My boss wants to know why I am snorting Diet Coke out my nose at this very moment. What shall I tell him?
–Beck
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
How did this thread get to two pages with no mention of “Memory” from CATS?
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.
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.
Well, the 70s did see the advent of “lovey-dovey” drugs that eventually gave way to MDMA (ecstasy) in the 80s: MDA for example…
In Dave Barry’s book, he claims it meant the Hells Angles.
“Abracadabra” always brought on the frantic fumble to change the radio station.
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.
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:
Are Hell’s Angles acute or obtuse?
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.
Think of Laura 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.
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…” 
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.
Was your football team pretty bad?
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…
The one that made me retch was ‘Lovin’ You’, by Minnie Riperton. My ears can stand only so much torture…
These two are my top choices, too. No redeeming features.
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
I think it’s “when I touch your dress,” but I may be wrong.