Ten Songs That Make Me Cringe: Time to Make a Lot of Enemies (#3)

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Yeah, I'm hiding the title. I'll give you time to find some rocks and get ready to pelt me. Before I blab about this song and how much it bothers me, though, let me say this: this is my opinion. It has no bearing on you as someone who likes this song. It's my taste, just like my love of tomatoes is my taste. I know people who can't stand tomatoes, but that doesn't mean there's something wrong with them, just that we have different tastes. No, that's probably not going to soothe your anger. So, here goes. #3: Don't Stop Believin' - Journey I had this series written right after @JohnRoberts started his "12 songs I loathe" series. Then, lo and behold, two people posted separate discussions about how much they love this song. You can have it. When I posted the Styx song I said you could add every song of theirs to the list. Ditto anything that Steve Perry's whinyass voice has appeared on. These guys were so formulaic and contrived that it's sickening, even without Perry's testicles-caught-in-a-vise vocals. And they didn't start that way. If you're around my age you may remember their first single, "To Play Some Music." Wow, that was a cool song. And it bombed, so the "suits" at the record company decided they needed to be more "radio friendly." Enter Steve Perry. And exit my dinner. And, believe it or not, this wasn't that big a hit "back then," only hitting #8 on the Billboard charts and not even making the top 40 in Britain. Earlier this year I was listening to the morning bluegrass radio show on WDVX and heard a (wait for it) bluegrass version of "Don't Stop Believin'." When I heard it, it dawned on me that Perry's voice is just half of the problem. "Born and raised in south Detroit"? "South Detroit" is Windsor, Ontario! (Trivia: Detroit is the only place in the US where you have to go south to enter Canada. Take off!) This is just a bad song. Journey will be formally inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in April. They deserve it because they had the success. Just not my cup of tea. In fact, I'd need a cup of vodka to endure listening to them. I know a lot of you can't believe this, but I'd rather be honest with you. I'm off to the hills to hide from the angry mob. One thing for certain: I won't have to hear "Don't Stop Believin'" up there! Don't Stop Believin' Written by Jonathan Cain, Steve Perry, and Neal Schon Recorded by Journey From Escape, 1981 Here's Journey's first single, from when they wanted to be a jazz fusion-rock band: