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Line 55: Despite its commercial success, "Kokomo" has attracted mostly negative reviews from music writers.<ref name="EW">{{cite magazine \|last1=Brown \|first1=Scott \|last2=Endelman \|first2=Michael \|title=The truth behind that annoying hit song "Kokomo" \|url=https://ew.com/article/2004/05/28/truth-behind-annoying-hit-song-kokomo/ \|magazine=Entertainment Weekly \|access-date=26 July 2022 \|language=en}}</ref> Jimmy Guterman of ''[[Rolling Stone]]'' wrote that the song "sets the pattern for the new, passion-free songs" on ''[[Still Cruisin']]'',<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20071002044929/http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/thebeachboys/albums/album/171139/review/5946315/still_cruisin Rolling Stone Review]</ref> while the ''Rolling Stone'' album guide called it a "joyless ditty".<ref name="rs album guide">{{cite book \|last1=DeCurtis \|first1=Anthony \|last2=Henke \|first2=James \|last3=George-Warren \|first3=Holly \|title=The Rolling Stone Album Guide: Completely New Reviews : Every Essential Album, Every Essential Artist \|date=1992 \|publisher=Random House \|isbn=978-0-679-73729-2 \|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wMEQAQAAMAAJ&q=kokomo \|language=en}}</ref> In a 1998 piece, Steve Simels of ''[[Sound & Vision (magazine)\|Stereo]]'' noted "just how insipid 'Kokomo' was".<ref name="stereo">{{cite journal \|last1=Simels \|first1=Steve \|title=Wilson: Home of the Wave \|journal=Stereo \|date=August 1998 \|page=77 \|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Audio/Archive-HiFI-Stereo/90s/Stereo-Review-1998-08.pdf \|access-date=26 July 2022}}</ref> ''[[Blender (magazine)\|Blender]]'' stated the song was "perhaps most kindly described as a Beach Boys–influenced song with the Beach Boys singing on it."<ref>{{cite web \|first=Douglas \|last=Wolk \|url=http://blender.com:80/guide/reviews.aspx?id=2260 \|title=The Beach Boys ''Still Cruisin'' \|magazine=[[Blender (magazine)\|Blender]] \|date=October 2004 \|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060630150525/http://blender.com/guide/reviews.aspx?id=2260 \|archive-date=June 30, 2006 \|access-date=June 2, 2017 \|url-status=dead }}</ref> ''[[Cash Box]]'' called it a "snappy little throw-back of a tune" with "a real islands-vibe and [[hook (music)\|hook]]y chorus."<ref name=cb>{{cite magazine\|title=Single Releases\|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Cash-Box/80s/1988/CB-1988-07-09.pdf\|magazine=Cash Box\|date=July 9, 1988\|accessdate=2022-12-22\|page=16}}</ref> Since its release, "Kokomo" has become notorious for its negative critical reception.<ref name="stereogum number ones"/> it has appeared on several ~~[[List of music considered the worst\|~~worst songs of all time lists]], such as ''Blender''{{'}}s top 50 worst songs,<ref name="blender top 50 worst">{{cite web \|title=Top 50 Worst Songs of All Time (part 2) \|url=http://www.blender.com/guide/articles.aspx?id=819 \|website=Blender \| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050124091143/http://www.blender.com/guide/articles.aspx?id=819 \|access-date=26 July 2022\| archive-date=January 24, 2005 }}</ref> ''[[Dallas Observer]]''{{'}}s ten worst songs by great artists,<ref name="dallas observers">{{cite web \|last1=Gravley \|first1=Garrett \|title=Top 10 Worst Songs by Really Great Artists \|url=https://www.dallasobserver.com/music/dylan-taylor-kanye-and-other-great-artists-worst-songs-11821669 \|website=Dallas Observer \|access-date=26 July 2022 \|language=en}}</ref> and ''[[Forbes (magazine)\|Forbes]]''{{'}} worst lyrics of all time.<ref name="forbes">{{cite web \|last1=Baltin \|first1=Steve \|title=The Worst Lyrics Of All Time \|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/stevebaltin/2021/03/02/the-worst-lyrics-of-all-time/?sh=7d3c11f67884 \|website=Forbes \|access-date=26 July 2022 \|language=en}}</ref> Tom Breihan of ''[[Stereogum]]'' explains, "People ''hate'' 'Kokomo.' The Beach Boys' improbable late-career hit has a reputation as a monument to mediocrity. To this day, it serves as a textbook cautionary tale of a once-beloved group poisoning its own legacy and goodwill by making smarmy '80s [[yuppie]] pablum."<ref name="stereogum number ones">{{cite web \|last1=Breihan \|first1=Tom \|title=The Number Ones: The Beach Boys' 'Kokomo' \|url=https://www.stereogum.com/2149903/the-number-ones-the-beach-boys-kokomo/columns/the-number-ones/ \|website=Stereogum \|date=June 4, 2021 \|access-date=26 July 2022}}</ref> In a retrospective dubbing the song the "worst summer song ever", ''[[MEL Magazine]]''{{'}}s Tim Grierson similarly noted, "A lot of us have taken immense delight in hating this 1988 smash."<ref name="mel mag">{{cite web \|last1=Grierson \|first1=Tim \|title='Kokomo' Is Still the Worst Summer Song Ever \|url=https://melmagazine.com/en-us/story/kokomo-is-still-the-worst-summer-song-ever \|website=MEL Magazine \|access-date=26 July 2022 \|date=17 May 2020}}</ref> Both Breihan and Grierson attribute the personal unpopularity of Mike Love as a possible factor for the song's reputation.<ref name="stereogum number ones" /><ref name="mel mag" /> Drummer [[Jim Keltner]], who played on "Kokomo", attributed the critical disdain to the song being "just sooo syrupy pop ... But while the critics killed it with their words, they couldn't kill the 'hitness' of it. It's just a bona fide hit record, that's all there is to it."<ref name="EW" />

Kokomo (song): Difference between revisions