Your Favorite Artist's Worst Songs - Page 2

Starting with Undercover...

R.E.M. - Wanderlust

Shit, that whole album except for "The Final Straw" and "Leaving New York."

Nope. I love the album, all 100%. You're basically saying 90% of it isn't good. How do you see that as agreeing?

The Beatles - Act Naturally
Arcade Fire - 7 Kettles
Beck - Get Real Paid
Bruce Springsteen - Paradise
De La Soul - Shopping Bags (She Got It From You)
Dinosaur Jr. - Poledo
The Doors - The WASP (Texas Radio and the Big Beat)
The Hives - Inspection Wise 1999
Interpol - Take You On A Cruise
Modest Mouse - Woodgrain
The Moldy Peaches - D2 Boyfriend
Nirvana - Farmer Francis Will Have Her Revenge on Seattle
Radiohead - Sulk
System of a Down - Radio Video
Tom Waits - Metropolitan Glide
The White Stripes - White Moon

A-fucking-men. What was most frustrating about that song is that it was released on an album containing two of their best songs of all time ("Abel" and "All the Wine"), and that piece of nothing was chosen as the first single. I thought I was witnessing the early death of one of my favorite bands. Thankfully, they released Boxer. I still don't listen to Alligator very much, as "All the Wine' is on the Cherry Tree EP. Not a conscious decision--it's like "Astronauts" contaminated the rest of the album or something.

My picks:
Replacements, "Lay It Down Clown" I know part of the 'Mats appeal was the whole brilliance-bordering-on-incompetence thing, but this one skews too far to the latter
Stars, "Genova Heights" Just something about the chorus of that song makes me twist up inside, and not in a good way

I've been racking my brain for five minutes trying to come up with an Afghan Whigs song I don't like just to prove I can look at them objectively, but it's just not happening.

Really? I can think of much worse songs on that album. "Milk It"? "Very Ape"? Then again, that album doesn't really age well in general.

Yeah, "Frances Farmer" is a good song. I find that Ripoll's musical tastes favor towards the ass. No offense.

What was that? I couldnt hear you, what with your mouth being full of Michael Stipe's cock.

You didn't hear me. I typed it. And yeah, it's delicious.

If we're talking Nirvana, nothing's worse than "Don't Want It All" (which is it's title on the box set; bootlegs have it titled "Seed" or "Misery Loves Company"). Just a horrible, boring art-rock misfire. For actual released songs I'd have to go with "tourette's", which isn't really even a song, it's just a fuck you to the mainstream audience.

NIN - "The Collector" and "Deep" suck but my worst is "Big Man With A Gun". I'm sure there's supposed to be some irony/satire in the lyric "shoot shoot shoot shoot shoot/I'm gonna cum all over you", but having Tommy Lee play on the song negates that.

I actually listened to In Utero on my train commute last week. I thought there were some great moments on that record, including Milk It. I was also shocked how long the songs were...

I don't get the hate for "Astronauts." The title phrase may sound kind of inspid, but the rest of the song more than makes up for it, both lyrically and musically. To say nothing of the rest of the album, which is a quantum leap beyond most of the stuff on Cherry Tree.

Totally agree on this one. I'm a Replacements apologist, but I find it really hard to make it through this song. I'd rather listen to a bootleg of one of their sloppiest nights than the studio recording of this (did they ever even bother to play it live?).

This is one of the high points of the album for me, mainly because Campbell goes into his Bee Gees thing on the chorus. It's completely unexpected, but totally works for me.

The Streets - "War of the Sexes"

I actually didn't know Tommy Lee plays on that song, but it doesn't make that song any less hilarious.

I'd actually go with the title track from With Teeth. It just annoys the hell out of me for some reason. Luckily, it's followed by the best song on the album.

I will agree that Alligator is the next evolutionary step beyond Cherry Tree. I just wasn't sure I liked the trajectory. There were flashes of brilliance I could point to ("Abel," "Mr. November," already in love with "All the Wine"), but those seemed more an outgrowth of the familiar than part of the new. Like I said, that direction solidified itself with Boxer, which sold me on the "new" National.

As for "Looking For Astronauts," the fact that the clunkiest lyric in the song is not only the chorus but the title colors the listening beyond redemption. The chorus is supposed to be the release of tension that the everything leading up to it builds, and when he just repeats that line endlessly, it's a major dose of coitus interruptus. The fact that the rest of the song is so strong makes the impact of the chorus even worse.

This discussion is tempting me to retrieve Alligator from my girlfriend's car and see if I can learn to love it, now that my disgust with "Astronauts" has been vocalized. It certainly didn't help that it was the only National song the local radio station played for awhile; just when a band I was really into was breaking big, I was constantly confronted with a tune of theirs I couldn't stand.


I can see what he's trying to do there, and I admire it. I just don't think it gibes with the rest of the song. I would like the chorus in another song; I would like the song without the chorus. It's kind of like that absurdly placed saxophone solo in "Baker Street" by Gerry Rafferty--when I was a kid, I loved that solo, but it simply does not fit in with the song its been placed in.

It doesn't? Why not?

That's actually my favorite song on In Utero.

Damn you, I came in here to say Dog Years by Rush.




Also - Maiden has a ton of songs worse than Bring Your Daughter to the Slaughter...try getting through The Angel and the Gambler.

I would also like to submit U2's entire Atomic Bomb album, Dirty Little Rockstar by The Cult, and The Crunge by Led Zeppelin.
I haven't read the whole thread yet.

I said no such thing. I was responding to the guy who did.

My point was, although it's a brilliant album it contains songs that are, on their own, less than great. Wild Honey Pie, for instance, is barely a song at all. If you require a figure, I'll wager that the tracks on that album, weighed individually, are 70 to 75 per cent great.

I'm not a fan of In Utero at all, so most of the songs on it I'd pick as "worst Nirvana song". And White Moon is so slow, monotonous and it's not too hot lyrically either (expressionistic lyrics are not Jack White's strong point).

Same, I absolutely love that whole album.

And Big Man With A Gun? Really? I love that song because he's making fun of dickheads and it's fun to rage out to. It's also sooooo fun to sing in public...

Cherry Tree's too sleepy for my tastes. Maybe it's because I heard Alligator before everything else, but Alligator still comes off to me as not a transitional piece, but a brilliant stand-alone album in its own right. I still think it might be their peak, if only for the fact that Boxer keeps things at such an even tone rather than indulging in the occasional "Abel," "Lit Up," or "Mr. November." For that matter, "Karen" and "Geese of Beverly Road" seem like more fully-developed versions of the ballads on Boxer, oddly enough.

What's funny is I have no idea what would be considered the chorus of the song, since all three main parts repeat. I would have probably gone with the "You know you have a permanent piece of my average-sized American heart" bit or the "Take all your reasons and take them away..." part as the chorus.

I always assumed "Mr. November" or "Lit Up" had been the first single, actually. Not that I heard any on the radio, but the blogs were all about "Mr. November," and "Lit Up" had a video. I'll admit that the record company was a little perverse in pushing "Astronauts," if it was the single, though. I'm defending it here, but it's still probably the weakest song on a remarkable album.

That song was tailor made for the XBox 360's custom soundtrack feature.

No no, that's blissful ear candy compared to:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_zMhSjDqvRs

Wow, that whole thing was so embarrassing for everyone involved...

If I have a favorite artist, it's probably Neil Young, so I've got plenty to work with here. Leaving aside some of his 80s output I'll just say that I don't think I listened to "Let's Roll" more than 3-4 times.

Not even their worst cover. I'd substitute "Dizzy Miss Lizzie," the last song on that same album.

You said you agreed with the guy who said it was 90% weak! My point was that I don't have to que up songs when listening to it because when I listen to it I listen to the whole thing. Because I love ALL THE SONGS! That means individually and all together.

And Wild Honey Pie is awesome. Barely a song? I mean, yeah...it's weird, but so what? It's a fun one to slip into mix tapes sometimes because it's so offbeat. The Beatles were all about about levity in small doses and that song is a lot of fun. If every song were Blackbirds, While My Guitar Gently Weeps and Revolutions...it wouldn't even be a Beatles album.

I have to admit to a pretty strong aversion to "Wild Honey Pie." The White Album does tend to play relatively well as a cohesive unit, but certainly not nearly as well as Sgt. Pepper, Revolver, or Abbey Road. I'm not sure if I can give "WHP" a pass on that basis. You could easily dump "Wild Honey Pie" without impacting the album's flow too much. For the record, I'm not the biggest fan of "Ob-La-Di Ob-La-Da" and most folks can't stand "Revolution 9," but I kind of love that these two extremes are represented. I just can't see making the same argument for "WHP."

Then again, "Wild Honey Pie"'s less than a minute long, so it's practically over by the time I consider hitting skip, anyway.

Please read that post again, and this time read all three sentences. I said I saw where he was coming from, BUT that condemning 90% was being a bit severe. Then I listed a percentage of great songs amounting to far beyond 10%. I love the White Album-- the thing is, this here thread is about songs, not albums, and I think it's interesting to judge the individual tracks on their own merits.

"Wild Honey Pie" made it to the White Album only because Patti Boyd was fond of it. So Paul McCartney has argued, not very convincingly.

It's a trifle, and a 30-second trifle that exits before it can annoy me (putting me in Dave's camp).

I'm more inclined to point a disapproving finger or two in the direction of "I Want You (She's So Heavy)," which is one of the very few Beatles songs to stick around far longer than it should.

Then go back and yell at the guy who said "90% of the White Album" rather then saying you "sorta get" where he's coming from.

That's what pissed me off so much in the first place. It's such a lazy statement and, I'm sorry, if you're going to come out with something like that, back it the fuck up or provide list the individual songs you think are the Beatles worst.

And yeah, I read your post. I disagree with it quite a bit (Back in the USSR is more then just an enjoyable novelty for me...it's one of my favorite Beatles songs), but whatever. Albums are only as good as the individual songs that comprise them, so whether we're discussing individual songs or albums, agreeing with a blanket statement about 90% of one of the greatest albums ever is just downright ludicrous in my eyes.

The White Album is my favorite Beatles record, so I'm biased. As far as quality, iI think it's absolutely stronger than Sgt. Pepper. Revolver and Abbey Road are probably "better" records but they're not nearly as strange and eclectic.

You, sir, are insane.

Also, I don't know how we've come this far discussing The Beatles' worst songs and we haven't even mentioned the Phil Spector Let It Be album, which is almost nothing but filler. Consider:

I Dig a Pony
Dig It
I've Got a Feeling
I Me Mine
One After 909
The Long and Winding Road (not a good song in any version)
For You Blue.

I mean, no way is "Act Naturally" worse than "For You Blue."

But, as I think about it, there are a surprising number of bad Beatles songs, most of them written by George before he got good. "The Inner Light" would be one of them. "Blue Jay Way," jesus christmas, there's another.

But for all-time worst, I'd have to argue "Only a Northern Song." Brrrrggghhhh.

Who doesn't like Tom Waits's Alice? It's badass. Poor Edward is the scariest shit he's ever done, and that's saying something. And Real Gone has The Day After Tomorrow (the great song, not the movie). Fuck, I even like What's He Building In There, in part because I think it's intentionally parodic, like much of Orphans.

As for the rest:
The Beatles - Mean Mr. Mustard
Radiohead - Hunting Bears
Queen - We Will Rock You (So fucking tired of this song)
The Pogues - Dirty Old Town

You, sir, are also insane.

Yowzers.

What's that Rush song with the rapping?

And for anyone who doesn't like some of Waits' 'Alice', track down the demos. Some of them are amazing.

Found and downloading.

You're thinking of 'Roll the Bones', off of the album of the same name. It's not my favorite song of theirs, but I don't mind it as much as some of their 'Power Windows/Hold Your Fire' stuff. RTB was actually a really solid album and found Rush at their funkiest.

Wilco - "Outta Mind (Outta Sight)"

Not really an awful song, but probably my least favorite for two reasons: a) it doesn't stand up well to "Outtasite (Outta Mind)" on Disc 1 of Being There*, and b) the opening riff is the Sesame Street theme song, note for note. Pulls me out of the album every time.


*This may also explain why the Amnesiac version of "Morning Bell" is one of my least favorite Radiohead songs.

I think it's a better collection of songs than Sgt. Pepper, but it's not as unified. There are great albums that are just a bunch of excellent songs, and there are great albums in which the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. Most are somewhere in between, but they tend to lean in one direction or the other. I think the White Album leans more toward the former, and Sgt. Pepper and Abbey road lean more toward the latter.

With that in mind, I think it would do more damage to Sgt. Pepper to remove, say, the reprise of the title song (probably the slightest track on there) than it would to remove "Wild Honey Pie" or even some of the stronger songs from the White Album. The White Album would still retain its general flow.

Not the worst Queen song by a mile, don't care how sick of it you are.



Madness.
Craziness.

Power Windows and Hold Your Fire are fantastic and lightyears beyond Roll the Bones' thin, early 90's filler material (Face Up?). Not only is Power Windows Geddy's favortie Rush album (and possibly their best produced), but they were still progressive (albiet with a synth laden sound that many people find distasteful), but also contain some of Neil's best lyrics AND drumming.

Yeah, a lot of Peart's lyrics make me cringe nowadays, but he was actually doing pretty decent work in that era, especially on Hold Your Fire and Presto, but also on parts of Power Windows. Roll the Bones was when I started to tune out, not just because I'd grown out of the style, but because they were making shittier music (although parts of Counterparts were sort of okay).

On the White Album...Tracks I like....
Back in the USSR
While my Guitar Gently Weeps
Happiness is a Warm Gun
Blackbird
Why Don't We Do it in the Road
Helterskelter
Julia

Revolution may be my favorite Beatles song EVER. But I don't like the slow version, moreso since I heard the fast version first.

Obla Di and Revolution #9 might be the worst Beatles songs EVER.

I have a special spot in my heart for HYF, as that was the first concert that I ever saw. Both PW and HYF have some of their best songs, but time has not been kind to the overall 'sound' of those albums. Objectively, I like PW better than HYF (it has less filler, in my opinion), but I do think that RTB has some serious gems on it ('Dreamline', 'Ghost of a Chance', 'Bravado', and the instrumental that I can't remember the name to) that make it a solid album. And, as I said, they were never funkier.

To each their own...Rush fans have been debating the merits of the individual albums for years.