Does This Song Suck? Roxette - The Look

It's time for everyone's favorite series of Cortex articles! Tonight, we discuss Roxette's song "The Look".

November 23, 2020 6:53 PM

Tonight, I continue posting random songs to this Cortex platform to ask Shackers the same question. Does this song suck? Tonight's song is Roxette's "The Look".

Reasons it might suck:

The dude delivers lyrics like he is whispering through a glory hole
Not sure what "The Look" exactly is, but late 1980s hair and fashion was embarassing
The chorus is pretty god awful

Reasons it might not suck:

Lady in the red dress in the video's striking hair flip
That whole na na na part is sorta catchy
The female vocalist kinda reminds me of David Bowie.

The question I pose to you, Shacknews... Does this song suck?

Please reply in the Chatty comment thread below.

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the man with the briefcase

 reply
November 23, 2020 6:53 PM

It's time for everyone's favorite series of Cortex articles! Tonight, we discuss Roxette's song "The Look". Does This Song Suck?

Read more: Does This Song Suck? Roxette - The Look
- nopants
  
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  November 23, 2020 7:17 PM
  
  The guitar riff at the start and the girl with knee socks I like
- evildanish
  
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  November 23, 2020 7:22 PM
  
  It's catchy as hell and a textbook example of Swedish pop songwriting chops. It's also brilliantly produced. Even if the style and instrument choices are decidedly 80s, it's just so impeccably mixed that it still sounds great.
  
  I normally don't listen to pop, but this doesn't suck.
- redshak
  
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  November 23, 2020 7:25 PM
  
  That song sucks
  - Mad Brahmin Disease
    
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    November 24, 2020 3:53 AM
    
    like any Roxette song
- j0nchan
  
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  November 23, 2020 7:28 PM
  
  the look always comes to mind when i hear savage garden's i want you.
  - Ride-My-Rocket
    
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    November 23, 2020 7:43 PM
    
    Do you want a chicken cherry cola, too?
- Zero|DPX
  
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  November 23, 2020 7:29 PM
  
  Anyone who thinks Roxette has ever made a song that sucks can fucking fight me
- whistletits
  
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  November 23, 2020 7:32 PM
  
  It’s pretty bad.
- Schnapple
  
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  November 23, 2020 7:32 PM
  
  Electric Six's version is awesome
  
  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lS5eNW8h6sk
  
  The Roxette version is almost awesome, E6 pushes it over the line
  - whistletits
    
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    November 23, 2020 7:35 PM
    
    I love at the gay bar.
- dognose
  
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  November 23, 2020 7:39 PM
  
  I just canceled my Cortex subscription
  - the man with the briefcase
    
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    November 23, 2020 7:52 PM
    
    https://i.imgur.com/OmRqEqF.jpg
    - dognose
      
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      November 23, 2020 8:06 PM
      
      Where did I get this pic from??? https://chattyfiles.objects-us-east-1.dream.io/files/lolaer8202020_c57dvbipfl.jpg
      - Schnapple
        
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        November 23, 2020 8:17 PM
        
        The third frame needs to have the pink phallic treat ball instead of a knife
- Nixx2004
  
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  November 23, 2020 7:39 PM
  
  I've decided it does kind of suck. I give it a C- overall.
  
  I won't change the channel if it comes on the radio, but...meh. It's kind of catchy, but don't think about it too hard or it falls apart.
- [deleted] 1338166980
  
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  November 23, 2020 7:45 PM
  
  [deleted]
- ThomW
  
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  November 23, 2020 7:54 PM
  
  Absolutely one of the worst songs ever made.
  
  It was ESPECIALLY dumb that the song's title reminded me (and continues to remind me) of one of the greatest pop songs ever recorded: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_jCuroTbqBI
  - [deleted] 1338166980
    
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    November 23, 2020 8:01 PM
    
    [deleted]
    - ThomW
      
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      November 23, 2020 8:07 PM
      
      That spoiler is spot on. :)
    - sigpro
      
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      November 23, 2020 8:44 PM
      
      Strut was my jam back back when I was 7.
  - Kub666
    
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    November 24, 2020 1:55 AM
    
    It's not fair to compare anybody to Prince.
- digweed014
  
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  November 23, 2020 8:08 PM
  
  Great pop song
- briareos99
  
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  November 23, 2020 8:20 PM
  
  It sucks. Not quite as bad as We Built This City, but that's a low bar to top. When I want to hear an 80's song with "the look" in it, I'm going to play this one:
  https://youtu.be/tHke9oV_bDI
  - the man with the briefcase
    
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    November 23, 2020 8:31 PM
    
    We have already decided that “We Built This City” totally sucks.
- Blake_Morse
  
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  November 23, 2020 8:22 PM
  
  No sir, I don't like it.
- gydot
  
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  November 23, 2020 8:51 PM
  
  Put it on Spotify. Go West came on immediately after and I enjoyed that more. Also it's now playing a-ha's The Sun Always Shines on T.V. which has a crazy good hook.
  - [deleted] 1016213306
    
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    November 24, 2020 2:30 AM
    
    [deleted]
- RomSteady
  
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  November 23, 2020 9:17 PM
  
  The song does not suck, but it is not even in the top 3 best songs by Roxette.
  
  I'd put "Dangerous," "It Must Have Been Love," and even "Dressed for Success" above it.
  
  "Almost Unreal" still ranks lower, though.
  - RomSteady
    
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    November 23, 2020 9:19 PM
    
    "Fading Like A Flower" is also a strong contender for top 3.
  - [deleted] 1016213306
    
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    November 24, 2020 2:32 AM
    
    [deleted]
- fuell
  
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  November 24, 2020 1:30 AM
  
  Does it suck? Nah nah nah nah nah
- -efx-
  
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  November 24, 2020 1:48 AM
  
  It's hard to overstate what this band meant to pop music in Sweden. When this song went number 1 on Billboard when it came out it was literally news everywhere here. Like, radio and TV all cut away from what they were doing to report it.
  
  It's not a song or a band I listen to anymore but the female singer had a good voice, she passed away from brain cancer a couple of years ago and her male counterpart has had a long career of writing accessible pop stuff. My vote is no, it does not suck.
  - [deleted] 1016213306
    
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    November 24, 2020 2:33 AM
    
    [deleted]
    - -efx-
      
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      November 24, 2020 2:37 AM
      
      The Max Martin stuff is what you're probably thinking of and that is from early Britney Spears until now so there was a bit of a gap.
      But yeah, Sweden has produced a lot of music that's actually known outside our borders. Learning music was really accessible to me growing up in the 80's since so much of it was heavily supported through the government.
      - [deleted] 1016213306
        
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        November 24, 2020 4:59 AM
        
        [deleted]
  - ThomW
    
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    November 24, 2020 4:21 AM
    
    Wasn't ABBA from Sweden? I mean, c'mon.
- Smellsy
  
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  November 24, 2020 1:51 AM
  
  Its awesome, not sure how you think otherwise. Saw them live, absolutely loved it.
- Kub666
  
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  November 24, 2020 1:54 AM
  
  I like the background synths, and the main guitar riff is also fine. Coda after second chorus boring as fuck, they clearly didn't know what to do there. I would say it does not suck, it's an ok song.
- MatthewPhillips
  
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  November 24, 2020 4:03 AM
  
  I really miss that era of music (IMHO the best era for music "charts"):
  https://www.billboard.com/charts/year-end/1988/hot-100-songs
  
  Late '80s-early '90s.
  
  Unlike (for example) today's charts that are totally dominated by, and full of, pop music + R&B + rap + some indie stuff, and that's pretty much it... back then you had pretty much every single genre mixing it up on the charts.
  
  George Michael (pop, soul?), INXS (pop, rock, R&B), Guns 'N' Roses (hard rock, and a huge ballad), Whitney Houston (pop diva), Steve Winwood (R&B, prog and blueyed soul), The Escape Club (dance rock), Phil Collins (no explanation necessary), Salt-n-Pepa, MC Hammer, UB40 (pop reggae), Chicago (every pop style mixed with jazz and classical), and even once in a while you'd get a decent cross-over country hit.
  - skookum_choocher
    
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    November 24, 2020 9:11 AM
    
    decent cross-over country hit.
    
    Not a country song, but a country singer cross over that I love: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RPjggN-KByI
    - skookum_choocher
      
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      November 24, 2020 9:12 AM
      
      from that time period
    - MatthewPhillips
      
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      November 24, 2020 9:13 AM
      
      I had a cassette of theirs and just found the CD at a pawn shop a few years ago.
- [deleted] 132632220
  
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  November 24, 2020 5:48 AM
  
  [deleted]
- rosewood
  
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  November 24, 2020 5:49 AM
  
  No. That song does not suck. It is a great little catchy AF pop hit. It is tropical fruit bubblicious.
- quazar
  
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  November 24, 2020 8:41 AM
  
  the chick in the white stockings is super hot, OK song with a very cool 80's video
- skookum_choocher
  
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  November 24, 2020 9:09 AM
  
  It doesn't suck. Its ok, has a good hook. There are far worse "popular" songs out there. Also the hair in that video is pretty tame
- flagg209
  
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  November 24, 2020 9:12 AM
  
  Late 80s classic.
- paulatreus
  
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  November 24, 2020 9:14 AM
  
  That song really, really sucks.
- CptPlankton
  
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  November 24, 2020 10:23 AM
  
  Decent pop song, I feel like it might be fun for karaoke with a group
- Halen
  
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  November 24, 2020 10:25 AM
  
  Of course not, it's well-crafted pop. I'm sure why people would say it sucks unless they think because they don't like the song that means it's objectively bad.
  - Halen
    
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    November 24, 2020 10:25 AM
    
    I'm *not* sure
- MatthewPhillips
  
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  November 24, 2020 10:26 AM
  
  I would be curious to know the breakdown of people that LIKE VS. HATE the song, and compare that with their age group.
  - MatthewPhillips
    
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    November 24, 2020 10:28 AM
    
    I'm in the "really like" category. Well, enjoy hearing on the radio, etc. Never actually bought any Roxette music.
- mrazzino
  
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  November 24, 2020 10:36 AM
  
  Lola's kind of got the look tbh
  
  it's a fine catchy 80s pop song, i don't love it or hate it. I say it does not suck.