"Come Sail Away" by Styx: Love it or hate it?

[Bossy Monkey]

Poll question: "Come Sail Away" by Styx: Love it or hate it?

I have a shrewd notion I know what the winning response is going to be. However, here's a thought: rather than shitting on my thread with baroque evocations of how much you hate the song, how about try to say why. Better yet, try to say it without using the words "sucks," "shit," "ass," or "donkey dicks." Think of it as the high school writing assignment you should have had and would have made an A on.

Myself, I've never understood the rancor this song inspires. It's fun, the music mostly works, it features Dennis DeYoung's uh, special style of singing, and it's really, really, really stupid. Still legal, the last I heard.

Oh, if you were alive and alert when the song came out, you might mention it. It kind of makes a difference whether you first experienced it as the new thing on the radio or as dinosaur poop 20 years after the fact. I think.

[jpgray]

1. It's exuberantly cheesy, so it can be fun (nt)

[Archae]

2. I have a special reason for detesting it.

When I graduated high school, at the ceremony we sang the &%$#@!!! second verse, which is nothing but hokey cliches.

When it was "voted on" we had the choice of that of Jim Croce's "I've Got A Name."

Hardly anyone in my class admitted voting for Styx, yet it "won" anyway.

It was also our class president's favorite song. Hmmm...

[RoyGBiv]

3. Well, for me personally...

Part of the rancor any Styx song inspires involves having lived through the whole "Mr. Roboto" thing. DeYoung took a decent band and made it a joke. And anyone who saw their tour with Kansas opening has a very bad memory. Kansas, unintentionally I'm sure, made them look stupid.

I don't hate "Come Sail Away," but I can't hear it, or any Styx song, and not think of the garbage associated with the band's later days.

[0rganism]

4. Styx gets a bad rap, but some of their stuff was quite good in its day

"Light up, everybody
Join the sinners' celebration"

I admit to forcing my prog cover band to do "Too Much Time On My Hands"...

[WannaJumpMyScooter]

5. Styx was a classic case of a good band gone bad

Rampant with commercial success, they thought they could shit on fans and put out anything, and once or twice that works, as we all know.
Some of their stuff was great, is great. Come Sail Away is okay. I still sing along to it, but I am a weirdo, so what do I know?
Yes, I was extremely conscious at the time, and it was not hated in its day. Seems like the anger came afterward, when the band went to shit.

[No Mandate Here.]

6. What's the remedy for a posting induced ear worm?

As soon as I saw the question, there it was. Oh well.

[Bossy Monkey]

12. I can only offer the suggestion I always do along with my apologies:

"Police on My Back" by the Clash; it's defeated every earworm I've gotten so far.

[dawg]

7. Good song.

Nice melodic keyboard parts, nice crunchy power chords from the guitars in appropriate places, talented singer with good harmony vocals as well.

Lyrics are weak, but in the context of the 1970's that should be excusable.

Definitely not a song for the "cool" kids to like. And that, IMHO, explains why people are so adamant in their hatred of this song and its ilk. They do so in an attempt to distance themselves as much as possible from anything they consider "uncool".

And on a liberal board, the fact that the band sold millions makes them "corporate" as well. (Nevermind the fact that they probably demanded, and received, much more artistic freedom from their record label than any of the so-called alternative bands of today could even dream of.)

[Richardo]

8. Hate it. But as long as there's "Radar Love" it won't be the worst song...

...in the world.

[Loonman]

9. Frigging schlock

If you even pretend to like that tune, you've got some taste issues.

[Bat Boy]

10. Love it!

But for all the wrong reasons.

[MallRat]

11. Well, at least it's better than Mr. Roboto.

DOMO ARIGATO, MR. ROBOTO!!!

-MR

i am the modren man...

[pagerbear]

13. Kiki and Herb do a touching version of it!

[Bossy Monkey]

14. Kick; there might still be people who haven't put me on Ignore n/t

[arwalden]

15. I Like Cartman's Version

[chaska]

16. I know it's sick, I can't help myself. There's just something fun about it

[MIScott87]

17. What's wrong with it? It's not like Ann Coulter wrote it.

[darkstar]

18. I usually don't argue w/ folks here at DU

but it really almost is like Ann Coulter wrote it.

[Philosophy]

19. Hey, I like Journey too!

I have their greatest hits CD.