Forty years ago, Starship was all over the radio with their debut single, “We Built This City.” Listeners from that era — in the 1980s, to be exact — practically heard it everywhere. To be fair, the song is catchy and easy to digest, packed with a soaring melody and glossy production. It even reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, was nominated for a Grammy, and enjoyed significant radio play. It was, indeed, a career-defining moment for the American rock band. Despite that, the synth-rock track would go on to become one of the most polarizing songs of the decade. In fact, many publications named it one of the worst in all of rock history.
Arguably, there really isn’t a song that sounds more ‘80s than “We Built This City.” It is, to say the least, unapologetically ‘80s: flashy and synth-heavy. When it was released in 1985, the track soared to the top of the charts and became a staple on various radio stations. Despite being ubiquitously played (literally everywhere), “We Built This City” has gained a reputation, but not for good reasons. Blender magazine first labeled it the worst song of all time in 2004, and that reputation has stuck with the song ever since — a claim backed by many critics and listeners alike. It has been widely mocked for its heavy-handed production and contradictory message.
Starship’s “We Built This City” Was Criticized for Its Ironic Message
“We Built This City,” at its core, is a critique of the commercialization and closure of live music venues, particularly in Los Angeles. Written by Martin Page and Bernie Taupin, the song highlights the fact that the city’s identity is rooted in rock and roll. Hence, the chorus: “We built this city on rock and roll.” However, despite its commercial success, the song became somewhat controversial and was heavily criticized for being hypocritical. For a track intended to be a tribute to live music and rock culture — even including the line, “Corporation games, who cares, they’re always changing corporation names” — “We Built This City” ended up as a glossy, radio-friendly product, ironically becoming the very thing it was meant to protest, celebrating commercial excess all while embracing a slick, overproduced, corporate sound.
For many, it was just a bad song to begin with. It’s a mishmash of ideas all rolled into one, resulting in a final version that lacks a clear message. But the tone surrounding the song wasn’t like that before. It initially received a positive reception upon its release. However, this changed over the years, especially in 2004 when Blender ran a story regarding The 50 Worst Songs Ever — placing “We Built This City” at the top of the list. Other publications then followed suit, a sentiment most music lovers also agree with. Over the years, the song has become a punchline within pop culture, often seen in memes and parodied multiple times.
One of the song’s vocalists, Mickey Thomas, said that “We Built This City” is “a huge gamble.” Taupin, on the other hand, revealed that “The original song was… a very dark song about how club life in L.A. was being killed off and live acts had no place to go,” until Peter Wolf “got ahold of the demo and totally changed it. He added: “If you heard the original demo, you wouldn’t even recognize the song.” One fact about the song remains clear, though: Even a list of “worsts” couldn’t change the fact that Starship sold plenty of singles and albums and was certified gold, remembered — although not always celebrated — today.
“We Built This City” just proves that chart success doesn’t always equate to a timeless legacy. But whether you hate it or not, the ’80s track has quite a legacy of its own. Its overproduced sound worked in a way that listeners just couldn’t take it out of their heads, a tune that would stick in your mind after just one listen. It is a song that refuses to be forgotten with its earworm quality. Truth is, people are still listening to it, with its official music video garnering 133 million views as of this writing. On Spotify, it boasts over 600 million streams, proving that the song’s popularity is undeniable. And whether you love it or hate it, we can argue it’s probably playing in your head right now.
