Day 2 – Least Favorite Song
“I Don’t Want To Miss A Thing” – Aerosmith
It would be easy to pick a children’s song as my least favorite, say, something by The Wiggles (“Big Red Car” or “Fruit Salad” are drilled into my brain). There are also several bands that I just don’t care for, and it would be easy to pick one of those songs at random. Then there are the obvious songs by great bands that simply… suck. Yes, “Revolution #9” I’m referring to you.
This one took me a little while, and I don’t know why. When I remembered the song, it was obvious – Aerosmith’s “I Don’t Want To Miss A Thing”
Aerosmith is one of those bands I don’t mind, but I don’t necessarily like. They have some songs I enjoy, and even the ones I don’t particularly care for are not ones that will make me change the radio station. I wouldn’t pay to see them, but if somebody bought me a ticket I’d go. I mention all of this as a way to establish the fact I am not necessarily a fan of Aerosmith, nor do I dislike them.
Diane Warren is a professional songwriter with a long career. Some of her hits include “Un-Break My Heart”, “ “Just Like Jesse James”, “Nothin’s Gonna Stop Us Now” and “Because You Loved Me” among many others. Her songs are all very well crafted, and fit the top radio format almost a bit too perfectly. They aren’t offensive, really, but there is a genuineness that is missing from them.
These two forces meet for the Armageddon film soundtrack. Apparently U2 were originally asked to perform the song. I’m glad they didn’t. “I Don’t Want To Miss A Thing” demonstrates to me what is wrong with a lot of bands – an over reliance on outside songwriters. Don’t get me wrong, I think there are some great bands and musical acts that have wonderful catalogs because of outside writers, and many professional songwriters went on to have great careers on their own. Instead I am referring to those bands that are a songwriting unit, but bring in “a ringer” to get a chart topper, then keep using the professional outsider to keep the hits coming, rather than keep working on their own craft.
Another issue I have with the song is the format. Power ballads isn’t a bad thing, but it is what killed hard rock for over a decade. Bands such as Def Leopard, Poison, Whitesnake, and so many more worked the clubs, gained a following and garnered popularity and massive record sales with their hard rock songs. When Def Leopard released “Love Bites” and scored their biggest hit, it was a game changer and every band had to have a similar song in order to hit the charts. Gone were the rocking good time songs, instead we get song after song after song by band after band after band that was slow to mid-tempo and specifically crafted as a hit. Nirvana and that musical explosion didn’t kill heavy metal in 1992, the genre had committed suicide already.
When the song came out in 1998, “I Don’t Want To Miss A Thing” represented virtually everything that was wrong with the music industry at the time. Overly bombastic production to force an emotional connection was perhaps the least of the song’s offenses. The band may have had its popularity extended a few years by the song, but I think Aerosmith would have been better served if the song were a flop.