Classical Notes: January 11, 2009 Archive

Music's Most Unwanted

Posted at 6:38 AM on January 11, 2009 by Gillian Martin

I heard something on last week's This American Life that made me laugh 'til I wept.

Composer Dave Soldier conducted a poll to find out what people liked most in songs, and what they disliked most. He then wrote songs based on that information: one with all the good stuff, one with all the bad stuff.

The "most wanted" song is a fairly standard pop/r&b number, but the "most unwanted" song is fabulous, in that so-bad-it's-good kind of way. If you never wanted to hear an operatic soprano rap about cowboys over a bagpipe accompaniment, then this is not for you.

Read more about the poll results here. Listen to the This American Life piece here (click on "Full Episode"; the relevant section starts about 16:30 into the show).