Good Catchy VS Bad Catchy

[Zook]

Driving home, my girlfriend was listening to Jennifer Lopez's new album and while it does have a few decent numbers, the first track is an abomination. Titled AKA, it is simply dreadful. No redeeming qualities, and it'll get stuck in your head for fucking ever! How can they make the song worse? By adding a rapper of course, but that's another story.

Good catchy is when a song or part of a song gets stuck in your head, but it's so good that you can replay that part over and over without it ever annoying you.

Bad catchy on the other hand is when you have a song stuck in your head, but it sucks so much and is so annoying that you want to drill a hole in your brain just to get it out, but even after you do, it just keeps repeating.

The worst example of a bad catchy song for me would be Soundgarden's Black Hole Sun, which must have been stuck in my head for a year, or at least it felt that long. I was only 8 years old for Christ's sake!

An example of a good catchy song is anything from an underground Progressive jazz thrash death metal band.

Discuss.

Staying with the same genre, an example of a good catchy song would be Chvrches' The Mother We Share, or anything off their debut really.

Discuss?

[Mister Gold]

I think a great example of a 'good catchy' song would be Mastodon's new song, "The Motherload." Incredibly catchy, but a lot of fun too.

A really 'bad catchy' song... Hmm... "Super Collider" by Megadeth comes to mind.

[jammindude]

Good catchy is pretty much every single track from The Mountain by Haken

Bad catchy is the Monchhichi commercial that played a million times on TV during Saturday Morning Cartoons when I was 10.   It's still stuck in my head 35 years later. 

[RuRoRul]

I guess you could just say that "Good catchy" means "gets stuck in your head and you like/respect", while "Bad catchy" means "get stuck in your head but you don't like/respect", and since both of those qualities are subjective you just get a bunch of subjectively defined bullshit (as in, not stuff that everyone will agree on since they will disagree on what is good or what gets stuck in their head).

But I will agree with the premise that you can get something stuck in your head less because you think it's good music and more because it's simply annoying or memorable in a bad way. Basically "bad catchy" vs. "good catchy" is the difference between "stuck in your head and enjoy it" and "stuck in your head and hate it".

For me personally, stuck in my head and supremely catchy but I love it would be anything by Seventh Wonder (perhaps specifically, their new single Inner Enemy), where as songs that play often enough during adverts are capable of catching in my head but still being absolutely despised.

[Zook]

Good catchy is pretty much every single track from The Mountain by Haken

 

[Zyzzyva17]

Good catchy - 7:46 of Visions
Bad catchy - 15:22 of Visions

[Scorpion]

What sometimes bothers me is when people bandy catchy around as a quality in itself. Example:

Random Person: So what did you think of the new song by Insert Generic Band Name Here?
Me: I dunno. I didn't much like it, to be honest. I hope that the rest of their new album Insert Generic Album Name Here is better.
RP: Yeah, well, but you can't deny that it's catchy!

Well... yeah, but how is that a good thing if I don't like the song itself? If I don't like something, I don't want it stuck in my head, for fuck's sake! If something is bad, then being catchy on top of that is actually a bad thing, because I don't like it, but I have it in my head. How is catchy in itself a positive quality?

[bl5150]

What sometimes bothers me is when people bandy catchy around as a quality in itself. Example:

Random Person: So what did you think of the new song by Insert Generic Band Name Here?
Me: I dunno. I didn't much like it, to be honest. I hope that the rest of their new album Insert Generic Album Name Here is better.
RP: Yeah, well, but you can't deny that it's catchy!

Well... yeah, but how is that a good thing if I don't like the song itself? If I don't like something, I don't want it stuck in my head, for fuck's sake! If something is bad, then being catchy on top of that is actually a bad thing, because I don't like it, but I have it in my head. How is catchy in itself a positive quality?

I agree - catchy in bad music just makes it worse.  i tend to use the term when I like a song in terms of musicianship/structure but there's no "hook" for me to latch on to..........so " it's a shame it's not catchier."   In DT terms I might use Blind Faith as an example - I grew to like the song for the most part but there's a huge letdown when the chorus arrives without anything catchy enough to match the build up.

[Zook]

What sometimes bothers me is when people bandy catchy around as a quality in itself. Example:

Random Person: So what did you think of the new song by Insert Generic Band Name Here?
Me: I dunno. I didn't much like it, to be honest. I hope that the rest of their new album Insert Generic Album Name Here is better.
RP: Yeah, well, but you can't deny that it's catchy!

Well... yeah, but how is that a good thing if I don't like the song itself? If I don't like something, I don't want it stuck in my head, for fuck's sake! If something is bad, then being catchy on top of that is actually a bad thing, because I don't like it, but I have it in my head. How is catchy in itself a positive quality?

That's exactly what bad catchy is. When Fall Out Boy were still relevant, their songs were super catchy, but annoying as fuck. I didn't want that shit in my head. Or better yet, Simple Plan, the kings of Wuss Rock.

[Mindflux]

Bad catchy is the Monchhichi commercial that played a million times on TV during Saturday Morning Cartoons when I was 10.   It's still stuck in my head 35 years later. 

way up  in the trees live the monchichi's.. MON CHI CHI, MON CHI CHI. They love happy play have a happy happy day. MON CHI CHI MEANS HAPPINESS

[Mindflux]

When Fall Out Boy were still relevant

This never happened.

[MoraWintersoul]

Thank you, Zook, I will have Black Hole Sun stuck in my head forever now

[black_biff_stadler]

Black Hole Sun is awesome. Also, I've never really had a song consciously be any worse to me for lack of catchiness. I just feel like some songs have a higher concentration of enjoyable parts than others.

[jammindude]

Bad catchy is the Monchhichi commercial that played a million times on TV during Saturday Morning Cartoons when I was 10.   It's still stuck in my head 35 years later. 

way up  in the trees live the monchichi's.. MON CHI CHI, MON CHI CHI. They love happy play have a happy happy day. MON CHI CHI MEANS HAPPINESS

I don't know what you're talking about.

THIS was the jingle drilled into my head. Thanks for making me look it up btw... 
Monchhichi Dolls Commercial: https://youtu.be/od3cNTl40VI

[ThatOneGuy2112]

Good catchy is (and I'll be first to say this), a handful of Lady Gaga or Katy Perry songs that come to mind. Bad catchy is something like Wrecking Ball or those annoying-ass, cheesy, commercial jingles that you hear out of context and spend the next 24 hours seriously contemplating its origin cause it bugs the crap out of you.

[Grizz]

Katy Perry is bad catchy and bitchy moaning.

[Zook]

Katy Perry actually has a few redeeming qualities, but overall I'd put her in the bad catchy category as well. Especially for a song like Roar. OK at first, nothing offensive, but after the third time you hear it you want to smash the radio. But it wont do any good because now it's stuck in your head.

[Bolsters]

Not decided if good catchy or bad catchy, but I've got to give props to the catchiness of the P!nk song Leave Me Alone. Every single vocal line is a great hook, not just the chorus. Gets stuck in my head every so often even though I never listen to P!nk.

[Zantera]

Katy Perry actually has a few redeeming qualities, but overall I'd put her in the bad catchy category as well. Especially for a song like Roar. OK at first, nothing offensive, but after the third time you hear it you want to smash the radio. But it wont do any good because now it's stuck in your head.

I can think of two big ones. Juggling side by side, equally redeeming.

[MoraWintersoul]

Katy Perry actually has a few redeeming qualities, but overall I'd put her in the bad catchy category as well. Especially for a song like Roar. OK at first, nothing offensive, but after the third time you hear it you want to smash the radio. But it wont do any good because now it's stuck in your head.

I can think of two big ones. Juggling side by side, equally redeeming.

ha ha she has boobs har har

(yes, I'm going to do this every time)

[Skeever]

Katy Perry actually has a few redeeming qualities, but overall I'd put her in the bad catchy category as well. Especially for a song like Roar. OK at first, nothing offensive, but after the third time you hear it you want to smash the radio. But it wont do any good because now it's stuck in your head.

I can think of two big ones. Juggling side by side, equally redeeming.

[Zantera]

Katy Perry actually has a few redeeming qualities, but overall I'd put her in the bad catchy category as well. Especially for a song like Roar. OK at first, nothing offensive, but after the third time you hear it you want to smash the radio. But it wont do any good because now it's stuck in your head.

I can think of two big ones. Juggling side by side, equally redeeming.

ha ha she has boobs har har

(yes, I'm going to do this every time)

Boobs are great though. I don't even mean that in a sexist way. Women can do everything we men can do, but they have boobs on top of that. It's a magical thing. All appreciate the power of boobs! 

[MoraWintersoul]

Oh gosh, I'm not even going there.

[Zook]

Katy Perry actually has a few redeeming qualities, but overall I'd put her in the bad catchy category as well. Especially for a song like Roar. OK at first, nothing offensive, but after the third time you hear it you want to smash the radio. But it wont do any good because now it's stuck in your head.

I can think of two big ones. Juggling side by side, equally redeeming.

ha ha she has boobs har har

(yes, I'm going to do this every time)

I was talking about her music though.

(But damn them titties)

I really wish she made better music.

[Zantera]

For the most part I'm the kind of person who stands up for songs I like, even if it's considered wrong to like it. Just from the top of my head, I think "Call Me Maybe" is an excellent pop song, and it's a well written, catchy piece of radio hit. Günther and his hit songs is another example of guilty pleasure, and he does write some catchy songs.

Bad catchy to me are songs like "Who Let the Dogs Out?". I really don't like that song, but it has been stuck in my head since the 90s since when I first heard it.

[Zook]

Call Me Maybe is definitely a BAD catchy song. Again, there's nothing inherently wrong with it, but I've had the mispleasure of hearing it so many times that I never want to hear it again, and it getting stuck in my head will always be the pits.

[wolfking]

Call Me Maybe

Came here to post this one.  Bad catchy of course.

[MoraWintersoul]

For my fellow CallMeMaybe-ians: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L7iqalhjWno

[Mindflux]

I don't know what you're talking about.

THIS was the jingle drilled into my head. Thanks for making me look it up btw... 
Monchhichi Dolls Commercial: https://youtu.be/od3cNTl40VI

This is what I remember of the Monchichi's:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=elkQojj-iDs

[rumborak]

No idea why you guys are hating on Call Me Maybe so much. It's a brilliant song, perfectly crafted.

[ThatOneGuy2112]

While I think the lyrics fit and are well-crafted for this type of music, I just personally hate them.

The song itself is what I'd call good catchy though.

And it seems that most of you guys seemed to bring up the Katy Perry songs that I wouldn't throw into the "good catchy" category at all. Roar and Birthday are just bland and borderline-annoying to listen to, but Teenage Dream, I Kissed a Girl, and Hot n Cold aren't terribly offensive.

[Zook]

Ah Birthday. I remember being 7 or 8 and knowing all the words to Pour Some Sugar on Me, not knowing the song was about sex. Now I get to relive that through my daughter as she loves Katy Perry and that particular song.

[Grizz]

When I was two I knew all the words to The Boxer.

Apparently it's a strange feel when your two year old is singing about the whores on seventh avenue.

[Outcrier]

Katy Perry is bad catchy and bitchy moaning.

Agreed. Off the top of my head, an example of a good catchy band while being insanely popular at the same time is the Pet Shop Boys.