I love the spirit and logic of your post, except for the above.
There is a short list of songs that every cover bar dance floor band in my area plays. To axe them from the list just because other bands play them would be cutting off our noses to spite our faces.
So we will play "Sweet Home Alabama" and the rest, even though every other band does it too.
Bar owners and patrons expect it, and we like to work regularly.
I have a 2 part answer to this. The first is that I listed several criteria, and any particular song will meet those different criteria in varying levels, and then you actually play the songs with the highest average scores.
Second is no, that's not true at all. There are no songs you "have" to play unless you are being held at gunpoint, or at least unless someone specifically requests them. There are so many "mandatory" songs, that no one band could even really play ALL of them, so you have to draw the line somewhere. The reason those songs are mandatory is because every band plays them, so they become a cliched part of the "cover band bar experience". But guess what, if every band stopped playing Brown Eyed Girl tomorrow, people might be kind of surprised at first, maybe even a bit relieved. If they are REALLY tuned in musically, gradually they might realize something is strange. But by the time they would get to the point of caring enough to do something about it, they would have completely forgotten, and some other song would have taken it's place in the pantheon. I mean, what did bands play in the 80s before Appetite for Destruction came out in the slots where they play those songs now? There must have been something right? Probably songs that were "mandatory" (maybe I Ran, Hungry Like the Wolf, etc...?) at the time. Things change.
So yeah, you can be that generic cover band playing all the same generic cover band songs, and just be another crab in the pot trying to climb over the other crabs trying to climb over the other crabs, OR you can curate an excellent and eclectic set list, made up of a range of songs that fit the style of the band, with maybe a handful of nods to convention but otherwise going your own way, and be THAT band. The "hey, did you hear about THESE dudes? They played _____ and it was unbelievable!" band that gets lots of business because they have a product that is distinguishable (and better) than the others around them.
Or saying a song is crap.
The song isn't crap, it's just a song you personally don't like.
Blue
No, some songs are definitely crap. I distrust anyone who tries to convince me otherwise, because they are either lying to me or to themselves.
And yes, imo if something sells it's good.
Wow. I couldn't possibly disagree with this more. High Fructose Corn Syrup just might be the biggest selling ingredient in food these days, does that mean it's the best? No, it means it's cheap and it sells.
bought happiness and joy to the souls of millions.
So has heroin.
I like some rap/hiphop (mostly older stuff), but most of it, just like most music in general is crap. And in actual fact, it is some of the least "musical" music out there, because part of the style is to be amusical. You typically have a repetitive 8 or 16 bar "beat", mostly consisting of drums with very little in the way of melody or harmony, cycling continuously for 3-4 minutes, with a guy more or less talking over it. Add to that it's more or less made by machines anyway these days, just like the $90 sneakers you just bought made of plastic worth about 37 cents.
In fact, it sounds like a [DEL]potential[/DEL] GUARANTEED massive waste of time...unless the purpose is simply to learn as many songs as possible, as indiscriminately as possible.
If you're unable to discern the suitability of a given song until you've already learned it and rehearsed it, than that would indicate a certain failure of musicianship. IMHO, this is a bass-ackwards way to develop a repertoire...
MM
Fixed for accuracy.
So yeah, people who "don't want to waste their time learning songs" come across to me as WHINERS who don't belong in any band that is being paid.
In the interim the truth has come out about why you actually started this thread. But I will say, this statement is absolutely ridiculous. What makes a musician a pro is that they waste as little time as possible. That means cutting out dead wood from a setlist BEFORE learning it, not AFTER. YES, you should be able to trust the other musicians in your band to suggest GREAT songs. But in reality, sometimes they won't be great. The other side of that is that you have to trust them to discuss/oppose the songs brought to the table if they just aren't right for the group OR even if someone just really dislikes it (hopefully they aren't just being unreasonable, but even if they are, it's easier to just let them have the veto and try something else).
I can usually start playing along with a song the first time I'm hearing it (on bass at least, guitar and keys are more complicated). I simply don't want to bother if a song is one I'm not interested in doing, or if I think it won't go over well with the audience or both. There are too many great songs to play to worry about any specific one if someone doesn't like it. And a song endorsed by all members of a band is by definition a better song than one that is vetoed by one or more members.
So for your situation (which seems to be resolved with your new drummer, but in general...), stop playing crappy songs that other people choose if it's making you resentful. And if your songs aren't accepted for whatever reason, try to figure out what the reason for that is, and come up with some alternates that might scratch the same itch for you, yet be more palatable to your bandmates and/or audience. Personally, I think most of your choices are pretty decent (the ones I'm familiar with), but maybe the band doesn't feel it's the right sound for them. So maybe Whipping Post gets axed but Elizabeth Reed gets the go ahead. Or some other song that fills that niche for you. Try to zero in on the specific objections to any given song, then try to find a song that doesn't have those characteristics, but is otherwise very similar to the original choice.
"DAAAAADDD, I don't WHANA do my homework."
