An All-Skips Playlist

I listen to a lot of music. I go to about a dozen concerts or more each year, and I am constantly sharing new music recommendations with my friends.

It's not every day that I get to share a bad recommendation on purpose, though. Those are usually saved for a road trip with an introduction of along the lines of, "Do you want to hear some of the cringiest songs I've ever found?"

That's what makes a bad song for me. If it's physically uncomfortable to listen to, it's even worse if it's catchy. No one likes an earworm that will also make you wonder how that song even get made, but hey, if someone's asking for it, I won't keep the misery to myself.

Narrowing down here was hard, and I avoided my most controversial choice (Neil Diamond's "Sweet Caroline" was almost on this list, but that's a story for another time). Without further ado, here are my unbearable music recommendations for Sam Spinelli's unofficial challenge.

5. "every eart" - nightly

This song screams, "I think I understand women, but I don't." It's the kind of love song I would never want anyone to write or sing for me, and I really can't picture the woman this would work on.

Pretty much every part of this song makes me uncomfortable, but the "your daddy issues and panic attacks" line is definitely not as sweet as they intended it to be. This is also one of my favorite bands, but not every song can be a banger.

4. "Game Freak" - Ghost Town

Ghost Town opened for my favorite band the very first time I saw them live. I was in middle school and just starting to figure out what kind of music I liked, so I followed Ghost Town on Spotify and promptly forgot about them.

"Game Freak" has too much going on and not enough substance to back it up. But if you're into werewolves and low-quality electronic music from grown men who gave themselves nicknames like "Ghost" and "Monster" (yes, two of the guys in this band gave themselves exactly those nicknames), this might be the song for you.

3. "Betty (Get Money)" - Yung Gravy

While I tried to avoid mainstream songs on this list as much as possible, there's something about Yung Gravy that makes me deeply uncomfortable.

Actually, everything about Yung Gravy makes me deeply uncomfortable. His voice makes my stomach hurt, and I don't think I would feel safe in the same room as him.

For this specific song, though, he's added all his worst qualities right alongside heavy sampling from Rick Astley's "Never Gonna Give You Up," so it feels like you're getting Rickrolled right along with it. I'm sure that was the intention, not that it makes things any better to acknowledge that.

2. "Murder at the Bingo Hall" - Amigo the Devil

I have been forced to listen to "Murder at the Bingo Hall" an unreasonable amount, and at this point, I don't know how much of my aversion to this song is due to the song itself or the memories attached to it.

While you endure the absurdity, try to imagine you're in the passenger seat on a drive with your worst ex. They're singing at the top of their lungs, fully aware of how much the song bothers you, and you're not allowed to click skip. They would immediately skip the songs they feel similarly about that you like, though. A touch of resentment always makes a song worse, in my experience.

1. "Punks Don't Dance" - Crystalyne

Last, and also the worst, is "Punks Don't Dance." It's catchy, and it's easy to get this song stuck in your head. This is peak "pick me girl" energy for the pop punk scene, with lyrics that are genuinely embarrassing to sing.

But hey, if you've never thought to say someone looks like a Pop-tart, you can't say that anymore after listening to this one. Good luck getting it out of your head later, though.

Bonus song: me and my misses - nightly

To show a better side of nightly, "me and my misses" is catchy, fun, and doesn't take itself too seriously. It felt fitting as the bonus song here because "every part" is the kind of song I can see them striking out with, and at least this leads me to believe the band might have a sense of humor about that.

Happy (or unhappy) listening, and if you're looking for other intentionally bad recommendations, Sam's unofficial challenge post with commented links for all the other entries is one click away.