Embarrasing Songs That Get Stuck In My Head #11 (w/ bonus list)

I know I'm not alone in finding that the catchy-ness of Miley Cyrus' "Party In The U.S.A." greatly exceeds its quality. You already know how the song goes, so I figured I'd post Weird Al's very funny parody version instead of the original.

And, for good end-of-the-year-list-making measure, here be the other embarrassing songs that got stuck in my head this year:

Bananarama, "I Heard A Rumour"
Kenny Rogers, "You Decorated My Life"
Barry Manilow, "Let Me Be Your Wings"
Paul Davis, "Cool Night"
Weezer, "The Sweater Song"
Mark Wills, "Don't Laugh At Me"
Jesse McCartney, "How Do You Sleep" (feat. Ludacris)
Colbie Caillat, "Brighter Than the Sun"
Bryan Adams, "Can't Stop This Thing We Started"
Badly Drawn Boy, "All Possibilities"

A Dedication for All the Occupiers

Kicked out of your tent city?
Stuck with a worthless degree?
It may not sound pretty,
But you oughtta get a Workingman's PhD.

Embarrasing Songs That Get Stuck In My Head #9

Have you noticed how much of the World Wide Web is devoted to Chuck Norris jokes? I read one lately that said: Chuck Norris stopped that thing Bryan Adams started but couldn't stop.

Even when this song came out in 1991, I, like many people, could only like Adams ironically (which is kind of how a lot of people feel about Chuck Norris; they like him in a removed, joking sense). You can tell he's trying to prove how rockin' he is because everyone knew him as the "Everything I Do (I Do It For You)" guy.

I have to admit that I can rock out to Bryan Adams songs once in a while but will always be annoyed that I did afterwards. That's why he's on this list.

Bonus Chuck Norris Facts:
Chuck Norris can touch MC Hammer.

Chuck Norris does not use spell check. If he happens to misspell a word, Oxford will simply change the actual spelling of it.

Chuck Norris ordered a Big Mac at Burger King, and got one.

The chief export of Chuck Norris is pain.

(Credit: www.thechucknorrisfacts.com)

Embarrasing Songs That Get Stuck In My Head #6

I'm surprised that 13 years after this song came out, bullying is still a problem in America. I'm also surprised that the stupid song is still stuck in my head, especially when I hear about bullies.

One has to say that President Obama has really made bullying into a major national issue and totally raised awareness that it's bad ... and stuff. Between that and killing Bin Laden under his belt, I don't see why he would be worried about reelection.

R.E.M.'s Swan (Swan H) Song

R.E.M. finally broke up today after 30-odd years. I've followed the band very casually for the last decade, but was very into them during the mid- to late-90s and saw them live in 1999. To a lot of their fans, the band really ended in 1997 when drummer Bill Berry quit near the peak of the band's popularity(he'd suffered an aneurysm during a concert performance in 1995). But R.E.M. carried on, and while they'd lost some of their magic, they still had some strong moments. In honor of their career, here are my favorite tracks from each of their albums.


Chronic Town: "Wolves, Lower" (This was an EP, not a full album.)


Murmur: "Sitting Still"

Reckoning: "Pretty Persuasion"


Fables of the Reconstruction: "Feeling Gravity's Pull"


Lifes Rich Pageant: "Cuyahoga" (I think this is my favorite R.E.M. song, musically.)

Document: "The One I Love"


Green: "Get Up"


Out of Time: "Texarkana" (One purdy tune. Bassist/keyboardist Mike Mills sang the lead on this one.)



Automatic For The People: Tie between "Man on the Moon" and "Find the River" (This is their best album overall, although it's not representative of their 'classic' sound. "Try Not to Breathe" is also a real stunner.)

Monster: "Bang and Blame"


New Adventures in Hi-Fi: "Bittersweet Me" (Sonically, this is one of my favorite albums by any band. It sounded more raw and open than their other records to that point, and the music hit a sweet spot between their folk-rock and hard-rock sides.)


Up: "Daysleeper"


Reveal: "Imitation of Life"

Around The Sun: "I Wanted To Be Wrong" (This is their worst album. It's actually hard to pick a favorite off this one. I only like this track musically; the lyrics are irritating.)


Accelerate: "Hollow Man"


Collapse Into Now: "Discoverer" (This came out only six months before they announced they were disbanding. Somewhat of a 'return to form.')

Embarrasing Songs That Get Stuck In My Head #5

I've come around to liking a lot of Weezer's songs, but their first big single did nothing for me. It's one of those songs that gets into your head without being catchy (which is why it's on this list, come to think of it). It's musically and lyrically tedious, and the guitar solo just doesn't fit the song. At best, it's sort of a grunge parody.

For my money, this song is Weezer at it's best: