Todd in the Shadows while looking back on Carl Douglas' "Kung Fu Fighting" believes that 1980, 1990, and 2001 were far worse years for pop music than 1974.

Bennett the Sage while counting down his list of the worst pop songs to reach #1 on the Billboard charts believes that 2005 was the worst.


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

Ben the Sage:

http://benthesage.com/reviews/ss/the-top-20-worst-number-one-songs/

Todd in the Shadows while looking back on Carl Douglas' "Kung Fu Fighting" believes that 1980, 1990, and 2001 were far worse years for pop music than 1974.

Bennett the Sage while counting down his list of the worst pop songs to reach #1 on the Billboard charts believes that 2005 was the worst.
All years from about 1979..

I'd say the worst years of pop were between 1990-1994. and then 2000-2007. Grunge and alternative had taken over in the 90's and the mainstays of pop were still popular but churning out very boring music: Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey, Michael Bolton, and Celine Dion. The pop metal bands weren't relevant anymore and tried to get harder but most of them failed. And then after the boy-band/single teen girl explosion in 1999, all the copycats came and it got pretty stale during that time.

I watched Ben the Sage this morning before church and his selections were somewhat agreeable although there were a few I had never heard including the #1 choice, the song by Chris Brown and most of those released after 1990. His dishonorable mentions list was better. "My Ding-a-Ling" and "Disco Duck" should've made his list and how why he didn't include (You're) "Having My Baby" is beyond me. :confused:

The review would've been better though if not for the constant F-bombs. If you have to resort to using them with every other sentence then you can't be taken seriously. :rolleyes:

Hmm...I'd say 1994-present.

I'd say the worst years of pop were between 1990-1994. and then 2000-2007. Grunge and alternative had taken over in the 90's and the mainstays of pop were still popular but churning out very boring music: Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey, Michael Bolton, and Celine Dion. The pop metal bands weren't relevant anymore and tried to get harder but most of them failed. And then after the boy-band/single teen girl explosion in 1999, all the copycats came and it got pretty stale during that time.

Thanks for providing the links, I've added them to TMC's post.

I don't know, it depends on what you're looking for in each year of music. If you go strictly by pop charts, you're bound to be disappointed, but if you look at the non-charts, or the underground or indie labels, etc., you might find some good things.

I think around 1993 through 1996 were very disappointing. Metal had reached its commercial nadir.

To me...1980.

Disco was gone, MTV didn't appear, and John Lennon died. Sure, there were a few good acts, but Popular Music didn't have the punch that year.

It was a long, gradual slide from the late 1980s to 2004, when I gave up. The Advent of "Alternative" Grunge and hip-Hop all contributed to its demise.

Hmm...I'd say 1994-present.
It is strange, I think that for the over the past ten years, we have not had an identifiable image or icon, a standard-bearer for rock and roll, or pop.
In the 50's, we had Elvis, in the 60's, we had The Beatles, The Stones, Bob Dylan, and Jimi Hendrix, in the 70's, we had Elton John, Led Zeppelin, KISS, and Donna Summer, in the 80's, we had Michael Jackson, U2, Bruce Springsteen, and Judas Priest, and in the 90's, we had Nirvana, countless rap acts, countless grunge and alternative acts, and....Well, what did we have in the 2000's?

Hmmm.

I think it is a sign that rock and pop are suffering and identity crisis. I don't know if it's a sign of the ailing record industry, or lack of visibility on MTV or wherever, or what. Or maybe the music is just lame.

Any year that had a crappy novelty song was bad in my opinion

The Ketchup Song
Macarena
Mambo #5
Livin' La Vida Loca
Gangnam Style
I'll Be There For You (theme from Friends)

Well, what year is it now...? :lol:

Any year that had a crappy novelty song was bad in my opinion

The Ketchup Song
Macarena
Mambo #5
Livin' La Vida Loca
Gangnam Style
I'll Be There For You (theme from Friends)
Which is practically all of them!! :lol:

And let's not forget, Who Let the Dogs Out!!! ohno:

It is strange, I think that for the over the past ten years, we have not had an identifiable image or icon, a standard-bearer for rock and roll, or pop.
In the 50's, we had Elvis, in the 60's, we had The Beatles, The Stones, Bob Dylan, and Jimi Hendrix, in the 70's, we had Elton John, Led Zeppelin, KISS, and Donna Summer, in the 80's, we had Michael Jackson, U2, Bruce Springsteen, and Judas Priest, and in the 90's, we had Nirvana, countless rap acts, countless grunge and alternative acts, and....Well, what did we have in the 2000's?

Hmmm.

I think it is a sign that rock and pop are suffering and identity crisis. I don't know if it's a sign of the ailing record industry, or lack of visibility on MTV or wherever, or what. Or maybe the music is just lame.

I'm not a fan of them, but what about Lady Gaga or Katy Perry?

Oh, best-of-times, worst-of-times year:

1990.

On the positive side:
The Year Of the Shred, with excellent classic guitar albums by Joe Satriani (Flying In a Blue Dream), Eric Johnson (Ah Via Musicom with the huge instrumental "Cliffs Of Dover"), Steve Vai (Passion And Warfare with the song
"For the Love Of God"), and Megadeth's thrash masterwork Rust In Peace.
:rock: :guitar: :guitar: :rock:


On the flip side, we had:

Vanilla Ice puke:

and Milli Vanilli. puke:

I'm not a fan of them, but what about Lady Gaga or Katy Perry?
Interesting, I kind of think Katy Perry does have this persona of being all cute and perky in this over-the-top way, so I guess I stand corrected there. As does Lady Gaga, this generation's Madonna-esque provacateur.


I think that some Katy Perry songs are very decent pop, but when I actually heard Lady Gaga's "Poker Face", I could not make heads or tales out of why people thought it was a great song. :confused:

I'm not a fan of them, but what about Lady Gaga or Katy Perry?

I think Lady Gaga is loads more talented than Katy Perry but Katy is the "safe" choice for pop fans who may find Gaga too weird as she's more cutesy and tongue-in-cheek but she does have her serious side. I'd probably add Britney Spears, Eminem, Beyonce, Rihanna, Justin Timberlake, Kelly Clarkson and Adele to the list because they appear to have staying power and are still popular even when not making music. Justin Bieber will probably only be remembered for "Baby" and his increasingly stupid behavior than his entire career, however long that lasts.

I'd probably add Britney Spears, Eminem, Beyonce, Rihanna, Justin Timberlake, Kelly Clarkson and Adele to the list because they appear to have staying power and are still popular even when not making music. Justin Bieber will probably only be remembered for "Baby" and his increasingly stupid behavior than his entire career, however long that lasts.

i'd say the same for chris brown. apart from being known for beating up rihanna, unlike say rihanna, lady gaga, he hasn't had a massive selling song to speak of that people will remember.

1988-89, hands down. It had a bunch of crappy pop acts: Debbie Gibson, Tiffany, Kylie Minouge, Sabrina, Rick Astley, New Kids On The Block, Expose, Milli Vanilli, The Bangles, Fine Young Cannibals, and the oldest "tween" in music, a late 20's Paula Abdul. There were also a bunch of unoriginal Bon Jovi imitators from Poison and Cinderella, to Winger and Warrant. Let's not forget that The B-52's released the worst song ever during this period with "Love Shack."

1990 wasn't much better because more crap like MC Hammer, Vanilla Ice, Tommy Page, Wilson Phillips, Nelson and Slaughter came along, as well as that god-awful "Perfect Way" song from some boy band called Scritti-something. If it wasn't for Faith No More's "Epic" and the debut of Mariah Carey, 1990 would be up there with 1988 and 1989 as one of the worst years ever.

1988-89, hands down. It had a bunch of crappy pop acts: Debbie Gibson, Tiffany, Kylie Minouge, Sabrina, Rick Astley, New Kids On The Block, Expose, Milli Vanilli, The Bangles, Fine Young Cannibals, and the oldest "tween" in music, a late 20's Paula Abdul. There were also a bunch of unoriginal Bon Jovi imitators from Poison and Cinderella, to Winger and Warrant. Let's not forget that The B-52's released the worst song ever during this period with "Love Shack."

1990 wasn't much better because more crap like MC Hammer, Vanilla Ice, Tommy Page, Wilson Phillips, Nelson and Slaughter came along, as well as that god-awful "Perfect Way" song from some boy band called Scritti-something. If it wasn't for Faith No More's "Epic" and the debut of Mariah Carey, 1990 would be up there with 1988 and 1989 as one of the worst years ever.

No love for Scritti Politti?

This decade. I hope Kimberley Locke and Michelle Branch will release their third full-length albums ASAP and I also hope that Default will release their fifth full-length album ASAP, so this decade can gain more power of best music!

No love for Scritti Politti?

I hope so, "Perfect Way" ranks among the worst songs of the 80's IMO.

No love for Scritti Politti?
Well, since they were one of the acts that made 1990 a very bad year with that song, nope.

1990 wasn't much better because more crap like MC Hammer, Vanilla Ice, Tommy Page, Wilson Phillips, Nelson and Slaughter came along, as well as that god-awful "Perfect Way" song from some boy band called Scritti-something. If it wasn't for Faith No More's "Epic" and the debut of Mariah Carey, 1990 would be up there with 1988 and 1989 as one of the worst years ever.

I agree but you're 5 years too late with Scritti-Politti. "Perfect Way" was released in 1985.

probably during 2003. for me, that was when pop started to decline.

I hope so, "Perfect Way" ranks among the worst songs of the 80's IMO.

There were far worse hits from the 80's than "Perfect Way". I'll take "Perfect Way" over any of those hair metal ballads any day.

There were far worse hits from the 80's than "Perfect Way". I'll take "Perfect Way" over any of those hair metal ballads any day.

Agreed which is why I said it was among the worst although it would easily be in my top 20 of the most insipid songs and videos from the 80's. :rolleyes: The hair metal ballads didn't cut it either, "Every Rose Has it's Thorn" is probably the one I despise the most.

I agree but you're 5 years too late with Scritti-Politti. "Perfect Way" was released in 1985.
No way "Perfect Way" was made that early because the type of pop sound the song used didn't exist until at least 1986 (after Janet's "What Have You Done For Me Lately" came out), but the song itself wouldn't be out until 1990. In '85, pop music was still using the sound popularized by Prince's "1999" and Duran Duran's "Hungry Like a Wolf."

No way "Perfect Way" was made that early because the type of pop sound the song used didn't exist until at least 1986 (after Janet's "What Have You Done For Me Lately" came out), but the song itself wouldn't be out until 1990. In '85, pop music was still using the sound popularized by Prince's "1999" and Duran Duran's "Hungry Like a Wolf."


http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e211/zoneboy/scritti-politti-perfect-way-warner-bros1.jpg

No way "Perfect Way" was made that early
But it was.

because the type of pop sound the song used didn't exist until at least 1986 (after Janet's "What Have You Done For Me Lately" came out),
Are you referring to the late '80s/early '90s pop sound? If you are, then you're wrong because there were plenty of songs that used it before 1986, like "Perfect Way" for example. Those songs may not have been as big as "What Have You Done For Me Lately," but they existed.[/QUOTE]

In '85, pop music was still using the sound popularized by Prince's "1999" and Duran Duran's "Hungry Like a Wolf."
Not all pop songs. I mean, Duran Duran themselves even updated their sound with "A View to Kill."

Look up some information. It's not hard.

As for the worst year for music, in my opinion it's either 2006 or 2010.

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e211/zoneboy/scritti-politti-perfect-way-warner-bros1.jpg

I was going to say that their album was called "Cupid & Psyche 85", but you proved them wrong in a much better way. :lol:

1988-89, hands down. It had a bunch of crappy pop acts: Debbie Gibson, Tiffany, Kylie Minouge, Sabrina, Rick Astley, New Kids On The Block, Expose, Milli Vanilli, The Bangles, Fine Young Cannibals, and the oldest "tween" in music, a late 20's Paula Abdul. There were also a bunch of unoriginal Bon Jovi imitators from Poison and Cinderella, to Winger and Warrant. Let's not forget that The B-52's released the worst song ever during this period with "Love Shack."

1990 wasn't much better because more crap like MC Hammer, Vanilla Ice, Tommy Page, Wilson Phillips, Nelson and Slaughter came along, as well as that god-awful "Perfect Way" song from some boy band called Scritti-something. If it wasn't for Faith No More's "Epic" and the debut of Mariah Carey, 1990 would be up there with 1988 and 1989 as one of the worst years ever.

I'll have to defend Cinderella, as not only were they friends with Bon Jovi and it was Jon himself who had a huge hand in getting them a record deal, they evolved from a pop/metal hair band to a hard-rock blues-type band on their second album, Long Cold Winter, which I own and I think is one of the best 80's rock albums ever. Then they went even more bluesy on their third album, which was a risk considering by 1989 we were on hair metal overload and it was still going strong. So I have to give them some props for not doing the same thing during their career.

I'll have to defend Cinderella, as not only were they friends with Bon Jovi and it was Jon himself who had a huge hand in getting them a record deal, they evolved from a pop/metal hair band to a hard-rock blues-type band on their second album, Long Cold Winter, which I own and I think is one of the best 80's rock albums ever. Then they went even more bluesy on their third album, which was a risk considering by 1989 we were on hair metal overload and it was still going strong. So I have to give them some props for not doing the same thing during their career.
It seemed by the early 90's, a lot of things had shifted in what was called "hair" metal, a lot of them got rootsier and bluesier probably due to the popularity of the Black Crowes. Even Poison got that way on "Flesh And Blood" (which even lifted a riff from Lynyrd Skynyrd's "I Know a Little").

And anyone remember Tora Tora?
Here's the cover of their album "Surprise Attack" from 1989. The big hit from the album was "Walkin' Shoes" which was featured on MTV.

The song was all right, but boy, how about that cover!!! :grineyes: :drool: