by jon » Sat Dec 17, 2011 1:06 pm
I think there is a whole category of "this century" songs that most of us would agree, on first hearing, that over 90% of them would fit in our "worst songs" list.
That is the cover versions of classic hits we all remember, many of them CanCon, increasing the chances you have heard them in restaurants, malls or overhearing a radio station you don't normally listen to. Truth be told, "Big Yellow Taxi" by Counting Crows (2003) has almost all of the elements of a great song in my book. Except the original Joni Mitchel song has been played way too many times on Oldies stations in the last 15 years. And, having originally been OK with the Joni Mitchell version when it first came out -- at the time, I felt it was certainly not the best thing she had ever done, but I really did like her work in those years -- I could never get my head around Counting Crows emphasizing the "paved paradise" part to make it into a "green song".
I'm also including, in that Cover Song category, songs that sample classic hits as their main "hook". For example, "Time of the Season" by the Zombies was victimized in a very popular song not that long ago.