Who Will Rate The Rater?

Here's a list from Ben Shapiro of the top ten overrated songs of all time.  For all time, he sure concentrates on rock classics from the 60s, 70s and 80s:

10. Anything By Lady Gaga
9. "One" U2
8. "My Generation" The Who
7. "Born to Run" Bruce Springsteen
6. "Stairway to Heaven" Led Zeppelin
5. "Satisfaction" The Rolling Stones
4. "London Calling" The Clash
3. "Smells Like Teen Spirit" Nirvana
2. "Like a Rolling Stone" Bob Dylan
1. "Imagine" John Lennon

I'll give Shapiro credit for picking highly rated songs (which is generally what you want when you're talking about the overrated), but for nothing else. The list is pretty dumb and his comments are even worse--the kind of ignorance and cluelessness that you used to see when defenders of good music attacked rock and roll in the 50s.

Let's ignore the Lady Gaga thing which is both too easy and the only item that suggests Shapiro recognizes anyone has made music in the last generation.

"One" I'll admit is a pretty dull song, but then so much of U2 is overrated.  Unfortunately, Shapiro says U2 is the second-most overrated band, after the Beatles.  I really should stop here.  I don't trust people who take stupid shots at the greatest band ever.

"My Generation" is a great song, but for some reason Shapiro complains that the lyrics are repetitive and simple.  That's the point.  It's the inarticulate statement of a young person who's sputtering in rage, probably drunk.  Shapiro then makes a joke about hoping they die before they get old, a line that was tired before the 60s were over.

I'm not a huge fan of Springsteen, and there are so many of his songs that could make this list, so why does Shapiro pick one of his better numbers?  He also pulls out his favorite adjective and says the words to "Born To Run" are repetitive.  There are complaints one could make about Springsteen's lyrics, but repetitive is not one of them.  He also comments "Man, that's some '80s stuff." No, it's mid-70s.

When it comes to "Satisfaction" he actually complains about the double negative.  If this is a joke, it's too lame to laugh at.

For the Nirvana song, he has to ask what Teen Spirit is.  It's a deodorant.  But then, we don't need proof that Ben Shapiro is dumber than Kurt Cobain, since he quotes Cobain's witty words and says they don't make sense.  He also notes when you're in Seattle making millions, you don't get to complain about your problems.  Even if this were true, you'd think Shapiro would at least know Cobain wrote this song before he hit it big, since it's the song that made Nirvana.

You might not believe this, but for "Like A Rolling Stong" he actually mocks Dylan's voice.  This was a tired routine when "My Generation" was being recorded.  He also looks at the supple and evocative words to the song and pronounces they make no sense.  This scathing, hilarious put-down is apparently beyond Shapiro, who asks "Why should you 'turn around to see the frowns on the jugglers and the clowns'? Are they sad clowns?"

Here's the full line: "You never turned around to see the frowns on the jugglers and the clowns/ When they all come down and did tricks for you." The song is about someone who used to be in charge, so much so that she held court and others essentially performed for her--but if she'd been paying attention, she might have noticed they only did it because they felt they had to, not because they liked her.  There, was that so hard to understand, Ben?

As for "Imagine," I've written about my problems with it before.  It is overrated, though generally not for the reasons people believe.

I realize the point of such an article is to be provocative, but I was only provoked into thinking what a jerk Shapiro is.