Jackson Free Press logo

This story originally appeared in the Jackson Free Press. It was added to the Mississippi Free Press website in 2025.
Note that any opinions expressed in legacy Jackson Free Press stories do not reflect a position of the Mississippi Free Press or necessarily of its staff and board members.

AP reports: “Starship may have built this city on rock and roll, but Blender magazine is tearing it down, naming the band’s ‘We Built This City’ as the worst song ever. Some tunes on the ’50 Worst Songs Ever!’ list were selected for their melodies, others ‘are wretchedly performed’ and ‘quite a few don’t make sense whatsoever,’ the magazine said. The list, which appears in the May issue, includes songs by New Kids on the Block, Meat Loaf, The Doors, Lionel Richie, Hammer and The Beach Boys, among others.”

Previous Comments

My, er, personal favs on the list: “Don’t Worry Be Happy,” Bobby McFerrin The Beatles’ “Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da” “Everybody Have Fun Tonight” Wang Chung “Achy Breaky Heart,” Billy Ray Cyrus

#63632 | Author: kaust | Date: Apr 21 2004

Yeah, I know. They were pretty accurate, eh? ;-D

#63633 | Author: DonnaLadd | Date: Apr 21 2004

After the minute long commercial I had to watch to view the article i have to say….. G’me some Foreigner – aka. “Cold as Ice”, “Hot Blooded”, Journey (“Open Arms”, “Separate Ways”) & Steve Perry (“Oh Sherry”), Europe, Boston, Chicago, Stryper’s “To Hell With the Devil”, Whitesnake, Loverboy’s “Everybody’s Working for the Weekend”, Styx’s “Come Sail Away”, Air Supply, “Every Woman in the World”, Milli Vanilli, Tiffany, Winger, Night Ranger’s “Sister Christian”, Warrant, REO Speedwagon’s “Keep On Loving You”, Poison’s “Every Rose Has Its Thorn”, Debbie Gibson, Survivor, Damn Yankees. How about the old teen bands, all the boy girl bands whose members play NO instruments ….. Spice Girls, New Kids on the Block, …….. After a few thousand of those might come “Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da”.

#63634 | Author: herman | Date: Apr 22 2004

I like “Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da-” it’s not one of the Beatles best songs by any stretch, but it did show that they could be silly. I definitely don’t think “Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da” or any of the following songs should have made the list: The Doors- “The End;” REM- “Shiny Happy People;” Simon and Garfunkel- “The Sounds of Silence;” and 4 Non Blondes- ìWhatís Up?î “The End” and “The Sounds of Silence” are classic songs. Where were these songs in the list? Def Leppard- “Pour some sugar on me;” Tag Team- “Whoop, there it is;” Milli Vanilli- “Girl You know it’s true;” Night Ranger- Sister Christian.” Jesh, all I can picture with Sister Christian is that cheesy coke head in Boogie Nights playing air guitar. I guess there is no accounting for taste 😉

#63635 | Author: @LEx | Date: Jul 13 2004

MFP Solutions Lab logo

The Mississippi Free Press produced this story through the MFP Solutions Lab, supported by the Solutions Journalism Network. This series digs into Mississippi’s systemic issues and sheds light on responses to them in other communities. Beyond just reporting on problems, these stories interrogate their causes and inspect potential solutions.

Founding Editor Donna Ladd is a writer, journalist and editor from Philadelphia, Miss., a graduate of Mississippi State University and later the Columbia Graduate School of Journalism, where she was an alumni award recipient in 2021. She writes about racism/whiteness, poverty, gender, violence, journalism and the criminal justice system. She contributes long-form features and essays to The Guardian when she has time, and was the co-founder and editor-in-chief of the Jackson Free Press. She co-founded the statewide nonprofit Mississippi Free Press with Kimberly Griffin in March 2020, and the Mississippi Business Journal named her one of the state's top CEOs in 2024. Read more at donnaladd.com, follow her on Twitter and Instagram at @donnerkay and email her at donna@mississippifreepress.org.