Innocent Miseries?
As you probably know, Fridays on this site are for music-related posts and the majority of them are about Guilty Pleasures. These are songs that for some reason or another you really shouldn’t like – either they’re completely vapid lyrically, are for young pre-teen girls, or are hopelessly outdated. Or all of the above. Or just plain BAD. But for some unknown reason, you love the songs. This place is your safe, judgement-free zone.
But what about the opposite?
Could there be songs that you should absolutely love, but you can’t stand? Songs that are beautifully written, artistically deep, with amazing performances by wonderful people with feel-good backgrounds? Yet five seconds into the song, you’re screaming for the hills?
I have those, too. I just don’t know what they’re called. Here are a few.
Lorde – Royals
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I hate this song with a passion, yet it’s receiving all kinds of airplay on many different radio station formats – pop, indie, adult rock. It has that popular message of rejecting materialism and elitists that clicks with the 99%. It has a funky beat and is nicely sung by a teenager who came out of literally nowhere (aka New Zealand). When I first heard it, I knew that it would be a huge hit. But I was immediately repulsed by it. Maybe because I like being an elitist.
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Miley Cyrus – Wrecking Ball
As I mentioned in my post Hatin’ on Taylor Swift, it’s pretty easily to diss Miley. After all, she was on Disney Channel, has been pretty controversial lately, and has Billy Ray Cyrus for a dad.
Mullet of the Century. And dad jeans on the other guy. (celebrityviplounge.com)
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If you can get past the fact that it’s Miley, Wrecking Ball is actually a really good song – highly emotional, soaring melodies, great theme. But I only needed to hear it once.
That said, her performance of the song on The American Music Awards was COLOSSALLY EPIC!!!
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Lip-synching space kitty, FTW!!!
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The Collected Works of Adele
I hate “Rumor Has It” the most.
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I’ve been slapped around for this one quite a bit. She can write and belt out a song like no other. And I know a lot of people love that she’s had great success even though she’s full-figured and doesn’t fit the mold of pop star – that a “a real woman” can be just as sexy.
billboard.com
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Ummmm. Real women come in all different shapes and sizes, including skinny. So, unless anyone has done DNA testing or looked up her skirt, I’d say Avril Lavigne is a “real woman” too.
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To me, Adele is like Whitney Houston and 95% of all country music singers. They could have amazing voices and are terrific performers. But you can’t get me to like the music.
So what what should we call these songs? Anti-Guilty Pleasures? Innocent Miseries?
Do you have any songs you just hate for no good reason?
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19 comments on “Innocent Miseries?”
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Doppel Member, Baby!
The only song I can think of right now that qualifies would be Bitter Sweet Symphony by The Verve. It’s a hit, I know it and yet, I can’t stand this song and i can’t give any reason.
That one took a long time – probably a year – to grow on me. But I can see that!
Tears in Heaven–Eric Clapton.
No, thank you.
Absolutely loathed that song.
I am glad that you agree.
Good Riddance (Time of You Life) by Green Day. Blech.
I can live with that one. One of their most recent ones – 21 Guns… oof
Anything by Eric Clapton. Can’t stand that poser. But I have a different category, or maybe a subcategory: the despicable rock anthem. These are songs that I loved a bit too much in my youth, so much so that I played them over and over and over and over, and as a result, I can’t stand them anymore. Most of them are predictable classics any pre-teen or teen in the 70’s would love: Hotel California, American Pie, Stairway to Heaven, and three Beatles songs: Hey Jude, Let It Be, and Yesterday. Great songs, influential songs, legendary songs, call them what you will, but I will never play them again, and always change the station when they come up on the radio. I don’t think I’ve heard any of the above songs in their entirety since the 80’s. And I sang Lennon’s Imagine so often to my kids that sadly and regrettably, I can’t listen to that song either (in my defense, I must’ve have sung–butchered–Imagine several times a night between 2000 and 2006). Frankly, I don’t know how rock stars do it: singing the same song in concert tour after tour, night after night and pretending to get excited about it. How long has Jagger been singing Satisfaction? Or how long has sting been singing Roxanne? Sir Paul and Hey Jude? I’d be a really petulant and ungrateful rock star: “I’ve spent the last eight months in the studio recording my latest songs and you fucks want to hear a forty-year-old song? Go to hell!”
(By the way, can anyone tell it’s finals week and that I should be grading those papers taking up space on my desk?)
Haha. A couple hours ago I thought if another idea that yours fits into – songs that need to be locked up and not played for the next 20 yrs. like love Shack.
Seriously. It’s worth it for the looks on Oates’ face.
guilty displeasures
Anything by The Eagles. Just because you can’t stop yourself from singing along doesn’t make it good music. Heartache Tonight maybe the most loathsome.
On the anthems, I will agree that Bon Jovi needs to be locked up for ………….ever?
This post reminded me that I have a guilty pleasures music post for you…I hand wrote it in a notebook while at a work conference last year.
I remember that! Didn’t want to pester…
For a wine lover “It was a very good year.”
‘m with you on Lorde Royals ( especially after I saw the video). But I actually like the Wrecking Ball…
I might have totally sung along to Royals, Wrecking Ball, and Set Fire to the Rain in my car on my way to work this very morning and loved every second of it.
Maybe that’s the problem? You are listening to these songs all wrong. Try blaring them on your radio and sing-screaming along while you’re driving. I think you might like it…
I hate anything from Grease with a passion, even though everyone else finds those jams to be great kitschy fun.
You’re right. I have to admit that my hate for Wrecking ball has gone down the more I watched the space cat video. And me and my girls had a blast singing it in the car at the top if our lungs last Friday.
Still hate Royals, though…
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