Some time ago Rolling Stone magazine considered "We Built This City" as the worst song of all time and that fact makes me laugh. They exposed lots of
reasons, specially when it comes to the lyrics which are nonsensical in some ways, doesn't explain much and the chorus is annoyingly repetitive some will
say and I can understand that hatred feeling since I hated this song for a long time whenever the opening popped in on the radio. It was a long process
until I have the courage to listen to it fully and embrace it, noting that a great part of the instrumental work from Starship was quite noticeable and
worthy of listening. Now I'm a big fan of the song and consider one of the true hits of the 1980's like so many from its synth-pop/rock genre. As for the
music video, well, it's strange to look at it now, far from being one of the greats of its period and it's only enjoyable because of the music.
In "We Built This City", we have Mickey Thomas, Grace Slick and band mates performing the song with crazed yet enthusiastic expressions hightened in
bright lights and colors, intertwined with a group of colorful characters who act defying a sitting Abraham Lincoln (from the Lincoln Memorial) and
interacting in random acts. Those characters who built the city on rock n'roll now challenges the old system, who also seems to be part of the new scheme,
as the song rambles on about the disintegration of music and culture over the decades - a rather hypocritical stance for the band since they used to be
classic rock Jefferson Airplane in the 1960's and later on they followed the groove with a more pop-oriented sound in the 1980's in order to become
relevant (I'm not throwing the shade on them since I like both groups but you must consider such message and idea they gave us). But it's a cool song,
catchy even though some will find nauseated with the opening of it which is the song's chorus sung at a capella (that's the bit that I've always struggled
over the years until I actually hear the whole thing).
What can I say...it's a hit. Corny and slightly laughable to look at it but a hit. 9/10.
