Standing in the shadows
Todd in the Shadows is a popular music critic. A critic of popular music, that is; although his YouTube channel is approaching half a million subscribers, so I guess he's popular…ish. His chart retrospectives are based on the Billboard Hot 100 year-end lists, but most of the entries are familiar even to me, having grown up in England.
Often he makes valid points, usually on melody and music structure; occasionally I disagree with his critical interpretation of lyrics. But it is, after all, only his opinion, and opinions are just that: opinions. Not for naught are they likened to arseholes.
Besides, he has too much of a predilection for rap to be taken too seriously. Hell's teeth, he even favours Cardi B shittin' all over Girls Like You, so his judgement is nothing to go by. (SMH)
In Top Ten Worst Hit Songs of 1976, he retrospectively reviews possibly one of the most fruitfully bad years, at least from my experience of having lived through it. Every one of those songs deserves its place on the list but, once again, some of his lyrical criticism is overdone: he gives short shrift to poetic licence.
No matter, what really bothers me is that he brought to my recollection the abomination that was Rick Dees and his Cast of Idiots' Disco Duck. I now have the bloody chorus playing in my head, a place that it hasn't occupied for over forty years.
Dis-co, disco duck Dis-co, disco duck
So, yeah, thanks for that, Todd. Stay in the shadows, and with luck we won't be able to hunt you down to kick your arse! (angry)
All that aside, I don't think that Todd could hate Chicago's If You Leave Me Now as much as I do. He's a good deal younger than me, and I doubt that he grew up with it constantly on the bloody radio.
Todd doesn't generally show much regard for Maroon 5, or at least what they've become. Counting down his top ten worst hits of 2013 though, he mentions them only in passing as one of the runners up with Daylight. But feel the burn:
Maroon 5 nowadays remind me of a towel rack, or a blender, or an IKEA lamp. You know, just some kind of functional product, but not assembled with as much passion.
Todd in the Shadows, The Top Ten Worst Hit Songs of 2013
Ouch! (fire)