An oral history of "We Built This City," the worst song of all time (2016)

Mandela Effect & 80s Video Rabbit Holes

• A commenter recounts misremembering The Residents in the “We Built This City” video, finally tracing the memory to Jefferson Starship’s earlier “Layin’ It on the Line.”
• This sparks a jokey subthread about “Mandela” vs “Mandala” Effect, spelling corrections, and the nature of false memories.
• Linked 80s videos lead to reminiscing about huge hair, hair spray, period aesthetics, and early video graphics tech like Quantel Paintbox and Amiga-era 3D.

Age, Pop Music, and Longevity

• Several posts note how unusual it is, given pop’s youth obsession, that people like Grace Slick and others were mid‑40s or older while still charting.
• Examples given: 60s counterculture leaders older than their fans, rock acts with late-career hits, and musicians succeeding well past 30.

“Worst Song Ever” vs Subjective Taste

• Many reject the “worst of all time” framing as clickbait and inherently subjective.
• Some distinguish between:
  • Songs that are overplayed but OK.
  • Songs that are “awesomely bad” (catchy but cringe).
  • Songs perceived as irredeemably bad even with context or repeated listening.
• Wikipedia’s cautious “X considered the worst” naming pattern is cited as a more honest framing.

Alternative Candidates for “Worst Song”

• Long lists of contenders appear, especially Christmas songs (“Wonderful Christmastime,” “Happy Xmas,” “Last Christmas,” “Do They Know It’s Christmas,” novelty tracks).
• Other repeated targets: “Sweet Caroline,” “Achy Breaky Heart,” “Rico Suave,” certain children’s songs, novelty/celebrity records, and oddities like “The Most Unwanted Song.”
• Debate over “good bad” songs vs truly unlistenably bad, and how cult enjoyment complicates “worst” labels.

Defenses and Musical Analysis of “We Built This City”

• Many admit liking the song or having nostalgic affection for it.
• Several argue it’s catchy, harmonically more interesting than typical 4‑chord pop, with key changes, pedal tones, and slash chords.
• Some see its hate as mostly bandwagon/hipster snark; others describe being traumatized by 80s overplay.
• A notion appears that it’s “awesomely bad” rather than truly worst: fun, cheesy, and perfect karaoke material.

80s Music, Modern Pop, and Cultural Revisionism

• Some argue 80s pop is unfairly maligned by younger cohorts; people tend to love whatever was big when they were ~14.
• Counterpoint: much 80s pop production (reverb drums, cheap synths) sounds dated and bad to some listeners.
• Discussion of whether modern hits are less enduring or just more fragmented due to streaming and less monoculture.
• Complaints about heavily compressed, Auto‑Tuned contemporary pop are contrasted with 80s production quirks.

Jefferson Airplane → Starship and “Corporate Rock”

• Several lament the stylistic shift from 60s psychedelic Jefferson Airplane to 80s corporate-rock Starship as “tragic” or purely for money.
• Comparisons drawn to other bands that evolved from experimental or hard rock into slick pop.
• One interpretation (disputed by others) suggests the song is intentionally phony-sounding, thematically about gentrification and corporatization of rock scenes.

Humor, Parody, and Cultural Spillover

• Numerous parodies and riffs mentioned: “We Built This City on Sausage Rolls,” “We Bilked This City,” Catan filks, wrestling entrance fantasies, comedy sketches, and other meta-rock jokes.
• Analogies are made to other “hate magnets” (Nickelback, clowns, the word “moist,” the TV character Caillou).
• Many frame the discourse as collective, cathartic fun: bonding over shared mockery while still secretly enjoying the song.