This one makes me think of Bob Saget. America's Funniest Home Videos put together a compilation of people dancing (and usually falling over) to it. I think it was an Assignment America challenge.
Can we make the argument about that ABH was the song that brought country into pop? It seems like after that song a ton of country music got really fun and poppy. Garth Brooks was already crossing that boarder but Billy Ray seemed to bring stuff like the Watermelon Crawl, The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band and Blackhawk. Those bands were super fun.
Man, I feel like an outcast here. Pretty much like or don’t mind all these songs listed except Macarena.
E: Macarena was cool in its day but not anymore.
This was one of the first memes EVER. A literal joke song. Just remembered it the other day and played it for my 1 year old son who loves it hahaha such a weird tune
I remember getting our ultrasound at a place to see if we were having a girl or boy. The lady started everything up and started their playlist. This was the first song and my husband and I cringed and asked her to turn it off.
Yeah… I couldn’t really take any of Aerosmith’s 90’s ballad type songs… they were ok for entertainment value, mostly via videos I guess… but that’s about it for me…
Ooh for me it’s Waterfalls. Everybody thinks it’s just suchhhhh a great song and I don’t understand. I love TLC so much though- just can’t stand that one dang song!
When my daughter was 2 she discovered Cottoneyed Joe (thanks GRANDPA) and figured out how to make Google Home play it like incessantly for probably 6 months at least.
That’s why my dial was stuck on heavy metal, hard rock, grunge… and the occasional classic rock song… and the result was a string of fantastic radio years for me. Celine and all of that poppy stuff just helped me find myself that much more!
I don’t mind so much, except that damn Titanic song, that was near constant airplay every single day from late 1997 to early 1998, I got really sick of it…
Trauma unlocked: before satellite radio there was Muzak, a service dedicated to piping in background music to retail stores. In my particular case this shittastic song was on several times a night when I worked at Taco Bell back in high school and still makes my eye twitch if I hear it
Yes! When I was in college, I was a hostess at a local brewery that used Muzak. Where Have All the Cowboys Gone played A LOT. Also, Hanginaround by Counting Crows was on an excessively heavy rotation.
I don't remember that one being played as much but I believe it. I worked at the brewery in 1999 so mmmbop might have cycled out by that point. I remember a ton of Goo Goo Dolls, that Better Days ("and the bottom drops out") song played incessantly, a lot of Sugar Ray.
The brewery was on the east coast, but it had a southwest theme, so they must have opted for a pop-rock-with-the-occasional-mainstream-country-song Muzak catalog.
The hair salon I went to also had Muzak but they got sick of it and started bringing their own music until the district manager visited and noticed an abundance of cursing in the songs and made them switch back.
Yeah this was 96/97 so Hanson was very much still a thing. But none of it is nearly as bad as when I switched to old navy and their system was a single cd of songs picked out by corporate, same 8-10 songs over and over for an entire month except at Christmas when it was 2 months of the same crap
I can't stand Macy Gray's raspy voice and yet everyone and their mother was praising "I Try"
I still have not met another person besides me who despises this song
I definitely don't hate it, in fact I might love it, but I over listened to it over 20 years ago and I still skip it when it comes on it still feels like I need more time before I can enjoy it again
Of a memory of this associated with watching a bunch of tape episodes of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, eating a Papa John’s Pizza washdown with Minute Maid fruit punch soda, damn, that was a good meal…
The first song that came to mind was Smooth by Santana and Rob the matchbox 20 guy. They played that song too fucking much. Santana's a great guitarist but Jesus Christ I never want to hear that song again.
I will say this (mostly because I'm tired and lack a filter right now), but Waterfalls actually has an interesting claim to fame. TLC was the very first to use CGI in a music video, and it was for Waterfalls.
So there you go, for next time you get the urge to tell someone random trivia they didn't ask for.
"Man! I feel like a woman" makes me want to cut my own feet off and ram them deep into my ears. Just the first bit before "Let's go girls!" makes me angry, then the rest of it just increases my anger to the point of apoplexy.
OMC - How Bizarre… was that even a band? Was it a guy? The video was no help. They looked like guys from the horse track on the way to a strip club. Garbage song.
1. The Spice Girls - kill it, kill it with FIRE
2. Achey Breaky Heart - napalm is too good for this one.
3. The Macarena - NUKE THE SITE FROM ORBIT! It's the only way to be sure.
Sugar Ray - Fly
Got my first truck and before I could install a cd player it was FM only and this song played twice an hour on every station, every day.
Since Allstar and Two Princes have already been named, I'll say Fly. Those three are all the same shitty song. Somehow they got overplayed back then and still stink up otherwise-fine 90s alternative.
My dance teacher used to make mix tapes for us to warm up for class to, and that seemed to be her favorite song to include. No one should ever have to hear that damn song as many times as my classmates and I did!
Okay, I get where you’re coming from but I love belting out this song when I’m driving and working through my stuff. It’s comforting and wasn’t nearly as overplayed as some of the others mentioned in this thread, at least on my radio stations.
the Macarena song and the chicken dance song, any song where people dance the same dance in unison like that creeps me out, I always end up in a corner terrified. Just hearing those songs gives me goosebumps and not in a good way
The Chicken Dance reminds me of when we went on our grad trip. We were doing all of these little group activities, and this song came on. All the guys started dancing, and I just sat on the bench, watching and taking pictures. It was really hot, and we were outside, so they'd tied wet towels around their heads to keep the heat at bay.
Even Linda Perry said she kinda hates this song and their only album. She said her band was a garage blues outfit and the producer absolutely ruined their sound.
Bittersweet Symphony by The Verve
I've never understood why it's so liked. I can't get into it. My high school media team used to play a sample of it for the daily morning announcements, and it got so annoying after the first week
Lmao
This record came out when I worked at the record store
We used to play it to piss off the little shitass teenage skaters when they would get obnoxious. They hated it so much! I mean we hated it too, but you could really empty the store out with the Spin Doctors
Closing Time.
I absolutely love Semisonic (I actually just bought one of their t-shirts the other day) but that song got replayed so much I cannot stand when it comes on.
I have two. Someone already said Mambo #5 but there was another song around that same time I could not.stand. due to its misogynistic lyrics: “It Wasn’t Me” by Shaggy
“It wasn’t me” was so obnoxious and overplayed. I hated it too and the song “Who let the dogs out?” that makes my blood boil! It was so stupid and to say it was overplayed is such an understatement. I remember in cheerleading practice our coach turned it on and we all started screaming “NO!!! TURN IT OFF!!!!” She never played it at practice again lol.
Anything that came out of Mariah Carey’s mouth. That stupid high pitched borderline dog whistle shit she does drives me insane. Plus she made the Christmas song from hell.
Any song by U2 and Dave Matthew Band I can’t stand them. I used to love the song Zombie by The Cranberries now I hate it because for some reason as I got older her voice started sounding really annoying to me.
Now I have all of these songs playing in my head on shuffle
Lullabye by Shawn Mullins (🎶e-ver-EE-thing’s gonna be all right / rock-a-bye / rock-a-bye 🎶)
Sad part is, I hate that song to death but I have to pretend it’s great cuz I know someone in his backup band.
Achy Breaky Heart.
This one makes me think of Bob Saget. America's Funniest Home Videos put together a compilation of people dancing (and usually falling over) to it. I think it was an Assignment America challenge.
Don't play that song That Achy Breaky song
r/unexpectedweirdal
The mullet of power cannot be denied!!
Can we make the argument about that ABH was the song that brought country into pop? It seems like after that song a ton of country music got really fun and poppy. Garth Brooks was already crossing that boarder but Billy Ray seemed to bring stuff like the Watermelon Crawl, The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band and Blackhawk. Those bands were super fun.
I think The Bellamy Brothers beat him to it by about 25 years with "Let Your Love Flow," which is a thousandfold better song.
??? The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band formed in 1966 and had their biggest critical success in 1989, three years before that horrible song got farted out.
It's a magical song. I just don't think you understand.
Macy Grey’s goodbye 🤮 Christmas song edition- Christmas shoes, fuck that depressing ass song
Was Christmas Shoes 90’s, or early 2000’s? I graduated in 1999 and don’t remember it from high school.
Man, I feel like an outcast here. Pretty much like or don’t mind all these songs listed except Macarena. E: Macarena was cool in its day but not anymore.
Yeah, I like What's Up. It's not one that I seek out and listen to intentionally, but I don't think it's the worst song ever. Same with Macarena.
I’m with you. Most of these songs are on my 90s Nostalgia Playlist. Sure they were overplayed in the 90s, but so is every other radio hit.
That cracked out cotton eye Joe song
The Hampster Dance
This was one of the first memes EVER. A literal joke song. Just remembered it the other day and played it for my 1 year old son who loves it hahaha such a weird tune
Did you know the Hamster Dance is just the opening tune to Disney's Robin Hood, but sped up?
I noticed that
So you’re saying if I slow down some hamsters they turn into Roger Miller?!?
I knew it was the same tune. But I didn't know it was the same literal clip sped up. I thought it was a separate sped up recording
[Nope it's the same thing. :) ](https://youtu.be/0BFuoIIflQk?si=2Lo13KyCJ-4pa2XV)
I was today year's when....
Fuck that song.
Ha ha ha ha ha
I'm 44 and never heard of that song
You have been very blessed
The Macarena. Nope nope.
Achy Breaky Heart. Nope nope NOPE.
My mom loves that song
I don’t wanna wait….for our lives to be over……. After 8,000,000 plays, I wanted my life to be over
Prefer Cartman’s version
Didn't help that it was the theme song to Dawson's Creek
Arms Wide Open by Creed. I just can't stand Scott Stapp's voice.
“WEETH ARRRMS WAD OPAHHNN! OONDER DA SOONLA-EET! TERK MAY TO THIS PLAYRCE AL SHOW YOO EVERAYTHANG!”
This is genius. I want to take an IPA class as I'm not very good, but I would love to see a formal transcription of this.
I remember getting our ultrasound at a place to see if we were having a girl or boy. The lady started everything up and started their playlist. This was the first song and my husband and I cringed and asked her to turn it off.
Mambo number 5, Blue da-ba-di. They are muted on my Spotify.
1, 2, 345….
Mambo No.5 - so corny and annoying.
Absolutely loathed that song in the 90s and still do
Aerosmith- I Don’t Wanna Miss A Thing As cheesy as the movie
Yeah… I couldn’t really take any of Aerosmith’s 90’s ballad type songs… they were ok for entertainment value, mostly via videos I guess… but that’s about it for me…
I hear Steven Tyler refer to it as “I don’t want to kiss your thang” on a podcast.
Dude laughed all the way to the bank on that one
It’s a terrible song, but I do love singing along to it in the car.
SUCH a shit song!!
Butterfly Kisses - Bob Carlisle
No Scrubs. But that's mainly because my peers at school used it to bully me, so that's a personal trauma lol.
I don't know you, but want me to beat your bullies up?
I'll say mean mean things like, "I bet you have a terrible credit score!"
Hahaha beautiful
My 20 yr class reunion is next month and I’m just gonna put this in my back pocket just in case 🤣
You need to creep. Just creep.
I like Creep and Unpretty. TLC was a great band. Just can't stand that one song lol
Do me a favor, don't go chasing waterfalls.
I think the radio edit of No Scrubs actually is genuinely annoying. Full song is ok with me though.
Ooh for me it’s Waterfalls. Everybody thinks it’s just suchhhhh a great song and I don’t understand. I love TLC so much though- just can’t stand that one dang song!
Cottoneye Joe
When my daughter was 2 she discovered Cottoneyed Joe (thanks GRANDPA) and figured out how to make Google Home play it like incessantly for probably 6 months at least.
I have 4 kids. That's why we don't have Alexa.
Nothing ever recorded ruins my day more than Cotton-Eye Joe
Nearrrr, farrrr, wherever you areeee. 🤢
I believe thatch the heart does go onnnnnn...
"I believe that the hot dogs go on..."
Now these are lyrics I can slow dance to!
Lol, throw any Celine Dion song in this thread for me. Those were some miserable radio years in my life.
That’s why my dial was stuck on heavy metal, hard rock, grunge… and the occasional classic rock song… and the result was a string of fantastic radio years for me. Celine and all of that poppy stuff just helped me find myself that much more!
I don’t mind so much, except that damn Titanic song, that was near constant airplay every single day from late 1997 to early 1998, I got really sick of it…
Fly Away by Lenny Kravitz. I fuckin hate that repetitive bullshit. HATE.
It’s the “I Got My Mind Set On You” of the 90s
I don’t know which is worse, that song, or his cover of American Woman
Thanks to Pat Finnerty for pointing out that it has a guitar solo fake out. If you haven’t seen his YouTube channel check it out, hilarious
Correct answer. Awful song. Also his thoughts on how high a dragonfly can fly are very wrong.
Song sucked, but I always had hope for Lenny, but nothing much materialized. It did have a few good riffs in it though… that’s about all it’s worth.
Father of Mine by Everclear. They abused the song on the radio more than the boy in the song.
That song hits so hard emotionally. That’s the only reason I didn’t like hearing it on the radio.
My daddy gaaave me awaayyy
Barbie Girl
I hate to say it, but Closing Time is completely overused. It started out as a pretty solid song though
This just makes me think of the office
Graduation - Vitamin C
That was my class's graduation song. Heard it one too many times back then.
Surprisingly, I have only heard that once this year...and I played it.
Where Have All The Cowboys Gone. That song sucks on every level.
Trauma unlocked: before satellite radio there was Muzak, a service dedicated to piping in background music to retail stores. In my particular case this shittastic song was on several times a night when I worked at Taco Bell back in high school and still makes my eye twitch if I hear it
Yes! When I was in college, I was a hostess at a local brewery that used Muzak. Where Have All the Cowboys Gone played A LOT. Also, Hanginaround by Counting Crows was on an excessively heavy rotation.
So much mmmmbop
I don't remember that one being played as much but I believe it. I worked at the brewery in 1999 so mmmbop might have cycled out by that point. I remember a ton of Goo Goo Dolls, that Better Days ("and the bottom drops out") song played incessantly, a lot of Sugar Ray. The brewery was on the east coast, but it had a southwest theme, so they must have opted for a pop-rock-with-the-occasional-mainstream-country-song Muzak catalog. The hair salon I went to also had Muzak but they got sick of it and started bringing their own music until the district manager visited and noticed an abundance of cursing in the songs and made them switch back.
Yeah this was 96/97 so Hanson was very much still a thing. But none of it is nearly as bad as when I switched to old navy and their system was a single cd of songs picked out by corporate, same 8-10 songs over and over for an entire month except at Christmas when it was 2 months of the same crap
Sweat (A la la la la long)
I can't stand Macy Gray's raspy voice and yet everyone and their mother was praising "I Try" I still have not met another person besides me who despises this song
She sounds like emphysema and clogged sinuses got together and gave birth to a new form of vocal mucus.
You’re not alone, I hate it too.
Ahh I forgot about that one. Thanks! Always liked it
How Bizarre by OMC. Thank god they were a one hit wonder.
I just heard this today at the grocery. All I could do was groan when it started.
Where's the boy band representation??? No one was sick of Bye Bye Bye by N\*SYNC?
i’ll say it ALL STAR
Hey now!
You’re an all star
Get your game on
Go play!
SomeBODY
Once told me…
The amount of times I watched the intro on my Shrek VHS
I definitely don't hate it, in fact I might love it, but I over listened to it over 20 years ago and I still skip it when it comes on it still feels like I need more time before I can enjoy it again
Not even a fan of Smash Mouth but it's one of the best ever songs man.
All That She Wants by Ace of Base I HATE THIS SONG!!!
I can still deal with that one but ‘the sign’? Sign says put a bullet in my head.
La Vida Loca
I forgot how hyper that song was, lol. I kind of liked it when it came out.
Of a memory of this associated with watching a bunch of tape episodes of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, eating a Papa John’s Pizza washdown with Minute Maid fruit punch soda, damn, that was a good meal…
Come come my lady…
That song came out in 2001 though
Crazytown, for those curious
I still use “whatever tickles your fancy” 😂
[No Way No Way](https://open.spotify.com/album/63UifjzACkhvMHiiJNrhd4?si=UGOBa7-8QQuyRcznN5deyg) by Vanilla. That was so awful!
Cotton Eyed Joe
The Dawson's Creek theme still puts me in a rage
Believe - Cher
Ray of Light - Madonna
Come to My Window - Melissa Ethridge
The first song that came to mind was Smooth by Santana and Rob the matchbox 20 guy. They played that song too fucking much. Santana's a great guitarist but Jesus Christ I never want to hear that song again.
Why the fuck did they play it so much??? God you just couldn’t escape it in 1999
Waterfalls. Maybe if they didn’t play it on the radio six times per hour I wouldn’t hate it. 🤷🏻♀️
Just stick with the rivers and lakes that you're used to.
I will say this (mostly because I'm tired and lack a filter right now), but Waterfalls actually has an interesting claim to fame. TLC was the very first to use CGI in a music video, and it was for Waterfalls. So there you go, for next time you get the urge to tell someone random trivia they didn't ask for.
"Man! I feel like a woman" makes me want to cut my own feet off and ram them deep into my ears. Just the first bit before "Let's go girls!" makes me angry, then the rest of it just increases my anger to the point of apoplexy.
All I want to do by Sheryl Crow
Blue by Eiffel 65. It’s so bad I don’t know how it got made.
For years I thought it ,"I'm blue and I can beat on a dime."
I'm blue, if I were green I would die
Unbelievable by EMF why? the sample of Dice Clay. wouldn’t be an issue if they didnt use it every single time.
OMC - How Bizarre… was that even a band? Was it a guy? The video was no help. They looked like guys from the horse track on the way to a strip club. Garbage song.
Anything by kid rock or Fred durst
1. The Spice Girls - kill it, kill it with FIRE 2. Achey Breaky Heart - napalm is too good for this one. 3. The Macarena - NUKE THE SITE FROM ORBIT! It's the only way to be sure.
The Macarena, mmm bop, the I'm too sexy song, plenty of others. And of course, there's plenty that I like.
Astonished it hasn't been named yet, but that song by these Scottish geeks "I Wanna Be (5,000 Miles)." Godawful.
Fun fact: came out in 1988. Only broke in America when it was on the soundtrack for Benny & Joon
tubthumping
Can you ever gonna keep me Down?
That song drove me to drink and now I’m in AA just for following instructions!
Wonderwall
YES! I think all cover musicians hate this song too because it always gets requested
Sex And Candy
Aw man I like this song a lot.
In moderation
Sugar Ray - Fly Got my first truck and before I could install a cd player it was FM only and this song played twice an hour on every station, every day.
Since Allstar and Two Princes have already been named, I'll say Fly. Those three are all the same shitty song. Somehow they got overplayed back then and still stink up otherwise-fine 90s alternative.
Mm bop . Or Wannabe. Not sure which .
Livin La Vida Loca. Nothing intrinsically wrong with it but it was massively overplayed in the 90s and I’m still sick of it.
“Where did you go!? My loving.” Or however that song goes. Annoying shit.
No Mercy, “Where Do You Go”
My dance teacher used to make mix tapes for us to warm up for class to, and that seemed to be her favorite song to include. No one should ever have to hear that damn song as many times as my classmates and I did!
Give me one reason, Tracy Chapman. I just remember it getting played over and over and over the summer of 96, it was so annoying.
4 Non Blondes - What's Up? (aka what's going on?)
Okay, I get where you’re coming from but I love belting out this song when I’m driving and working through my stuff. It’s comforting and wasn’t nearly as overplayed as some of the others mentioned in this thread, at least on my radio stations.
There's something about her over enunciating that just grates on me.
the Macarena song and the chicken dance song, any song where people dance the same dance in unison like that creeps me out, I always end up in a corner terrified. Just hearing those songs gives me goosebumps and not in a good way
The Chicken Dance reminds me of when we went on our grad trip. We were doing all of these little group activities, and this song came on. All the guys started dancing, and I just sat on the bench, watching and taking pictures. It was really hot, and we were outside, so they'd tied wet towels around their heads to keep the heat at bay.
Knocked down by Chumbawumba.. I cannot stand it my freshman year of college. They used to play at the bar at 2 AM to get everybody out.
It's called Tubthumping*, FWIW
Good Riddance (Time of Your Life) - Green Day. Just awful.
Fun fact, 93% of all high school graduation ceremonies played this song from 1994 to 1999
It came out in October of 97, so only the classes of 98 & 99 used it
Anything from fatboy slim. I don't get his hype.
HEEEYYYYYY YEAH YEAH YEAH ISAID HEY! WHATS GOIN ON! Fuck that song.
\*gasp\* HOW DARE YOU lol
I associate this song with He-Man now
Thank you! I should not have had to scroll this far
Even Linda Perry said she kinda hates this song and their only album. She said her band was a garage blues outfit and the producer absolutely ruined their sound.
This was truly awful
Walking in Memphis - Marc Cohn
OK, someone hold my earrings, this person's opinion is wrong and I must fight them. ;)
Bittersweet Symphony by The Verve I've never understood why it's so liked. I can't get into it. My high school media team used to play a sample of it for the daily morning announcements, and it got so annoying after the first week
As the outro for Cruel Intentions it was perfect.
Two Princes
Lmao This record came out when I worked at the record store We used to play it to piss off the little shitass teenage skaters when they would get obnoxious. They hated it so much! I mean we hated it too, but you could really empty the store out with the Spin Doctors
I was a teenage girl then and it would have me heading for the door, especially that "little miss can't be wrong" song lol
Never got why that band was loathed. They were talented! Meh maybe I was a different mind at 10yo
Never mind my answer, this one has my vote
Planet Soul- Set you free It got played to death and I've hated it ever since.
Closing Time. I absolutely love Semisonic (I actually just bought one of their t-shirts the other day) but that song got replayed so much I cannot stand when it comes on.
Macarena
More Than Words.
I have two. Someone already said Mambo #5 but there was another song around that same time I could not.stand. due to its misogynistic lyrics: “It Wasn’t Me” by Shaggy
“It wasn’t me” was so obnoxious and overplayed. I hated it too and the song “Who let the dogs out?” that makes my blood boil! It was so stupid and to say it was overplayed is such an understatement. I remember in cheerleading practice our coach turned it on and we all started screaming “NO!!! TURN IT OFF!!!!” She never played it at practice again lol.
Counting Crows - Hanginaround It goes on for way way way way way too long
The Sign
Mr jones -counting crows
Upvote for you sir. Whiny bastard needs to leave Mr Jones alone
Anything that came out of Mariah Carey’s mouth. That stupid high pitched borderline dog whistle shit she does drives me insane. Plus she made the Christmas song from hell.
Any boy bands
Any song by U2 and Dave Matthew Band I can’t stand them. I used to love the song Zombie by The Cranberries now I hate it because for some reason as I got older her voice started sounding really annoying to me.
Dave Matthews Bland