for New York City. Capitalizing on the ambiguity, several radio stations added descriptions of their own local areas when they broadcast the song or added their own ident in its place. The album's title, Knee Deep in the Hoopla, is taken from a lyric in the first verse of this song. Production The song was engineered by producer Bill Bottrell, written by Bernie Taupin, Martin Page, Dennis Lambert and Peter Wolf and arranged by Bottrell and Jasun Martz. The song was based on a demo by Page and Taupin with a darker feel and based on how clubs were dying in Los Angeles, leaving live performers without work. Wolf reworked the song's arrangement with a more upbeat tone. The song features Mickey Thomas and Grace Slick sharing lead vocals. MTV executive and former DJ Les Garland provided the DJ voiceover during the song's bridge. Additionally, some radio stations, with the help of jingle company JAM Creative Productions, inserted their own opening lines to promote their stations. Reception Billboard said that this "unusual rock 'n' roll anthem is as wise as it is rebellious." Cash Box called it "an ear-catching tune" and described it as "dance rock with sharp hooks." "We Built This City" received a Grammy Award nomination for Best Rock Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group in 1986. Blender magazine's 50 Most Awesomely Bad Songs Ever In 2004, the magazine Blender ran a feature on "The 50 Worst Songs Ever", in conjunction with the VH1 Special The 50 Most Awesomely Bad Songs...Ever. To qualify, songs had to be well-known hits; the list also avoided novelty songs, and multiple songs by the same artist. "We Buit This City" came in at #1. According to Blender editor Craig Marks, the choice was nearly unanimous among those who had been polled. Marks said of the song, "It purports to be anti-commercial but reeks of '80s corporate-rock commercialism. It's a real reflection of what practically killed rock music in the '80s." He referred to the line of the song "Marconi plays the mamba", asking, "Who is Marconi? And what is the mamba? The mamba is the deadliest snake in the world, so he must have meant the mambo, but it sounds so much like 'mamba' that every lyric website writes it that way. It makes sense neither way." The Blender feature also noted the irony of the song lamenting "they're always changing