Who else here hates the song I'm A Believer?

[Ivan May]

We've all been here. You're in a car or bowling alley or coffee shop with a bunch of friends, and everyone's having a great time. Then "I'm A Believer" comes on the radio, and next thing you know, everyone at the table is either shedding tears over the damn thing or singing along while you simply pretend you're not there and chant "Just go away!" in your head over and over again to block out the pain and take you to your happy place. I normally like Neil Diamond, but I'm A Believer is so overplayed that it makes me wish I didn't exist. Why do songs like this exist? And why did Smash Mouth have to cover it for that Shrek movie? Why couldn't they have covered some other pop song from the Sixties? Like "She Belongs To Me"?

I hope I'm not the only person who dislikes how overplayed I'm A Believer is. The next time it starts playing over the loudspeaker at work, I'm going to put an ax through my radio.

 

The only good thing is that Michael Nesmith, Peter Tork and Davy Jones are all dead so they don't have to hear or see me bad mouthing this song.

[Mighty Motif Max]

I'd rather listen to I'm A Believer than "Hey Soul Sister" any day. YMMV.

[Caevan O’Shite]

For me, it's "Taking Care of Business"; well, not just that it's overplayed, but that it's a dumbass song, and too often played at group jams on Open Mic Night where three or more people wielding out-of-tune guitars all simultaneously pound more or less the same  sloppily played barre-chords.

But Dylan's "I'm a Believer" is actually a very good, very well-written song- and very upbeat and catchy. "She Belongs To Me" is an excellent song, but not even remotely nearly- not even fractionally- as well known. "I'm a Believer" is also a lot more 'celebratory', if you will- it's an instant party. "She Belongs To Me" is more of a cool-down confirmation, a confident smile and a nod. "I'm a Believer" is both literally and figuratively dancing around with hands in the air shaking imaginary tambourines, head bobbing, eyes closed with an "Oooh, 's so GOOD it HURTS!" grimace. You saw her face...
     
 

[Winston Psmith]

For me, it's Little Feat's "Willin'" . . . not the original, but the many singalong versions I've heard at too many house jams. That ". . . We-e-ed, Whites, and Wine" line can be nails-on-a-blackboard painful, rendered in half a dozen off-key and out-of-sync voices. Spare us, please . . .

 

OTOH, if you truly hate "I'm A Believer", you should go look for Robert Wyatt's (Soft Machine, Matching Mole) version. Just in case . . .

[LX 88]

I'm a Bulimic.....I couldn't eat it if I tried.

[KuruPrionz]

I don't pay any attention to I'm A Believer but I Will Survive by Gloria Gaynor is a totally puker in my book. So. Much. Sniveling.

 

There are lots of songs that I hate but so what? Maybe other people like them, who knows (and who knows why?)

 

Sweet Home Alabama comes to mind, I bet I've played it 500+ times at crappy bars and everybody always gets up and dances. Ugh, might be the worst song ever. I'm not allowed to sing Play It All Night Long by Warren Zevon right afterwards but I'd love to do it sometime. I doubt anybody would get it anyway... great song though. 

 

Even though I hate it, I always love how The Edmund Fitzgerald seems to cheer everybody up. That makes me laugh, a cargo boat is caught in the middle of a storm, capsizes and sinks and 29 crew members drown in a freezing lake. So. Much. Joy.

 

[Caevan O’Shite]

48 minutes ago, KuruPrionz said:

There are lots of songs that I hate but so what? Maybe other people like them, who knows (and who knows why?)

Y' know why some people like what you don't? So you don't have to! 😉
     
 

[Sharkman]

I like I'm a Believer, along with a lot of Monkees songs.  But one song that makes me change the radio station while swearing loudly is "I Don't Want To Lose Your Love Tonight" by The Outfield.  I hear that song played almost every day on one of the two Detroit area classic rock stations.  I am so sick and tired of hearing  that Josie's on a vacation so far away.  I hope Josie got eaten by a shark, or maybe trampled by a herd of buffalo.

[desertbluesman]

I don't listen to music very much anymore, to me it is mostly all just noise that I have heard over and over and over again.  I, unlike many people, prefer silence in the house for most of the day. The TV and the radio are just unpleasant noise makers, and both TV and radio are of little interest to me.

[KuruPrionz]

I thought of another song that I hate with a thousand hates.

I used to work at a Kinko's in Clovis CA near the Uni. We had the same repeating canned music playing there for 5 years straight. 

 

Every so often "Hey Mickey" by Toni Basil came on. I wanted to destroy our music system just to get rid of that song. 

[Mark Schmieder]

It works best as a calypso song. I've been working on such a cover myself, but COVID interrupted everything in my life except for just surviving until tomorrow.

 

I forget where I first heard hints of calypso; it might have been a Neil Diamond convert. But it was kind of watered down. I aim to take it "all the way" there. 🙂

[Scott Fraser]

'I'm a Believer' is a middle of the road, plain vanilla, Brill Building pop song, with all the elements which make those things stick in the memory & sell records. I don't hate it. 'A Horse With No Name' I definitely hate.

[KuruPrionz]

20 minutes ago, Mark Schmieder said:

It works best as a calypso song. I've been working on such a cover myself, but COVID interrupted everything in my life except for just surviving until tomorrow.

 

I forget where I first heard hints of calypso; it might have been a Neil Diamond convert. But it was kind of watered down. I aim to take it "all the way" there. 🙂

Are you talking about "I'm A Believer"? 

Some other songs have been mentioned, both negative and positive. 

Mom was a big Harry Belefonte fan, sort of "safe" pop Calypso but at the same time the real deal. 

There's a live double album of him and his band "Live at Carnegie Hall" that I've listened to many times, good stuff. 

[KuruPrionz]

Just now, Scott Fraser said:

'I'm a Believer' is a middle of the road, plain vanilla, Brill Building pop song, with all the elements which make those things stick in the memory & sell records. I don't hate it. 'A Horse With No Name' I definitely hate.

Yep, a 2 chord pseudo-Neil Young sounding trope about nothing whatsoever. Plus, it's stupid.. 

[Mark Schmieder]

Ah yes, I saw the title in my sidebar and thought I was still in the Keyboard forum. Didn't realize it was Guitar forum and that it got off-topic. 🙂

[Larryz]

Anything by Tommy Roe, especially Dizzy and Oh Sweet Pea.  Just drive me up a creek and leave me there with the radio turned off LoL! 😎

[Caevan O’Shite]

On 11/13/2022 at 5:09 AM, Caevan O’Shite said:

But Dylan's "I'm a Believer" is actually a very good, very well-written song- and very upbeat and catchy. "She Belongs To Me" is an excellent song

Whoops- too late to edit; that should've read, 'But the Monkees' "I'm a Believer"... ', NOT "But Dylan's "I'm a Believer"... ".  🙄 
      
   

[Larryz]

I kinda liked Last Train to Clarksville...maybe this will help with I'm a Believer (kind of a funny take on the subject)...😎

 

 

[AnotherScott]

I like the song just fine. And yeah, much better than Taking Care of Business (or a zillion other songs). In chords, Believer has a verse with two distinct patterns, and the chorus has a third. TCOB is basically the same thing from beginning to end, so inherently less interesting. Melody is likewise more interesting in Believer,

 

As for being overplayed, I don't think it would even be in my top 10 of overplayed songs. Lets see... how 'bout Sweet Caroline, I Will Survive, Brown Eyed Girl, Old Time Rock and Roll, Sweet Home Alabama, Don't Stop Believing, I Will Always Love You, Living on a Prayer, or any of a number of of Billy Joel or Fleetwood Mac songs? :-)

 

As for its suitability for Shrek, it's not just that they wanted a 60s hit, or a jubilant partying song, but also something that would appeal to 8 year olds who are a big part of the target audience for the movie. I liked Believer when it came out. I was 8. :-)

 

Songs I wince at if my band has to do them include Love Shack and Boogie Oogie Oogie.

[CEB]

The Monkees were a killer studio band.  Awesome musicianship.  

 

[Scott Fraser]

14 minutes ago, CEB said:

The Monkees were a killer studio band.  Awesome musicianship.  

Which is to say, the Wrecking Crew.

[surfergirl]

Not a song I hate, I actually like it. It's a song I tried to sing and It always seemed like I was reading it instead of singing it, I finally just gave up. As Tears Go By.

[CEB]

Louis Shelton is a beast. One of guitar history’s greatest.