Well, that good old question about “The most boring song”, popping
up now and then in discussion forums – and usually only serves
to reveal the very limited musical tastes of many listeners. But the
problem with Richman’s “Roadrunner” is, in my opinion, not that it’s an exceptionally
bad or boring song but rather that J. Richman was such an awful musician.
Compare the song’s version recorded by Greg Kihn
who, of course was a much smoother musician than poor J. Richman
and, by the way, one of my favorites in the late seventies. And so here’s
another piece of this writer’s collection of songs no-one’s really
interested in
annoying or hilarious. – In Germany there have been some attempts to write a “song about nothing” and one of the most convincing, in my opinion, is this one by “Erdmöbel”
Well, that good old question about “The most boring song”, popping
up now and then in discussion forums – and usually only serves
to reveal the very limited musical tastes of many listeners. But the
problem with Richman’s “Roadrunner” is, in my opinion, not that it’s an exceptionally
bad or boring song but rather that J. Richman was such an awful musician.
Compare the song’s version recorded by Greg Kihn
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dSogGDsoxbw
who, of course was a much smoother musician than poor J. Richman
and, by the way, one of my favorites in the late seventies. And so here’s
another piece of this writer’s collection of songs no-one’s really
interested in
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OPA2CYIGSGk
But back to boring songs: It depends simply on your taste whether
you find songs like this one
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Bxv_HLwT7U
annoying or hilarious. – In Germany there have been some attempts to write a “song about nothing” and one of the most convincing, in my opinion, is this one by “Erdmöbel”
http://vimeo.com/758303
http://lyrics.wikia.com/Erdm%C3%B6bel:Lied_%C3%9Cber_Gar_Nichts
But what’s all that compared to this sixties classic:
http://www.justsomelyrics.com/1132478/The-Rainbows-Balla-Balla-Lyrics
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QjrJH-WOqoc
The Richman version with the Modern Lovers (produced by John Cale) isn’t bad either. But Richman as a solo musician is a disaster.
“Balla Balla” is a classic!