# Musical Artists who hate their "best" work **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 14, 2013, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musical-artists-who-hate-their-best-work/671232 "2013-10-14T17:29:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Ellis\_Aponte\_Jr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@Ellis\_Aponte\_Jr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellis_Aponte_Jr)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2013, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musical-artists-who-hate-their-best-work/671232/41 "2013-10-17T22:04:25Z")
> [@TV\_time](#): > > Kevin Bacon has mellowed, but for the longest time any mention of Flashdance would get shouts of rage. That’s really weird, because he wasn’t in that movie. ---
**Author:** ![TV\_time](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f17d59/32.png) [@TV\_time](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TV_time)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2013, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musical-artists-who-hate-their-best-work/671232/42 "2013-10-17T22:09:54Z")
> [@Ellis\_Aponte\_Jr](#): > > That’s really weird, because he wasn’t in that movie. Sorry, long day. ---
**Author:** ![Doug\_K](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b5ac83/32.png) [@Doug\_K](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doug_K)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2013, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musical-artists-who-hate-their-best-work/671232/43 "2013-10-17T22:13:40Z")
> [@Ellis\_Aponte\_Jr](#): > > That’s really weird, because he wasn’t in that movie. Have you ever seen him and Jennifer Beals together? ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2013, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musical-artists-who-hate-their-best-work/671232/44 "2013-10-18T02:21:59Z")
Kevin Bacon begged the producers to cast him as the lead in _Flashdance_. They told him that the part was written for a woman, and he insisted he could play it. That’s why that film makes him so angry. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2013, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musical-artists-who-hate-their-best-work/671232/45 "2013-10-18T02:24:51Z")
Kevin Bacon is passionately concerned with OSHA violations, and was outraged by the lackadaisical approach to welding-related safety in the movie. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2013, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musical-artists-who-hate-their-best-work/671232/46 "2013-10-18T02:39:00Z")
> [@TV\_time](#): > > Kevin Bacon has mellowed, but for the longest time any mention of Flashdance would get shouts of rage. It is easy to dismiss it, and probably not his “best” work, but he did do a very good job in that part. Obviously you were thinking of “Footloose.” That’s OK. 😉 I have brain farts after a long day, too. Sometimes even before it’s over. Eh, starts with “F”, two syllables, it’s an easy mistake. ---
**Author:** ![Purd\_Werfect](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e47c2d/32.png) [@Purd\_Werfect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Purd_Werfect)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2013, 5:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musical-artists-who-hate-their-best-work/671232/47 "2013-10-18T05:53:51Z")
In spite of his protests, he still agreed to play the lead in Flashloose 2 - Flash Harder. ---
**Author:** ![Mister\_Rik](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mister_rik/32/491_2.png) [@Mister\_Rik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mister_Rik)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2013, 7:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musical-artists-who-hate-their-best-work/671232/48 "2013-10-18T07:37:46Z")
> [@TV\_time](#): > > There is a famous photograph from the '30s of Louis Armstrong and his band in front of a sign that reads something to the affect of “Requests 25 cents—When the Saints go Marching In $5”. They hated playing it, but in the early 1930s $5 was very, very good money. Dumb looks are still free. ---
**Author:** ![Mister\_Rik](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mister_rik/32/491_2.png) [@Mister\_Rik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mister_Rik)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2013, 7:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musical-artists-who-hate-their-best-work/671232/49 "2013-10-18T07:47:23Z")
> [@Ellis\_Aponte\_Jr](#): > > That’s really weird, because he wasn’t in that movie. He must have been thinking of Footloose. Dear Og, I hate that movie, despite the fact that I’ve never seen it. My senior year of high school (1984) was plagued by that Kenny Loggins song. I always thought that a school dance should end with a slow dance, but NO, we got the DJ playing the theme from Footloose to end every dance. Dammit, DJ, a high school dance isn’t a rock show! Play me something that might get me laid! ---
**Author:** ![Jeff\_Lichtman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeff_lichtman/32/1531_2.png) [@Jeff\_Lichtman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeff_Lichtman)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2013, 8:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musical-artists-who-hate-their-best-work/671232/50 "2013-10-18T08:11:38Z")
> [@TV\_time](#): > > There is a famous photograph from the '30s of Louis Armstrong and his band in front of a sign that reads something to the affect of “Requests 25 cents—When the Saints go Marching In $5”. You sure about that? Armstrong didn’t record The Saints until 1938. The only other pre-war jazz recording of The Saints was by Wingy Manone in 1939. The song didn’t really become a Dixieland chestnut until later. There is a sign in Preservation Hall in New Orleans that is similar to what you describe. You can see it [here](http://www.nolalounge.com/article/art-and-jazz-preservation-hall-at-50). Maybe you saw a picture of Armstrong posing with this sign. ---
**Author:** ![Ranger\_Jeff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranger_jeff/32/2065_2.png) [@Ranger\_Jeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranger_Jeff)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2013, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musical-artists-who-hate-their-best-work/671232/51 "2013-10-18T13:45:30Z")
> [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](#): > > John Lennon, on the other hand, had badmouthed several Beatles songs in interviews, some of which he actively loathed. I was quite unhappy to read this. Many, not all, were primarily Paul-written numbers. Lennon gave an interview to Rolling Stone, which, I believe, was later released as a book, where he ran down the Beatles catalog and commented on each song. I was surprised how he just blew off “And Your Bird Can Sing” as just “slog”, i.e. something to make the LP come out to 14 songs. ---
**Author:** ![Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/prof.pepperwinkle/32/13627_2.png) [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Prof.Pepperwinkle)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2013, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musical-artists-who-hate-their-best-work/671232/52 "2013-10-18T13:54:02Z")
David Bowie never ever ever wants to perform “Space Oddity” again. Last I heard, Arlo Guthrie limits performances of “Alice’s Restaurant” to once a decade. ---
**Author:** ![DoctorJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctorj/32/2904_2.png) [@DoctorJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DoctorJ)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2013, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musical-artists-who-hate-their-best-work/671232/53 "2013-10-18T14:17:19Z")
> [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](#): > > David Bowie never ever ever wants to perform “Space Oddity” again. He claims he isn’t going to tour anymore at all. I hope he backtracks on that one, since I never got to see him. > [@](#): > > Last I heard, Arlo Guthrie limits performances of “Alice’s Restaurant” to once a decade. I saw him ten years or so ago and he opened with it, so I guess we’re due. 🙂 I thought of another weird one: at one of this year’s Bonnaroo press conferences John Oates was being interviewed. The interviewer said something about “your long career, including the music you made with Daryl Hall,” and Oates got really pissy. “Daryl Hall? Who’s that? I thought I was here doing something else.” It would be more understandable if he hadn’t just finished a whole tour with Hall three days earlier. (I met him a little bit later and he really was kind of a prick.) ---
**Author:** ![LaurieAwe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/df788c/32.png) [@LaurieAwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LaurieAwe)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2013, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musical-artists-who-hate-their-best-work/671232/54 "2013-10-18T14:36:35Z")
Vanilla Ice used to hate Ice Ice Baby ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2013, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musical-artists-who-hate-their-best-work/671232/55 "2013-10-18T16:34:33Z")
I don’t think this counts as hate, but Camille Saint-Saens refused to allow his “Carnival of the Animals” to be published during his lifetime because he was afraid it would detract from his reputation as a serious composer. He didn’t want to be known as The Guy Who Wrote “Carnival of the Animals”—which I guess is sort of like Todd Rundgren being known for “Bang the Drum All Day,” or Chuck Berry being known for “My Ding-a-ling.” ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2013, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musical-artists-who-hate-their-best-work/671232/56 "2013-10-18T18:01:20Z")
> [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](#): > > Last I heard, Arlo Guthrie limits performances of “Alice’s Restaurant” to once a decade. That’s not because he dislikes it, it’s because it’s so damn long that there’s not enough time in a single decade to perform it twice. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2013, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musical-artists-who-hate-their-best-work/671232/57 "2013-10-18T20:25:07Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > That’s not because he dislikes it, it’s because it’s so damn long that there’s not enough time in a single decade to perform it twice. I have a live recording of “Alice’s Restaurant” that clocks in at 22 minutes and 18 seconds. It includes a humorous anecdote about Chip Carter, President Carter’s son, who found a copy of “Alice’s Restaurant” in Richard Nixon’s record library. The original recording was 18 minutes. This got Guthrie to musing about the infamous 18 minute gap in the White House tapes, as if Nixon had been trying to record the song. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2013, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musical-artists-who-hate-their-best-work/671232/58 "2013-10-18T20:31:54Z")
Warren Zevon was very tired of “Werewolves of London”, which was something he knocked off in a couple of hours with his buddies and then had to play in every concert for the rest of his life. But he had fun with it, changing around the lyrics and being generally wild and nutty to amuse himself. I probably wouldn’t rate that song among Zevon’s top 20. ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2013, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musical-artists-who-hate-their-best-work/671232/59 "2013-10-18T21:48:09Z")
> [@tullsterx](#): > > Dire Straits, Marc Knopfler, Song: One World. This song was getting heavy radio play in my region in 1985 or so, and I really dug it. Then Marc Knopfler commented in an interview about how it was the worst song he’d ever written and regretted putting on the album. Firstly it is “Mark”. Secondly he has said more than once he is such a perfectionist he doesn’t like anything he’s ever released because all he can think of is what he should have done better. Thirdly I’m a fan but “One World” sucks dogs balls IMHO. ---
**Author:** ![Nancarrow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c37758/32.png) [@Nancarrow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nancarrow)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2013, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musical-artists-who-hate-their-best-work/671232/60 "2013-10-19T00:19:01Z")
I heard somewhere that Ravel hated his ‘Bolero’… not his best work of course, but his most famous. My understanding of the Rachmaninov C#etc thing is that he didn’t hate it off the bat, but grew to hate it because he was asked to perform it so often, that he became jaded with it. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musical-artists-who-hate-their-best-work/671232.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musical-artists-who-hate-their-best-work/671232.md?page=4)