# Songs that make you want to stick pencils in your ears **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 27, 2019, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-make-you-want-to-stick-pencils-in-your-ears/836163 "2019-06-27T16:21:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 10
**Author:** ![BrickBat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ac91a4/32.png) [@BrickBat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrickBat)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2019, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-make-you-want-to-stick-pencils-in-your-ears/836163/181 "2019-07-15T17:37:16Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > I liked Styx’s “Come Sail Away” the first dozen or so times I heard it. No more. Yeah, it sure was the wallpaper of background noise of the 70s, as was ragtime piano music was in the early decades of the 20th century. Overplayed, but at least it was lively, and even “swung” a little. ‘Babe’, on the other hand made me have to fight the urge to throw up in my mouth every time I heard it…which was too damned often. ---
**Author:** ![sps49sd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@sps49sd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sps49sd)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2019, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-make-you-want-to-stick-pencils-in-your-ears/836163/182 "2019-07-15T18:35:04Z")
> [@Slash1972](#): > > That song that goes “One eight seven seven Kars for Kids…” ☹ ---
**Author:** ![sps49sd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@sps49sd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sps49sd)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2019, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-make-you-want-to-stick-pencils-in-your-ears/836163/183 "2019-07-15T18:38:33Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > I liked Styx’s “Come Sail Away” the first dozen or so times I heard it. No more. Part of the song is badass. If you find an edit that keeps the guitars and minimizes the keyboards, tell me. I wonder how the rest of the band felt, standing around for 2 1/2 minutes doing nothing while Mr Ego sings and strokes his keys. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2019, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-make-you-want-to-stick-pencils-in-your-ears/836163/184 "2019-07-15T19:30:02Z")
The Beatles’ “Birthday” just gives me a headache. ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2019, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-make-you-want-to-stick-pencils-in-your-ears/836163/185 "2019-07-16T00:31:49Z")
> [@Mrs\_Ducky](#): > > Midnight at the Oasis by Maria Muldaur. 'Nuff said… When I first heard that song back in the day, I LOATHED it. I HATED IT. and here it is decades later, and I now really like it, a semi-erotic jazzy fantasia…It’s much like my history of cilantro. Hated it forever…and somehow today I can’t get enough. Tastes change. ---
**Author:** ![Sofrito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sofrito/32/510_2.png) [@Sofrito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sofrito)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2019, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-make-you-want-to-stick-pencils-in-your-ears/836163/186 "2019-07-16T23:51:50Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > Hey, don’t nobody knock “Brandy”! :mad: > > On the other hand … > > Two convicts are facing execution. For his last request, the first guy asks to hear **this song** one last time: > > The second guy says "Please, kill me first!" It’s even worse in Spanish (I think, both make me want to run to the hills.) [![]( " - YouTube") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2MA74Wr7ywc) ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2019, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-make-you-want-to-stick-pencils-in-your-ears/836163/187 "2019-07-17T14:28:25Z")
Eddie Money’s “Two Tickets to Paradise” makes me all stabby. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2019, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-make-you-want-to-stick-pencils-in-your-ears/836163/188 "2019-07-17T20:57:23Z")
> [@Sofrito](#): > > It’s even worse in Spanish (I think, both make me want to run to the hills.) > > [https://youtu.be/2MA74Wr7ywc](https://youtu.be/2MA74Wr7ywc) Wow! We’re really plumbing new depths of pure wretchedness here! :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Eclipse\_Chaser](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@Eclipse\_Chaser](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eclipse_Chaser)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2019, 8:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-make-you-want-to-stick-pencils-in-your-ears/836163/189 "2019-07-18T08:28:15Z")
Has anyone mentioned the Police - Every Breath You Take? God but that is totally unacceptable in modern day. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2019, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-make-you-want-to-stick-pencils-in-your-ears/836163/190 "2019-07-18T13:30:20Z")
> [@Eclipse\_Chaser](#): > > Has anyone mentioned the Police - Every Breath You Take? God but that is totally unacceptable in modern day. Yeah, everyone was a sick pervert way back in 1983. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2019, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-make-you-want-to-stick-pencils-in-your-ears/836163/191 "2019-07-18T13:32:03Z")
I didn’t like “Old Time Rock and Roll” by Bob Seger back when it was first released, and it’s been played so much since then that my hatred has only grown. ---
**Author:** ![BonnyB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/71c47a/32.png) [@BonnyB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BonnyB)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2019, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-make-you-want-to-stick-pencils-in-your-ears/836163/192 "2019-07-18T13:37:14Z")
LOL. So many “great” songs here=) I don’t really like 'Toy" by Netta. Just don’t understand that strange sounds in the beginning. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2019, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-make-you-want-to-stick-pencils-in-your-ears/836163/193 "2019-07-18T17:20:06Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > I actually was called a few years ago as a referral to photograph a house party here in the Chicago suburbs. I gave my standard (competitive) rate, and the person hosting the party tried to get me to lower my rate because the singer of the Plain White T’s would be performing there. I was _this_ tempted to quote an even higher rate. Needless to say, I did not do that job. My oldest went to high school with them and even she didn’t buy their CD. > [@Guinastasia](#): > > “It’s My Party” and “Judy’s Turn to Cry”, especially the latter. WTF, the guy left you for your best friend, and you’re taking him BACK??? Kick his ass to the curb, girl! The joke was on Johnny since Leslie would have preferred Judy, ifyouknowwhatImean. 😉 > [@nearwildheaven](#): > > the Beach Boys’ “Kokomo” You know, I’ve been to Kokomo and it’s the second least likely town in Indiana to have a song, but look how well Gary’s song did. > [@bmoak](#): > > [The Night Chicago Died](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p-L0NpaErkk) by Paper Lace, famous for giving us the East Side of Chicago. I’ve also been to the East Side of Chicago. There isn’t much of it but a junkyard had the part I needed. > [@Akaj](#): > > I also want to pre-emptively defend “Brandy,” because someone’s bound to bring it up, but I’ve always thought it was a near-perfect (though patronizing) slice of 70s pop-soul. That it is, but that doesn’t mean it’s not unlistenable dreck. > [@terentii](#): > > Old farts like myself (I’m 64) The Beatles were right-- I don’t need you. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2019, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-make-you-want-to-stick-pencils-in-your-ears/836163/194 "2019-07-25T13:33:37Z")
Is there anything redeeming about Rick Springfield’s “Jesse’s Girl”??? ---
**Author:** ![Slash1972](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slash1972/32/6461_2.png) [@Slash1972](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slash1972)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2019, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-make-you-want-to-stick-pencils-in-your-ears/836163/195 "2019-07-25T14:13:55Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > Is there anything redeeming about Rick Springfield’s “Jesse’s Girl”??? Maybe, but the point is probably moot. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2019, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-make-you-want-to-stick-pencils-in-your-ears/836163/196 "2019-07-25T14:40:28Z")
Guys. Seriously? [Sit through this](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FuXNumBwDOM). All the way. You’ll be _glad_ you have “Brandy” and “All Out of Love” to come back to. This song has the immortal lyric “There’s only one of you. That’s the funnest part of you.” Just brilliant, that, rhyming “you” with “you”. And to think that guy from Panic! At The Disco is a part of this. (Just don’t put me on your ignore list for this. After all, it’s consistent with the thread topic.) ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2019, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-make-you-want-to-stick-pencils-in-your-ears/836163/197 "2019-07-25T15:23:52Z")
> [@Slash1972](#): > > Maybe, but the point is probably moot. Cute. ---
**Author:** ![Go\_Arachnid\_Laser\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b2d939/32.png) [@Go\_Arachnid\_Laser\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Go_Arachnid_Laser_1)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2019, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-make-you-want-to-stick-pencils-in-your-ears/836163/198 "2019-07-25T22:04:33Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > Guys. > > Seriously? > > [Sit through this](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FuXNumBwDOM). All the way. You’ll be _glad_ you have “Brandy” and “All Out of Love” to come back to. _“But one of these things is not like the others Like a rainbow with all of the colors”_ I- Ah… What? ---
**Author:** ![The\_Stainless\_Steel\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_stainless_steel_rat/32/5727_2.png) [@The\_Stainless\_Steel\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Stainless_Steel_Rat)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2019, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-make-you-want-to-stick-pencils-in-your-ears/836163/199 "2019-07-26T01:12:40Z")
I actually can tolerate most of the songs mentioned (but hey, I’m 66 and have had time to build up an immunity), but four make my ‘hit the button as fast as I can’ list. _ **Having my Baby** _ - Paul Anka (mentioned multiple times before) _ **Afternoon Delight** _ - Starland Vocal Band (this makes Muskrat Love bearable) _ **I’ve Never Been to Me** _ - Charlene (Possibly the worst lyrics in the history of Western Civilization) _ **IN the year 2525** _ - Zager and Evans. Why? ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2019, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-make-you-want-to-stick-pencils-in-your-ears/836163/200 "2019-07-26T02:04:10Z")
OK, Elvis and Frankie Valli, I can take 'em or leave 'em, but “Walk Like a Man,” and, “Hound Dog,” make my ears bleed. Why? The back-up singers. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-make-you-want-to-stick-pencils-in-your-ears/836163.md?page=9) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-make-you-want-to-stick-pencils-in-your-ears/836163.md?page=11)