I have finally understood the play on the two uses of “held up” (physically versus popularity wise), although the second one is implicit. But why does Bender pick on Sports by Huey Lewis specifically? The Wikipedia article says that it
reached No. 1 on the Billboard 200 on June 30, 1984, and ultimately charted for 160 weeks.
All the people who bought and listened to it at the time thought it was good. Clearly, you only knew people who were too cool to like them, as far as you know.
Charting was not a small thing, then:
I liked it at the time, but I don’t listen to it anymore, as you mentioned. Yeah, it’ simple pop music, like eating candy. Just fun and fitting for the moment.
I get what you’re saying, fully.
But it was a real flash-in-the-pan (Not Flash and the Pan). Both had a few quick hits and fell off rather fast.
Also, I own Sports, and have since it first came out (on cassette no less!).
Sigh, I’m old.