PR-Bridge

With summer zipping by so quickly, we at PR-Bridge are diverting from our normal public relations programming to present some popular culture thoughts that may spark further discussion.

As a proud Gen Xer raised in the hills of Western Pennsylvania, I am committing major violations by naming some of these songs in the “overrated” category. Growing up, such blasphemy would have erupted into fistfights. That’s okay – it is all in the name of fun.

Today’s features: The Five Most Underrated Songs since 1950, The Five Most Overrated Songs since 1950, and Five Bands I Never Want to Hear Again (but cannot escape because classic rock radio in Tampa plays horrible songs…)

The Five Most Underrated Songs since 1950

1. “Tangled Up in Blue” – Bob Dylan
Probably the greatest love song of all-time. Dylan’s cryptic lyrics drive a cross-country love affair encased in a snapshot of 1960s/1970s social history.

2. “Thunder Road” – Bruce Springsteen
The song has always played second fiddle to “Born to Run,” which is understandable. However, listen to them again – loud – and tell me that TR does not leave BTR in its dust.

3. “Downtown Train” – Tom Waits
Waits is a genius, a musical magician with a voice so beautiful and unapologetic that it blasts through the soul. His version of “Downtown Train” is filled with longing, anguish, and dashed dreams – all the emotion left out in Rod Stewart’s much more popular cover.

4. “Fight the Power” – Public Enemy
The first question someone could ask is how “Fight the Power” could ever be considered underrated given its exposure from Spike’s Do the Right Thing. My reply is that the song (and band, for that matter) has almost no influence on today’s rap and hip-hop, which is ludicrous and sad. The political nature of Public Enemy meant so much to listeners in the late 1980s and early 1990s. That spark is virtually nonexistent in today’s rap and hip-hop. The digs on John Wayne and Elvis are priceless!

5. “Raspberry Beret” – Prince
While the symbolic one got famous off the early hits on 1999 and accompanying videos, including Purple Rain, “Raspberry Beret” shows Prince at his playful best. The song just flat-out makes you feel good.

The Five Most Overrated Songs since 1950

1. “Stairway to Heaven” – Led Zeppelin
I love Led Zeppelin, but have not listened to more than five seconds of this song since being forced to at a bonfire keg party in 1985. Maybe it is the area I grew up in, since WDVE (102.5, Pittsburgh) played this song incessantly. Or, perhaps it is the way the football players and other gear head idiots in my high school worshipped Stairway that makes it impossible for me to listen to it. Either way, my finger can’t hit the preset button faster when I hear that first chord.

2. “Satisfaction” – The Rolling Stones
Is it just me, or does the entire Rolling Stones act just seem like one long commercial? Yes, I understand that rock needed its edge back and Mick and Keith provided that dark side. I would bet a lot of money, however, that if a listener were completely honest with himself, he could find 25 better songs from the era. I respect the Stones, my wife and I saw them at RFK in about 20 degree weather in the late 1990s, I just don’t see the fascination – particularly now that they are in their sixties.

3. “Dream On” – Aerosmith
Aerosmith has so many better songs over its long career, yet “Dream On” is the one played most often. I feel the same way about Pearl Jam’s “Jeremy.” If you like Aerosmith and “Dream On” is your favorite song of theirs, then you must be insane. I guess I would give someone a break from this if “Dream On” were their prom song or wedding song or something. Otherwise, it is just an overrated song.

4. “Losing My Religion” – REM
Yes, the song/video catapulted REM into a different musical stratosphere. However, the transformation subsequently led to some really bad albums and is a case of too much fame all at once, which sent the band off course.

5. “Born in the USA” – Bruce Springsteen
God, I feel like a turncoat putting a song by Bruce on this list, but in my defense, turning the song into an anthem enabled politicians and others to misinterpret the message, ultimately bastardizing it beyond all recognition. Anyone who sees Bruce’s recent stuff as too political should go back and re-listen to “Born in the USA.”

(Others receiving consideration: “Hey Jude” – The Beatles, “Give It Away” – The Red Hot Chili Peppers, “I Shot the Sheriff” – Bob Marley and Eric Clapton versions, “Purple Haze” – Jimi Hendrix, “Candle in the Wind” – Elton John, and everything by Bon Jovi, Poison, and all the other 1980s hair bands)

Five Bands I Never Want to Hear Again

1. Boston

2. REO Speedwagon

3. Duran Duran

4. Dio

5. ZZ Top

6. [I had to add this one] Rush