Most Hated Songs #18: "The Look" by Roxette

At #18 in my list of most-hated songs, still in the category of Overplayed to Death, is Roxette's ubiquitous #1 hit from 1989, "The Look." My musical tastes are pretty vanilla, and I'm a sucker for catchy Euro-synth pop (a-ha, anyone?), and the truth is, I like most of Roxette's stuff that was played on the radio in their heyday, but Jesus, I hate this freaking song.

You know how some people (Amy) just hate cilantro? It's something hard-wired into their taste buds. My hatred for this song goes back to the first time I heard that twangy opening riff. I didn't like it at all upon first listening, and once the rapid-fire verse chant started, my hate only grew. Once the screaming chorus of inane call-and-response ("She's got the look SHE'S GOT THE LOOK!") started, I turned off the radio and thought, "I'll never listen to that crap again."

Wrong. The song went to #1 and was on the radio all the time. To make matters worse, all my friends (esp. roommates Wags and Queso) loved the song and listened to it at full volume at every opportunity. Usually this will put me off a group for good, but strangely enough, I like most of Roxette's other songs, especially the ballads "It Must Have Been Love" and "Listen to Your Heart." Ugh, but this one...turn it off!

I'd rather...have to scoop the litter boxes out for all the crazy cat ladies in New York City for a thousand years than to have to listen to this song even one more time!

Dante's Inferno Level: Purgatory—Those responsible for this atrocious assault on my auditory senses should be condemned to an eternity of country line dancing to a bad Slim Whitman tribute band whose instruments are all out of tune.

Listen instead to: If you like up-tempo Roxette tunes, "Dressed for Success" is my favorite...it's catchy and infectious in a good, "hum a happy tune" way, instead of "The Look"'s "infectious like genital warts" way.