Once, there was this girl who...

[erinwrites]

During the summer of 1994, I was driving around the country teaching cheerleading to middle school and high school students. I worked for Elite Cheerleading Organization, based in Pittsburgh. The company sent us out around the country in groups of 2, 3, and sometimes 4.If you were lucky, you had someone in your group who was 21 or over. You got a nice, shiny, reliable rental car.

If you weren't, you drove one of the "Elite Fleet." These were crappy old used cars. We were warned about making sure the oil was always full, and told horror stories about what would happen if the oil leaked, drained, or burned away to empty.

The rental cars usually had cassette players in them. The Elite Fleet, well, you were lucky if the radio worked.

When the radio did work, we usually listened to the Top 40/pop stations. Because, well, it was the best compromise. And Top 40 stations are repetitive enough under ordinary circumstances, but y'know, we were driving across multiple states. That means switching the Top 40 station to a NEW one every time we lost the signal. And we were trapped. I mean, sure, sometimes we turned the radio off, and sometimes we got lucky...I remember one trip with a girl named Cindy. Our conversation went something like this:

Cindy: So, what do you want to listen to?

Me: Um, I dunno. Whatever.

Cindy (tentatively): Well, I kinda like...um...country.

Me: No way! Me too! Squee!

Not that we didn't get sick of that eventually, too...but at least it was something different.

As a result, most of the songs that were on the radio that summer make me want to run screaming from the room. I browsed through the weekly charts from that summer to jog my memory. Here's some of what I'm talking about:

All I Wanna Do (Sheryl Crow)
Fantastic Voyage (Coolio)
Here Comes the Hotstepper (Ini Kamoze)
I Swear (All 4 One)
I'll Make Love to You (Boyz II Men)
Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm (Crash Test Dummies)
Wild Night (John Mellencamp)
Mr. Jones (Counting Crows)
Regulate (Warren G)
Shine (Collective Soul)
Baby I Love Your Way (Big Mountain)
Don't Turn Around (Ace of Base)
Crazy (Aerosmith)
Round Here (Counting Crows)
Tootsee Roll (69 Boyz)

Now, whether or not I would have liked these songs under ordinary circumstances is irrelevant. Some songs from that summer didn't stick with me...I can barely remember them. Others, I don't mind so much. These, for whatever reason, have been burned into my brain until the end of time. That All 4 One version of I Swear? *shudder* 5 weeks at number one.

So, what songs have you wished would get sucked into a black hole of oblivion, never to be heard from again? :)

Comments

[poltr1]

Oh man. There are plenty. Although these are probably before your time, and mercifully don't get a lot of airplay. :) Check out my Top-40 Schlockfest.

[filkerdave.livejournal.com]

For a long time, it was Hotel California, which took over the airwaves at some point in my youth.

And after the Phil Collins Summer, I didn't ever want to hear his voice again.

[poltr1]

I'm getting burned out on Hotel California as well. Imagine my surprise when I recently heard a nice version of it by the Gypsy Kings. It's sung in Spanish.

[lord-korak.livejournal.com]

While there are a few songs that I dislike enough to ask someone to change stations or skip to the next track, there is only one song that I despise/loathe/abhor beyond description - George Michael's "Last Christmas" - but I only have to deal with it during the month of December.

[trektone.livejournal.com]

I much prefer the All 4 One version of "I Swear" over the country version by John Michael Montgomery that preceded it. And I prefer it over Boyz II Men's "I'll Make Love to You."

I don't like Justin Timberlake's singing voice, in general, so if I never heard it again in any form, I would be okay.

[erinwrites.livejournal.com]

Oh, see, I *liked* the John Michael Montgomery version. ;)

[ldwheeler.livejournal.com]

"The Flame" by Cheap Trick.

Just typing that hurt my ears.

[vixyish.livejournal.com]

Eeeeeheehee, how funny. That would have been age 23 for me, just after finishing my undergrad, so I'd have been working at Circuit City and generally going to clubs a lot at night. Some of the songs you list I've never heard of, but others were among my favorites. :)

That Mellencamp cover of "Wild Night" I still really like. :)

Songs I wish would get sucked into a black hole forever...

* "Manic Monday" by the Bangles. I have no idea why but I just have a deep, utter loathing for this. Even though there's Bangles that I like.

* Anything by Evanescence. They set my teeth absolutely on edge. Again not sure why... I think it's mostly just the attitude of the people I know who listen to it. It's also a certain kind of OMGLIFEISPAINANGST that annoys me, but I can't really lean too heavily on that, as I just listen to different angst. (Dave Matthews, mostly, does angst the way I like it.)

* Anything by Ace of Base. Hel-lo, manufactured pop.

* "Save Tonight" by Eagle Eye Cherry, and "This is How You Remind Me" by whoever the hell that's by. Both have associations with an ex that I'd just rather never have to think about again. (Interestingly, he was also of the OMGLIFEISPAIN variety. Certain kinds of people just make me eyeroll...)

...I think I'll stop there before I give myself a headache. :)

[mbumby.livejournal.com]

Muskrat Love by The Captain & Tenille.

"This song is just 6 words long..."... ummm... Actually the words go "I've got my mind set on you". *shudder*