tyger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/fbc32d/32.png) [@Silver\_Tyger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silver_Tyger)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2008, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/absolutely-crap-songs-that-yet-induce-nostalgia/438341/16 "2008-02-20T19:19:47Z")
Anything from Jem and the Holograms. Seriously. I have MP3s of most of the songs. You’d think that since each song is only about a minute long they’d be able to come up with enough lyrics to fill it. Not so. About a quarter of them are incredibly repetitive, but I still love them all. I’m sad, I know. (But some of the songs are… well, not _really_ good, but no worse than the average pop song) ---
**Author:** ![Sunrazor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sunrazor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunrazor)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2008, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/absolutely-crap-songs-that-yet-induce-nostalgia/438341/17 "2008-02-20T19:25:11Z")
I dunno, is “Hey, Jude” considered a crap song? I was a huge Beatles fan in my teen years, and frankly couldn’t tell the difference between good and bad Beatles songs. If so, I’ve got a story to share; if not, never mind. ---
**Author:** ![robardin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/43a26b/32.png) [@robardin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robardin)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2008, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/absolutely-crap-songs-that-yet-induce-nostalgia/438341/18 "2008-02-20T19:31:02Z")
I’m dating myself here (as is anybody responding to this thread), but for me it’s _Sunglasses At Night_ by Corey Hart. One of my teenage memories is of being 14 years old, putting on my red (faux) leather jacket and taking a long, solo walk around my friend’s neighborhood in deep suburban New Jersey after New Year’s of 1985 (just after midnight after the ball dropped), with this song on my (tape cassette) Walkman and yes, sunglasses on, and thinking to myself, _Why doesn’t anyone else notice that I’m so cool?_ Every time it comes on the radio or some other random play venue now, I get all excited and say, “Ooh! I haven’t heard this song in a long time!” What I really mean, though, is that I haven’t heard the song _from beginning to end_ in a long time, because after hearing no more than 60 seconds of it, I must change the song or make a quick escape. ---
**Author:** ![Anastasaeon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/73ab20/32.png) [@Anastasaeon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anastasaeon)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2008, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/absolutely-crap-songs-that-yet-induce-nostalgia/438341/19 "2008-02-20T19:33:28Z")
Mine is [The Riddle by Nik Kershaw](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WlYt8tvuB64) (YouTube video, sound). The synth, IT BURNS! Co-workers often are treated to my cheerful whistling rendition of the chorus (while I understand whistling while you work is generally frowned upon at the SDMB, I work with folks who don’t mind whistling or singing while you work, and actually encourage it to an extent - we’d go crazy if we didn’t) - anyway, I often get the odd look and a “what _is_ that song?”; it sounds vaguely familiar, but no one can quite place it. Liking it or not depends on one’s opinion of Nik Kershaw, who I actually adore - but I rarely like to admit it in public - and the cheese factor is high. It all brings back fond memories of my dad, who is still alive, by the way, I just moved far away. Summer scents of hot grass in a warm breeze at high noon in my backyard in New Brunswick. Being able to see for miles from my back patio, just hills and hills of trees and sky and not much else. I felt like I could see all the way to St. Stephen from there. My dad would be “barbequing” ground chicken burgers - a loose term, indeed, as he was really just heating them up on a grill, and not adding any sauces or anything special to them. He would have his cheap, ancient stereo hooked up to some speakers and have it blasting into the backyard. Nik Kershaw is high on his favourite artists list. I’ve heard that song since it came out back in - what, 1985? - and I was still just a wee stump then, but by the time dad was “barbequing” (if ever a word needed quotes, this is _the_ appropriate time), I was in my early twenties, and still but a wisp of a flame-haired Acadian girl, yearning to be out, out, and far, far away. I moved to Seattle when I was still 25, was married, and my husband even likes Nik Kershaw. Lots of his stuff. My life is a very happy one, I have a job I adore, I’ve made a lot of new friends and am finally beginning to come out of my very shy shell. Our marriage is a happy one, and just yesterday celebrated our fourth year anniversary. Everything is looking up, and I can’t wait to find out what’s in store for tomorrow. I learn new things, new skills, new ideas, every single day, and I feel, for the first time, like I am thriving in my life, enjoying it for what it is, seeing things in a new, optimistic light. And yet here I am, far, far away, and Nik Kershaw reminds me only of hot grass in a warm breeze, high noon, in my family’s backyard, smelling chicken warming up in tinfoil, and staring out across those rolling hills full of trees, where I could see all the way to St. Stephen, if I tried really hard. ---
**Author:** ![SiXSwordS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/49beb7/32.png) [@SiXSwordS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SiXSwordS)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2008, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/absolutely-crap-songs-that-yet-induce-nostalgia/438341/20 "2008-02-20T19:33:55Z")
Heaven, Bryan Adams My parents were going out of town on Saturday. I sneaked my girlfriend into the house Friday night and she slept in my brother’s room. (He didn’t live at home at the time.) After my parents left we had the house to ourselves for two days. I was maybe fifteen. I don’t remember where in that escapade I heard the song, but I remember her repeating the lyrics to me. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/absolutely-crap-songs-that-yet-induce-nostalgia/438341.md?page=2)