# Most nauseatingly cloying pop songs **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 12, 2006, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-nauseatingly-cloying-pop-songs/376184 "2006-10-12T13:44:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Rebecca\_DiMwitter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a87d85/32.png) [@Rebecca\_DiMwitter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rebecca_DiMwitter)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2006, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-nauseatingly-cloying-pop-songs/376184/61 "2006-10-13T18:39:12Z")
[QUOTE=Biffy the Elephant Shrew] I’ve always said that there’s nothing in that song about Honey _dying_. “One day…the Angels came” simply means that she was traded to Anaheim. [/QUOTE] My boss wants to know why I am snorting Diet Coke out my nose at this very moment. What shall I tell him? –Beck ---
**Author:** ![Rebecca\_DiMwitter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a87d85/32.png) [@Rebecca\_DiMwitter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rebecca_DiMwitter)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2006, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-nauseatingly-cloying-pop-songs/376184/62 "2006-10-13T18:52:40Z")
[QUOTE=Wee Bairn] The original version of Muskrat Love, by America, is much better- it is played straight- for example it doesn’t have the muskrat/farting keyboard effects- it’s actually pretty cute, but still boggles the mind as to why, or how, one could even conceive of such a song, let alone actually write and record it. Gotta love the 70’s for making it possible though. [/QUOTE] I’m willing to own that perhaps America’s version of **Muskrat Love** IS better than Toni Tenille’s, although that still doesn’t make the song itself anything other than ridiculous…but while we are on the subject of America, how about that **Tin Man** song of theirs? My sister was ready to claw her own eyes out every time she heard it played, and it was played a LOT back in the day. My own personal barf-inducing song of theirs was **You Can Do Magic**. And this from the band who also brought us \*\*Sister Golden Hair \*\* and **Ventura Highway**? Well, no one’s perfect. –Beck ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2006, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-nauseatingly-cloying-pop-songs/376184/63 "2006-10-13T18:56:16Z")
How did this thread get to two pages with no mention of “Memory” from CATS? ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2006, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-nauseatingly-cloying-pop-songs/376184/64 "2006-10-13T20:46:34Z")
Because, say what you may about the lyrics, the inspiration, the setting, the costumes, or the composer, the tune itself is gorgeous. As far as I’m concerned, it may be the only thing keeping Webber from going up against the wall. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2006, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-nauseatingly-cloying-pop-songs/376184/65 "2006-10-13T21:31:46Z")
By the way, “Running Bear” is not particularly cloying and mere racist crap does not qualify for this thread. Cloying racist crap, like “Sonny Boy,” does, but most of those were released prior to the Pop Period as most of us understand it. ---
**Author:** ![OneCentStamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/13edae/32.png) [@OneCentStamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OneCentStamp)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2006, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-nauseatingly-cloying-pop-songs/376184/66 "2006-10-13T21:48:07Z")
[QUOTE=NDP] Yes. What type of controlled substance would cause you to develope an appetite for goopy maudlin pop songs? [/QUOTE] Well, the 70s _did_ see the advent of “lovey-dovey” drugs that eventually gave way to MDMA (ecstasy) in the 80s: MDA for example… ---
**Author:** ![overeasy4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/b9bd4f/32.png) [@overeasy4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/overeasy4)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2006, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-nauseatingly-cloying-pop-songs/376184/67 "2006-10-14T00:18:36Z")
[QUOTE=Biffy the Elephant Shrew] I’ve always said that there’s nothing in that song about Honey _dying_. “One day…the Angels came” simply means that she was traded to Anaheim. [/QUOTE] In Dave Barry’s book, he claims it meant the Hells Angles. ---
**Author:** ![Electrical\_Storm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ac8455/32.png) [@Electrical\_Storm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Electrical_Storm)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2006, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-nauseatingly-cloying-pop-songs/376184/68 "2006-10-14T01:09:37Z")
[“Abracadabra”](http://www.lyricsfreak.com/s/steve+miller/abracadabra_20131031.html) always brought on the frantic fumble to change the radio station. 😛 ---
**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:** [October 14, 2006, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-nauseatingly-cloying-pop-songs/376184/69 "2006-10-14T01:22:06Z")
[QUOTE=silver1] [“Abracadabra”](http://www.lyricsfreak.com/s/steve+miller/abracadabra_20131031.html) always brought on the frantic fumble to change the radio station. 😛 [/QUOTE] Oh, man…I was in 7th grade, I think, when “Abracadabra” came out, and to me, it was the most amazingly HOT song on the radio! In the early 80s, there were no Top 40 songs with lyrics like “I feel the magic when I touch your breast” and “black panties with an angel’s face”. I mean, today it’s a really tame song, but back then, to a 7th grade boy (even a gay 7th grade boy), it was like finding a stack of porn. ---
**Author:** ![Wee\_Bairn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/90db22/32.png) [@Wee\_Bairn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wee_Bairn)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2006, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-nauseatingly-cloying-pop-songs/376184/70 "2006-10-14T01:43:14Z")
**Bridget** - thanks! I don’t know how may times I’ve pulled out “the guys in America wrote Muskrat Love” during music trivia time… :smack: ---
**Author:** ![mobo85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mobo85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mobo85)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2006, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-nauseatingly-cloying-pop-songs/376184/71 "2006-10-14T02:04:59Z")
[QUOTE=overeasy4] In Dave Barry’s book, he claims it meant the Hells Angles. [/QUOTE] Are Hell’s Angles acute or obtuse? ---
**Author:** ![MoodIndigo1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e8c25b/32.png) [@MoodIndigo1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MoodIndigo1)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2006, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-nauseatingly-cloying-pop-songs/376184/72 "2006-10-14T04:33:04Z")
I just called to say I love you… BTW, thank you very much for posting references to rotten songs that are now stuck in my head. ---
**Author:** ![Tikki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/5daacb/32.png) [@Tikki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tikki)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2006, 5:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-nauseatingly-cloying-pop-songs/376184/73 "2006-10-14T05:26:16Z")
[_Think of Laura_](http://www.lyricsdownload.com/cross-christopher-think-of-laura-lyrics.html) is pretty sappy, especially with Christopher Cross’ whiny, maudlin voice singing it. I must have heard it in a store recently because part of it has been looping through my mind for several days now. Pity me. ---
**Author:** ![Lucky\_13](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucky_13/32/13209_2.png) [@Lucky\_13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucky_13)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2006, 7:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-nauseatingly-cloying-pop-songs/376184/74 "2006-10-14T07:05:18Z")
[QUOTE=Tikki] [_Think of Laura_](http://www.lyricsdownload.com/cross-christopher-think-of-laura-lyrics.html) is pretty sappy, especially with Christopher Cross’ whiny, maudlin voice singing it. I must have heard it in a store recently because part of it has been looping through my mind for several days now. Pity me. [/QUOTE] Wasn’t that song about Laura from _General Hospital_? I just remembered another cloying song. “Send In The Clowns” by Judy Collins. From the title alone, you’d think it was a happy song about the circus. Wrong. This song would make the most cheerful member of Up With People consider suicide. For some reason, it was a favorite of my high school’s marching band for playing at halftime of the football games. 😕 “But where are the clowns? There ought to be clowns…” ☹ ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2006, 7:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-nauseatingly-cloying-pop-songs/376184/75 "2006-10-14T07:27:44Z")
[QUOTE=dropzone] By the way, “Running Bear” is not particularly cloying and mere racist crap does not qualify for this thread. Cloying racist crap, like “Sonny Boy,” does, but most of those were released prior to the Pop Period as most of us understand it. [/QUOTE] Doggone it, you made me go and look up cloying. Now that I have, I still think Running Bear qualifies. It’s like “aw, isn’t that so sweet, they loved each other so much that they drowned just to be together.” Now as to whether it predates pop or not, I don’t really know. But I do think a case could be made for it to be cloying. ---
**Author:** ![NDP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ndp/32/55_2.png) [@NDP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NDP)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2006, 8:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-nauseatingly-cloying-pop-songs/376184/76 "2006-10-14T08:03:38Z")
[QUOTE=Lucky 13] I just remembered another cloying song. “Send In The Clowns” by Judy Collins. From the title alone, you’d think it was a happy song about the circus. Wrong. This song would make the most cheerful member of Up With People consider suicide. For some reason, it was a favorite of my high school’s marching band for playing at halftime of the football games. 😕 “But where are the clowns? There ought to be clowns…” ☹ [/QUOTE] Was your football team pretty bad? ---
**Author:** ![zoogirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b9bd4f/32.png) [@zoogirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoogirl)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2006, 8:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-nauseatingly-cloying-pop-songs/376184/77 "2006-10-14T08:27:20Z")
Clowns…God! i got stuck with that sucker in Choir. Urk! I nominate a recent one - _I Want To Go Home._ Just go, dammit, just _go_… ---
**Author:** ![Tazmanian\_Devil](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/cc9497/32.png) [@Tazmanian\_Devil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tazmanian_Devil)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2006, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-nauseatingly-cloying-pop-songs/376184/78 "2006-10-14T13:12:14Z")
The one that made me retch was ‘Lovin’ You’, by Minnie Riperton. My ears can stand only so much torture… ---
**Author:** ![Martha\_Medea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/43a26b/32.png) [@Martha\_Medea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martha_Medea)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2006, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-nauseatingly-cloying-pop-songs/376184/79 "2006-10-14T15:17:32Z")
These two are my top choices, too. No redeeming features. [QUOTE=jayjay] I’ve Never Been to Me]([http://artists.letssingit.com/charlene-i-ve-never-been-to-me-pnvkswk](http://artists.letssingit.com/charlene-i-ve-never-been-to-me-pnvkswk)). [/QUOTE] [QUOTE=Tazmanian Devil] The one that made me retch was ‘Lovin’ You’, by Minnie Riperton. My ears can stand only so much torture… [/QUOTE] And please forgive me for resurrecting this horror, but anyone remember a UK Christmas hit, about 1980, called ‘No-one quite like Grandma?’ All together now (in squeaky, computer-generated kiddies’ voices) - _Grandma we love you Grandma we do Though you may be far away We still think of you_ Manipulative, commercial syrup. IMO some other songs mentioned in the thread fall into the ‘guilty pleasures/so bad they’re almost good’ category. I’m too embarrassed to say which though. :o ---
**Author:** ![Webner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/0ea827/32.png) [@Webner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Webner)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2006, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-nauseatingly-cloying-pop-songs/376184/80 "2006-10-14T17:05:27Z")
[QUOTE=jayjay] Oh, man…I was in 7th grade, I think, when “Abracadabra” came out, and to me, it was the most amazingly HOT song on the radio! In the early 80s, there were no Top 40 songs with lyrics like “I feel the magic when I touch your breast” and “black panties with an angel’s face”. I mean, today it’s a really tame song, but back then, to a 7th grade boy (even a gay 7th grade boy), it was like finding a stack of porn. [/QUOTE] I think it’s “when I touch your dress,” but I may be wrong. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-nauseatingly-cloying-pop-songs/376184.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-nauseatingly-cloying-pop-songs/376184.md?page=5)