Trashcanman's Pop Nightmares: Week 12

[trashcanman]

Sorry about the delay. I've not only had a crazy busy week, but I haven't really been sure what to post for this final installment. I was thinking I should go out with an undeniable all-time great, but that's too easy. I decided just now I'm going to finish this run with something I think of as an all-time great, but from a group who seldom get the recognition they deserve and a song that even the band most of their fans didn't much care for.



That group of oddballs is, of course, power pop legends Cheap Trick. A lot of rock bands in the 80's ended up playing adult contemporary (also known by the oxymoronic title "soft rock") to make ends meet while quirky cocaine-fueled new wave songs filled the airwaves. Cheap Trick was on the verge of nothingness having barely scraped mainstream success in the 70's and their label gave them a song guaranteed to be a #1 hit. Guitarist Rick Nielson hated it so much that he supposedly smashed the cassette, and for most of their career the band wouldn't play the song live.

The song is 1988's The Flame and it's regarded haughtily as a sell-out track, even by the band who recorded it. But I love it. I adore it. I grew up on it and it's always been a beautiful memory for me. Cheap Trick may not have wanted it, but compared to comparable tracks like Aerosmith's I Don't Want to Miss a Thing, I think it comes off pretty well.




And if Cheap Trick's version doesn't do it for you...

[Ben]

It sounds familiar, but I didn't recognize it immediately like a lot of 80s stuff. I find it funny that Cheap Trick disowned the song considering they were basically a glam band anyway, but for what it is it's not bad at all. I just don't like it enough to add it to my collection.

[trashcanman]

Well, Cheap Trick has a very particular way of doing things and didn't want to record other people's songs aside from an occasional cover. Plus their stock and trade was punk-influenced weirdness and cynicism with traces of sap, and The Flame was just pure sap. I totally get why they didn't like it, but I still never get tired of it.

[The Curmudgeon]

I get two things; why this song was a hit and why fans consider it a sell-out song. I don't get why you would like it though, Trash. You continue to surprise me.

I've nothing against radio friendly rock ballads ("Alone" by Heart is still fantastic, Bon Jovi made a career out of them) but this just doesn't get going for me. I kept expecting it to hit it out the park with a solid gold chorus or hook but..nothing there for me. Sorry man.

So Trashy's time in the sun, exposing his shameful pop skeletons, is complete and I'll be taking over the reigns for the first time in a fair old while. Tune in next week, Batfans. The worst is yet to come.

[trashcanman]

Well, the whole idea of Pop Nightmares was to confess shit I'm not supposed to like but do anyways. Cheap Trick I'm supposed to love, of course, but this song in particular is something most of their fans and rock fans in general hate. I actually don't get how anyone could not love this song. To me it's like Puddy from Seinfeld when he hears Desperado. I just want to stop what I'm doing, let my eyes mist up, and slowly wave a lighter over my head.