# otherwise good songs ruined by one small artistic misstep **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 10, 2002, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/otherwise-good-songs-ruined-by-one-small-artistic-misstep/118292 "2002-07-10T19:53:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Knowed\_Out](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/knowed_out/32/7380_2.png) [@Knowed\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knowed_Out)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2002, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/otherwise-good-songs-ruined-by-one-small-artistic-misstep/118292/21 "2002-07-11T14:06:56Z")
When Yes became Top 40 back in the 80s, they had this cheezoid song that had sappy lines that went something like: _Here is my heart Waiting for you Here is my soul I eat at Chez Nous_ My god, what pretensious lapse of logic inspired such an out-of-place line??? I eat at OUR KITCHEN??? W i t F??? ---
**Author:** ![Coldfire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a587f6/32.png) [@Coldfire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Coldfire)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2002, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/otherwise-good-songs-ruined-by-one-small-artistic-misstep/118292/22 "2002-07-11T14:33:59Z")
Ah, _Love will find a way_. “Chez Nous” is French for, roughly translated, “At Our Place”. I suspect it’s the name of a restaurant. ---
**Author:** ![mr.greg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ecae2f/32.png) [@mr.greg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mr.greg)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2002, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/otherwise-good-songs-ruined-by-one-small-artistic-misstep/118292/23 "2002-07-11T15:29:23Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by RealityChuck \* > \*\ ***Free Bird** starts as a pretty good song, until it devolves into the worst guitar solo in the history of music. I switch channels as soon as I hear it. \*\* Heh, RealityChuck is right. I love Free Bird until that god awful redneck air guitar solo where Rossington? plays the same damned note over and over and over and well I have to change the station too. ---
**Author:** ![Glory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/7cd45c/32.png) [@Glory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Glory)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2002, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/otherwise-good-songs-ruined-by-one-small-artistic-misstep/118292/24 "2002-07-11T15:36:53Z")
That weird cry thing at the end of Counting Crow’s Rain King. Nearly ruins the song for me! ---
**Author:** ![pepperlandgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f17d59/32.png) [@pepperlandgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pepperlandgirl)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2002, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/otherwise-good-songs-ruined-by-one-small-artistic-misstep/118292/25 "2002-07-11T17:01:30Z")
> [@](#): > > “Hey Bullfrog” by the Beatles would have much better without the barking silliness at the end. Well, maybe the barking makes more sense if you know that the song is “Hey Bull **dog** ”. ---
**Author:** ![MrVisible](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/46a35a/32.png) [@MrVisible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrVisible)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2002, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/otherwise-good-songs-ruined-by-one-small-artistic-misstep/118292/26 "2002-07-11T17:38:06Z")
Anybody remember **Sweet**? _Love Is Like Oxygen_? Remember how this cool, uptempo rock tune, with a neat guitar lick and singable lyrics degenerated into a completely cheesy disco thing for the last two minutes of the song? Argh. ---
**Author:** ![Swede\_Hollow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3bc359/32.png) [@Swede\_Hollow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Swede_Hollow)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2002, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/otherwise-good-songs-ruined-by-one-small-artistic-misstep/118292/27 "2002-07-11T18:08:49Z")
I really like **Luck Man** by Emerson, Lake, and Palmer until the very end when you get that screaching sythesizer. That just blows the ending for me. ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2002, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/otherwise-good-songs-ruined-by-one-small-artistic-misstep/118292/28 "2002-07-11T19:06:06Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by MrVisible \* > **degenerated into a completely cheesy disco thing** Please explain how it resembles cheese. Do you like cheese? ---
**Author:** ![MrVisible](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/46a35a/32.png) [@MrVisible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrVisible)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2002, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/otherwise-good-songs-ruined-by-one-small-artistic-misstep/118292/29 "2002-07-11T19:21:48Z")
I meant cheesy as in “lacking in aesthetic qualities, having no artistic merit, completely freaking tacky”, and not in reference to the delicious comestible substance. There is no resemblance between the coda of _Love Is Like Oxygen_ and actual cheese. The characters portrayed herein are not based on any real cheeses, living or dead. No cheeses were harmed in the making of this post. And yeah. I like cheese. Just not disco cheese. ---
**Author:** ![ianzin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/ed655f/32.png) [@ianzin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ianzin)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2002, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/otherwise-good-songs-ruined-by-one-small-artistic-misstep/118292/30 "2002-07-11T19:38:17Z")
“As” by Stevie wonder, from Songs In The Key Of Life. A strong contender for one of the sweetest, most intense love songs he ever wrote. It’s all going sooooo well… …and then he starts barking and grunting the words. Supposed to be passionate, but actually it just sounds like, well, barking and grunting. Oops. ---
**Author:** ![CaptMurdock](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/captmurdock/32/11736_2.png) [@CaptMurdock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CaptMurdock)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2002, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/otherwise-good-songs-ruined-by-one-small-artistic-misstep/118292/31 "2002-07-11T19:42:35Z")
“Tusk” by Fleetwood Mac. It’s groovin’ along, doing nicely, then – BAM! Terribly abrupt cut to the drumming by the USC Marching Band. They get back into the rhythm after a few seconds, but the momentum has been lost. _Why_ did they do that? They couldn’t segue any better than that? ---
**Author:** ![partly\_warmer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/bc8723/32.png) [@partly\_warmer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/partly_warmer)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2002, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/otherwise-good-songs-ruined-by-one-small-artistic-misstep/118292/32 "2002-07-11T19:52:55Z")
This is in the nature of a Beatles spoiler, but there’s a book pointing out that quite a number of recordings, even famous ones, are released with errors. If the Beatles have these many mistakes, you can imagine that pretty much everyone else does, too, if you listen closely enough. The book _Revolution in the Head_ analyzes single Beatle song, makes amazingly astute observations, and points out small errors in dozens of songs. This book, which had rave reviews from major newspapers, etc., will have you running back to your records/CDs to listen all over again. Maybe the best book written about any rock group. ---
**Author:** ![hazel-rah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/73ab20/32.png) [@hazel-rah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hazel-rah)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2002, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/otherwise-good-songs-ruined-by-one-small-artistic-misstep/118292/33 "2002-07-11T23:13:39Z")
> [@](#): > > INSTANT PLEASURE DOME??? In Xanadu did Kubla Khan a stately pleasure dome decree? Coleridge? No? Douglas Adams even. Or Frankie Goes to Hollywood? ---
**Author:** ![Sublight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@Sublight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sublight)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2002, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/otherwise-good-songs-ruined-by-one-small-artistic-misstep/118292/34 "2002-07-12T02:48:09Z")
Personally, I liked the keyboard ending of **ELP** ’s _Lucky Man_. What ruined so many of their songs for me were the godawful lyrics. "You can tape(?) some blues and photograph your soul. You can even dig some diamonds out of rock n’ roll. You can change the world, but if you lose control… [so far, so good…] They will take away your T-shirt." **huh?** 😕 Someday I’d like to find the karaoke version of their work and just listen to that. ---
**Author:** ![capacitor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e47774/32.png) [@capacitor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/capacitor)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2002, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/otherwise-good-songs-ruined-by-one-small-artistic-misstep/118292/35 "2002-07-12T03:08:01Z")
AS much as I love the guitar solo in “We Will Rock You” by Queen, it is off tempo and sounds as if it belongs to another song. Oh, why is there a party noisemaker in Dylan’s song “Highway 61”, and not in “Rainy Day Women #12 and #35”? ---
**Author:** ![dwc1970](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a183cd/32.png) [@dwc1970](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dwc1970)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2002, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/otherwise-good-songs-ruined-by-one-small-artistic-misstep/118292/36 "2002-07-12T03:58:35Z")
The middle of Yes’ “Starship Trooper”, which is a solo acoustic guitar played at a faster tempo than the rest of the song, just doesn’t seem to fit with the way the rest of the song is played. I like solo acoustic guitar, but the transition into and out of this particular part just seems too abrupt. ---
**Author:** ![pesch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pesch/32/4925_2.png) [@pesch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pesch)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2002, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/otherwise-good-songs-ruined-by-one-small-artistic-misstep/118292/37 "2002-07-12T04:01:54Z")
Goldie Hawn did a wonderful version of “Hard Day’s Night” on George Martin’s compilation of Beatle tunes, right up until the moment, near the end, when he burps. And giggles. :: cringe :: ---
**Author:** ![Number](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/number/32/242_2.png) [@Number](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Number)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2002, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/otherwise-good-songs-ruined-by-one-small-artistic-misstep/118292/38 "2002-07-12T04:23:43Z")
_Art School Girl_ by Stone Temple Pilots is a groovy little tune until it hits the chorus. Then it abruptly switches to the words I TOLD YOU FIVE OR FOUR TIMES yelled over and over with an unpleasant, grinding guitar riff. It’s like they wrote half the song and then quit. Perhaps there’s a subtle meaning to it that I missed. ---
**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:** [July 12, 2002, 6:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/otherwise-good-songs-ruined-by-one-small-artistic-misstep/118292/39 "2002-07-12T06:32:12Z")
My pick:_L.A. Woman_ by the Doors. Great intro, great segue into Morrison’s vocals, and then…there’s THAT lyric: _If they say I never loved you, You know they are a liar._ Usually bad grammar in songs doesn’t irritate me that much but this one I just gag on. ---
**Author:** ![Rilchiam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2002, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/otherwise-good-songs-ruined-by-one-small-artistic-misstep/118292/40 "2002-07-16T04:00:47Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by K364 \* > \*\*_And My Love does it good,_ > > **GOOD?** Is that the best you could think of Paul? GOOD? :rolleyes: > > I won’t even mention all the "Wo-Wo"s \*\* I will! “Wo wo wo wo/Wo wo wo wo/My love/Does it good!” Joey Lawrence must have listened to it in utero. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/otherwise-good-songs-ruined-by-one-small-artistic-misstep/118292.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/otherwise-good-songs-ruined-by-one-small-artistic-misstep/118292.md?page=3)