# Most obscure song that gets played most frequently **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 28, 2017, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-obscure-song-that-gets-played-most-frequently/792319 "2017-07-28T12:40:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2017, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-obscure-song-that-gets-played-most-frequently/792319/21 "2017-07-28T17:45:17Z")
> [@DCnDC](#): > > Despite the fact that they have put out 15 albums to date that produced dozens of other hits, going only by radio play it would easy to conclude “Sweet Emotion” was the only song Aerosmith ever wrote. I dunno - do we hear that more than Walk This Way or Dream On? Pretty sure Sweet Emotion (and the album) charted at the time. Yeah, I consider this more in the subcategory or “artists whose work is misrepresented by a fraction of their output.” 😉 ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2017, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-obscure-song-that-gets-played-most-frequently/792319/22 "2017-07-28T17:56:26Z")
> [@Dinsdale](#): > > Yeah, that impresses me as a great example of what I was thinking. My older sisters actually had that 45. What was on the other side? Immigrant song? Yep - that’s it. ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2017, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-obscure-song-that-gets-played-most-frequently/792319/23 "2017-07-28T18:50:15Z")
2 Unlimited was one of numerous Eurodance groups in the 1990s. Yet, "Get Ready for This’ is played at almost every sporting event in the USA. [![]( " - YouTube") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WvTm_BhZdOE) ---
**Author:** ![caligulathegod](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/caligulathegod/32/9685_2.png) [@caligulathegod](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/caligulathegod)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2017, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-obscure-song-that-gets-played-most-frequently/792319/24 "2017-07-28T20:02:13Z")
Speaking of Link Wray’s Rumble, the B-side of THAT is really obscure but is pretty famous as the theme to John Waters’ Pink Flamingos. [![]( " - YouTube") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kWTQYRvXq_8) ---
**Author:** ![caligulathegod](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/caligulathegod/32/9685_2.png) [@caligulathegod](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/caligulathegod)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2017, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-obscure-song-that-gets-played-most-frequently/792319/25 "2017-07-28T20:24:49Z")
Forgot to include the name. The Swag. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2017, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-obscure-song-that-gets-played-most-frequently/792319/26 "2017-07-28T20:31:07Z")
[quote=“caligulathegod, post:24, topic:792319”] Speaking of Link Wray’s Rumble, the B-side of THAT is really obscure but is pretty famous as the theme to John Waters’ Pink Flamingos. [/QUOTE] I _have_ to check that out when I can sit down. Thanks for sharing. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2017, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-obscure-song-that-gets-played-most-frequently/792319/27 "2017-07-28T21:00:59Z")
For some reason the video in **caligulathegod** ’s link is dead now. Here’s another: [Link Wray - " The Swag " - YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EcKB4NQZPG4) ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2017, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-obscure-song-that-gets-played-most-frequently/792319/28 "2017-07-28T23:30:23Z")
> [@ZipperJJ](#): > > For some reason the video in **caligulathegod** ’s link is dead now. > > Here’s another: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EcKB4NQZPG4](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EcKB4NQZPG4) Fun little number. Without the danger of Rumble, it’s just a simple song, like he wishes he could be Duane Eddy or something: [https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=uGPG\_Y-\_BZI](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=uGPG_Y-_BZI) ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2017, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-obscure-song-that-gets-played-most-frequently/792319/29 "2017-07-28T23:33:17Z")
Isn’t “Obscure songs that get a lot of play” an…oxymoron? ---
**Author:** ![Claude\_Remains](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/898d66/32.png) [@Claude\_Remains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Claude_Remains)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2017, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-obscure-song-that-gets-played-most-frequently/792319/30 "2017-07-29T00:53:12Z")
i wish this (Benny matdones) was obscure [- YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4aWhn0Hc8ps). I hear it every time we go to the local Christian hospice thrift store. ---
**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 29, 2017, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-obscure-song-that-gets-played-most-frequently/792319/31 "2017-07-29T01:15:52Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > “Hey Bulldog” by the Beatles. Somebody on SiriusXM is getting the royalties, because over the last month they have been playing this lousy song constantly. Hey! You take that back! That opening guitar riff was my ringtone back on one of my first phones in, oh, 2002 or mayb 2003. Solid tune! ---
**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 29, 2017, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-obscure-song-that-gets-played-most-frequently/792319/32 "2017-07-29T01:18:16Z")
> [@Boozahol\_Squid\_P.I](#): > > I definitely hear Crazy/Cryin’/Amazing (I’m not sure what, if any, difference there is between these three songs) as much as I hear Sweet Emotion. Pink also gets a fair bit of radio airplay as far as I can tell. Don’t forget Jamie’s Got a Gun. Or is it Janie? Whichever. ---
**Author:** ![Claude\_Remains](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/898d66/32.png) [@Claude\_Remains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Claude_Remains)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2017, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-obscure-song-that-gets-played-most-frequently/792319/33 "2017-07-29T01:30:45Z")
Pink? This Pink? [P!nk - Dear Mr. President (from Live from Wembley Arena, London, England) - YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PnlzCPv8ad4) ---
**Author:** ![installLSC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/54ee81/32.png) [@installLSC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/installLSC)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2017, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-obscure-song-that-gets-played-most-frequently/792319/34 "2017-07-29T03:32:40Z")
This happens a lot with songs from the 80s. “What I Like About You”, the Romantics. Topped out at 49 on the singles charts. “I Melt With You”, Modern English. Never got beyond 76. And a number of iconic songs, from “Once in a Lifetime” to “Atomic Dog”, never even hit the pop singles charts. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2017, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-obscure-song-that-gets-played-most-frequently/792319/35 "2017-07-29T03:40:07Z")
> [@Max\_Torque](#): > > Blondie’s “One Way Or Another” isn’t a particularly great song, but it pops up _everywhere_. It’s in freakin’ Swiffer commercials, for cryin’ out loud. It was a huge hit in the late 1970s, and IIRC it followed “Heart of Glass” up the charts. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2017, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-obscure-song-that-gets-played-most-frequently/792319/36 "2017-07-29T04:14:21Z")
> [@dalej42](#): > > 2 Unlimited was one of numerous Eurodance groups in the 1990s. Yet, "Get Ready for This’ is played at almost every sporting event in the USA. > > [https://youtu.be/WvTm\_BhZdOE](https://youtu.be/WvTm_BhZdOE) Thread winner. I don’t even know if I’d actually heard this track beyond its opening. I figured it was generic library music categorised under “exciting activity”. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2017, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-obscure-song-that-gets-played-most-frequently/792319/37 "2017-07-29T04:22:07Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > Thread winner. I don’t even know if I’d actually heard this track beyond its opening. I figured it was generic library music categorised under “exciting activity”. **Pump Up the Jam by Technotronic, featuring Ya Kid K** : [https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=3vIle\_pC4j0](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=3vIle_pC4j0) ETA: **Kernkraft 400 - Zombie Nation** : [https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=z5LW07FTJb](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=z5LW07FTJb) listen 47 seconds in and you’ll get it. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2017, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-obscure-song-that-gets-played-most-frequently/792319/38 "2017-07-29T04:28:35Z")
> [@WordMan](#): > > **Pump Up the Jam by Technotronic, featuring Ya Kid K** : [https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=3vIle\_pC4j0](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=3vIle_pC4j0) > > ETA: **Kernkraft 400 - Zombie Nation** : [https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=z5LW07FTJb](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=z5LW07FTJb) listen 47 seconds in and you’ll get it. Let’s try Kernkraft again: [https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=z5LW07FTJbI](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=z5LW07FTJbI) ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2017, 6:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-obscure-song-that-gets-played-most-frequently/792319/39 "2017-07-29T06:02:14Z")
> [@WordMan](#): > > **Pump Up the Jam by Technotronic, featuring Ya Kid K** : [https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=3vIle\_pC4j0](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=3vIle_pC4j0) > > ETA: **Kernkraft 400 - Zombie Nation** : [https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=z5LW07FTJb](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=z5LW07FTJb) listen 47 seconds in and you’ll get it. Another sports-type song. Gary Glitter’s [Rock and Roll Parts I and II](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BIsbD0l_bEg), aka “Doot doot doooo-oo HEY!” aka wow this guy is a sick fuck. What Duran Duran’s Rio is to the SDMB, [Darude’s Sandstorm](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y6120QOlsfU) is the equivalent for YouTube, if not the internet as a whole. I’m drawing a blank on the name of that cyberpunky song that was in a bunch of trailers in the early 2000s. ---
**Author:** ![actualliberalnotoneofthose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e79b87/32.png) [@actualliberalnotoneofthose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/actualliberalnotoneofthose)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2017, 7:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-obscure-song-that-gets-played-most-frequently/792319/40 "2017-07-29T07:06:22Z")
> [@WordMan](#): > > **Pump Up the Jam by Technotronic, featuring Ya Kid K** : [https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=3vIle\_pC4j0](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=3vIle_pC4j0) > > ETA: **Kernkraft 400 - Zombie Nation** : [https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=z5LW07FTJb](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=z5LW07FTJb) listen 47 seconds in and you’ll get it. Pump up the Jam was a huge pop hit when it was out. I listened a lot to top 40 radio and the Casey Kasem countdown around that time. It was inescapable. Around 1989-1990 there were similar “Eurodance” songs that did really well on US pop radio and MTV. The others mentioned seem were more obscure dance hits with a second life as pep ralley/sporting event songs. Though apparently “Get Ready for This” hit #38. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-obscure-song-that-gets-played-most-frequently/792319.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-obscure-song-that-gets-played-most-frequently/792319.md?page=3)