3 Cringeworthy Songs That Were Later Rejected by Their Musicians

Many musicians, including famous ones, see their music as their “baby.” There’s something magical about putting out a piece of one’s heart through their art. Most musicians only want the best possible work to see the light of day. However, some musicians now find some of their hits cringeworthy, and those songs have since been disowned by the very people who created them. Let’s look at a few examples, shall we?

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Note: For what it’s worth, I like many of these tunes, and I’m sure you do, too.

“Creep” by Radiohead (1992)

Even if some modern-day listeners think this song is “cringe,” I still think it’s one of the most relatable and heartbreaking rock songs of the 1990s. Those who get it, get it. Still, even Radiohead themselves are sick of this song. After “Creep” became a massive hit in 1992, the band members more or less stopped talking about it outside of some negative comments about the song in later years.

“It was frustrating being judged on just that song when we felt we needed to move on,” said Thom Yorke in 1995. “We were forced on tour to support it, and it gagged us, really. We were on the verge of breaking up. It was a lesson.”

The band only occasionally performs this song live today and released a rare remix of “Creep” in 2021.

“We Didn’t Start The Fire” by Billy Joel (1989)

Alright, full disclosure, I’ve jammed out to this Billy Joel classic on occasion. I know you probably have, too. However, Billy Joel apparently doesn’t love this particular hit from Storm Front. That’s surprising, considering the tune made it all the way to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. And yet, Joel has since called the song “terrible.”

“If you take the melody [of ‘We Didn’t Start The Fire’] by itself, terrible,” said Joel in a 1993 interview with David Horn, via Smooth Radio. “Like a dentist drill.”

“Freedom” by Paul McCartney (2001)

Paul McCartney wrote “Freedom” shortly after the September 11 attacks in New York City. In fact, McCartney was there to witness the horrific event while at John F. Kennedy International Airport. This song was a poignant ode to American freedom. It was also a creative way to deal with the trauma of witnessing the event. However, McCartney later pulled back from performing the song in the US, following its association with the military-industrial complex during the Iraq War.

“I thought it was a great sentiment, and immediately post-9/11, I thought it was the right sentiment,” said McCartney in an interview with Pitchfork. “But it got hijacked. And it got a bit of a militaristic meaning attached itself to it, and you found Mr/ Bush using that kind of idea rather a lot in [a way] I felt altered the meaning of the song.”

This song isn’t “cringeworthy” in the traditional sense, but I’m sure the way it was co-opted makes McCartney cringe, even today.

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