No Accounting for Taste in Songs

Some songs, no matter how awful, are beloved because I associate them with some happy time or event. Others, no matter how good, are hated because they coincided with some unpleasantness.

I spent a glorious summer when I was 13 or 14 (I’m no longer sure what year it was) on Lake Chatuge. The local radio station seemed to have only a handful of records that they played over and over again ad nauseam. Because I was so happy at the lake, I love these songs. I even sing them from time to time. They included such masterworks as “I Never Promised You a Rose Garden”, “Lime in the Coconut”, “Paper Roses”, “I Can’t Stop this Feeling (with ooga chakas)”, and “Sooner or Later”. My cousin had an 8 track tape of Steppenwolf that we played repeatedly at full blast. “God Damn the Pusher Man” still makes me smile. “Born to be Wild” is my personal theme song that plays in the opening credits of the imaginary movie about me.

On the hated song front, Meatloaf’s “Two Out of Three Ain’t Bad” reminds of getting dumped. “Tainted Love” reminds me of getting dumped again a few years later. Luckily, these songs suck anyway so I’m not losing anything through the bad association. I would probably have hated them in any event.

My kid sister was a big fan of American Top 40, and she would spend her allowance on hit 45s which she would then play until you wanted to scream. “The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia” still makes my skin crawl. “You’re So Vain” likewise was played to death. On the other hand, I can’t get enough of “I’ve Got a Brand New Pair of Roller Skates” and “Brandy, You’re a Fine Girl”. Go figure.

Some songs just sucked, no matter how I felt when they played. “Muskrat Love”, “Afternoon Delight”, “Billy, Don’t Be a Hero”, “The Night Chicago Died”, “Seasons in the Sun”, and “Daisy a Day” come to mind.

Other songs were awesome: “I’ve Got a Name”, “Crocodile Rock”, “Dead Skunk in the Middle of the Road”, “Knowing Me Knowing You”, “Thunder Road”, “Those Were the Days”, “Don’t Play B17”, “Nights in White Satin”, “Maggie May”.

They stopped writing songs after the 1970s.