Sometimes, I listen to a song and doubt whether my opinion of it runs contrary to critical consensus or popular opinions. I'd like it if you would help me sort these out from time to time.

To start things off, consider the cover of "The Harder They Come" by Me First and the Gimme Gimmes. When I first heard it, I thought it was a pleasant cover and added it to a playlist for regular listening. But I suspected from the jump that it might actually suck.

The evidence:

1. It's a Me First and the Gimme Gimmes song.
2. It's a cover.
3. It's a cover by a cover band.
4. It's a bunch of goony white dudes covering Jimmy fuckin' Cliff.

Facts thus assembled, I gave the original another listen. Sure enough, I was wrong about the cover. It sucks! I took it off my playlist.

The problem is that I can't always trust my own judgment in these matters. So I'd like now to put before you the first of many cases to come, and that's the matter of "Sussudio" by Phil Collins. I think this might be a good song! People seem to like it. I bop around in my seat when it plays. But it is Phil Collins. What say you, Wolf Web?

7/9/2018 10:45:36 AM

anything Phil Collins is generally acceptable thanks to the generous cultural contribution provided by

7/9/2018 10:50:25 AM

Most Me First and the Gimme Gimme Songs are pretty good. They're much better than most cover songs. Rainbow Connection and Much Too Young (to Feel this Damn Old) and Goodbye Earl are some of my favorites. And The Harder They Come is pretty good (Willie Nelson does a good version too).

(In case you didn't know, they're all members of other bands that write their own music: NOFX, Lagwagon, Swinging Utters & NoUseForAName)

7/9/2018 10:55:22 AM

would you stay on fucking topic jesus christ

that song is settled, it sucks

address the fucking prompt

7/9/2018 11:00:19 AM

It's not one of Phil Collins best...

7/9/2018 11:07:34 AM

But is it good or is it bad? Does a song have to be one of an artist's best to be good? "Gravel Pit" is far from one of the best Wu-Tang Clan songs, but it is a good song.

7/9/2018 11:11:07 AM

I liked his Genesis stuff more. The Sledgehammer video was bround-breaking.

7/9/2018 11:20:40 AM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FNS372ABrgA

[Edited on July 9, 2018 at 11:23 AM. Reason : ^Peter Gabriel, bro]

7/9/2018 11:22:24 AM

That's not a Genesis song.

[Edited on July 9, 2018 at 11:22 AM. Reason : AND IT IS SO IRRELEVANT]

7/9/2018 11:22:45 AM

I think it's a toss up between Land of Confusion and Sledgehammer for coolest video.

7/9/2018 11:23:41 AM

7/9/2018 12:25:28 PM

(Peter Gabriel and Phil Collins were in old Genesis, in case you didn't know)

7/9/2018 12:37:38 PM

I feel that "Sussudio" would fit comfortably on any 80s playlist, so I'm going to go out on a limb and say, "Good song!"

7/9/2018 1:31:38 PM

George Harrison's cover of "Got My Mind Set on You" is a quintessentially '80s song that would be equally at home on any '80s playlist, and it's a wretched fucking song. That's not conclusive for me.

7/9/2018 2:53:20 PM

"Got My Mind Set on You" doesn't strike me as quintessentially '80s (You could have told me that it was from the '70s or '90s, and I would have believed you.), so I'm going to have to disagree.

7/9/2018 3:14:25 PM

It's you.

7/9/2018 3:26:27 PM

Fine, "Kokomo." Same concept.

[Edited on July 9, 2018 at 3:49 PM. Reason : that "motherfucker" wasn't necessary]

7/9/2018 3:48:53 PM

Kokomo was actually written in the late 60s around the time of their Sundflower album, but for some reason wasn't recorded until 1988.

7/9/2018 3:51:36 PM

I was hoping this was gonna be about that Post Malone song.

7/9/2018 6:50:03 PM

My high school nephew played some Post Malone for me recently, it was just plain terrible. Then he tried to tell me that he doesn't use auto tune.

7/10/2018 9:41:53 AM

shawna we might have to fight

7/10/2018 11:22:33 AM

You should probably stop caring whether or not your opinion lines up with popular opinion.

You're always going to be wrong because you have dumb opinions. Just own them and stick a bunch of Phil Collins cassingles up your butt.

7/10/2018 12:00:54 PM

^^let's go

7/10/2018 6:56:19 PM

I've been a big Genesis fan ever since the release of their 1980 album, Duke. Before that, I really didn't understand any of their work. Too artsy, too intellectual. It was on Duke where Phil Collins' presence became more apparent. I think Invisible Touch was the group's undisputed masterpiece. It's an epic meditation on intangibility. At the same time, it deepens and enriches the meaning of the preceding three albums. Listen to the brilliant ensemble playing of Banks, Collins and Rutherford. You can practically hear every nuance of every instrument. In terms of lyrical craftsmanship, the sheer songwriting, this album hits a new peak of professionalism. Take the lyrics to Land of Confusion. In this song, Phil Collins addresses the problems of abusive political authority. In Too Deep is the most moving pop song of the 1980s, about monogamy and commitment. The song is extremely uplifting. Their lyrics are as positive and affirmative as anything I've heard in rock. Phil Collins' solo career seems to be more commercial and therefore more satisfying, in a narrower way. Especially songs like In the Air Tonight and Against All Odds. But I also think Phil Collins works best within the confines of the group, than as a solo artist, and I stress the word artist. This is Sussudio, a great, great song, a personal favorite.

7/10/2018 8:19:04 PM

Regarding Sussudio:

http://southpark.cc.com/clips/103439/riddle-out

But, I like the song.

7/14/2018 3:12:33 PM

BettrOffDead said:

Quote :

"You should probably stop caring whether or not your opinion lines up with popular opinion."

Well, there's a good reason why I'm invested in that question. I want to be able to trust that my taste is something I am paying attention to and cultivating and nourishing and not something that's being manipulated by popular culture.

Like, is "Higher Love" a good song? I have certainly enjoyed listening to it, but is that just because some motherfucker generated cheap heat throwing some good horns and varied percussive instruments in that motherfucker? Like am I just a dumb, consuming machine reacting to stimuli designed to take advantage of instincts and reflexes hardwired into my fucking brain? Am I a slave to my physiology, a captive of hedonism? Or am I meaningfully evaluating my responses to these songs and judging them by their higher merits?

7/16/2018 11:23:54 AM

I feel sometimes like I am opening the door to a dark room and screaming into a silence that will never answer.

7/16/2018 11:28:28 AM

do you not understand the difference in a good song and a catchy song?

7/16/2018 12:18:44 PM

It is a difficult distinction to make on a case-by-case basis, hence my thread here.

7/16/2018 12:36:43 PM

Then it's probably you

7/16/2018 2:51:16 PM

maybe it's your mama

7/16/2018 2:52:22 PM

Don't ask tough questions if you can't handle tough answers.

7/16/2018 2:58:43 PM

Don't call it a comeback

7/16/2018 3:07:18 PM

What's this thread about...music?

I like music.

7/16/2018 3:17:27 PM

FroshKiller said:

Quote :

"Well, there's a good reason why I'm invested in that question. I want to be able to trust that my taste is something I am paying attention to and cultivating and nourishing and not something that's being manipulated by popular culture. Like, is "Higher Love" a good song? I have certainly enjoyed listening to it, but is that just because some motherfucker generated cheap heat throwing some good horns and varied percussive instruments in that motherfucker? Like am I just a dumb, consuming machine reacting to stimuli designed to take advantage of instincts and reflexes hardwired into my fucking brain? Am I a slave to my physiology, a captive of hedonism? Or am I meaningfully evaluating my responses to these songs and judging them by their higher merits?"

I was questioning whether that mattered. I think it was Jesus that said "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder". I listen to music to make me feel good, and I search out songs for different versions of feeling good (party-mode, walking on sunshine, all up in my feelz). I don't care if it's manufactured if it makes me feel good.

To your point though, the royal you can typically pick out when a song is shitty, cause you may bop along to it, but it ain't got that Je ne sais quoi that really makes you feel good.

I've heard that TWW is a blog, btw.

[Edited on July 26, 2018 at 12:22 PM. Reason : user]

7/26/2018 12:14:45 PM

Here's a good counterexample: "Pink Cadillac" is a fucking dogshit song.

7/30/2018 8:39:49 AM

I freaking jam out to Sussudio

7/30/2018 9:23:21 AM

How about "Wish I Knew You" by the Revivalists?

10/8/2018 2:58:35 PM

I would probably still like that song if Alt Nation didn't play it every half hour.

10/8/2018 3:40:56 PM

"Easy Lover" by Philip Bailey & Phil Collins?

11/19/2018 8:58:52 AM

shit sucks

11/19/2018 9:21:29 AM