Casey Kasem's American Top 40 - The 70s

[MonoStereo]

1974/09/07

40: STOP AND SMELL THE ROSES - MAC DAVIS
39: STEPPIN' OUT (GONNA BOOGIE TONIGHT) - TONY ORLANDO & DAWN
38: SHININ' ON - GRAND FUNK
37: SUGAR BABY LOVE - THE RUBETTES
36: ONE HELL OF A WOMAN - MAC DAVIS

I heard this hunk while eating my lunch, & found it so brutal that I didn't default to putting it on the car radio when we left to go to Costco afterward. Hearing that Tony Orlando song ( which could not "boogie" less ) crystallized a thought about this era of countdowns that puts me off - so many of the songs have a real olden-timey "Hello mah baby, hello mah darling, hello mah ragtime gaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaal" vibe that I find super-annoying. Fine if this is 1934 - not 1974. Just not my bag at all.

34: WATERLOO - ABBA
32: CAN'T GET ENOUGH - BAD COMPANY
31: KEEP ON SMILIN' - WET WILLIE
28: SIDESHOW - BLUE MAGIC
21: LET'S PUT IT ALL TOGETHER - STYLISTICS
17: IT'S ONLY ROCK 'N ROLL - THE ROLLING STONES
11: FEEL LIKE MAKIN' LOVE - ROBERTA FLACK
10: THEN CAME YOU - DIONNE WARWICK AND THE SPINNERS

Aside from the Rubettes song in the first batch, here's the other songs from the chart that exist for me on a spectrum of "can tolerate" to "love" - & the only one in the "love" category here is "Sideshow". What a bleak week. I made the right choice to listen to something else in the car.

 

[sadchild]

Good 5
Okay 4
Bad 2

Don't know if I know 29

BEST I RECOGNIZE
6: CAN'T GET ENOUGH OF YOUR LOVE, BABE - BARRY WHITE

WORST I RECOGNIZE
34: WATERLOO - ABBA

1: (YOU'RE) HAVING MY BABY - PAUL ANKA & ODIA COATES

Who names their kid Odia?

 

[IdRatherBeSkiing]

You really don't like Abba do you?

 

[sadchild]

I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do dislike Abba.

Except for Dancing Queen which is a (very) guilty pleasure.

 

[scotchandcigar]

You really don't like Abba do you?

You can add The Carpenters and the Bee Gees to that list. But I think he prefers all of them to The Doors and B-52s.

 

[IdRatherBeSkiing]

You can add The Carpenters and the Bee Gees to that list. But I think he prefers all of them to The Doors and B-52s.

So he has a list too?

 

[scotchandcigar]

So he has a list too?

Very likely.

 

[scotchandcigar]

BEST I RECOGNIZE
6: CAN'T GET ENOUGH OF YOUR LOVE, BABE - BARRY WHITE

I'm surprised you didn't mention any of these pop/rock standards:

CAN'T GET ENOUGH - BAD COMPANY
ANOTHER SATURDAY NIGHT - CAT STEVENS
SWEET HOME ALABAMA - LYNYRD SKYNYRD (I'm guessing you hate southern rock?)
IT'S ONLY ROCK 'N ROLL - THE ROLLING STONES

 

[sadchild]

Full disclosure

Good
32: CAN'T GET ENOUGH - BAD COMPANY
30: EARACHE MY EYE FEATURING ALICE BOWIE - CHEECH & CHONG
27: ANOTHER SATURDAY NIGHT - CAT STEVENS
7: NOTHING FROM NOTHING - BILLY PRESTON
6: CAN'T GET ENOUGH OF YOUR LOVE, BABE - BARRY WHITE

Okay
25: PLEASE COME TO BOSTON - DAVE LOGGINS
22: SWEET HOME ALABAMA - LYNYRD SKYNYRD
17: IT'S ONLY ROCK 'N ROLL - THE ROLLING STONES
2: I SHOT THE SHERIFF - ERIC CLAPTON

Bad
34: WATERLOO - ABBA
10: THEN CAME YOU - DIONNE WARWICK AND THE SPINNERS

And I don't like country music, but southern rock for me runs from great to awful.

 

[Aaron]

And I don't like country music, but southern rock for me runs from great to awful.

Same here!

 

[MonoStereo]

I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do dislike Abba.

Except for Dancing Queen which is a (very) guilty pleasure.

I find this kind of thing fascinating, in a "weird how the brain works from person to person" way. It's not like "Queen" is wildly different from their other material, yet that's the only one you like. It's not as if normally Abba made polka music, but for that one song they decided to go thrash metal.

Don't get me wrong - I have stuff like this, too. It's too friggin' early in the morning to come up with an example, but I do.

 

[HecticArt]

There was a girl involved. Or he thought there was going to be a girl involved.
Thats my guess.

 

[IdRatherBeSkiing]

"Dancing Queen" was Abba's only #1 song. There must be something to say the song is "better" than the rest of their catalogue.

 

[Jon]

Full disclosure

Good
32: CAN'T GET ENOUGH - BAD COMPANY
30: EARACHE MY EYE FEATURING ALICE BOWIE - CHEECH & CHONG
27: ANOTHER SATURDAY NIGHT - CAT STEVENS
7: NOTHING FROM NOTHING - BILLY PRESTON
6: CAN'T GET ENOUGH OF YOUR LOVE, BABE - BARRY WHITE

Okay
25: PLEASE COME TO BOSTON - DAVE LOGGINS
22: SWEET HOME ALABAMA - LYNYRD SKYNYRD
17: IT'S ONLY ROCK 'N ROLL - THE ROLLING STONES
2: I SHOT THE SHERIFF - ERIC CLAPTON

Bad
34: WATERLOO - ABBA
10: THEN CAME YOU - DIONNE WARWICK AND THE SPINNERS

And I don't like country music, but southern rock for me runs from great to awful.

That's true for me for modern country, plus some of the older 'Non-Outlaw' stuff. Have always worshipped Johnny Cash and Willie Nelson, some of the new Americana ain't bad at all (Lucinda Williams, Old 97's, Chris Stapleton, Jason Isbell). Also like Lynyrd Skynyrd, Allman Brothers, but some of the Skynyrd spinoff bands weren't that great.

Nowadays I listen to more Americana and Indie Rock, to save me from having to listen to classic rock repeats over and over.

 

[sadchild]

yet that's the only one you like.

I've found that several pop acts I don't like - that have a long career (more than just an album or two) - eventually come out with a single I like. Kinda weird.

Examples:

En Vogue
"My Lovin' (You're Never Gonna Get It)" HATE IT
"Giving Him Something He Can Feel" HATE IT
"Whatta Man" (with Salt-N-Pepa) HATE IT
"Free Your Mind" GOOD SONG (yes it is drastically different from their other songs)

Mariah Carey
"Love Takes Time" HATE IT
"Emotions" HATE IT
"I'll Be There" HATE IT
"Always Be My Baby" HATE IT
"Dreamlover" PRETTY GOOD

 

[IdRatherBeSkiing]

Conversely there are artists whom I like who put out that one song that makes me want to punch their lights out. A couple examples:

• America: Horse With No Name
• Eric Clapton: I Shot The Sheriff

 

[sadchild]

artists whom I like who put out that one song that makes me want to punch their lights out.

Same!

Poison
They had 10 top 40s. I like them all except "Unskinny Bop" which is absolutely TERRIBLE!

Depeche Mode
They've had 18 entries on the Hot 100. I like them all except "I Feel You". Painfully repetitive and boring.

 

[IdRatherBeSkiing]

Another bad song from a good group: "Roxanne" by The Police.

 

[MonoStereo]

I've found that several pop acts I don't like - that have a long career (more than just an album or two) - eventually come out with a single I like. Kinda weird.

Examples:

En Vogue
"My Lovin' (You're Never Gonna Get It)" HATE IT
"Giving Him Something He Can Feel" HATE IT
"Whatta Man" (with Salt-N-Pepa) HATE IT
"Free Your Mind" GOOD SONG (yes it is drastically different from their other songs)

Mariah Carey
"Love Takes Time" HATE IT
"Emotions" HATE IT
"I'll Be There" HATE IT
"Always Be My Baby" HATE IT
"Dreamlover" PRETTY GOOD

I get it - broken clock's right twice a day...the sun occasionally shines on a dog's ass, etc.

 

[scotchandcigar]

There's a thread for that

Sappy songs by good bands

Ha, I think Roxanne is awesome, but Every Breath You Take makes me want to hang myself, plus it's a song about a stalker. It is the sound of it to me. It sounds almost like it could be sung by Rosanne Barr. Every Breath You take sounds smooth and easy to listen to. Actually never really...

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