So this morning, the hubs and I were telling Alexa (our amazon echo) to play random songs - and I requested “Please Mr. Please” by Olivia Newton-John.
For the youngsters in the crowd - it’s an old 70s song about a jilted woman sitting at the bar, asking “button-pushing cowboys” not to select B-17 on the jukebox because that was “their song” back when she was with the guy.
It got me thinking - **what songs do you avoid, or skip, or just not play anymore that you used to love? It doesn’t have to be about romance - just any songs that were once something you listened to on repeat, but now have bad feelings about. **
I Used to love reggae in general and Bob Marley in particular. Now it just reminds me of the tacky beach bars around here and the drunken scumbags that inhabit them. Other than that, there are hundreds of songs that I could do without due to over exposure but I don’t think that’s what you’re getting at(?)
“Brandy”, by Looking Glass. Back in the 80s working at the local cinema, they had a muzak tape that kept breaking and getting sliced back together, minus a song each time. I spent an entire summer listening to a loop of “Brandy”, “Wildfire”, and another song I’ve managed to completely block. Couldn’t stand those songs.
… So it was with great dismay that I watched the opening to Guardians of the Galaxy 2.
I did come up with one answer, Affair of the Heart by Rick Springfield. I still think it’s a good song but unfortunately I associate it with someone I shouldn’t have dated. Every time I hear it, my skin starts to crawl and I have to change it.
That “Hello” song by Adele. Not due to a breakup or anything; I used to think the song was okay.
Then, we had an ice storm that basically shut down the city, and I was called out at midnight to rescue some friends who were stranded. Took me two hours to get from one side of the city to the other. And in that time, I would wager that the radio station played “Hello” about 847 times. The roads were so horrible and slippery, I didn’t want to take my eyes off them, or my hands off the wheel to change the station. I just white-knuckled it, gritted my teeth, and swore revenge on my stupid, stupid friends. And then, of course, I had to get back home.
Aerosmith’s “I Don’t Want to Miss A Thing.” When it came out, everyone in the world except for me thought it was overplayed, but I absolutely could not get enough of it, loved the song to pieces, it was my favorite song ever all through high school. Well, finally I loved it so much that I myself overplayed it. Now, I think I technically have the song somewhere, but I never listen to it anymore.
ETA: Actually, upon re-reading the OP, we were supposed to mention a song we have bad feelings about. So this probably doesn’t qualify.
The most common one I skip past if it comes up is “Torn Between Two Lovers” by Mary MacGregor. When it was popular while I was young, it had no personal meaning for me. But having had someone cheat on you tends to sour you upon songs justifying cheating on your lover.
Yesterday was finishing up the White Album on the car stereo. Got While My Guitar Gently Weeps in my head. Not the best song on the album, but a whole lot better than most of the stuff that gets stuck in there. At least it’s not Revolution 9.
A recent article has me thinking about my propensity to not only accept my bad moods, but embrace and seek out what could be called “bad mood music” which I’ve always used as a drug to help me regulate my moods.
I don’t have a B17, but any saccharine posi- unironical madlads popping Mentos out on the town music depresses the hell out of me. Every time.
Though its possible I’m an addict who’s only prolonging the problem, sad and angry music makes me feel better, and I’m enjoying watching the pendulum of contemporary pop culture seem to be swinging back towards me.
“Every Picture Tells a Story” by Rod Stewart. The place where I worked had a tape with Christmas promotions one December. It ran all day and, to make it seem like a radio, it had one song on it. One song all day. I’m allergic to repetition, so that drove me crazy.
In a different way, Orleans’ “Still the One.” It was “our song” and it’s about a long-time relationship. My marriage imploded in a manner that crushed me emotionally, and I couldn’t listen to the song without those feelings overwhelming me. Luckily I eventually realized the song was about my remarriage, so I can listen to it again.
