Hotel California

Man, you really want the honest truth on this one:
Quote:

Every time I hear it, I get the vibe of some old creep publicly mourning plague victims from the 1300s, while he's wiping away tears with one hand and reaching for a teenager with the other. The lyrics paired with that melody just feel incredibly hypocritical. Yeah, the tune irritates me. His voice? Even worse.

Honestly, this whole thing just drives me crazy. It always has.
You know that feeling when you’re 14 and those "cool" authority figures tell you, "Oh, you have to listen to Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, the Rolling Stones, and Deep Purple," so you nod along and try to convince yourself they're amazing even though they aren't really your vibe? Well, they never pulled that trick on me with Hotel California; I was totally over it from the very first listen. Just like Dire Straits, AC/DC, and Deep Purple. Why? Who knows. It just sounds grating to my ears. It hits me like a humid heatwave. Argh! Death!

stormyviper11 said:Can someone who actually knows what they're talking about explain to me exactly what's wrong with this song that makes it so irritating to you people?

It’s just garbage.

If you play Hotel California in reverse, it basically turns into a hotel in Louisiana.
(I’m clearly not firing on all cylinders this early in the morning.)

Personally, I’m a huge fan of this track.

Carol Jackson45, I can just tell you're being difficult...🙂

I think the reason I have such a complicated relationship with songs like Proud Mary, Hotel California, Stairway to Heaven, Nothing Else Matters, and stuff like that isn't just because I've heard them a million times. That’s easy to fix—back before we had MP3 players or Winamp, we’d just wear out the most expensive tracks on our CDs until they were scratched...
The real issue is that they've been covered way too often by people who don't actually own the sound. You know, those cover bands at festivals, street performers, or some local band playing at a high school prom or a wedding. Out of the total N times I've heard a track like Proud Mary, I bet at least 80% of those versions weren't even CCR. Honestly, that kind of thing can ruin almost any song...

Nothing Else Matters is such an incredible song. Look, I don't exactly sit around spinning Metallica albums, but that one track? It’s just on another level... I can't even put my finger on it. It hits so deep that, honestly, it feels like I wrote it myself.🙂

Carol Jackson45 said:Every time I hear them, it feels like listening to some ancient creep publicly mourning plague victims from the 1300s, while they're wiping away tears with one hand and using the other to grope some teenager...

Carol, you just perfectly described my exact role in an ideal world... 😘 😬

Look, I love Hotel California and I dig Proud Mary—I get why some people find them grating, sure. But I HEARD IT THROUGH THE GRAPEVINE ??? How is that even irritating? Honestly, I’m just vibing and dancing along to the beat the second it starts.

stormyviper11 said:Carol, you just nailed exactly how I picture my place in a perfect world... 😘 😬

Judging by that "metric" where she makes your skin crawl—assuming it's not just her back being hairy—with the right soundtrack, being in her shorts would be terrifyingly intense. 😬

Is your hand actually up to meeting some undiscovered civilization that monophobically dreads the evil John Fogerty, a Dutch resistance movement, or a burning bush? 😛

Do you really want to be a Prophet? 🤣

Though I think it's all falling apart here, since Carol clearly isn't a minor...

..you need winters upon winters of pure dissatisfaction to forge that kind of icy resentment toward something as benign as a little song. 🙄

Carol, straight from the heart; 'Scary' is good. 😉

redcrane28 said:I'm all about Hotel California and Proud Mary, so I get why some people might find them annoying. But I HEARD IT THROUGH THE GRAPEVINE ??? How can that be irritating? As soon as it starts, I'm already tapping my feet to the beat.

🙂

Walter Foster52 said:is your hand even ready to face an undiscovered civilization that monophobically dreads the evil John Fogerty, some Dutch resistance movement, or a burning bush? 😛

Do you really think you're a Prophet? 🤣

😲 😱 🙂

Walter Foster52 said:..you need winters and seasons of discontent to brew up that kind of frozen spite toward something as harmless as a little pop song 🙄

That’s facts. There are songs that just get under my skin, stuff I can't stand, but these massive outbursts of pure hatred actually fascinate me... even if they clearly aren't about how bad the music is, but just because people hear them everywhere. I get that part...

You’ve gotta either absolutely loathe or completely obsess over music—to the point where you'd get into a fistfight over it. Passion is everything; I am so done with this politically correct crap. I hate Hotel California more than anything else on this planet!!! Screw the Eagles, they can take their drugged-up bullshit and shove it! Aaaaaargh!

Oh yeah, heard it again today...

Adam Moore said:I hate Hotel California more than anything else on this planet!!! Screw the Eagles, you drugged-out bastards, go straight to hell!!!! aaaaargh!

Is this your homework, Larry? 😛

Drew Adams58 said:Because some idiot is always playing those two songs at every party. Just like they play Dan Fogelberg everywhere.

Brutal, but fair. That’s probably the most overplayed radio track in history. I used to think it was alright, but after hearing it a thousand times, I just couldn't take it anymore—even if the lyrics actually hold up.

Gregory Walker15 stormyviper11 said:Edit: I’ve actually never heard Proud Mary. Is that embarrassing?... 😁

That’s just Rolin... Rolin on the river... 😉

And the name is...

The sheer amount of hate directed at CCR lately is exhausting... Everyone wants to be a critic until they actually have to listen to something with actual soul. It’s always the same tired arguments from people who wouldn't know a good groove if it hit them in the face... Ridiculous. 😕

HEJT versus I Heard It Through the Grapevine... what a mess.

Oh, the times we live in...

Kevin Chavez3 said:HEJT PREMA I HEARD IT THROUGH THE GRAPEVINE :iberconfused:

Before this came out, there was this incredibly irritating cover of that track constantly playing on the radio stations. Ever since then, I've developed a bit of a distaste for the original song itself, too...

Kevin Chavez3 said:Honestly, I’ve had enough of the constant hate directed at CCR... People love to act like they’re some kind of musical afterthought, but man, they just don't get it. It’s always the same tired arguments from people who think they're too sophisticated for some good old-fashioned swamp rock. If you can't vibe to John Fogerty's vocals, maybe you should just stick to elevator music and leave the real stuff alone... anyway, just my two cents... 😕

HEJT PREMA I heard it through the grapevine...

That’s exactly what pushed me toward my initial question... Look, I don't particularly love or hate Hotel California, but I get it. Between how often it gets played, the whole pretentious vibe, and all that heavy symbolism, I can see why people develop a grudge against it. I totally understand the headspace that leads to hating that track. (Though, honestly, if you aren't a fan of Witchy Woman by the Eagles, you clearly have zero taste...)

Seriously, CCR? Man... that’s just the whole damn essence of rock and roll right there—a three-minute, three-chord blast. I mean, look, Proud Mary gets played at every single bar and wedding you can think of (and honestly, Have You Ever Seen the Rain is right up there too), but I don't see how that should trigger any kind of weird associations on its own. Whether the track is a masterpiece or just decent is whatever, we can argue about that all day, but there’s nothing forced, pretentious, or fake about it. To me, attacking Proud Mary for any reason other than just being tired of hearing it overplayed feels like a direct hit on rock and roll itself. If you take the Kinks into account, CCR is basically the blueprint for everything good about the genre. Honestly, I’m pretty close to saying that if someone claims to love punk, or Americana, or just any straightforward guitar-driven music, but they turn their nose up at CCR, they haven't actually grasped what this music is about. They're just listening out of pure snobbery or trying to act cool, rather than actually feeling it...

The Beverly Hills Hotel and Bohemian Rhapsody are just ugly songs, though I can't even bring myself to recall the latter unless it's some Bill Cosby cover version. It only really works as a parody.
As for that other genre mentioned... southern rock, whether original or covered, isn't exactly ubiquitous where I live. I remember this one New Year's Eve at a garage club; after several hours of grimy basement vibes and proto-punk, they suddenly blasted Born in the U.S.A., and everyone instantly transformed into these laid-back hippies—despite their asymmetric haircuts—swaying their hips and humming along.
I once had a bit of a meltdown regarding those Atlantic Records classics because of how much they were overplayed in commercials and soundtracks, but even that saturation can be overcome if the music is actually good. You could play Rolling Stones or David Bowie anytime without needing a Rolls-Royce to make it work.
But then there's The Beatles... alongside The Beverly Hills Hotel, it’s probably one of the ugliest and most irritating "must-play" classics out there.

Man, that accent is everything—especially when he hits those lines like "ay hjd it tru d grejpvajn" 👋