I could go on a long diatribe, but I can answer that question in 2 words:
Eric Carmen.
Now not entirely because of Eric Carmen, but because of the tripe that his generation produced. I couldn't publish this on the day he died, that is bad form, but the effusive praise heaped upon Carmen, especially in Cleveland, home of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, was uncalled for.
Hungry Eyes? Arguably one of the worst songs ever written.
As a matter of fact, here's my Eric Carmen List.
Liked:
Go All The Way (Raspberries.)
Sounds great, 35 years later. You can tell the guy had talent, you can tell the guy had passion.
Meh:
I Wanna Be with You (Raspberries.)
Hated:
Let's Pretend (Raspberries)
Overnight Sensation (Raspberries.)
All By Myself
Never Gonna Fall in Love Again
Baby I Need Your Loving
Hungry Eyes
Make Me Lose Control
Every hit song listed above, all Top 40 hits, was worse than the last.
Why speak poorly of the dead? On the same day Eric Carmen died Karl Wallinger died.
Not familiar with Karl Wallinger? He was the lead singer (and multi-instrumentalist) in the band World Party, a one-hit wonder in America, but they had a string of hits in the United Kingdom.
Ship of Fools was one of my favorite songs.
When I think of World Party, I think of the talented kids on College Radio in the 1980's. Even though College Radio still exists today, it doesn't capture the underground scene in music anymore. World Party didn't thrive in the Top 40 world, it swam in its undercurrents.
Back in the 1970's, Eric Carmen existed in the Top 40 world. Top 40 radio became littered with soft rock pablum which really ignited the musical underground. Punk music was a reaction to the Eric Carmens of the world. Karl Wallinger benefited from the musical subculture that punk created.
Bands like the Sex Pistols and the Ramones didn't exist because they were on the radio, they existed because they sold albums and circumvented the system. I don't think I heard a Ramones song on Commercial Radio until the 1990's....
Why am I so bitter?
That's a whole different article.
(Hint: This is my wheelhouse. I just posted this on social media this morning.)
