Monday, May 17, 2010

classic songs

Call them one hit wonders, novelty acts or simply outrageously ridiculous songs, there are so many wacky classic songs that we have all grown to ashamedly love. We know they're stupid, we know they're pointless, we know they're meaningless, we know they're ridiculous yet we never have second thoughts about putting it on our iPod today. It's probably because of its wackiness that we love these songs.

Below are 5 classic songs for which you should hang your head in shame for liking.

"Kung Fu Fighting" - Carl Douglas

It's been called the biggest one-hit wonder of all time. It's also been called the most ridiculous song (and dance) ever made. Which is not surprising given that songs about martial arts are not something that happens every day. One of the earliest disco songs, "Kung Fu Fighting" was a resounding success commercially when released in 1974, selling over a million copies in the US and over 4 million worldwide.

Soon enough the whole world was dancing and singing "everybody was kung-fu fighting, those cats were fast as lightning, in fact it was a little bit frightening, but they fought with expert timing." The fact that it came with a dance made it even more popular and addictive.

If you have never heard "Kung-Fu Fighting", I warn you to be prepared for one of the worst songs you'll ever hear. You'll almost certainly hate it at first, but you will grow to love it. Guaranteed. And then you'll hang your head in shame.

"Tarzan Boy" - Baltimora

Any song that uses Tarzan's cry as the melodic line is nothing but outrageous. "Tarzan Boy" was a huge one-hit wonder for Italian electro-pop dance group Baltimora in 1985. Sung by frontman Jimmy McShane, it also comes with one of the worst music videos ever created. You can see it for yourself above.

The song deals with living in the jungle just like Tarzan Boy and about "monkey business on a sunny afternoon." The lyrics are certainly some of the worst ever written, however, it is Tarzan's cry that makes this song so memorable and so loved by many of us. We should really hang our heads in shame.

"Ice Ice Baby" - Vanilla Ice

Apart from being a big hip-hop one-hit wonder in the early 90s, it was also the subject of a plagiarism dispute. And to make matters worse (or more interesting), Vanilla Ice was a white rapper which was unheard of in the early 90s.

There are few phrases in music that are more addictive than "ice ice baby." In fact, many of us still go crazy over the prospect of singing "ice ice baby" in a whisper-like voice. We've probably got this song on our iPods right now. Hang your head in shame if you love this song.

"Barbara Ann" - The Beach Boys

You'd be hard pressed to find another song that repeats its title so many times during the song. So many times that the Beach Boys themselves have made the mistake of singing "baa baa black sheep" instead "Barbara Ann" on some occasions. One wonders whether the kid's nursery rhyme was the inspiration behind this song. I wouldn't be surprised if it was.

I feel sorry for anyone named Barbara or Barbara Ann for that matter, this is certainly one song that you would not like to hear. You're probably wondering why people have to sound like sheep to sing a song. Yet it's probably because of this, that we all love to sing and dance to this song. Let's hang our heads in shame.

"I'm Too Sexy" - Right Said Fred

A worldwide hit in 1992, "I'm Too Sexy" features some of the most hilarious and ridiculous lyrics ever used. In fact, I would classify this song to be more of a comedy skit than a pop song.

The song explores the feeling of being comfortable about your personal level of sexiness that you are too sexy for many things. The song goes through a list of things which the protagonist says he's too sexy for. This includes being too sexy for "my love, my shirt, Milan, Japan, New York, your party, my car, my hat, my cat" and finally the song itself.

Men may not like to admit it, but they simply (and secretly) adore this song and dream of singing it every time they get up from bed. They can hang their heads in shame.

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