How did those songs become hits?
 

This is a list of songs by bands that I normally like, but I've always thought these songs were nearly unlistenable, or at the very least not nearly among their best. I doubt I've even got the title correct for some of them.

Unlistenable
1. You'd Better You Bet (The Who) - Daultry tries, but the lyrics in the chorus just don't work.
2. Radio Gaga (Queen) - When Queen is on, they're a unique band. When they're off, they're uniquely bad. This is the worst of several awful songs that somehow received airplay. Queen probably would have the most songs on this list if I put forth the effort to exhume them all.
3. Mr. Roboto (Styx) - Did anyone ever like this song?

Not nearly among their best
1.Tom Sawyer (Rush) - Just, kind of, off, like, a bit, this sentence.
2. Creep (Radiohead) - Not unlistenable by any means, but it's funny how many people associate the band with their first hit. I honestly think i could name 20 better Radiohead songs.
3. Fight for Your Right to Party (Beastie Boys) - A little fun, I guess, but they moved on to such better things. And didn't Party for Your Right to Fight kill this song convincingly enough.

Personally I'm not sure how any Styx song was ever popular. I think the Simpsons nailed it in the episode where Homer was playing Odysseus, and was told by Circe that he had to cross the River Styx. It turns out to be a river of fire with a bunch of skeletons rocking out to Styx's "Lady" and Homer screaming "this truly is hell!"

Roboto was a very big deal for Styx, while it wasn't particularly popular with their core fans, it did a lot to broaden their audience.

For Tom Sawyer I'm surprised to see anyone slag it. Kind of tough to rip what Geddy Lee calls " the quintessential Rush song ". And without Fight, I imagine there's a good chance the Beasties would have remained an undiscovered punk band instead of legends from their era.

I wasn't ever a real big fan of the Beastie boys, but that was one of their only songs they have ever made that I actually liked enough to know some of the lyrics to. Not sure if I necessarily "liked" it, but I definitely tolerated it. I probably couldn't name more than 1 or 2 other Beastie Boy songs period.

I don't understand the need for a "not nearly their best" catagory. A lot of hits that define bands are not their best because those hits appeal to the mass audience instead of just the fanbase.

Wasn't "Fight for Your Right" the MTV-darling that put the Beastie Boys on the map?

I'm not a fan of it, but Mr. Roboto is one of my mother's all time favorite songs. She listened to a particular radio station in the late 90s because it had a DJ she liked and that song was in heavy rotation.

There's always these random and poor hits in every era. In the early period of Rock, there is the ear blistering Surfin' Bird (The Bird is the Word). I use that as an example to prove my father wrong whenever he says music has gotten worse. No, listen to Surfin' Bird again. That is not a good song.

I have to disagree. Although it isn't one of Queen's best songs, it's still a very good song. I think a lot of people just can't get past the word "gaga" to treat it seriously enough.


What Jon said.


I think this happens a lot, though, to many bands. It is a good song, though.

I've always liked "Mr. Roboto", but I could never stand "Radio Gaga".

Creep, Tom Sawyer and Mr Roboto are probably my three favorite songs from Radiohead, Rush and Styx respectively. I'm not really a big fan of any of those groups, though, so YMMV.

You had to have been there at the time (we're talking 25-30 years ago!) - with no bias of music that came afterwards (even for the band). MTV had a lot to do with it.

Tom Sawyer is very Rush-ish. I submit to you, that while it is possible to like Tom Sawyer while disliking Rush, it is not possible to like Rush while disliking Tom Sawyer.

I'm not saying it's their very best work (in fact I have great difficulty defining their best, as there is so much great material to choose from), but I cannot agree with your characterization of the song.

This is akin to looking down on a movie like Bachelor Party.




/likes both Mr. Roboto and Surfin' Bird

Oh btw, when I saw the thread title, I assumed it was about the entire Poison library of material.

Great, great movie.

I like every song mentioned in the first post, except for the Who song. And that song is certainly bearable.

I don't like this song either.



Or this one.



I find it amusing.


I like this one. It's really the only Rush song I know.


Probably my favorite Radiohead song.


Not my favorite Beastie Boys song, but still, it's a classic and I like it. It's good fun like so many of their songs.

I disagree because those two artists were on different trajectories. The B-boys got much better after Liscensed to Ill, while Hanks never even approached the glory of Bachelor Party again (Oscars be damned!)

I've never understood how anyone likes Rush at all. In fact I think I hate them. Sorry Hurst

I agree with you on the first 3 songs, but you lost me on the last 3.

Creep is one of my favourite songs of any band. I can maybe see what you mean by the first three songs. But the last three are good.

The real problem with the Beastie Boys is that they have too many songs in the Rock Band list, ruining my gaming experience...

Say hello to my little ignore button!!!!!!! :mad: :rant:

I really like You Better, You Bet. It is very off the wall like most of their stuff. "I'm not into your passport picture, I just like your nose" Not sure what meaning "I felt a little like a dying clown with a streak of Rin Tin Tin" or "So they rode on his head in their furry donkey" have but they are great tunes.

The rest of the songs you mentioned are just different strokes for different folks I guess.

"Fight for you Right" is an awesome tune. One of my favorite to play.

Be a musician geek who play drums, bass, keys, or guitars. Rush could probably tour based off of Neil Peart fan boys alone.

EDIT: Or watch "Freaks and Geeks," or Chuck for that matter.

The only place the beastie bpys were legends was in their own minds. Talk about pop culture trash living off the bad taste of the masses.

Having them in any sort of comparison situation with the likes of Rush is is...is just....wrong. Its like comparing Ryan Leaf to Dan Marino and saying they're both pretty good Qb's.

Tell us what you really think ;).

I don't think you can use a Ryan Leaf to Marino comparison. First of all, the Beastie Boys have won Grammys and Leaf has never won a Pro-Bowl slow. Secondly, Rush ain't even close to being as good as Dan Marino.

I love Surfin' Bird; the song is awesome.

Why I oughtta...

(take you off my xmas card list!):p

That's ok. I've been poked fun of and been verbally abused for liking Rush my whole life.

I have always liked the Beastie Boys. The thing I have appreciated the most about them is that they created their own individual sound from elements of punk, rap, rock and pop that no one imagined could be fused and created something fun and enjoyable.

Actually its a perfect comparison:


The beastie Boys, like Ryan Leaf were all hype and no quality. Granmmy's? You think a GRAMMY is something that validates them? Nuff said...

And Rush and Dan Marino is also fitting as Rush and Dan both contain more talent in their pinky fingers than most bands and QBs would ever see in their careers.

So really, its the perfect analogy.

So according to you they created Crap-pop-punk? Come on man thats existed for decades ;)

Rush could never win that Super Bowl, alas.

Rush would be great if the guy didn't sing...

Boy! That's a new one! lol

I actually use that when talking about Nirvana. Only I use 'if Kris and Curt didn't play their instruments'.

You probably don't like Coheed and Cambria and The Mars Volta either.

As well, most people with that opinion of Rush have not heard any of their newer stuff. Most who agree with you only hear what's on the radio.

What about the voice of Geddy Lee. How did it get so high? I wonder if he talks like an ordinary guy.

First time I heard that song was sitting in the crowd of a Rush concert. It was being piped through the speakers. Neil does the play lists for the pre show and intermission tunes. I chuckled.

Geddy Lee has the same number of Super Bowl rings as Marino.

Their own, special brand of it.

I came across the Beasties when I was going through my hardcore punk phase around 1984. Imagine my surprise when I heard "Licensed to Ill" for the first time. Not what I was expecting. Once I got past the "what the holy hell is this" shock, I realized what I had come across was pretty unusual and cool. Obviously, ymmv.

I don't think that the Beasties get the respect they deserve in the overall musical pantheon from that period. They were a unique group that would provide a bridge for a lot of fans who otherwise would never have considered listening to rap or the dance music that would come out in the late 80's and early 90's.

That said, they wouldn't be that bridge for me. I am a true son of the Pacific Northwest. My musical soul is made of flannel and gore-tex and coated heavily with grunge.

I tend to agree on the Beastie Boys. I like some of their stuff, can't stand some of their stuff but I feel they definitely get short-changed. Not sure who they got overshadowed by in the end...maybe grunge but I also think Red Hot Chilli Peppers took some of their thunder.

Perhaps in the minority, but I have no love for them and change the station when theyre on.

But I can also think of 20 better Radiohead songs than Creep.

Yeah...Rush is Ryan Leaf...

I believe you got that reversed ;). You sure you didn't mean the Beastie Boys were like Marino and Rush was like Leaf? :D

I like the Beastie Boys and think they created something new and imaginative. Rush is... meh.

Which brings me to the recorded liner used by a local station on their Friday night metal show, something to the effect that "it was a time when metal ruled the airwaves & music was good ... until Kurt Cobain came along & fucked it all up".

And to throw another two cents into the evolved debate here, I give the Beasties their props for creating a niche even if it isn't a niche I'm particularly fond of. Without them, I'm not sure the soundtrack for the X-Games crowd would have ever existed.

edit to add: I almost forgot


Oh snap.

This would make sense if they only released "License to Ill." "Paul's Boutique" pretty much makes your point invalid.

HA! thanks for showing your music history ignorance. back of the line. :lol:

I love the diversity here.

the only hits are the songs that weird al parodies

yankovic 4 lyfe

Considering that something that many familiar with the music industry would say, I may have to ask who is being the ignorant one here. :cool:

The connection of punk with hip-hop was obviously there, but never fully exploited as well prior to the Beastie Boys.

Heh. One man's satan is another man's savior.

The comment that was given:

I like the Beastie Boys and think they created something new and imaginative. Rush is... meh.


I read it as Rush didn't create anything new and imaginative. If you don't like Rush, that's fine. I just think that in the grand scheme of things, Rush has had more of an influence on music in the last 35 years than TBBs have. IMHO of course.

(and actually, I give most of the credit for them becoming household names to Rick Rubin. Without him, they would be another shitty punk band lost in the history of east coast music).

Lastly, my words were a little harsh in regards to the statement I was responding to. My apologies for that. I will still say you are wrong but with more tact.

Beasties > Rush

Sure, as individuals, Rush are the better musicians--in fact, Geddy Lee and Neil Peart are fabulous musicians, from a technical point of view--but their songwriting is weak. Like much prog rock, Rush music is hard to play and harder to listen to.

Starting with Paul's Boutique, the Beasties were in the zone, fusing various black and white musical genres together and combining it with their own oddball sensibility and offbeat humor.

That having been said, I realize that the Beasties' music has a natural appeal to someone from New York, and that I would probably appreciate Rush more if I were from Medicine Hat :)

That actually made me laugh out loud.

The only fact in this thread is that RendeR is a mega douche.

Wouldn't that be MegA DouchE

When has Geddy Lee ever written a song as poignant and lyrically sophisticated as "Heart Attack Man?" ;)

Actually I'm pretty sure the B-Boys stole the line "He's like a man in a hefty bag" from Caress of Steel.

No, but they used to sample Tom Sawyer during their concerts.

hxxp://www.esnips.com/doc/ae2c5ddf-ed1b-4dbd-a5d0-73e786c6a445/Beastie-Boys---Tom-Sawyer-(Rush-Cover---Mix-Master-Mike-Remix)--Live--1

But whatever. ;)

Knowing what to steal and when to steal it is the sign of genius.

'I'd rather invent it than steal that shit, yo'

-Nicholi Tesla

Quiet cihldren, the adults are talking here.

I have never understood the appeal of Rush.

Creep is one of my all-time favorite songs - I'm a big Radiohead fan, and I consider it their masterpiece.

Seeing as how they have sold as many albums as they have (shitloads), it can't be only a musician thing. There's a vast mix of people at their shows but for me, it was the musicianship aspect. A lot of people can say that.

I like Radiohead a bit. I like OK Computer. I think Paranoid Android is light years beyond Creep but then again, I like all that prog stuff.

I was drawn in by the sci-fi/fantasy aspect of the lyrics (I was a teenager at the time) and stayed for the musicianship.

And I'll always have a special place in my heart for "The Pass" (off of Presto). I saw the video before my junior year state championship skiing meet, and the next day couldn't get the song out of my mind. So it was what I had in my mind that whole race, which was probably my best individual athletic performance ever (topped only by anchoring the relay leg the next year that won us the overall state championship for the 4th year in a row).

good song.

what frustrates me about anti rush people is that they have never heard some of their best written songs. Some of the stuff from the 80s to early 90s is really sweet. The lyrics are soooo far from the teenage D&D stuff.


Back on topic:

Abracadabra by Steve Miller is my nomination of the day. Horrible song that got tons of radio play.

Obviously it gained hit status by immediately infecting the listener's brain, as your mere mention of it has caused it to loop infinitely in my mind.

arrrgggggg

I like to sing it as "ABBA, ABBA cadavers -- they're gonna reach out and grab ya."

Steve Miller Band is awful..

For you Radiohead fans...watch this youtube clip (don't look at the comments)...can you sing one of their songs to this rift??