Happy Monday. We have a winner in last week’s Shitty Songs You Can’t Get Out of Your Head contest: “Everybody’s Working for the Weekend.” Better yet we have this “candid” interview with Loverboy that I’ve never seen until now!
As my wife and I spent Friday night and all day Saturday preparing for a dinner party this song crept into my brain and wouldn’t leave. I realized this must be the winner, because it’s a really well done terrible song with a chorus that actually starts out strong and full of simple hope and idealism that’s up my alley before shifting gears to that horrible “You wanna piece of my heart” part. As much as I still hate this song and the video (and that headband!), it kind of makes me feel all right about the possibilities and aspirations of the lowest common denominator in our pop culture. Bravo, Loverboy!
Funny, I was thinking of posting this one – or something by Billy Squier. But then I decided that I’d already done enough damage.
What has fascinated me about this song, as it continues to stick in my head, is how quickly the chorus, which has its merits at the start, turns on a dime to bad (when he starts rhyming “heart” and “start from the start”), cliched rock posturing that makes the choruses of Pat Benetar sound sophisticated. I’m not trying to make a claim that the start of the chorus of “Working for the Weekend” promised to be as good as the chorus of “Help Me Rhonda,” but the dropoff midway through is the key, I think, to that song’s shittiness.
Good Lord! Since reading this post an hour or two ago, I cannot get this shitty song out of my head. I guess that means you chose wisely.
God, I’d argue with this choice if I could. Well done. And the band conversation footage is truly priceless! No: not priceless. What’s the word? Worthless.
However, my favorite recollection of this record is how pissed off a guy I knew at the time was when he found out the red-leather clad backside on the cover belonged to…a man. Oh, the humanity!
Bet it was Steve Perry’s ass!
Well played, sir! Now I’ve got to try to find something, anything, to stop the chorus of this abomination from repeating on an endless loop inside my head.
Yes, as a community I think we need to pull together and stop the madness. I fear I have introduced a Jim Jones-like mass hypnosis by announcing this winner. Please, Rock Town Hall, do your part to get this song OUT of our heads. (Perhaps the Richard Harris track I played on this week’s Saturday Night Shut-In will be the antidote.)
there is but one antidote.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MsW8rXPcnM0
It’s helping! I may eventually need an antidote for that turd, but it’s actually helping.
This will wipe out anything:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9I5OtlKjzJo
This should help. I can get this stuck in my head at the drop of a hat, and it obliterates everything else.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_HhO_zZi-KA
Given the fierce competition, I’m not convinced that Working for the Weekend should claim the title although it’s definitely in the race.
But can we all at least agree that Hot Girls in Love is Hands Down the best Loverboy song?
yes. yes we can.