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Oeditpus Rex

(42,716 posts)
Sun Sep 7, 2025, 04:55 PM Sep 7

Journey, one of the most popular bands of all time,

wrote sone of the stupidest lyrics since Bubblegum once they started focusing on rock ballads.

Here's just one example, from "Anytime," which was instrumentally solid:

Give me all of your sunshine
A spark is all I need
To take it away, out of the shadows
Well, what more can I say?


Let the arguments commence.

12 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
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Journey, one of the most popular bands of all time, (Original Post) Oeditpus Rex Sep 7 OP
Oh, they are not alone. I never really paid close attention to lyrics until more recently hlthe2b Sep 7 #1
Cheesy AF, granted - ZZenith Sep 7 #2
Keep in mind that many of their songs... regnaD kciN Sep 7 #3
Don't care, Bayard Sep 7 #4
Mickey Thomas Would Like A Word ProfessorGAC Sep 7 #7
So would I, Professor. Harker Sep 7 #10
Well, You Got Me On The Team! ProfessorGAC Sep 7 #11
The example I used Oeditpus Rex Sep 7 #8
I Lost Interest When... ProfessorGAC Sep 7 #5
Yep, my favorite three Journey albums were their first three. Midnight Writer Sep 7 #9
I never could stand that band. Coventina Sep 7 #6
Yeah, not a fan of Journey. Morbius Sep 7 #12

hlthe2b

(111,291 posts)
1. Oh, they are not alone. I never really paid close attention to lyrics until more recently
Sun Sep 7, 2025, 05:16 PM
Sep 7

-now that it is so easy to have them come up on Spotify or wherever.

But even more are the songs for which the lyrics and the meaning are incomprehensible. When you try to Google it to see what has been revealed by the singer/songwriter, they claimed to have taken a simple idea and wrapped it around a lot of complexity, so they don't even know today.

But, hey... Journey (and all these bands) had melody, good vocals, and could play their damned instruments (rather than push a digital button to try to generate it)... I just love how the GEN-Z "record producers" who have YouTube channels listen to some of the music of the past, hear a flute (or something else), and refuse to believe they actually brought in those performers for the piece. Geebus.

Oh, well. Stupid lyrics... Yeah, maybe, but listen to the crap coming out today.

ZZenith

(4,414 posts)
2. Cheesy AF, granted -
Sun Sep 7, 2025, 05:27 PM
Sep 7

But still miles better than some of the competition:

“Muskrat, muskrat
Candlelight
Doin' the town
And doin' it right in the evening
It's pretty pleasing”

“I know that I must do what's right
Sure as Kilimanjaro rises like Olympus above the Serengeti”


regnaD kciN

(27,262 posts)
3. Keep in mind that many of their songs...
Sun Sep 7, 2025, 05:44 PM
Sep 7

…were written by ultra-MAGAt Jonathan Cain, husband of Trump’s “spiritual advisor,” Paula (“I hear the sound of angels from Africa!”) White.

Harker

(16,852 posts)
10. So would I, Professor.
Sun Sep 7, 2025, 07:58 PM
Sep 7

I loved that band before Steven Perry, and my liking for them dipped afterwards.

I also liked the Doobie Brothers better before Michael McDonald, so I'm pretty sure I'm in a slim minority on both counts.

Oeditpus Rex

(42,716 posts)
8. The example I used
Sun Sep 7, 2025, 06:22 PM
Sep 7

was sung by Gregg Rollie.

Perry's voice was ideal for a certain type of music. It was probably no coincidence that Journey cranked out that type.

I won't argue Perry's vocal ranking for that reason, and because any time someone names someone the "best ever" at anything, it's a matter of opinion, and of conjecture.

ProfessorGAC

(74,411 posts)
5. I Lost Interest When...
Sun Sep 7, 2025, 06:11 PM
Sep 7

...Rollie left & they became The Steve Perry Band.
Also, Jonathan Cain's keyboards became a more prominent part of their sound and he's a ham-fingered hack. His next interesting phrase will be his first.

Midnight Writer

(24,701 posts)
9. Yep, my favorite three Journey albums were their first three.
Sun Sep 7, 2025, 06:23 PM
Sep 7

Steve Perry is indeed an amazing singer, but their material stopped being surprising and original and instead veered into Top 40 orthodoxy.

Morbius

(667 posts)
12. Yeah, not a fan of Journey.
Sun Sep 7, 2025, 11:10 PM
Sep 7

My wife likes them, though. I should be grateful (and I am, really); if she had any taste she would have dumped me and married someone else.

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