# most overplayed songs you are tired of unless you hear then once a decade... **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 4, 2019, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-overplayed-songs-you-are-tired-of-unless-you-hear-then-once-a-decade/838155 "2019-08-04T04:11:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Mike\_Mabes](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mike_mabes/32/1782_2.png) [@Mike\_Mabes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mike_Mabes)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2019, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-overplayed-songs-you-are-tired-of-unless-you-hear-then-once-a-decade/838155/1 "2019-08-04T04:11:35Z")
…and when hear them you love them again. What are yours? Stairway, Bohemian Rhaposdy, Hotel California don’t count becaue they are too obvious Neither does Can’t You See by Marshall Tucker Band which inspired this. [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/dlc6xCPx60U/hqdefault.jpg?sqp=-oaymwEmCOADEOgC8quKqQMa8AEB-AH-BIAC4AOKAgwIABABGGQgZChkMA8=&rs=AOn4CLAs-zxfUXYweCmgdcRmCdVA43iOSg "The Marshall Tucker Band - Can't You See - 9/10/1973 - Grand Opera House (Official)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dlc6xCPx60U) ---
**Author:** ![Treppenwitz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treppenwitz/32/3445_2.png) [@Treppenwitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Treppenwitz)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2019, 10:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-overplayed-songs-you-are-tired-of-unless-you-hear-then-once-a-decade/838155/2 "2019-08-04T10:32:12Z")
> [@Mike\_Mabes](#): > > …and when hear them you love them again. What are yours? Stairway, Bohemian Rhaposdy, Hotel California don’t count becaue they are too obvious Neither does Can’t You See by Marshall Tucker Band which inspired this. > > [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dlc6xCPx60U&fbclid=IwAR23X4hwqbm-T4XqXqmk3u17kaHFtotCj8p\_lvLUszoHO73q0GBp5DO8mGQ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dlc6xCPx60U&fbclid=IwAR23X4hwqbm-T4XqXqmk3u17kaHFtotCj8p_lvLUszoHO73q0GBp5DO8mGQ) I was going to say [Fairy Tale of New York](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j9jbdgZidu8) by the Pogues (the only acceptable Xmas song ever written). But it’s more a sort of once a year thing (obviously) than once a decade. You (OP) need to act now to disqualify that sort of thing. So I’ll offer[HI Ho Silver Lining](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rb-bKKRl_hw) by Jeff Beck instead. j Endnote for bores: Hi Ho was co-written by Scott English, who also wrote (and had a hit with) the wonderful [Brandy](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N-zhg1BeUkQ), subsequently retitled and murdered by Barry Manilow. ---
**Author:** ![K364](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k364/32/5_2.png) [@K364](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/K364)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2019, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-overplayed-songs-you-are-tired-of-unless-you-hear-then-once-a-decade/838155/3 "2019-08-04T13:40:44Z")
Roy Orbison “Oh Pretty Woman” Rod Stewart “Maggie Mae” ---
**Author:** ![Icerigger](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icerigger/32/432_2.png) [@Icerigger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icerigger)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2019, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-overplayed-songs-you-are-tired-of-unless-you-hear-then-once-a-decade/838155/4 "2019-08-04T14:42:21Z")
The theme from **Titanic**. I do like the song but since it was so overplayed I still can’t listen even 20 years later. ---
**Author:** ![Graymalkin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/35a633/32.png) [@Graymalkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Graymalkin)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2019, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-overplayed-songs-you-are-tired-of-unless-you-hear-then-once-a-decade/838155/5 "2019-08-06T01:18:31Z")
Any recording with Robert Plant screaming–in tune!–his head off. I’ve always liked Led Zeppelin, but after 50 years… ---
**Author:** ![ASGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/838e76/32.png) [@ASGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ASGuy)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2019, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-overplayed-songs-you-are-tired-of-unless-you-hear-then-once-a-decade/838155/6 "2019-08-06T01:33:56Z")
I think it worthwhile to mention the Ben Herman 200 Song Limit. In this postulation Mr. Herman maintains that _any_ tune heard more than 200 times is no longer tolerable. I subscribe the the Ben Herman 200 Song Limit. To wit, and for example, I never need to hear “I am the Walrus” again – EVER. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2019, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-overplayed-songs-you-are-tired-of-unless-you-hear-then-once-a-decade/838155/7 "2019-08-06T01:39:36Z")
I still like Led Zeppelin, but Fool In The Rain wore out its welcome 35 years ago. The radio stations loved it so much I swear they played it every hour. It’s not at its core a bad song, but… ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2019, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-overplayed-songs-you-are-tired-of-unless-you-hear-then-once-a-decade/838155/8 "2019-08-06T02:06:51Z")
I played Pink Floyd’s _Dark Side of the Moon_ to the point that I could no longer hear it. When there’s not a single flicker of surprise, not a solitary wavicle of sound that you weren’t anticipating, you don’t really get any experience of listening any more. I didn’t hate it, it’s just that I could cue it up and not notice it was playing; my mind would be elsewhere and I’d have no memory of it having played. But after 15 years of DSOTM abstinence, I had on “Breathe” the other day and while it wasn’t quite like hearing it for the first time or anything, it was like hearing it for the 200th instead of the 20,000th time. Nice! ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2019, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-overplayed-songs-you-are-tired-of-unless-you-hear-then-once-a-decade/838155/9 "2019-08-06T02:43:49Z")
As hippie-wannabes, we _told The Man to shove it_ by listening to Firesign Theatre. A lot. I recently realized I have their first four albums memorized… (Doing some remote soundwork, the tech I was working with needed me to talk for 45 minutes straight :~0 , so I launched into [The Adventures of Nick Danger](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RwG5c9IsgbA), their brilliant Vintage Radio Detective parody.) Having most of Firesign’s oeuvre playing in my head on a moment’s notice, I never thought I’d want to actually listen to it again. But I was listening to Stephen Fry read Sherlock Holmes, watching Elementary and Benedictus Cumberbund. So I put [The Tale of the Giant Rat of Sumatra](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xGPvAGBk9ek) on my iPod, and cracked up to the best pastische of Sherlock ever. And I’ll do it again next decade. [sets alert for 9:45pm, August 8, 2029] ---
**Author:** ![dzeiger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/46a35a/32.png) [@dzeiger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dzeiger)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2019, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-overplayed-songs-you-are-tired-of-unless-you-hear-then-once-a-decade/838155/10 "2019-08-06T02:57:44Z")
I’d be OK with not hearing “Roundabout” by Yes for a long, long time. ---
**Author:** ![Sefton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@Sefton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sefton)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2019, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-overplayed-songs-you-are-tired-of-unless-you-hear-then-once-a-decade/838155/11 "2019-08-06T03:08:10Z")
I loved “One Headlight” by The Wallflowers when it first came out, but it got overplayed fast. Don’t need to hear it again. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2019, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-overplayed-songs-you-are-tired-of-unless-you-hear-then-once-a-decade/838155/12 "2019-08-06T04:36:58Z")
Dust in the Wind Blinded by the Light Money for Nothing House of the Rising Sun (still like it every now and then) ---
**Author:** ![Two\_Many\_Cats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8dc957/32.png) [@Two\_Many\_Cats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Two_Many_Cats)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2019, 9:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-overplayed-songs-you-are-tired-of-unless-you-hear-then-once-a-decade/838155/13 "2019-08-06T09:59:01Z")
> [@K364](#): > > Roy Orbison “Oh Pretty Woman” > > Rod Stewart “Maggie Mae” So right and so wrong in a single post. ---
**Author:** ![Yodalicious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yodalicious/32/8195_2.png) [@Yodalicious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yodalicious)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2019, 11:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-overplayed-songs-you-are-tired-of-unless-you-hear-then-once-a-decade/838155/14 "2019-08-06T11:15:12Z")
Turn on your local classic rock station(s) and you’re guaranteed to hear "Carry On Wayward Son, " by Kansas, within 30 minutes. I love the song, but change the station when it comes on. Sent from my hand-held telephonic communication device using Tapatalk ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2019, 11:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-overplayed-songs-you-are-tired-of-unless-you-hear-then-once-a-decade/838155/15 "2019-08-06T11:54:43Z")
A decade is an awful long time to go between listening to a 3-5 minute song. There are plenty of songs that I couldn’t stand to hear because they were overplayed on the radio back in the day. 4 Non Blondes and their one hit “What’s Going On” stands out in my mind. You couldn’t escape that song back in 1993 and it got to the point where I’d turn the radio to another station when it came on. But I went years without hearing it and now I enjoy it again. Come to think of it I can’t remember the last time I heard it. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2019, 12:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-overplayed-songs-you-are-tired-of-unless-you-hear-then-once-a-decade/838155/16 "2019-08-06T12:08:59Z")
I don’t even like Aerosmith that much, but I know they have other and better songs than “Walk This Way” and “Sweet Emotion,” but according to Classic Rock radio, they only ever recorded those two songs. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2019, 12:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-overplayed-songs-you-are-tired-of-unless-you-hear-then-once-a-decade/838155/17 "2019-08-06T12:12:37Z")
> [@ASGuy](#): > > I think it worthwhile to mention the Ben Herman 200 Song Limit. In this postulation Mr. Herman maintains that _any_ tune heard more than 200 times is no longer tolerable. > > I subscribe the the Ben Herman 200 Song Limit. To wit, and for example, I never need to hear “I am the Walrus” again – EVER. Ben Herman has an exceptionally low threshold for running out of listens to a song. If most people were like him, Classic Rock would never have existed, ditto oldies stations. I think I qualify as Mr. “Fuck Classic Rock” around here, but I’m sure that at least the _good_ songs I got tired of hearing, I heard way more than 200 times before getting tired of them. (You can get tired of hearing a crappy song before you’re finished listening to it the first time, so that’s no challenge.) 200 repetitions would be once a week for four years. That’s not a lot. The songs that you’ve heard so often on classic rock stations that you instantly change the station when they come on, I bet you (the general you, not you specifically) have heard a LOT more than that. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2019, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-overplayed-songs-you-are-tired-of-unless-you-hear-then-once-a-decade/838155/18 "2019-08-06T12:43:35Z")
I’m sure I could think of a bunch of songs like that if I hadn’t stopped listening to classic rock stations altogether about 4-5 years back. But the one that occurs to me right now is The Police’ “Synchronicity 2 (Many Miles Away).” Used to love that song, then maybe a year or two before I stopped listening to classic rock, I had suddenly had enough of it. This had happened already with plenty of other songs I’d previously liked, but they’d all been from the 1960s and 1970s. This was the first time it had happened with me with a song from the 1980s, but I could see the day coming when there’d be nothing left on classic rock stations that I could stand. So I got out while the getting was good. ---
**Author:** ![GESancMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gesancman/32/2923_2.png) [@GESancMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GESancMan)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2019, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-overplayed-songs-you-are-tired-of-unless-you-hear-then-once-a-decade/838155/19 "2019-08-06T14:27:25Z")
> [@RTFirefly](#): > > I’m sure I could think of a bunch of songs like that if I hadn’t stopped listening to classic rock stations altogether about 4-5 years back. But the one that occurs to me right now is The Police’ “Synchronicity 2 (Many Miles Away).” Used to love that song, then maybe a year or two before I stopped listening to classic rock, I had suddenly had enough of it. > > This had happened already with plenty of other songs I’d previously liked, but they’d all been from the 1960s and 1970s. This was the first time it had happened with me with a song from the 1980s, but I could see the day coming when there’d be nothing left on classic rock stations that I could stand. So I got out while the getting was good. Same here, but I hit that point around 12 years ago, and stopped listening to radio entirely. I’m actually going through the “once a decade” thing right now. There’s this compilation I bought from a radio station like 30 years ago, that I had forgotten I have, that came up in the rotation in my car. Yesterday I heard “White Room” by Cream, “Green-Eyed Lady” by Sugarloaf, and “Tuesday Afternoon” by the Moody Blues. I’d not heard these songs in I-don’t-know-how-long. And I actually like them again! I don’t remember what else is on the album, so when I go out today I’ll hear a few more… ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2019, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-overplayed-songs-you-are-tired-of-unless-you-hear-then-once-a-decade/838155/20 "2019-08-06T15:26:52Z")
Yeah, age is a wonderful reminder. For a long time I couldn’t listen to the Beatles because they were too familiar. Then I rediscovered them and it’s love all over again. “I Am the Walrus” was an excrescence the day it was released, true. But it’s worth taking a listen to if only for George Martin’s brilliant production. I don’t have to like their 200+ songs equally. Now if I live long enough to come back to Hendrix… [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-overplayed-songs-you-are-tired-of-unless-you-hear-then-once-a-decade/838155.md?page=2)