Category Archives: guilty pleasures

OH SO GUILTY: The music gives us a chance

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I hate radio.

I love radio.

I just need to sing in the car. I just need that. I just need to belt out any random song recorded between 1962 and today. Randomly. I don’t want to program it into a playlist, a CD, an mp3 to install, or an iPod to plug in while I drive.

When I find a good one, I think “THIS is what I am going to sing at karaoke.” Then I text Vanessa and ask when we’re going downtown next. But I never share my secret song. Then when I am a couple sheets to the wind and AT the juke joint, I have no idea what I want to sing.

Today while driving, I heard “Build Me Up Buttercup.” Oh, what a song. THAT is the song I MUST sing with gusto on the stage. I wish I could be in every possible machination of that song in every scene from “There’s Something About Mary” that the actors filmed. I love this video.


There’s Something About Mary from nitz on Vimeo.

Did you know that Mookie wants to start playing the Ukulele? He could play backup while I belt my heart out at one of my guilty pleasure songs. You know, now that I think about it, I wish I could have been at that table to participate in “Say A Little Prayer” from “My Best Friend’s Wedding”, too.


My Best Friend’s Wedding – I Say a Little Prayer For You from Carlos Giroto on Vimeo.

Forever, and ever, you’ll stay in my heart
and I will love you
Forever, and ever we never will part
Oh, how I’ll love you
Together, forever, that’s how it must be
To live without you
Would only mean heartbreak for me.

I am starting to understand what is going on here. I have a thing for Cameron Diaz movies where the characters burst out into song. Dressing Room Movie Montage from The Sweetest Thing. You know the song, I don’t have to share the video.

Click to Play Peaches and Herb – Shake Your Groove Thing  

Ah.
These songs make me happy.
I wish there was a radio station that played all my favorite singalong songs on a continuous loop. And if I lived in a town where gridlock was an issue, we could all get out of our cars and do a song and dance routine to them.

Guilty. So guilty.

Click to Play The Foundations – Build Me Up Buttercup

Guilty? I think not!

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So this week is all about the supposed “guilty pleasures” for us here at the blog. I have to say that I instead take pride in my choices. Now, I had planned on another track for this week, so as a good gesture, I will also be posting that other track, also. So hey, you guys should keep reading.

First off for the guilty pleasures is a name that’s become somewhat synonymous with the Vegas culture. At least in my years there, he was. This singer originally couldn’t get signed because he “sounded too black.” I wish I was kidding about that part. And to add to the weirdness? It’s the song that Carlton Banks would dance to on the ’90’s sitcom The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. After writing that last sentence, I am starting to re-think whether or not I should feel guilty about this one. Just watch the video to understand.

So yeah. Tom Jones. I am not into everything he releases. This tune is hard not to like, though. So the track “It’s Not Unusual” was also Jones’ first hit here in the states. And launched millions of panties being thrown on stage to him. Even now. Lucky bastard.

Click to Play Tom Jones – It’s Not Unusual

Next one is one I again just can’t be ashamed of. Hell, the Stanton Warriors did a remix of this that I posted a while back. Their remix of “Good Vibrations” is just ridiculous. The original, however, is where it’s at. Using the theramin on this cut was an advance in electronic music that many don’t really realize. It was the first track to hit the charts that used an electronic instrument (not an electric guitar, mind you) as a featured part of the song. It’s still a great track.

Click to Play The Beach Boys – Good Vibrations

This last track is one I wanted to post,and still will. It’s a really cool re-rub of Bon Iver’s “Skinny Love” that I am all over. The first post I wrote for this blog actually feautured the original of this one, so it’s been a favorite for a while of mine. A kid from South Africa that goes by the name Das Kapital is responsible for this one, so props are due!

Click to Play Bon Iver – Skinny Love (Das Kapital re-rub)

not guilty (by reason of insanity?)

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I woke up with Neil Diamond’s “I Am…I Said” in my head the other day. Before I move on, let’s all listen to that together so we’re in the same place.

Click to play Neil Diamond – I Am…I Said

Neil can be kitschy but I have to admit I’m a fan, and waking up with this random song in my head (and singing it for the rest of the day) made me think about other “guilty pleasures” in my music selection. These are the ones that for some reason I’d be a little hesitant to list in my favorites. Or I’d worry about my hipster cred, no matter how many PBRs I drank to make up for it, if I did. Then today I ran across this quote:

Honesty is the first chapter of the book of wisdom. -Thomas Jefferson

I want to write that book, Mr. Jefferson. It’s time I brought some of my musical skeletons out of the closet. So here we go…

Neil Diamond: You’ve already heard my confession on this one. Yeah, I know we’ve all sung “Sweet Caroline” at karaoke and made the occasional joking reference, but I really think this guy is a great songwriter. Come on, he wrote “Girl, You’ll Be A Woman Soon,” which was badass enough to be covered by Urge Overkill and featured in Pulp Fiction.

Click to play Neil Diamond – Girl You’ll Be A Woman Soon

He is the “Solitary Man.” And, though it started as a joke, because of his contribution to the movie E.T. I ended up with a lamp and string of lights that are pretty special to me now. They look more or less like these. And yes, I do sing “Turn On Your Heartlight” every time I see them.

Bread: These guys may be more familiar to you than you know. They had quite a few big hits in the 70s, playing the kind of rock that makes Celene Dion seem aggressive. Their songs, particularly “Baby I’m A Want You,” “Make It With You,” and “Guitar Man” have been covered by all kinds of artists. It’s sappy, melodramatic silliness, but I can’t help loving it. Here’s “Diary,” one of the saddest songs ever written.

Click to play Bread – Diary

On the flip side you’ve got “If,” which I stand behind as one of the sweetest love songs ever.

Click to play Bread – If

George Michael

George Michael: If I weren’t American, I might feel less reserved about this one. Europe seems to have always known the guy’s talent and been able to reconcile his ability as a deep soul-influenced singer with his penchant for putting out poppy dance hits. On this side of the pond, or at least in the more rock-centric circles I run in, there seems to be more of a stigma. I finally had to look at myself, hiding in dark corners with my walkman and my copy of Listen Without Prejudice and say, “this is wrong. Be proud, for what the man doth he doth so well. Let him make great pop music!”

Click to play George Michael – Freedom 90

Pay attention to the lyrics there. It’s actually an emotionally autobiographical story of a young man getting caught up in the industry and struggling to find his own identity as he matures musically. And damn it’s catchy.
He’s also written some great ballads.

Click to play George Michael – One More Try

Faith and Listen Without Prejudice are both pretty brilliant albums that should be part of your collection. I find his most recent material more hit-or-miss but the guy is still super talented.

There are so many more but I’ll stop here. Maybe I’ll revisit the theme later. I invite you to begin writing your own book of wisdom. Shout your guilty pleasures from the rooftops, or even post them in the comments. Go buy the catalog of that one artist you’ve been running from all these years. Liberate yourself, for music should make us all more free.
Speaking of music making us free (there’s a stretch of a segue, but I didn’t want to characterize classical music as a guilty pleasure) I want to take a moment to recognize Henryk Gorecki, who passed away a few weeks ago. As a modern avant-garde composer he wasn’t for everyone, but his “Third Symphony, Symphony Of Sorrowful Songs” seems to be something most of us can agree on. Dedicated to the memory of Holocaust Victims, it is a stunning piece of work that stands as one of the most moving compositions ever written. It’s too long to post here but do yourself a favor: track down a copy and take some time out to listen to it all. It’s just…uh…wow.