# Iconic bad song of the decade **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 13, 2010, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iconic-bad-song-of-the-decade/546560 "2010-07-13T17:37:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2010, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iconic-bad-song-of-the-decade/546560/121 "2010-07-16T17:26:46Z")
> [@winterhawk11](#): > > Is “Believe” the one with the steampunky black and white zeppelin video? If so, I quite like that song. Actually, I kind of like “My Heart Will Go On” too, but I find it’s safer not to admit it. 🙂 IIRC, it’s mostly shots of Cher in a feathery headdress thing, but shown from the tits up only, and younger, hotter people dancing… with the whole thing backlit in blue. ETA: [I found it](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LbXiECmCZ94), but I ain’t watchin’ it for you. ---
**Author:** ![Infovore](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/infovore/32/420_2.png) [@Infovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infovore)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2010, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iconic-bad-song-of-the-decade/546560/122 "2010-07-16T17:34:15Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > IIRC, it’s mostly shots of Cher in a feathery headdress thing, but shown from the tits up only, and younger, hotter people dancing… with the whole thing backlit in blue. Ah! Okay. Not the same song, then. [Here’s](http://new.music.yahoo.com/videos/Elton+John/Believe--2143246) the one I was referring to. ---
**Author:** ![phungi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/phungi/32/395_2.png) [@phungi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phungi)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2010, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iconic-bad-song-of-the-decade/546560/123 "2010-07-16T17:41:31Z")
I would like to nominate “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” for worst song since 1950… ---
**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2010, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iconic-bad-song-of-the-decade/546560/124 "2010-07-16T17:57:12Z")
> [@winterhawk11](#): > > That song is appallingly bad. But…I actually like the Alanis Morrissette version enough that I have it in my iTunes. Ditto Richard Cheese’s version of “Baby Got Back.” Amazing what you can do to a horrible song if you re-record it as a slow ballad or a lounge-lizard song. 🙂 Bah, the original “Baby Got Back” is a 90s classic! Sir Mix-a-Lot has a great sense of humor. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2010, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iconic-bad-song-of-the-decade/546560/125 "2010-07-16T18:15:08Z")
> [@Kyla](#): > > Bah, the original “Baby Got Back” is a 90s classic! Sir Mix-a-Lot has a great sense of humor. Yeah, “Baby Got Back” is fun. The Richard Cheese version loses its charm after the first listening, in my opinion. Once you got the joke–haha, pop song played in a lounge style–it just loses its replay value. In my opinion, of course. ---
**Author:** ![jrepka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ee59a6/32.png) [@jrepka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jrepka)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2010, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iconic-bad-song-of-the-decade/546560/126 "2010-07-16T19:07:16Z")
Haven’t been around since I created the thread a few days ago, I’m impressed by the range of opinion… Re: The Beatles early catalog, songs like “Hey Ya” – In my opinion only, songs that just get so much airplay that you become sick of them shouldn’t qualify. I loved “Hey Ya” at first, and I like it again now that it’s no longer ubiquitous. I hated “Wildfire” right away, and it still sickens me. Re: Disco Duck, Itsy-Bitsy Teeny-Weenie, et al. – Again, my opinion only, but novelty songs are made to be stupid, and they don’t really qualify as being representative of the music of their era, except that they are generally made to parody that era. It’s kind of like judging the greatest or worst president based on how good the impressionists who play them on SNL are… ---
**Author:** ![PookahMacPhellimey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pookahmacphellimey/32/3175_2.png) [@PookahMacPhellimey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PookahMacPhellimey)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2010, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iconic-bad-song-of-the-decade/546560/127 "2010-07-16T19:48:50Z")
\*My Humps \*is not the worst song of any decade. It is the worst song in the history of humankind. And if there were other intelligent beings who made music before humankind I can’t imagine they could have possibly come up with anything worse either. ---
**Author:** ![PookahMacPhellimey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pookahmacphellimey/32/3175_2.png) [@PookahMacPhellimey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PookahMacPhellimey)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2010, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iconic-bad-song-of-the-decade/546560/128 "2010-07-16T19:49:59Z")
For the 60’s: The Youngbloods: Get Together. Come on people now, smile on your brother, everyone get together try and love one another right now. Vomit. ---
**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2010, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iconic-bad-song-of-the-decade/546560/129 "2010-07-16T20:12:52Z")
> [@PookahMacPhellimey](#): > > For the 60’s: > > The Youngbloods: Get Together. But it was entertaining when the whole world sang it on the Simpsons! ---
**Author:** ![Bamboo\_Boy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/839c29/32.png) [@Bamboo\_Boy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bamboo_Boy)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2010, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iconic-bad-song-of-the-decade/546560/130 "2010-07-16T20:19:21Z")
The all-time worst 80’s song, IMHO, has to be “Hot Hot Hot”. Not the one by The Cure, that other, awful fake-Latin one. It’s a toe-curling song. -BB ---
**Author:** ![california\_jobcase](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@california\_jobcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/california_jobcase)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2010, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iconic-bad-song-of-the-decade/546560/131 "2010-07-16T22:05:14Z")
A bad music thread requires nominating “Alone Again, Naturally” by Gilbert O’Sullivan. 70’s, I think- ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2010, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iconic-bad-song-of-the-decade/546560/132 "2010-07-16T22:49:02Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > Milkshake has a pretty cool backing track, though. So does Lady Gaga :eek: Actually, I think I will nominate Lady Gaga for the iconic bad song of the 2000s. I’m not even sure which song I heard. But like all my nominations (well, except Unskinny Bop), her songs are close enough to being good that their ultimate suckitude is even sadder. If she didn’t use Autotune I’d dance to her at a club (if there were non autotune non rap techno clubs around anymore), if not actually purchase her stuff. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2010, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iconic-bad-song-of-the-decade/546560/133 "2010-07-16T23:15:55Z")
> [@Bamboo\_Boy](#): > > The all-time worst 80’s song, IMHO, has to be “Hot Hot Hot”. Not the one by The Cure, that other, awful fake-Latin one. It’s a toe-curling song. > > -BB by Buster Poindexter. Or, rather, David Johansen, singer of the seminal proto-punk/glam rock band, The New York Dolls. ---
**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2010, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iconic-bad-song-of-the-decade/546560/134 "2010-07-16T23:29:22Z")
> [@Ludovic](#): > > So does Lady Gaga :eek: > > Actually, I think I will nominate Lady Gaga for the iconic bad song of the 2000s. I’m not even sure which song I heard. > > But like all my nominations (well, except Unskinny Bop), her songs are close enough to being good that their ultimate suckitude is even sadder. If she didn’t use Autotune I’d dance to her at a club (if there were non autotune non rap techno clubs around anymore), if not actually purchase her stuff. What’s crazy is that Lady Gaga has a _fantastic_ voice, although I’m not a huge fan of her style of music. A friend of mine linked me to a video of her singing on the Ellen show…let me see if I can find it. Oh, [here you go](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VRILEQhJqoo). She doesn’t need lots of effects. Huh, [I just found another video where she talks about how much she hates autotune](http://www.mefeedia.com/watch/24119554). ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2010, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iconic-bad-song-of-the-decade/546560/135 "2010-07-16T23:44:21Z")
Okay, so that’s her real voice but she chooses to sing like a processed voice. That _is_ pretty crazy. If she sang like the non-processed-sounding half of the first clip she would be a good singer. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2010, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iconic-bad-song-of-the-decade/546560/136 "2010-07-17T02:51:55Z")
I also like Lady Gaga. Terrific arrangements, good production, occasionally clever lyrics, short skirts. What’s not to love? Okay, her performing style. That _is_ incredibly irritating. I mean, we should really execute everyone who has ever used an autotune, and everyone who used anything like it (yeah, I’m looking at you, [Alan Parsons](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vocoder)). Then we should execute everyone who kind of sounded like they might have used one once. ---
**Author:** ![Cardinal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cardinal/32/4000_2.png) [@Cardinal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cardinal)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2010, 6:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iconic-bad-song-of-the-decade/546560/137 "2010-07-17T06:23:49Z")
> [@Hampshire](#): > > These songs actually make me cringe like nails on a chalkboard: > > 60s: **Up, Up, and Away** _-The 5th Dimension_ > 70s: **Afternoon Delight** _-Starland Vocal Band_ > 80s: **We Are The World** _-Various_ > 90s: **MmmBop** _-Hanson_ > 00s: **Your Body is a Wonderland** _-John Mayer_ Being raised in a “pop music is bad” house, I didn’t hear many of the 70s pop hits, and the ones I know are from “classic rock” radio. My only connection to Afternoon Delight was Will Hunting singing it to mock his therapist. I just found it on youtube, and that is AWFUL. The lyrics are cheezy _and_ crude, the tune is the fat-free cottage cheese of music. In retrospect, We Are the World is pretty generic, too. I think Do They Know it’s Christmas is much better. ---
**Author:** ![Cardinal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cardinal/32/4000_2.png) [@Cardinal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cardinal)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2010, 6:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iconic-bad-song-of-the-decade/546560/138 "2010-07-17T06:30:20Z")
“Hey Ya” can’t be the worst song of a decade if it can be sung like this: [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QEYcfHoWm2s](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QEYcfHoWm2s) ---
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2010, 6:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iconic-bad-song-of-the-decade/546560/139 "2010-07-17T06:51:20Z")
Clearly I’m a nerd, as I like a lot of these. ---
**Author:** ![anya\_marie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ebca7d/32.png) [@anya\_marie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anya_marie)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2010, 7:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iconic-bad-song-of-the-decade/546560/140 "2010-07-17T07:18:28Z")
Maybe what’s needed is a Worst Ten Of the Decade For me the songs that induce stabbiness are Walkin On Sunshine - Katrina and the Waves Obsession by Animotion Pina Colada Song My Heart Will Go On Movin Out - Billy Joel Girl You’ll Be A Woman Soon Sister Christian Big Girls Don’t Cry by Fergie Ironic by Alanis Morrisette Green Tambourine Party in the USA - Miley Cyrus Mojo Risin by the Doors Papa Don’t Preach - Madonna Thong Song Dont You Want Me- Human League [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iconic-bad-song-of-the-decade/546560.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iconic-bad-song-of-the-decade/546560.md?page=8)