There may not be any perfect songs. From the lyrics to the themes and then rhythm, if we look hard enough, there might be a part of the song that doesn’t just play out well for us. That might be because perfection is relative, and whatever song we think has achieved this status, someone else can look at it and see a load of faults.
Art is subjective, and so beauty lies in the ear of the listener. But, having said that, some songs can be judged objectively bad. They fail to achieve anything meaningful, both lyrically and thematically.
Those don’t go out of their way to make sure they get things right. In an online forum, members talk about songs that would have been perfect if it weren’t for some little things. These might be more personal preferences than flaws, but they changed the way the song came across to the users.
1. Steal the Show
On the platform, a user talked about watching the Pixar movie Elemental and loving the main song “Steal the Show.” But after listening to it a couple of times, they began to find a part of the lyrics off-putting. In the chorus, the lyrics go, “I wouldn’t mind if you steal the show.”
According to the user, not only does this lack any thematic connection to the rest of the song, but it’s also grammatically incorrect. The user views this error as lazy writing that could have been changed had the writers paid closer attention.
2. Tomorrow Never Knows by The Beatles
For this user, the problem doesn’t ruin the song. But anytime they listen to “Tomorrow Never Knows” by The Beatles in their car, they notice a noise around the 1:30 mark that resembles the noise their car would make if the “check engine” light had come on. The user says it has happened enough times now that they anticipate the “check engine’ noise in the song whenever they’re listening.
3. Some Nights by Fun
A user found the autotune bit in the middle of “Some Nights” by the now-separated band fun., weird, and out of place. Responding to their comment, another user says it destroyed the song for them.
They opine that fun. wanted to make the song longer and the sound engineer just thought it’d be really cool, but ruined the song instead.
4. Survivor by Destiny’s Child
One member on the platform said that they disliked the version of “Survivor” by Destiny’s Child, where the singers talked about survival being sexy.
Some other commenters chimed in that the line in the song didn’t go down well with them, too, but one user opined that they remembered exactly what Destiny’s Child was talking about in the song, and even though it was a weird emphasis, it got the point across.
5. Shine by Vanessa Amorosi
Even though “Shine” by Vanessa Amorosi was quite popular in Australia years ago, a user said that, for some reason, it always felt off to them. They confirmed why this was the case when they found out that the original lyrics used “die” in place of “shine.” Someone thought the word “die” would make the song quite dark and bleak, so they got Vanessa to make the switch.
6. Africa by Toto
The line “As sure as Kilimanjaro rises like Olympus over the Serengeti,” was terrible to one user, even though they admitted that they loved the song very much. It was bad because Toto tried to cram four extra syllables into the line for the sake of one rhyme.
The user said there were other silly things in the song, but they found this one the worst. One commenter responded by saying that Steve Lukather, Toto Guitarist, said in an interview that “Africa” was a silly song that they sang while laughing. They had no idea it’d be that big.
7. Ain’t No Sunshine by Bill Withers
A user said that Bill Withers singing “I know” 26 times in a row rather than having a third verse in “Ain’t No Sunshine” was off-putting. In a funny response, a commenter joked how the writing session probably went down:
“Bill, we need you to write a third verse.”
Bill: “I know, I know, I know, I know.”
8. Subterranean Homesick Alien by Radiohead
There’s a line in this song that grates on the ears of one user. “High above aliens hover, making home movies for the folks back home.” The word “home” being used twice in quick succession doesn’t seem neat. But, other than that, as the user says, it was a great song and they couldn’t in fairness think of something else to replace the word that didn’t sound clunky.
9. All Summer Long by Kid Rock
A commenter said that anytime they’re out in public and they get exposed to Kid Rock’s song, they somehow manage to hear the “rage-inducing” lines: “And we were trying different things, we were smoking funny things.”
The user went further to say that if they wanted to torture someone, they’d just play the song to them.
10. Love the Way You Lie by Eminem
This line, “Now you get to watch her leave out the window. Guess that’s why they call it window pane,” sticks out of the Eminem song “Love the Way You Lie.” For one user, the song is great until they hear that line.
Then they groan. However, someone else said, “I love that lyric precisely for that reason. It’s such a lame dad joke, and I find it hilarious that he put it in a serious song.”
10 Bands Nobody Agrees On
Bands, like anything else, can be divisive. Here are ten popular bands that some people love to hate and don’t understand why others like them.
Actors We Can’t Stand Anymore
Not everyone loves popular actors. There are some actors that people can’t stand to watch anymore. Here are 13 actors that immediately turn people off today.
13 Actors People Can’t Watch Anymore
Washed-Up Celebrities That Need to Go Away
It’s often difficult for celebrities to know when to call it quits. Here are 11 celebrities that are washed up and need to go away already.
11 Celebrities That Are Washed Up
10 Celebrities That Truly Live Up to the Hype
Not all A-list celebrities have the talent to match their notoriety. Here are ten celebrities where the hype is real.
10 Celebrities Where the Hype is Real
11 Popular TV Shows People Refuse to Watch
Not all beloved TV shows are loved by everyone. There are some popular TV series people refuse to watch. Here are 11 such series.
Popular TV Series People Refuse to Watch
This thread inspired this post.
I’m John Schmoll, a former stockbroker, MBA-grad, published finance writer, and founder of Frugal Rules.
As a veteran of the financial services industry, I’ve worked as a mutual fund administrator, banker, and stockbroker and was Series 7 and 63-licensed, but I left all that behind in 2012 to help people learn how to manage their money.
My goal is to help you gain the knowledge you need to become financially independent with personally-tested financial tools and money-saving solutions.
Related