Me and my monkey: Guilty pleasures

(Tell-Tale Heart/Town Crier Ray Brandes puts out a call for your dirty laundry!)

We call them “guilty pleasures,” those indulgences we secretly enjoy but are embarrassed to admit. Unlike moral guilt, the shame we feel is really just a fear of others discovering our “low-brow” or “uncool” tastes.

I have a friend whose name, for the sake of confidentiality, will remain anonymous. He is a connoisseur of ’60s music, particularly garage punk, and has earned himself quite a reputation as a “cool” guy. He rarely takes off his sunglasses, plays in a ’60s punk band, and for all intents and purposes has committed himself to a total garage-punk lifestyle. Under his bed, however, lies a dark secret which would bring his carefully contrived image tumbling down if discovered by the rest of the world: the “Titanic” original motion-picture soundtrack. He doesn’t want you to know, but “My Heart Will Go On” brings him to tears each time he hears it.

A vegetarian acquaintance of mine regularly indulges in McDonald’s French fries. While she claims she is not technically violating her moral and ethical code (McDonald’s claims to use no animal products in their French fries), she would die a thousand deaths if she were ever to be discovered in the drive-through lane exchanging her dirty money for a sack full of those greasy delicacies.

Guilty pleasures often fall into one of several categories — music, film, television, fashion and food. A few Che Undergrounders have confessed their love of magic, mimes and bad music here on the site. I’ve shouted from the mountaintops my unabashed love for ’70s AM pop-radio hits and cryptozoology, and would like to add to this list my fascination with Spanish telenovelas, true crime and UFOs. I also, it can now be told, like the band Boston.

Now it’s your turn. What are your “guilty pleasures”?

— Ray Brandes

385 thoughts on “Me and my monkey: Guilty pleasures”

  2. I’ll call and raise you this: I’ve become partial to some, dare I say it Ray, jazz-rock fusion. I have a CD by Bruford, Yes/King Crimson/Genesis drummer Bill Bruford’s short-lived band from 1979 that features jazz-rock gods guitarist Allan Holdsworth (who seems to work best with a group) and bassist Jeff Berlin. The best song on the album, 5G, was taken off of YouTube for copyright infringement (Paul Howland would dig the bass solo) but here’s a taste:

    0

  4. i love the “best of bootie” compilation series and religiously get a copy each year.

    i own, play and head bob to kanye west.

    and i still love journey.

    0

  5. I TiVo “Daisy of Love.”

    Ava, I suspected you were a Journey fan. Hold your head up. If they were writing MFAs, publishing those lyrics in tiny bottom shelf zines, snobs would admire their poetic insight into blue collar America.

    0

  6. God, who’m I kidding? I should disqualify myself from this thread. I truly have no regard for cool.

    Yesterday, I was driving with the window down, shamelessly singing along with Toby Keith.

    I recently saw Dokken in concert.

    I have no shame.

    0

  8. Demolition Derby anyone? Here in the midwest (Missouri) we get some awesome competitors.
    My wife and I love watching (and attending) Mixed Martial Arts / Ulitmate fighting matches….it’s all about the arm-bar!

    0

  12. Christina Aguilerra, Justin Timberlake, Timbaland, Eminem, Miles Davis (all eras, including the 80’s). Only thing is, I don’t feel guilty about it. They are all talented, besides, I’ve never been one of the cool kids.

    0

  15. I could tell you stories about The Cowsills…what a screwed up family but shit, such sophisticated song writing and production!!

    Paul it may be correct, but it just ain’t right man…Miles and Justin?
    Maybe there’s more than one Justin Timberlake…that MUST be the answer. lol

    0

  16. I like pretty much everything on The Food Network… in small doses, and except for Iron Chef.

    >>>Miles Davis (all eras, including the 80’s)

    A friend of mine (a big jazz fan) played Star People for me, and I commented that I thought it was awful. He said something like “When you create something that’s never been done before, you really don’t know whether it’s good or bad because you have nothing to compare it to.” That kind of made me look at things differently.

    0

  17. I dork out on those old aurora t-jet slot cars! Anyone wanna race in the “Backyard 500”? My track is in the backyard under a tarp.
    4 lanes of 18 volt DC fun.
    God I am going to regret hitting the send button….

    0

  18. Kristin,
    I’m in agreement with everything but the multi-sided dice! I had to use the term “guilty pleasure” so we would all know what we were talking about, but it’s been a really LONG time since I felt guilty about liking anything! Even if I WANTED to be cool, I’m not sure what that would entail nowadays.

    Being a parent has unleashed my inner dork and I have given myself absolute permission to revert to playing with dinosaurs, watching Star Wars and hanging out at the La Brea tar pits.

    0

  19. Dave, “Star People” rocks !

    Bruce, I notice that you use the one word identifier “Miles” for the musician known as Miles Davis. I’m not too concerned about what musicians you hero worship and which ones you don’t. Nor am I going to debate the relative merits of different pop musicians. I suspect that you don’t hold Mr. Timberlake in high regard because he is currently ascendant in the popular music pantheon. It is easier to go with something that exists in a historical context like the Cowsills and The Partridge Family.

    0

  20. >>Being a parent has unleashed my inner dork

    Ray: Yeah, I’m a little scared that as my kids grow up, I won’t get another shot at dorkiness until I’m (possibly) a grandparent. :-/

    We’re going to Disney World this summer! I’m going to EPCOT, where I shall wear a Mickey Mouse T-shirt and speak French to the French people in the French pavilion and embarrass my family. We are also going to ride on the Small World ride a bunch of times and sing along … Because we love every song the Sherman Brothers wrote for Disney!

    Speaking of Disney tunes: I once tried to sneak a sort of Tom Waits version of “With a Smile and a Song” from “Snow White” into the Ho Hos’ set list before Jeff caught on — denied!

    Tony: Sorry, but slot cars are tuff, not dorky.

    0

  21. Paul -- I Love Miles Davis, although some of his music sucks. I love Eminem,… think he’s a genius at times.

    I don’t hero worship any musicians or pop stars though…never been a groupie. Sadly, I guess, I don’t worship anything!

    It’s just an opinion, not an insult to anyone, but Justin Timberlake sucks shit more than any “musician” ever has. I’d rather shoot myself in the head than listen to that crap. Paris Hilton is WAY better. I’d rather be waterboarded than listen to Justin..I’d rather watch Desperate Housewives or be stranded on an island with that dipshit Julia Roberts than listen to Justin…
    I’d rather kill my own family and eat them rather than listen to Justin…

    Hmmm… how can I possibly describe how bad Justin Timberlake is without getting too dramatic??

    0

  22. I agree with Ray and Kristen about 70’s radio -- what an amazing mix of music that was. I listen to mostly todays artists , due to work, but there is no comparison to the radio as it stands today. The narrowcasting of playlists really restricts the chance to take in new influences. Also I’m with Ray about the La Brea Tar Pits -- a great place to send the afternnoon. And I’m with Bruce about how wonderful Karen Carpenters voice was -- I saw them once on the A&M lot back in the 70’s and was really, really impressed -- all that and drums too. Guilty pleasures? So many… I love a well crafted pop song, so stuff like “What A Fool Believes,” “Strange Magic,” “Everything I Own,” “Say You’ll Be There” and so on rate high in my book, as do the Eagles, Steely Dan and a zillion others. Also….I’m a huge fan of the Osmonds early seventies stuff, three albums in particular: Phase III, Live and Crazy Horses, great powerpop stuff. It all blends quite well with my usual diet of Emitt Rhodes and The Zombies …:-) By the way if anyone is interested, just to mention it, The Zombies, The Yardbirds and Spencer Davis Group are playing at Humphrey’s on June 26. I haven’t seen Spencer David in a few years, but both The Zombies (Blunstone, Argent and ex-Kink Rodford) and Yardbirds (Dreja and McCarty) have been amazing when I’ve seen them in recent years….

    0

  23. Bart you sound like an intelligent man! Do you like a well crafted tune from the American Songbook, i.e, Stormy Weather, My Funny Valentine, Unforgettable, These Foolish Things, Cry Me A River…

    That’s about all I listen to now other than a little Eminem, Eno, Leonard Cohen, Jobim, Dokken…I’ll even listen to early No Doubt.

    Always loved The Monkees, Partridges, Carpenters, Cowsills, … can’t do ANYTHING by the Eagles though. The revolt of 1977 was based on them, specifically, if I remember correctly. “…lines on the mirror, lines on my face…” We wanted to kill them and expressed this in “Punk” rock.

    0

  24. “Hmmm… how can I possibly describe how bad Justin Timberlake is without getting too dramatic??”

    Bruce, It seems that you can’t.

    By the way, thanks for referencing The Partridge Family and The Cowsills.

    0

  26. Oh yeah, No Doubt. Nice. I like the album with Bounty Killer, Lady Saw, Sly and Robbie, and Steelie and Cleevie on it. Also serves as a good reference CD when doing mixdowns.

    0

  28. Bruce,
    I can stomach some of the Eagles, particularly the Bernie Leadon early stuff which copies the Flying Burrito Brothers. (The Joe Walsh period makes me physically ill, as does anything with Don Henley singing). I’ll have to part ways with Bart on “What a Fool Believes,” too. There is a hilarious short film series called “Yacht Rock” which can be found on YouTube which parodies the whole Doobies/Christopher Cross scene.
    And Rush? Won’t do it. I’d have to join Bruce and Julia on the island.

    What about guilty television viewing?

    0

  29. Paul -- I like you. Thanks for the cool links. Especially the last one…how much great music is on there!!

    Ray- I thought I was one of the only men who despised Julia Roberts, we must be kin.

    Guilty pleasures….I like Drew Barrymore.

    0

  30. Oh yeah, I’ve since come around to Star People… as my friend figured I would when he burned me a copy. but I’m curious…

    Paul, I’ve heard you criticize music for being technically inept, but do you think it’s possible for a musical performer to be very skilled at what they do, but still be lousy? I won’t argue with you either way… I just want to know what you think. If so, who (to you) would be a good example?

    0

  32. The Wrecking Crew? Those guys deserve some serious respect. They play on far more sixties hits than most people can imagine.

    Oh yeah--another guilty pleasure? Glen Campbell. I love Witchita Lineman, Galveston, By the Time I Get to Phoenix . . .

    0

  33. Speaking of kids releasing your inner dork: My kids have released my inner girly dork!

    I live in a house full of females. I have enjoyed a lot of things that probably should embarrass a real manly man like me, but …

    I went to the American Girl Place in New York with my wife and daughters for the tea party, where you’re served finger sandwiches and little cakes and your dolls are given place settings as well. And yes, we all brought dolls.

    I have an American Girl Place T-shirt, but my family won’t let me wear it to public functions.

    0

  36. Ray -- PLEASE come to the island with Julia and I! You can have her…I’ll just be the wincing, pukeing, voyeur.

    There will be no Rush, no later Eagles, and plenty of that wife-beating pervert Glenn Campbell..hey, he could really write and sing!!

    0

  37. “Paul, I’ve heard you criticize music for being technically inept, but do you think it’s possible for a musical performer to be very skilled at what they do, but still be lousy? I won’t argue with you either way… I just want to know what you think. If so, who (to you) would be a good example?”

    Oh yeah, of course.

    Celine Dion I reckon. Very gifted singer, not at all my cup of tea.
    Also The Eagles I s’pose. I agree with the despisers.

    I have to say though, this thread is kind of degenerating, everyone is talking about cool stuff.

    0

  38. If I see Julia Roberts OR Jennifer Aniston walking down the road, I will run them over. Barf, Gag, Choke, Puke…

    MATT -- this thread is so hot you can’t even post in time…you go girly dork!!!

    0

  39. I have watched “chick” flix in secret for years…though have never appreciated recent hollywood formulaic spoon fed romance or the gals that support it…but movies like pajama game, the women, roman holiday, the apartment…..i love that cornball shit. i really do. alone. with candy on an afternoon to myself (like THAT ever happens).

    I also have a guilty pleasure for the british time-period soap operas…not the keira nightly pride & prejudice but the seven dvd series with collin firth…..masterpiece theater….moll flanders stories….or the 12 part I Claudius with all of its espionage and sweet seduction.

    and when I’m not enjoying Caligula sleeping with his sister, I watch my natural disaster box set and relish nature in full force telling mankind who’s boss! And I don’t feel guilty about it.

    0

  40. I saw the Doobie Brothers when I was 10 years old. The best episode of “What’s Happening” ever is the one where ReRun bootlegs their show and gets busted.

    Bart, the Osmonds were my very first show. I saw them in ’74 at the Sports Arena.

    0

  41. moderation.
    June 11th, 2009 at 4:34 pm

    Love the British shows…so “civilized”. Especially Bleak House.

    The “whats Happenin’” episode mentioned is the coolest.

    What movie was that where the eccentric LA band Sparks were playing in the background at Magic Mountain??

    0

  42. Rollercoaster.
    Saw it at the Loma Theater on a “date” in 5th grade.
    *saw* that movie…snicker.

    “You are in a race against time…and terror. You are pursuing a nameless, faceless man through America’s greatest amusement parks…and, for the first time, you are experiencing the most sensational rides of our time, IN SENSURROUND
    Ride it…in Sensurround
    Watch out for the Man watching the Rollercoaster.”

    hahaha. cheesy wheesy!

    I saw Flash Gordon at the Loma theater too. Same boyfriend. Another awesome guilty pleasures theme song by none other than Queen.

    0

  43. I’m trying to think of something really dreadful to confess.

    “Project Runway”? Pretty much anything that involves gay superheroes doing amazing things with fabric on the Bravo channel, sign me up.

    0

  44. Matt -- you are the king of dreadful confessions…what a great thread! Doobies, Eagles, Cowsills, Osmonds, Justin, Julia, Jennifer, Food Network, Project Runway…

    A slice of camp/cool/dork Americana.

    0

  45. This is fun! It’s like poking an alligator with a stick to see if anything snaps.

    Stephen King. He mailed some of them in, and a lot of them could use an edit. But the guy knows how to tell a story, and I actually care about the characters.

    (My dad met Stephen King, who was a really nice guy and told my father that he and his wife were big fans. They had dinner together at some benefit. My mom asked him how it felt to be worth a bajillion dollars, and he said, “It’s GREAT!” Which is a pretty cool answer.)

    0

  46. matthew, i fully expect you to wear your american girls tee when we hit the city. anything less and megan and i will shun you! 😉

    p.s. i like bromances and i think that superbad, the 40 year old virgin and knocked up were awesome.

    0

  47. I’m bringing Justin back…Aside from Nipplegate, Justin Timberlake has paid his dues, and estabished his bona fides on vinyl. It’s simply a question of The Funk, and I think anyone who has listened to his recent output (not just radio tracks) would agree it’s there. He simply has the means to hire the best musicians/producers out there, and no small amount of soul. Aww, what the heck[e], Robin Thicke ain’t half bad either, in a Maxwell[e] sorta way. As someone who spent many of his formative years in a rhythm section with Paul H., I think it may have something to do with the hip-hop coming out back then being the most rebellious/anti-establishment/funnest thing to come out since punk rock. A side effect of this immersion for me, especially as a drummer, was that I began to focus more on beats and production. Miles Davis can do no wrong. Even Doo-Bop was in heavy rotation at my New Orleans crib when it came out, tho’ I wish it had had someone beside Easy Mo Bee producing. Star Time should I think, be evenly attributed to Marcus Miller and Miles Davis. I defy anyone to not be totally enveloped in the lush atmosphere created by the two on the Siesta soundtrack…

    0

  49. Paul- thumbs up on Christina Aguilera.

    Sweetie, I miss you.

    You Howland boys were the kings of totally enjoying moments devoid of coolness. I’ll always treasure the memory of confessing our mutual love of nasty dirthead rock music.

    Ronny
    James
    Dio

    And the afternoon we were stone cold sober staring at laundry spinning in a laundromat. We had no laundry ourselves. We walked in to watch.

    0

  50. check out steve perrys moves!!!

    matt, siesta is one of my all time favorites. the movie, too. mmm, ellen barkin.

    david, marcia, marcia, marcia!!!!

    0

  51. Kavika remembers this: When I was 14, I decided to try to make money by writing romance novels under the pseudonym “Claudia F. Greenbriar.” So I read a few Harlequin romances, then tried writing one … Working title, “Flowers for Florrie,” about an earnest young American school teacher who cultivates a smoldering love/hate relationship with an Irish construction worker while staying with her elderly aunt and traumatically mute young cousin at the family estate in County Limerick.

    I should probably finish it up sometime.

    0

  53. I’ve heard songs I can’t name by bands whose main output was very different. There’s some heavy glam rock by the Osmonds and and some hard funk by the Jackson 5, Stevie Wonder and Lenny White. I’d love to hear those songs again.

    0

  54. Guilty pleasures -- how fun! I dj once a month at my local and lately it’s been “Guilty Pleasures” Night. I play, Billy Squier, Lonely is the Night, Rick Springfield, pretty much anything from Working Class Dog, Supertramp, the Logical Song, Bad Company, Ready For Love, Carpenters, Bobby Gentry, Ode to Billy Joe, Rex Smith, You Take My Breath Away.

    I watch Kojak and Quincy and it brings me back to my adolescence, very fond memories of life then…

    have breakfast for dinner, is a special treat. It used to be a celebration when we’d do that when I was young. It can still invoke similar feelings still sometimes.

    Curling up for an evening with a bunch of Hollywood dish and Vogue or other fashion mags. That was so fun for my girlfriends after school -- age 14!

    0

  55. Matt, I have similar feelings about “Doo-Bop”, on the one hand, I love it, on the other, I wish Premier or Pete Rock or someone like that had handled production chores on it.

    And thanks for referencing Marcus Miller, if all one know about him was this

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5NQdq3T2xoI

    it would be easy to mistake him for a reasonably talented R and B singer, not knowing that he wrote produced and played all the instruments on that tune. His work on the Miles Davis albums is above reproach. And he can do this

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NHdN_O5k3WM

    oops sorry, talking about good stuff again…

    Gee Bruce, I think you protest too much. Haha. You’ll get no grammatical revision from me though.

    0

  59. Man, I’m still cleaning up this mess. Not really an emotional response…purely physical this time.

    I’m going to have to go watch some Tom Cruise and Sandra Bullock films to make myself feel a little better.

    I can’t believe I’m missing My New BFF for this!!

    0

  61. Black Sabbath rule…Christina A.? The A stands for absolutely no talent.

    I put her in the same category as Justin Timberlake, Ryan Seacrest, Paris Hilton, Dog The Bounty Hunter, Desperate Housewives, Rush Limbaugh,Tyra Banks….

    These are just media stars for the loneliest, most desperate people on the planet.

    Kill your TV. Read a book. Somerset Maugham, Faulkner, Aeschylus??

    0

  62. Read Claudia F. Greenbriar’s fantastic new book, “Flowers for Florrie”!

    The pocket tome of tomorrow, today.

    0

  66. This is a great thread! I guess I should’ve clarified, it’s the early Eagles stuff that I like, though a later GP would be “I Can’t Tell You Why,” and I also like the later Jack Tempchin penned tunes as well. Kristen -- thats a pretty cool first concert! When I was at Capitol, two of the artists we worked with were Donny Osmond and later David Cassidy, I always thought it was amazing the way crowds reacted to them in person. Bruce , I love the American Songbook -- my dad always played the classics in his car and I have real fond memories of those songs from my childhood. Currently though, I’m on a real big Henry Mancini kick, primarily the instrumental stuff he wrote himself pre1970, without Johnny Mercer’s contributions (“Moon River” the exception). As for a TV guilty pleasure, I’m big on TV crossovers, not sure why, but I like to watch the episodes where “Sienfeld” meets “Mad About You” or “The Fresh Prince…” meets “The Jeffersons” and so on…David -- I know what you mean about the “comfort” of some movies -- I’ve also watched those Brady movies too many times and there are a few other TV movie perrenials that I’ll leave on whenever I come across them, like “That Thing You Do.”

    0

  69. > discuss

    Sometimes people have an impulse to find fault with the very pretty and popular.

    Black Sabbath. You wore your tuxedo t-shirt. I would never delegate Tommy Iommi to the back door.

    0

  70. >>discuss

    Paul: These are very good.

    It’s funny: I realize I don’t have the opportunity to cultivate too many fresh new guilty pleasures … The kids dominate the TVs, I don’t have much time to watch anyway, I don’t get to the radio … I work a lot … So, truth to tell, I don’t really know what the hell is going on in popular culture five-sixths of the time!

    Justin Timberlake, I’ve seen mostly through little acting stints on Nickelodeon shows my kids used to watch, and he was engaging … I think I saw Christina Aguilera on New Year’s Eve once? I certainly haven’t had the data to judge them. I mostly rely on hand-me-down opinions that folks like this are crap (although I wouldn’t espouse such an opinion myself without verifying it personally). These are great performances, though.

    0

  73. Bart -- I also love Mancini, Errol Garner, Jerome Kern, etc.. I play “Moon River” all the time. No guilt. I arranged in duple meter, 4/4, with Bossa Nova rhythm. Great tune.

    Boston, Kansas, Journey, Creed…can’t stand them. CSNY are part of my childhood, so, of course I dig them.

    What about the phenomenon of Donovan? So cool and seldom mentioned.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b6jeQUbovjI

    Hanson are hip….Jonas bros blow.

    0

  75. Ava,

    Another Christina fan here. What an incredible voice. A’m stalked her at Disneyland one day. Got her autograph.

    As to actual “guilty” pleasures, well, as others have said, I just don’t feel any guilt about it. I long ago realized that I like what I like. Which is at least 75% of the stuff mentioned here.

    Recently, I got into a 70’s radio kick, and made a special playlist on my iPod. Then I got hooked on one song in particular: “Chevy Van” by Sammy Johns. Hmmm, maybe I *should* feel guilty about that one . . .

    0

  76. Bruce,
    Donovan is often unjustly maligned as a Bob Dylan poseur, but “Hurdy Gurdy Man” is a good example of his brilliance. His best is “Season of the Witch”:

    When I look over my shoulder, what do you think I see?
    Some other cat looking over his shoulder at me

    The guilty pleasure here is “Atlantis.”

    Re: Justin Timberlake and Christina Aguilera. If I may speak for myself, I must say that although they both are clearly possessed of great technical ability, their soulless performances, which betray a lack of understanding of real soul and rhythm and blues, are all style and no substance. Every line is delivered with a wink and a barrage of hand motions that seem to say, “Hey, look what I can do! Aren’t I clever?” I can’t imagine either of them being able to sing happy birthday without trying to perform every little trill and run in their arsenals.

    Given the fact that they are both clearly manufactured products of the Disney Corporation, it seems disrespectful to stand onstage next to Al Green and try to upstage him with dancing and vocal gymnastics.

    Megan! Creed! Aaaarrrrrgh!

    I absolutely love this Creed story, especially the Denny’s tie in:

    http://tomluv.livejournal.com/13923.html

    0

  77. No Ray--I hate Creed--it is just that ONE song that gets me. Every cell in my body hates them, but that ONE song gets me singing. I am a sucker for a dripping minor chord.

    0

  78. Megan Shade is my modern day heroine.

    There are some CSNY songs that give me chills…Deja Vu for one. Also just love “Love is like Oxygen” by Sweet, “Saturday in the Park” by Chicago and “Day After Day” by Badfinger. “The Chain” by Fleetwood Mac. “Could it be Magic” by Barry Manilow. “See all Good People” by Yes.

    Come on Ray…no “Tom Sawyer?”

    The soundtrack to Hair, as well as the movie.

    Jack n the Box tacos.

    Watching the extended uncut versions of Lord of the Rings -- all 12 hours.

    Dancing like Napoleon Dynamite to Jamiroquai songs when nobody is around.

    0

  79. Ha -- I haven’t seen a Napoleon Dynamite or Jamiroquai reference in a long time…pretty cool!

    Sweet was a cool band…can’t do anything by Yes anymore, although in High School I could tolerate them.

    REALLY miss Jack in The Box tacos…don’t have anything like that out here.

    Dejavu was a seminal album…like Court and Spark…Rumours…Sweet Baby James…Tea for the Tillerman…Sunshine Superman…Highway 61….Axis Bold as love…
    Close To You…Pet Sounds…Sgt Pepper…Ziggy Stardust…so much talent in 1970-ish.

    Now…????

    0

  80. Ray, Bruce, et al.: RE Timberlake, Aguilera and various and sundry …

    Bruce decried being spoon-fed product by mega-entertainment empires. A very interesting question to me — one I never tire of playing around with — and I don’t have an answer:When is it the product itself that’s objectionable vs. the spoon with which it’s being fed?

    Authenticity is such a tricky concept, and commercialization is so ubiquitious in this age of viral marketing and narrowcasting. I’m not sure what yardstick I can hold up to measure the “real deal,” and I have a hard time judging when commercial context outweighs artistic merit.

    I’d be talking out my butt about these particular artists, ’cause like I say, I haven’t really studied them: But performers have ALWAYS been groomed for commercial success, probably since Sophocles.

    I like to listen to stuff cold because I know I’m a snob … When I peek, I usually find that I do indeed prefer artists who have more “cred” — but of course, there are certain kinds of sounds that feel “authentic” to me. Are they? Not sure. Maybe they’re just a cleverer kind of packaging. And occasionally I’m appalled at the commercial dreck I’m enjoying. 🙂

    Just wool-gathering here … I don’t have answers, and I’ve been looking for them since the Beatles!

    0

  81. I know Creed has already been honored/slagged in this thread already…but as the following comparison has always bothered me I consider it a most guilty pleasure to present two strangely similar flavors of cheeze…like the aural equivalent of one of those reeses commercials where two foodstuffs collide. Compare especially the obvious similarity of the choruses, but the overall feel and middle-8 bridges…seems awfully close…Sly said it right anyway (‘I Want To Take You Higher’), long before these clowns:

    IF you added the verses from Bad Company’s “Feel Like Making Love” you could rebuild the entire Creed song…

    0

  82. Here’s another take:
    What are some things that we think we “should” like, but don’t? Things that have “cred” but you can’t stand them…

    0

  83. Donovan is blatantly good. If the comments on you tube are to be believed(and it sure sounds like they are), the band on Hurdy Gurdy Man is Led Zeppelin minus Robert Plant, which is a wonderful thing in my book.

    The Jonas Brothers write and perform their own material, though I strongly suspect there is some high level outside song doctoring going on. It may be O.K. for cool people to like them soon, there star has lost quite a bit of it’s shine lately (the movie did nowhere near the expected numbers) but that’s one of the best features of pop music, it goes away after a while. Christina Aguillera also uses “Song Doctors” too, but who cares. Specialization is the name of the game in pop music.

    I like the two feel on Billy Squier’s “Rock Me Tonight” and he’s a good singer, back from the pre auto tune era, but for my money his biggest contribution is the drums on “The Big Beat” which I don’t think were his responsibility.

    They were used to good effect by Dizzee Rascal

    as well as a host of hip hoppers.

    Ray, I appreciate your refutation of Christins Aguillera and Justin Timberlake, refreshing for it’s lack of descriptions of self mutilation and physical ill ease. I think Mr. Timberlake acquitted himself pretty nicely onstage with Al Green (who I’m a huge fan of). I agree that at times Christins Aguillera and Justin Timberlake overdo it a bit with the runs and riffs, but I say give ’em a break, they’re pretty young, and anyway, I’d much rather hear them on the radio emulating the best of black music than the many Pennywise and Blink 182 clones who (in my opinion) pollute the airwaves these days. And should we slag off everyone who gets a boost from Disney ? I say no (think Peggy Lee and Louis Prima for “101 Dalmations” and “Jungle Book” respectively). Heck, I even give a pass to Britney Spears who is damn decent if considered as a dancer primarily.

    Marshall McLuhan said “Good taste is the first refuge of the non-creative. It is the last-ditch stand of the artist. ” I’m inclined to agree.

    My uncle Jack once told me “Paul, if anyone my age gives you a hard time about Rock and Roll, you look ’em right in the eye and say “Mares eat oats and does eat oats and little lambs eat ivy, a kid’ll eat ivy too, wouldn’t you” “.

    There’s tons of talented people active in music these days, it’s just easier to function under The Myth of the Golden Age.

    But I digress, this thread is about guilty pleasures, right ?

    0

  84. “We were half a million strong….” Yeah MEGAN, pretty good taste all around! You make me feel like letting my freak flag fly!

    PAUL -- I love your back door insults, I really do. You are cool. Anyone who likes Donovan is cool. Period.

    My descriptions of mutilation and sickness are necessary though. Drama helps drive the machine.

    I LOVE the idea of what we should like but don’t. A different spin for sure.

    PAUL -- You have some giant balls to bring Britney into this conversation. Is MATT paying you to be the new me?

    I’m afraid you’re going to explode/implode from mentioning the Reverend Al Green and those others in the same response. You are a pastiche of controversy…worlds colliding.

    I take exception at tons of talented people in music these days…maybe a few hundred pounds.

    We do digress but I think we are staying true to guilty pleasures.

    0

  85. >>What are some things that we think we “should” like, but don’t? Things that have “cred” but you can’t stand them…

    I like Megan’s idea of “guilty pains.”

    I’m going to open the bidding with The Smiths. I feel really bad that I could never get into The Smiths. I really wanted to, honest!

    0

  86. Yeah…why didn’t I dig Morrissey as much as I should have. He’s so cool..but never got on board.

    I feel the same way about Brian Ferry. Everything about Roxy Music is cool but never really went there either.

    0

  87. Well, Bruce I seem to be alternately cool and at other times a no book reading too much tv watching lonely desperate loser who suckles at the foul teat of the mass media. Whatever.

    I’m not terribly concerned about keeping certain special entertainers separate from others in sentence structure.

    Britney Spears is an entertainer, specifically a dancer (not much of a singer in my book) woop de doo !

    Anyhoo, more digression.

    Some current good stuff, in my opinion. A lot of this boils down to simple matters of taste. If someone enjoys Celine Dion for example, who am I to say they are wrong.

    Ghetto, frinstance

    Quest and Silkie,

    Excellent Silkie interview and Downloadable Silkie Mix here,
    http://blackdownsoundboy.blogspot.com/2009/05/silkie.html (scroll to the bottom of the interview for download link)

    Kryptic Minds

    http://blackdownsoundboy.blogspot.com/2009/05/kryptic-minds-and-loefah.html

    who’s excellent mix of their new material is available for free download (links are in the article).

    Heny G

    http://www.beatplexity.com/mix/?id=3723

    Flying Lotus, Daedelus, Lazer Sword, Ghosts on Tape, Samiyam, and Gaslamp Killer.

    http://www.xlr8r.com/tv/99

    Hatcha & Kromestar

    http://www.getdarker.com/audio/sets/Hatcha--Kromestar-Kiss-FM-290409/

    I don’t want anyone to get their pressure up or risk personal implosion so I purposely didn’t mention Gene Kelley in the paragraph about the current dancer who shall remain nameless.

    0

  89. I’m chiming in for a few scattered reasons:

    1) I’m interested in the question of “authenticity” that Matthew raises. Didn’t a lot of us find our way “underground” or whatever because we craved experience that was somehow more authentic than what was otherwise available? And we weren’t wrong, were we? But what’s authentic? Elvis’s “Hound Dog” sounds like a damn credible rock ‘n’ roll song, at least until one hears Big Mama Thornton’s version -- -- which itself is not the original, the song having been composed by a couple of white Jewish hack/geniuses. Maybe The Monkees are relevant here. I don’t feel guilt at how much I’ve enjoyed their records and TV show over the years, but shouldn’t I? Was ever a group so inauthentic? And yet you’d be shocked at the great 60s groups I like less than The Monkees, if I’m really honest about it. Bruce included “Robert Zimmerman” among the realest of the real deals above. Now, I’m as big a Dylan fan as you’re likely to find but come on! Marketing-free? Think of the name change, the deliberate concealment of his origins, the hyperbolic claims, and the appropriation of black, Southern, rural poor, Scots-Irish, Protestant, etc. traditions by a middle class Jewish guy from Minnesota. Authentic? Plus I’m pissed at the guy for canceling a concert in Las Vegas for which I had tickets. Now I have to choose among Lake Freaking Elsinore, Fresno (Fresyes!), and Stockton…

    2) Like others, I’m not given to feeling bad for liking what I like, but I have The Alarm’s greatest hits CD, play it all the time, and sing all the words.

    3) Sweet? For a few years now, I’ve been listening to a lot of 70s UK glam music that reminds me of the England I knew as a child, which seems so different from the Cool Britannia of today: Slade, Mott the Hoople, Bowie, T Rex, etc., even early Queen. Sweet is the best! A version of them is going to play for free nearby this summer (Santa Cruz Boardwalk), and I’m so excited. It includes one (1) original member, two others (including the singer, alas) being dead and the fourth leading his own outfit called Sweet around the European nostalgia circuit. (Tangentially, I wonder if either of these could be said to be “authentic.” Until recently, there were two separate bands claiming to be “The Coasters” performing daily at different venues in Las Vegas…).

    4) Donovan -- -- Love him and agree with Ray that “Season of the Witch” is a paranoia classic. My other favorites are “Colors” and “Catch the Wind;” he played all 3 when I saw him two weeks ago on the first night of his long-awaited “Ritual Groove” tour. This was my consolation prize for having to miss the Che event at the Casbah because of work here, and I had a great time. So did my 5-year-old son who, through a complicated chain of events, occupied the seat I had bought for his mother. His favorite Donovan song is “There is a Mountain,” and we heard that too. It was a long show with an intermission, with “the poet” (as he kept calling himself) on vocals and acoustic guitar accompanied by a young stand-up bassist and a young keyboard/accordion player, as well as by various images on a video screen (the stars and cosmos were our favorite, but the Beatles-and-Donovan-with-the-Maharishi footage was good, too). Oh, also, there were “pleasant aromas” wafting through the hall -- -- at least that’s what the pre-show publicity said. I heard later that one person had to leave because she had an allergic response to one of the aromas (shades of John Waters’s Smell-o-vision?), but up in the balcony we just got an occasional whiff of sandalwood over the popcorn from the lobby. And my son kept saying, “I think I smell bleach.” The old songs sounded good, although his diction has become very mannered; the new material was really preachy and long. A colleague from work (in his 60s and a big Donovan fan in the 60s) was there with his wife. They hated it (she left in the middle), finding it “precious” and “pretentious.” Those claims might have some validity, but I anticipated both and really had a good time.

    0

  90. Oh, and skiffle. Love it! I haven’t bought Bear Family’s 9-disc complete Lonnie Donegan box set yet, but I’m resigned to the fact that I will one day. Sometimes I hold it in record stores and gaze at it longingly.

    Never could get into the Rolling Stones. I know it’s crazy, but there it is. Even when I can dispassionately admire a lot of their stuff, the latter-day, chicken-dancing Jagger seems to get between me and real appreciation…

    0

  91. Some excellent points Simon. Add Elvis to the list of things I should like but don’t. I give him credit for inspiring a lot of artists I do like though.

    0

  92. On the Justin Timberlake and Christina Aguillara videos, they both hit the right notes. That takes skill, but I don’t know if it’s talent. Could either of them have come up with that music on their own? I doubt it. It doesn’t seem to have any real fire to it. To me, it comes off as overly rehearsed, too slick, overdone… especially Christina Aguillara. When she started shrieking in the middle of the song I had to turn it off… more vocal gymnastics than soul, in my opinion.

    0

  94. This thread is blowing up. Every time I’m away from the computer for any length of time it practically doubles!

    Jack in Box tacos? I’ve been secretly loving those since childhood! I’d probably feel even guiltier if I knew what was in that meat paste. True story: I used to work at the Jack in the Box on Washington Street in high school.

    Hair is brilliant, too. Easy to Be Hard (any version) but particularly the Three Dog Night version makes me misty-eyed. And I love Frank Mills, too.

    I LOVE Megan’s idea about what we’re supposed to like but don’t. A variation of that is, “I don’t get it. ” That’s a topic for a full thread or two! And Megan, of course I’m just having fun with Creed. I’ve spent far too much time in the past half hour watching Creed videos with my wife and repeating over and over again, ‘Is he serious?” In one video he poses on top of a mountain like the statue of Christ the Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro, and in another, unironically called “My Sacrifice,” he raises himself from the dead! Juxtaposed against the image of Scott Stapp driving all night to a a Gainesville, Florida Denny’s at 3 am for a booty call, and I’m having the time of my life right now!

    Perhaps we could rename this thread, in homage to Tomluv from LiveJournal in the Creed story: “I applaud your ability not to vomit at that.”

    0

  95. Oyster and cocaine ARE cool. As long as you don’t abuse them.

    SO glad to see that Donovan is back in our minds. When I first got to SD that was some of my main music. Then someone had to turn me on to Bonzo Dog Band and Parrot World. All downhill from there LOL. Next thing you know it’s all about Fear, Circle Jerks, Dead Kennedys..a descent into the maelstrom.

    0

  96. I met a boy called Frank Mills
    On September twelfth right here
    In front of the Waverly
    But unfortunately
    I lost his address

    He was last seen with his friend,
    A drummer, he resembles George Harrison of the Beatles
    But he wears his hair
    Tied in a small bow at the back

    I love him but it embarrasses me
    To walk down the street with him
    He lives in Brooklyn somewhere
    And wears this white crash helmet

    He has gold chains on his leather jacket
    And on the back is written the names
    Mary
    And Mom
    And Hell’s Angels

    I would gratefully
    Appreciate it if you see him tell him
    I’m in the park with my girlfriend
    And please

    Tell him Angela and I
    Don’t want the two dollars back
    Just him!

    0

  100. Bruce, Parrot World was a San Diego band, weren’t they? I saw them play once when I was in high school.

    0

  106. the first album is my stick. i saw them live, great show, well, if you can call two french dudes manipulating a bunch of old roland gear thru a big ass ol’ sound system a “show” (they did have some badass lights too).

    0

  108. I was ALWAYS convinced that “Hurdy Gurdy Man ” and “Good Times, Bad Times” were essentially the same riff. I have occasionally sung them as a medley. Now the P Man hints at a confirmation.

    The title graphic for this thread is the ever-loathsome Boston? Every song on that first record is a graft-job of other bands songs/arrangements. An illustration of my point? “More Than a Feeling”. Now listen to the Velvet’s “Sweet Jane” and Cream’s “Badge”.

    “She cried away her life since she fell off the cradle…”

    0

  109. DAVE -- finally someone acknowledges Parrot World! I think this was the first show I saw in SD other than Zeros, Dinettes. Soon after were the Injections, Battalion of Saints, etc…

    The scene began and ended overnight in retrospect.

    RAY Brandes this has been a genius thread so far.

    MATT -- I thought I had the monopoly on barfing on this thread??

    JEREMIAH -- you are certainly correct. But there’s a lot of repetition with 3 chord rock!

    0

  110. Simon says:

    “Bruce included “Robert Zimmerman” among the realest of the real deals above. Now, I’m as big a Dylan fan as you’re likely to find but come on! Marketing-free? Think of the name change, the deliberate concealment of his origins, the hyperbolic claims, and the appropriation of black, Southern, rural poor, Scots-Irish, Protestant, etc. traditions by a middle class Jewish guy”.

    Not to get off subject, but I found this a hundred posts back and thought -- hmmm. This actually IS the authentic American experience, explained better than I could.

    Name change, concealment of origins. appropriation of black, southern, rural poor….That’s what makes it the real deal even more. Ain’t that America????

    0

  111. Bruce, let me see if i have this right, name change, concealment of origins. appropriation of black, southern, rural poor culture are a laudable mark of authenticity when done by one of your heroes, but not by some modern singer you don’t care for. Is that it ?

    Seems like newspeak to me.

    0

  112. Hi Paul -- I’m not sure what person(s) you’re referencing. I wasn’t saying that it’s laudable…just that it is certainly an American, melting pot, immigrant country, phenomenon.

    I think Dylan did the same thing that Elvis, Jerry Lee Lewis, Johny Cash, too many to name did…

    Glad you’re here posting tonight. Never DULL, that’s for sure.

    0

  114. BTW, Elvis … Yeah, I’m really gonna have to say I prefer a lot of other guys from that era.

    Speaking of authenticity and Elvis: How significant is it that performers write most of their own stuff? I’m thinking it through, and it matters a lot to me when it comes to rock music. (I’m betting a whole lot more to me than my very respected friend Mr. Howland.) Hence, in my eyes, Buddy Holly, Chuck Berry and Little Richard have a lot more going for them out of the gate than Elvis. At the same time, I’m not exactly sure why it should matter to me, long as the song and performance are good.

    It’s funny, ’cause I don’t have the same attitude about jazz.

    Oh! Guilty pleasure: Elton John. I like his melodies.

    0

  115. Simon and Paul -- I like talking to you guys. Do you know each other??

    I think all artists emulate those they admire and came before them. Simons original remarks about Dylan got me thinking a lot about American music and the American experience.

    I think we’ve discerned that “talent” and “originality” are not real good criteria for aesthetic…so what is?

    How can we re-direct back to guilty pleasures though? This is almost a thread within a thread!

    0

  116. Nah, I like where the thread is. We’re finally getting to the goods. If some moderater would like to move some of these posts and start a new thread, I’d be fine with that of course.

    I agree with Matt Rothenberg about the early Rock and Roll end of things. Calling Elvis the king of is a bit like calling the Beastie Boys the kings of Rap or Hip Hop, except the Beasties write their own material. (apologies for the linguistic proximity).To me, Chuck Berry is the King of Rock and Roll.

    Things I don’t like but should. Bob Dylan. Well, I like his songs when sung by others, but his voice bugs me.

    0

  117. I agree with Matt too -- on a different issue. Writing and performing does seem like an important criteria for rock.

    SINGING songs is certainly a talent, but I do like the idea of the whole package, at least for folk, rock, rap…

    Your comment on jazz rings true also. It’s always been about taking the “head” of a song and doing something else with it…interesting.

    In “Classical” or “serious” music, you always play the music of others.

    0

  118. Agreed on Chuck Berry, Paul … Also the first genius lyricist of rock ‘n’ roll.

    Dylan’s voice totally does it for me — sometimes I have to avoid aping the guy’s delivery completely … I’ll listen back to something I really got into singing and think, “Oh, shit! My Dylan’s protruding again.” 🙂

    0

  120. I feel like the only attribute Chuck Berry lacked which Elvis had was “Marketability” if you get my drift. Things that Berry had that Presley lacked include, songwriting and lead guitar playing. Certainly music is not a contest and of course, I realize what a long shadow Mr. Presley cast, as I mentioned earlier I’m indebted to him for influencing a lot of artists who influenced me, I’m just not a fan.

    Of course, Chuck Berry was a great synthesizer too, some of his songs like “Maybelline” sound more like what was then known as hillbilly music and he clearly drew from blues and jazz as well.

    0

  121. Definitely, Paul. I’m a huge fan of those three double Chuck Berry’s Golden Decade volumes. There is so much depth and range there--from country to blues and jazz. And all of it full of wit and humor.

    0

  122. Thanks, Ray for the CSN vid. I know you guys have gone all high-falutin’ with the music talk, but this philistine must reveal a true CSN guilty pleasure, and no poking fiun!--Southern Cross. Okay, peck me to pieces, band geeks.

    0

  123. Yeah, he’s a funny guy. Interesting cat too, I read his auto-biography. Member of the Chess and Photography clubs at school. Poet. His prose is every bit as witty and pithy as his songwriting. Good busineesman. I feel like he never really got his due. If I’m not mistaken his only number one hit record was “My Ding-A-Ling” which says a lot more about the record buying public than his talent.

    0

  124. Megan -- Can’t peck you to pieces over that one. I’m a Sailor before all else so….( plus CSN are great ).

    Let’s not forget about James Brown. Stopped by the Georgia State Police at age 65 with a handgun and a 16 year old girl on-board. Isn’t that at least a little Rock’n’Roll??

    I DO love Elvis…he’s like the JFK of Rock.

    0

  125. I still think Janet Jackson’s Rhythm Nation Concert was the best show I have ever been to. I like Jethro Tull and Ten Years After, do any of these bands qualify for this thread?

    0

  127. Megan,
    I don’t really know why you should be embarrassed to like Crosby, Stills and Nash. Crosby himself is a bit of an embarrassment, but he has a beautiful voice and a fine new liver. I’ve always liked Steven Stills, and Graham Nash is one of my favorite singers and songwriters. Together they have a lot of interesting, well-written songs and they sing beautifully together. A real supergroup--almost too much talent for one group.

    0

  128. Leo Sayer! I do love you, Lou.

    Matt, I was going to say “Do your own work” after you copied off my page for Hanson. But I’ma copy you and not like the Smiths.

    It’s time at last to confess the guilty pain here: I do not like The Doors. I like Hanson and Judas Priest and Slaughter and Christina Aguilera. And I do not like The Doors. I tried. Sometimes it works. Like I hated broccoli, but liked it after a lot of effort. But I just don’t like The Doors. Or “Clockwork Orange.” I would rather watch “Never Been Kissed” 10 times in a row than 10 minutes of “Clockwork Orange.”

    0

  129. I agree with you Paul on Chuck Berry, but it’s nowadays it’s pretty hard for me to separate the chess playing, witt,y charismatic Chuck Berry from the one who installed videocameras in the the bathrooms at his amusement park back in the eighties. Hey--maybe that’s a good idea for a new thread--fallen idols.

    0

  130. This hilarious video series is not only chock full of guilty musical pleasures, but watching Yacht Rock itself is a guilty pleasure. Here’s episode one (there are eleven).

    “I love being in the Doobies. They’re so smooth!”

    0

  132. Hey LOU -- Speaking of bands that suck…Joanne is moving full speed ahead for an INJECTIONS show at The Casbah. She has some people taking care of things, a bass player in mind, (from a Che band I think), and some dude that wants to do a record for us.

    Please tell me me you don’t like Christine..please Lou. I’m watching a movie and I don’t want to spend the night cleaning puke off the couch, TV, remote, etc………

    I re-posted that cool vid of you dancing and singing with the Circle Jerks…can’t remember which thread though.

    0

  133. In agreement (of sorts…) with Ray, I find I really have no ‘guilty’ pleasures per se, just that I have grown more tolerant of things I used to abhor. I will most likely not get over my distaste for Boston though but I understand the transportation they provide, but I do so with a cringe and a sly smile.

    I also still pretty much dislike most of Led Zeppelin (Fleminger will recall our frequent lambastes of all things LZ and Page, who I only an now just tolerate as a guitarist) from an aesthetic point of view but will let myself be amused by their Rock god demagoguery and oh fey, white boy blues posturing.

    I also find that Donna Summer and Thelma Houston are divas extraordinaire and have a couple of their tunes on the iPod. They rock!

    To me it’s all about the song. Especially pop tunes, if it catches my ear I may just accept it and let it go at that. But if it’s rock wankery or pompousness, I’ll deride it until I slough off the mortal coil!

    0

  134. I didn’t read this whole thing, but from what I’ve heard of Christina Aguilera’s work (mainly the Moulin Rouge stuff) to say she has no talent is patently foolish. Yeah- she’s heavily marketed by the corporate music industry- but so are a ton of no talent hacks- at least she can really sing, no doubt about it.

    Justin Timberlake?

    http://www.hulu.com/watch/72438/saturday-night-live-barry-gibb-talk-show

    I have to give him credit- he’s game to improvise and has my respect for not laughing (nearly) throughout that skit.

    As for the next Led Zeppelin or Floyd (heavily- shamelessly- invested in corporate rock themselves nearly from the get go), what? Were you asleep for the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Jane’s Addiction? Some Pearl Jam could also be construed as reminiscent of some of those early mega rockers. I would have to say that the ready supply of high grade, quality narcotics and the weakening constitution of the average rocker has played a big part in keeping any “supergroups” from really flourishing. Shannon Hoon and Blind Melon were (to me) a little reminiscent of Zeppelin in many ways.

    0

  135. > The guilty pleasure here is “Atlantis.”

    Still have the vinyl record mom bought when it was brand new. Used to take it to my room, play in on the Barbie phonograph and rock out. Only difference now is my stereo has way better sound quality. Come on, that’s not a guilty pleasure, it’s a cult classic. Jeff Beck wails on that tune!

    0

  136. Toby, do Jane’s Addiction and the Red Hot Chili Peppers (two bands who’s music I have enjoyed) somehow negate the music of Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd (two other bands whose music I have also enjoyed). The floyd were actually flying pretty low before the perfect storm of promotion that was the Dark Side of the Moon promotional campaign. After that massively unprecedented hit album they penned the tune “Have a Cigar” which skewers the suits at the record company, and put it on the follow up to darkside. By the way, don’t you think the peppers and janes were pretty heavily corporately invested from or near the get go also ? They both got signed to major labels pretty fast and had videos on MTV as I remember.

    Thanks for referncing JTs sense of of humor and comedy chops. Here’s another very funny JT moment

    I never was a huge Pearl Jam fan, but I have to give them credit, they still play to packed houses and release CDs of the live shows, without I believe any major label support.

    But again, we digress, got any guilty pleasures Toby ?

    0

  137. >>Jane’s Addiction and the Red Hot Chili Peppers (two bands who’s music I have enjoyed)

    Paul: I’ve opined before on this blog that the Wallflowers coulda BEEN the Red Hot Chili Peppers! You were killing it before they’d even formed.

    >>Atlantis

    Ray: I’ve never heard that song the same way since “Goodfellas.”

    0

  138. Ray, you’re right, a lot of people aren’t giving up the goods. I feel like I’ve done my part naming and even going to bat for JT, Xtina, Floyd, c’mon people… what you got ?

    0

  139. >>c’mon people… what you got ?

    Paul: Trump card … Nancy and I were eating at Chevy’s in the early ’90s (is that a guilty pleasure itself?), and this weird song came on — crazy sort of incessant rhythm, sounded a little like some of the Native American stuff I’d heard as a kid over this electronic beat — monotonous but kinda hypnotic … I was like, “Whoa! What’s this? Some sort of South American Indian hip-hop trance thing?” Couldn’t get it out of my head.

    Yeah, it soon gained popularity … “The Macarena.”

    OK. Last of my cred, smoking there on the floor. You asked for it!

    0

  140. I do like Christina’s style, Linda Perry gave her some songs, I can’t listen to Yes without getting nausea, I am from Boston, but the band
    Boston’s album is too studio overproduced for me. I like Flea personally, but not the Red hot chile peppers (sorry) A Clockwork Orange is great! Sorry Robin. I am not sure about The Cars, Rick Ocasek never forgave me for calling him Ray in public.

    0

  141. Paul: Those WERE some of my guilty musical pleasures! 😉

    Nah- I’m guilty of very little musically- I grew up in a musically diverse home and today wield that like a weapon.

    Yes RHCP and Janes were corporately invested- but somewhere up above I saw someone was beating that dead horse, saying that bands today are corporate without throwing in the disclaimer that bands of the late sixties were pretty much the birth of corporate rock’s first bloated arena filling babies.

    Hmmm…. my guilty pleasures…. On Pandora I have She and Him, Rage against the Machine, Prokofiev and Debussy, Killing Joke, Eels, Miles Davis and Coltrane, Mazzy Star, Rollins band, Redskins, Fugazi, Natalie Merchant, Cowboy Junkies, John Doe, Dave Alvin, Abba and ACDC. Among others, just to give you an idea of how shameless I am at home. There are a LOT of SONGS I like by bands I hate (when I skimmed through this enormous thread I saw this was covered above too.) Three Doors Down’s Kryptonite has a pretty catchy hook to it. I find the guy from Counting Crows to be an astoundingly prolific pop-song writer. Chris Issak has a couple I like. The list goes on. Truth be told I think Abba would be as low as I go, if they weren’t so kitschy they’re cool again.

    0

  144. ABBA The Movie (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0075617/) is surprisingly insightful, they are clearly willing to poke fun at their own success and phenomenon. I’ve always had a thang for their up-tempo stuff, always sounded like the soundtrack for a “It’s a Small World” ride that was full of larger and older puppets.

    I will admit to many fascinated watchings of movies produced for pop stars who I guess simply had to make a movie because it was the next logical step in their career. Some aren’t that great (understatement) and I would definitely place them in the Guilty Pleasures category (so are guilty pleasures things we know that are bad for us but we do it anyway? or simply stuff we don’t want other people to know we like??):

    “Good Times”, starring Sonny and Cher.
    Pre-dates their tv show as it is a series of stylistic vignettes in which they get to wear different costumes and appear in different backlot sets, sort of like the Star Trek episode where Kirk and Spock dress up like Nazis, but somewhat funnier and with songs. I like it, but I must apologize to anybody I’ve forced to watch it (you know who you are)…
    perhaps that’s a definition of ‘Guilty Pleasure’, something you’d feel bad making others sit through??
    I have still not brought myself to watch Sonny’s self-produced “Chastity” vehicle for Cher, which as I understand is not just a movie, but an “Experience”. I’ve had some bad experiences so that has made me wary of going out of my way to have more of them, but sooner than later I will hitchhike down that particular road.

    “The Spice Girls Movie”….profoundly more clever and entertaining than I ever would have expected. Please pardon the comparison but it is closer to “Help” than “Hard Day’s Night” but still has a certain, er, cheekiness to it.

    “Xanadu”….Gene Kelly and Jeff Lynne (ELO) both do their best to save this one…they really try and sometimes they succeed for fleeting, rewarding moments. Gene Kelly’s appearance is quite poignant, he’s clearly still ‘got it’ even if he’s getting misty or hoofing through a somewhat well-intentioned mess of a movie. I had no idea until a minute ago that this was a remake of a 1947 movie called “Down To Earth”. The high-speed, robotic ‘cowboy’ dance sequence near the end is worth it right there. And I’m not normally a fan of rollerskating movies, or of anything that even reminds me of “Fame”.
    I own and do listen to the soundtrack, and not only in hermetically sealed rooms. Jeff Lynne is a genius.

    I wish I could count “Labyryth” and “Absolute Beginners” in along with my previous GP’s, but despite these movies being Touch By A Bowie, and “Beginners” being somehow about the early 60’s British mod scene, they still seem unredeemable. I will pull down the shades and try again, but not anytime soon.

    “33 1/3 Revolutions Per Monkee”, a tv variety-show spectacular that was the last time tv appearance of all 4 simian mop-tops. Brilliant. Terrible. Brilliant Terrible.
    The scene in which 1950’s rock and roll greats are stacked on top of eachother (WITH their pianos) like a Blueberry Hill house of cards starts quite promising, only to have the Monkees then abolish all the cool by singing all over their heroes, almost as if to declare ‘all of your revered history has led to THIS moment!’. Too weird to describe….and I’ll admit to having watched this particular VHS tape far too many times not to be declared certifiable.

    0

  145. ABBA rule. Clockwork Orange and Stanley Kubrick rule. I posted a good Donovan link way, way above. He rules.

    Anyone like “The Hunger”? Deneuve, Sarandon, Bowie….

    0

  146. most def. j.t. (solo, duh & when he’s with andy samberg or jimmy fallon) :: beyonce (can’t stop singing “i’m a single lady” lately) :: t.i.’s “whatever you like” :: kelly clarkson (man, can she belt it) :: john legend (and his piano) :: pink :: rihanna :: usher (“love in this club”) :: adam lambert (AI) … i actually don’t feel guilty about digging these guys. not one bit. especially when i’m dancin’ around doin’ the “single ladies” dance. 😉

    :: great idea, ava :: i’d be in.

    0

  147. hedwig and the angry inch *(greatest musical of all time)*

    old bozo the clown records (bozo goes deep sea diving was best)

    reruns of sesame st. from 1969-74

    electric company after that

    room 222…KAREN VALENTINE

    aerosmith’s first album “Aerosmith -- featuring Dream On”

    Dave Dee Desi Beaky Mick and Tick or some such…

    the all girl ACDC cover band Hells Belles…night before my wedding

    Chubby Checker

    Doris Day

    Barbara Gordon aka Batgirl

    I throw myself on the mercy of the Courtship of Eddie’s Father

    Patrick Works
    Friend of FONO

    0

  148. Funny. I am still (sometimes) in touch with “Eddy”- though we ran across each other way late in life and I haven’t been able to raise him on the internet in a while.

    Mrs Livingston was one of my guilty pleasures.

    0

  149. Patrick -- we must be close in age. The Courtship of Eddies Father??

    Then what about Family Affair?? Barbara Gordon..yeah, but what about Barbara Feldon??

    Room 222?? Remember the “breathy” opening theme song??

    Did you know FONO as well as Lou and I?? They were our constant companions, for good or bad, for a while.

    LORI -- boy do we have different tastes in music!! That’s OK…I like a diverse thread!!

    0

  150. Sorry Toby, I thought you were posting on the “those guilty pleasures arent very cool” sub-thread. (I actually kind of realized on the way to work “oh wait, maybe those WERE his guilty pleasures).

    I’m in agreement with you about the corporate sponsorship thing , yh, it goes way back. BB King once sang about the virtues of a brand of flour if I’m not mistaken. No one is innocent.

    Glad to see more people coming with the goods. I’ve got a couple more that came to mind today which I may post if I can find vids of them.

    Speaking of TV shows that only people who have been alive a long time remember, does “Danger Island” ring bells for anyone ?

    0

  151. >>Sorry Toby, I thought you were posting on the “those guilty pleasures arent very cool” sub-thread.

    I call dibs on the sub-sub-thread on things that really are cool but you can pretend they’re not cool so you can all congratulate each other for being uncool!

    I mentioned those Mothersbaugh-scored McDonald’s videos from Klasky-Csupo. Ringo as narrator on “Shining Time Station” and Teletubbies are also actually just cool, and you’re only uncool if you try to prove you’re cool by claiming to like ’em ’cause they’re uncool. (Just admitting they’re cool is cool!)

    0

  152. >Matt, Kristin and Megan have really answered the call so far.
    >c’mon people… what you got ?

    I confessed Tivo’ing “Daisy of Love,” singing along with Toby Keith in public, and Dokken. Plus, I’m all over this blog as a church lady. A converted-during-adulthood church lady. What do you want, my heart on a platter?

    I’ll confess to going two Slaughter concerts, and to giving myself headbanger whiplash showing my daughter how to enjoy Kid Rock’s “Bahwidaba.”

    Also, I recently saw a guy in a vampire t-shirt that said “Got blood?” and now I kind of want one.

    0

  153. Bruce and I must be the same age because we both have heard of the Beatles.

    Timely enough, Kung Fu was one of my fave shows as a kid- as were Rockford and Columbo. Today I don’t have cable or a TV, but when I do watch TV it’s House, Rescue Me and Southland on Hulu.com. I also watched the entire Sopranos on DVD and the first two seasons of Lost (though the third kind of lost me- they needed to wrap that up.)

    0

  154. these could probably go in Matt’s new sub-sub-thread

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0i38JRTyMik

    sorry, embedding disabled on request, it merits a click.

    as does this

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xa1qaAcJG70 (which to me is about as close to a perfect record as can be made)

    both are produced by Rich Harrison

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rich_Harrison

    for me it’s more about the record producer than the singer, though these ladies do an excellent job.
    enjoy

    0

  158. Nobody should care what Lou Reed, Joey Ramone, Leonard Cohen, Richard Carpenter, Joni Mitchel, or Brian Wilson listen to. If that’s the standard by which you’re measuring then you should just quit listening to music entirely and instead compile lists of what all your heroes are listening to.

    0

  159. LOVE Richard Harris in Camelot…great eyebrows.

    I saw Richard Kiley in Man Of La Mancha at the Wang…great!!

    My two favorite shows, Gilligans Island and Seinfeld…guilty pleasures.

    0

  160. How odd- Man of La Mancha was JUST mentioned on a radio interview like ten minutes ago. Total strangeness.

    0

  162. Toby -- It was kind of rhetorical. I would think that you of all people would be a little sensitive to the dumbing down of music, art, film, etc…

    And of course we care what our mentors read, write, listen, to…Isn’t that one reason we look up to and admire people.

    0

  163. Bruce, In response to your response to Toby, lets take it in 2 parts

    1. “I would think that you of all people would be a little sensitive to the dumbing down of music, art, film, etc…”

    erm, the title of the thread is “Guilty Pleasures” after all and not “Music we hold in the utmost high regard and that we feel represents the highest expression of the most noble of human sentiments”.

    2. “And of course we care what our mentors read, write, listen, to…Isn’t that one reason we look up to and admire people.”

    I s’pose you’re right on that point, and I’ve always been interested in what influenced artists that have influenced me. I can’t speak for anyone else, but i wouldn’t list any of the people you’ve listed as mentors for myself. Furthermore, there are a lot of interesting things about much of current popular music. If something strikes my fancy, I’ll go find out more about it. Whether the group of artists you listed would like it or find it of interest is not at all a concern to me, and why should it be, I see no reason to limit my interests and tastes on that basis.

    0

  166. Actually Bruce, the guilty pleasure thing wasn’t meant as a re-direct. You keep rubbishing peoples guilty pleasures. It’s guilty pleasures man. If it were guilty food pleasures and someone posted that they liked hamburgers with pastrami on them, would you wonder out loud what Ferran Adrià thought about that ?

    0

  167. >>Eric Clapton

    That suggests another interesting sub-sub-sub-topic: There are some artists whose work I respect but who have some really creepy ideas I can’t get behind at all.

    Full disclosure: While he’s not a “guilty pain” for me, I’m probably not quite as enamored of Eric Clapton’s oeuvre as I should be. But when it comes to his racial views, ooooooh … I really don’t like the guy one little bit. (Not just his drunken outburst in the 1970s that inspired Rock Against Racism, but his continued endorsement of Enoch Powell’s warnings that Britain would become a “black colony.”)

    I’m picking on Clapton as an example. In general, how much do you care whether artists whose work you like have political, philosophical or aesthetic views you deeply dislike?

    0

  169. >>If it were guilty food pleasures and someone posted that they liked hamburgers with pastrami on them, would you wonder out loud what Ferran Adrià thought about that ?

    Paul: LOL! Well said.

    ‘Course, this thread is so rife with juicy tangents, I just kind of want to keep this post up top for the next three months … I think Ray started the equivalent of the Genesis Device in “Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan.”

    Oh! Is that a guilty pleasure?? 🙂

    0

  175. No Paul. I hope this is just fun. Threads die out quickly with no fly in the ointment…they get all serious, boring, and morose.

    Read the whole Injections thread…we were pushing 1000 posts! Talk about controversy … this shit doesn’t happen by chance!

    0

  176. >>In short- I’m not debasing Zep or Floyd (if that was where you were going with the “negating” comment)

    Toby: Hee, hee! Can’t find your way through this labyrinthine discussion without a looooong piece of string … Just so’s you know, Paul realized a few dozen comments later that you weren’t slagging those bands after all. 🙂

    As you were …

    0

  177. Toby, thanks for the post. Some interesting stuff there. I’m fairly sure that I almost completely mis-read your previous post (regarding Zep, Floyd,The Peppers, and Janes). It sounds like were pretty close to being of the same mind about those bands.

    this,

    “Well- I for one have more interest in what people I know (and people who have demonstrated impeccable- and somewhat in the same arena as my own- taste and judgment on arts and entertainment) are listening to than some celebrities are listening to.”

    I heartily agree with, and I sort of thought that was the point of this whole exercise. I find it much more interesting than controversy for it’s own sake.

    0

  178. For the record: I am indeed more interested in what Paul Howland is listening to than what Lou Reed is listening to. (And I like a lot more Lou Reed than Toby does.)

    All the tangents are fun, but bottom line: I’m getting a lot out of the original intent of this post. There’s a LOT of stuff I’m going to listen to again because of the people here who enjoy it.

    0

  179. I’m just going to sit here listening to Abba until I’ve devolved enough to sit here listening to Ace of Base.

    (Also Oasis- for the record. Guilty as charged. Also select tracks from the New Radicals.)

    0

  180. Matt -- will you still listen to ANY of my fav music even though it’s derivative and unimaginative??

    0

  181. I think I’ve heard only ONE Justin Timberlake song, and was really surprised it wasn’t a black guy. I was touting the vocal talents of the little blonde mexican girl and said that JT held his own on SNL.

    I’ve been super busy and truth be told a lot of the threads are about stuff I wasn’t around for, and I don’t like to muddy the waters if I haven’t really got a lot to contribute (yes I said “I don’t like to”- yes I know that I do indeed do that when I have copious amounts of free time. But I dont like it!) 😉

    Question from Bruce: “What’s your take on The Olsen Twins, Lindsay Lohan, and Paris Hilton. They all have records too.”

    I tolerate pop culture sometimes, if I feel the artist is doing something that adds value. For me- those people don’t add value. Paris Hilton is wasting valuable oxygen, and Brittney and one of the Oleson Twins has been on my dead pool list for years running (no accounting for tenacity.)

    I will not be surprised to see Justin Timberlake become the Chris Franz of this era. He has the time in the studio and apparently knows how to do it.

    I totally left the Beastie Boys off of my Jane’s Addiction/RHCP rant. They also have quite a body of work that was respected early on by a whole lot of black artists who listened to it and asked, “Three Jews from Brooklyn?” (You may see my Chris Franz/Tina Weymouth to Rick Rubin segue there, if you blur your eyes. That’s the mind of an A.D.D. bot at work.) 😉

    0

  184. >>Matt -- will you still listen to ANY of my fav music

    Bruce: Well, sure … I think I have, actually, and I believe I like most if not all of it and love a lot of it. Most of it is well within my comfort zone — not exactly guilty! 🙂

    0

  185. Oh Shit- the Talking heads- they have a pretty large body of work for their time, and were also fairly groundbreaking in their musical style (although no one ever accused them of kicking out the jams or blowing the doors off or anything like that, and they miss that “rocker” element necessary to alienate parents and school faculty.

    (see that? Toby’s brain is like a gyroscope with a spoke missing, careening off the inside of his skull.)

    0

  187. Again, how do you manage when four people are simultaneously posting?? Must be a great thread!

    MATT -- I’m VINDICATED. You like, even love, my derivative and unimaginative musical taste.

    Talking Heads used to play at RISD parties…they were “new”. We never heard music like that before!!

    0

  188. Matt just emailed me and said that if I dont retract any and all negativity towards the Carpenters I will cease to exist (powerful platform, wordpress with the new user vaporizing add-ons.)

    Karen is vindicated. Henceforth I’ll make jokes about Mama Cass.

    😉 😉 😉

    0

  189. The talkiing heads… I almost said rocked, but that’s not the right word… got down pretty hard on “Remain In Light”. Recently a DJ whose name I do not know played “Born Under Punches” immediately after this retro new wave band played at a club I was at, then segued smoothly into current club music in about three or four more moves.Nice. That album was produced around the same time as My Life in the Bush of Ghosts. Both very forward thinking albums in their time.

    0

  191. Be careful of the long arm of MATT.

    I really only know Talking Heads ’77. I really don’t listen to much pop music, (obviously).

    I’m re-entering the Masters/Doctoral program I dropped out of 20+ years ago. I’m SUPPOSED to be listening to Goldberg Variations, Pierre Boulez, Beethovens “Missa Solemnis”, John Cage, Coltrane, Miles…that kind of stuff.

    Instead I’m watching Heath Ledger in Batman, listening to Mama Cass, posting on CHE, and folding laundry!

    Life was so much easier when I just sailed and smoked weed all day…Oh well, the forty year vacation is over…endless summer.

    0

  192. I see very clearly how the Talking Heads opened the door for bands like REM- but I also see a lot of little things in common between the Talking Heads and a band like the Epoxies, which wasn’t really emulating them (I don’t think so anyways) but is another great band in their own right, albeit kind of retro and “last wave”. And of course Chris Franz and Tina Weymouth have produced more than what is on their Wikipedia page. They did that first huge Ziggy Marley album that was pretty epic. And they did backing percussion for the Gorillaz on one album.

    Interesting:

    Martina Michèle “Tina” Weymouth (born on November 22, 1950 in Coronado, California)

    0

  193. Introducing my new best friend (in the carpenters) Paul Howland!!

    Epoxy?? System Three, West System?? Done a lot of ‘glassing dude.

    Spent four years on the rock there…Coronado.

    0

  195. Talk about derivative- go through the related links off of that Epoxies video- the Eyeliners, the soviettes, and this:

    These guys either need to kiss or shoot heroin- they have the look but not the act, and the sound is totally bland. How does a band with all the resources at their fingertips shoot so far below the mark?

    Rage against the Machine was another band with the potential to be the modern day equivalent of the sixties supergroups- if they just had some longevity. That first album (pictured below) absolutely kicked my ass. I was kickboxing when I first heard that and it became my theme song- we played that sparring, training, fighting- that was just some kick ass shit. Makes those pansies up above on this post look like cardboard cutouts, parody.

    0

  196. Cool. Never heard of that.

    A lot of purists think that epoxy isn’t ‘glass. Know what I mean??

    Uh…Guilty pleasures?? I fiberglass and play chess!

    0

  197. Hey Toby -- what was that band with two girls, ’90’s?? Can’t remember the song but at the end they always kissed each other??

    They were big for about a minute. ha.

    0

  198. david byrne makes me happy. seeing “true stories” with seth, carl, mark urton, a few other boys, at the ken, was a night i will never forget. laughing my arse off to mister byrne dead pan assassinating the u.s. culture while also giving us a history lesson… or maybe a future lesson…

    here’s the link to the first ten minutes:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U4M5UgdJwmI

    0

  200. I loved it when Anthony Kiedis and Dave Navarro kissed. The sound of ten million jocks turning off their televisions.

    Epoxy is different from glass. Epoxy stays separate from the resin- fiberglass melts on contact with polyester resin and becomes nearly one with the resin. These principles do not apply to carbon fiber cloth.

    0

  201. Good morning AVA -- nice of you to join us. Thanks for the David Byrne … where you been?

    I’ve done polyester, (a lot, on boats), but I think you have a lot more control and forgiveness with epoxy. Used it on all the newer boats I built and especially on repairs. Ever vacuum bag??

    0

  204. >For the record: I am indeed more interested in what Paul Howland is listening to than what Lou Reed is listening to.

    Hear! Hear!

    Paul Howland is the celebrity who has most influenced my tastes. I still have vinyl from Chameleon, Blue Meanie, Off the Record purchased with Paul, or after hanging out with Paul. Paul is the man who told me, “If you love Led Zeppelin, check out John Lee Hooker and Blind Lemon Jefferson.” Paul listened to me describe something I wanted but wasn’t finding and knew the answer was Miles Davis. Paul has an amazing grasp of the connection between the ear and the heart.

    He is the Mothership Connection. Make my funk the P Funk.

    0

  205. >>MATT -- I’m VINDICATED. You like, even love, my derivative and unimaginative musical taste.

    Bruce: Jah help us if I’m the arbiter of taste!

    Frankly, I’m a little concerned that I tend toward the derivative and unimaginative. My bandwidth has been so limited since the kids, you’ll notice the most eclectic stuff I cite is kid-related.

    Between my artsy-fartsy upbringing and my constrained opportunities to sample new sounds, I worry that the rest of my pantheon comprises received wisdom about what’s either cool (Dylan, Leonard Cohen, Velvets) or safely cool-uncool (Carpenters, Monkees).

    When somebody like Mr. Howland (sorry to keep draggin’ you in, bra, but it’s true!) suggests I take a second listen to Justin Timberlake … I like the challenge. It makes my brain cells fizz. It’s like Pop Rocks in my brain. Fizzy Lifting Drinks, even.

    0

  206. PS: “Take a second listen” is a misnomer … I never really gave him a first listen!

    BTW, I’m not dismissing Lou Reed’s record collection — I’m sure he’s got a swell one, probably housed in very elegant teak shelves. But given my constraints, if there’s a choice between following up on something Lou Reed endorses in an NPR interview or following the personal guidance of Ray, Kristen, Robin, Bruce, assorted Pauls and Daves, et al. … I’ll go with the friends-and-family plan. 🙂

    0

  208. Thanks Robin, Matt, and Kristen for the endorsements. I’ve been excited about music ever since I can remember. It’s always been one of my favorite things to see a light bulb go on for someone listening to something they haven’t heard before. Bruce, if you don’t like Justin Timberlake or something else I like, more power to ya. A wise man once told me, “In matters of taste there can be no dispute”.

    Speaking of Andy Samberg, click on this

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6_YlkEUOonI

    0

  209. more stuff bruce won’t like but others might

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5cPQ75fgWhk

    this would be a good little pop funk record if it weren’t for the beatboxing, which was roundly drubbed by the beatboxing community. i think it’s produced by the neptunes http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_neptunes (sure sounds like them)

    one of the best beatboxers makes a record
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kpE61FpY6d8

    pure beatbox business

    will smith and the mighty biz markie speaking an alien tongue

    pharrel of the neptunes on the solo tip

    enjoy, or not

    0

  210. I had sent Matt another post on “What are you listening to now? What do you recommend?” but I guess this one is taking a turn away from the “guilty pleasures” highway and onto the “What I think is cool” onramp.

    Remember, if it doesn’t make you feel just a little bit guilty, it’s NOT a guilty pleasure--it’s just a pleasure.

    0

  211. By the way, Paul--I have always liked the fact that you keep one foot firmly in the classics and another in the present, searching for new music. Pharrell is one of my favorite “new” producers.

    0

  213. Another fun tangent of all this is context … I don’t want to listen to “White Light/White Heat” while eating dinner, right?

    G’head and barf — but the first time I heard Smashmouth’s “All Star” was in the very witty title credits of “Shrek,” and I thoroughly enjoyed the whole enchilada, including the music. (I love that movie, in case I should feel guilty about it.)

    I’ve heard Smashmouth since, and I think they’re derivative and meh, including that song. Except when that ogre is doing his morning ablutions in that sequence — then it adds this layer of irony that totally works.

    0

  214. >>I guess this one is taking a turn away from the “guilty pleasures” highway and onto the “What I think is cool” onramp.

    Ray: This discussion deserves its own SUBWAY MAP! I wish I could sync my GPS to it. Bravo for starting this! 🙂

    0

  215. Hey Ray, nice one. I love the classics, but sometimes it’s nice to hear something new, especially if it holds true to some of the values that caused me to fall in love with those classics in the first place. Pharrell and company are a classic case of band nerds made good. Plus, their label is called “Star Trak” haha. For the uninitiated, an excellent primer on their productions for other artists is “The Neptunes Present… Clones”, I was literally checking for this when it came out in ’03. Here’s a bit of wikipedia goodness about them.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Neptunes

    Their debut artist album as N.E.R.D an (acronym for no one ever really dies) “In Search Of… (N.E.R.D )”is my favorite of their artist albums. It’s a bit more gritty than the stuff that came after. They employed the talents of a group called Spymob to back them up (I get the feeling that they pretty much told spymob what to play on it).

    Yeah, I been thinking for a minute I need to start posting somewhere in some sort of “Stuff I Like” thread. These were kind of offshoots of the JT tangent (what a decent singer he is, what a laughable beatboxer, what real beatboxing is like, who produced some of his records, some of their records…).

    Another nice tangent off of the Rahzel thing, Rahzel was a member of a Hip Hop group from Philadelphia called the roots. The original line up of the band also included record producer / keyboard player Scott Storch. Roots drummer Ahmir Thompson claims that he can play the break that any Hip Hop tune was built off of, and also name the original tune from which it came. Real scholarly guy and a good record producer in his own right. He was part of the production team that made D’Angelo’s excellent “Voodoo” album, among many other albums.

    0

  216. That Pharrel kicks my ass. Pimpest of the pimpest- when I first saw him with Snoop Dog (I think) years ago I thought he was the next Marvin Gaye.

    0

  217. Wow -- like the Pharrel…learn something new everyday!

    Ray, you started one cool thread! We even get to talk about epoxy and the Epoxies!

    Guilty Pleasure -- I’m designing a tee-shirt that says “Resistance is Futile”. Not very timely, but would any CHE geeks wear one???

    0

  218. Matt -- please feel free to feel guilty about Shrek.

    AND, I think you are saying that you’d take your CHE friends advice over Lou Reeds??? You are a loyal leader.

    0

  220. >>AND, I think you are saying that you’d take your CHE friends advice over Lou Reeds???

    Bruce: Yup, I’ve said it a couple of times … Happy to say it again! 🙂

    I guess I’d be curious about what Lou Reed likes that’s out now — if I were to meet the guy and he weren’t doing that ridiculous grumpy-genius schtick.

    … But he’s not here (I don’t think), and I don’t have any context to know his agenda or process.

    That whole thing about pulling his pants on one leg at a time also applies to Mr. Reed, I assume. (Unless his personal trainer does it.)

    I dunno — again, I am leery about name-checking, but I met a lot of the intellectual mentors of all these folks … I’ve never found that they have a monopoly on taste.

    0

  221. I didn’t know that about Miles Davis. He was such a straight laced boy when Charlie Parker got hold of him.

    0

  222. Here’s one more sub-sub-sub-sub-topic: Back to the question of whether a dislike of spoon-feeding negates any possible nutritional value of what’s being spooned up …

    I’ve worked in commercial media for my whole career, doing the journalism thing both in trade and consumer publishing. I work in NY, one of the nation’s two media meccas, and I cross paths with folks who work in every kind of big media concern. (Literally, since our town is chock-full of media professionals.)

    The people polishing up those spoons? A ton of them come from backgrounds just like ours — actually, a lot of them are us … Check out some of our participants’ CVs. Most “creative types” currently active in the mainstream media are fully schooled in the underground pantheon — they can match us Stooges lyric for Stooges lyric, they did the same naughty things some of us indulged in, their aesthetic inspirations are the same as ours …

    I’m actually Facebook friends with Steve Case, founder of AOL — historically a huge player in the biggest of big media, right? A few weeks ago, he was reminiscing on Facebook about his days at CBGB’s in the ’70s — how great the Ramones and Talking Heads were back in the day! I didn’t realize this was part of Mr. Case’s pedigree, but, uhhhhh … Does this make him the real deal, or is he still the Borg?

    Maybe we should ask Steve Case what we should be listening to! Oh, no — wait. Steve Case is The Man. Oh, no! Wait!
    Steve Case was There, so he’s got Cred. Maybe. Oh, dear … What Would Lou Reed Do? 🙂

    0

  223. Thank you, Toby — vice versa, too!

    I think you untangle a few important conundrums in your last comment. I like this quote a lot: “I trust people- I don’t ever trust advertising- and I don’t believe there’s a fine line anymore between conventional advertising and the new Guerrilla marketing that is going on out there. “

    0

  224. Matt and Toby -- Have you guys met…do you know each other??

    I’ve actually emailed NPR to find out who does there segue bits after Tom Ashbrook, On Point etc… Matt is right. Some of these folks ARE us!

    I keep hearing bits of Kraftwerk, Europe Endless, and for me, the best “going to the news” music…the guitar solo from Moonage Daydream. Some people doing the ad bits are pretty cool.

    I agree with Toby that I HATE anything shoved down my throat…hence my dislike of “celebrities”.

    Paul -- never knew Miles was a pimp..cool!

    0

  225. Best Miles Story Ever…rilly…

    So Miles and Andy W. were both backstage for an Armani (?) show in Paris circa 1980 and Miles was supposed to be the finale. He had on the latest creation for Men…but he was Miles…so it included a cape.

    Backstage, dressed, all caped up, ready to go…he’s about to go out and screams “ANDY!” and points to the train…his cape is draggin’

    So Andy does what Andy should’ve done…he picks up the end of the cape and follows Miles out onstage….pickup up the Trane for Miles.

    Can’t get the designer right, but the story is all true.

    My guilty pleasure is fashion photography. I have a subscription to Vanity Fair. Politics and Bodies in Print.

    I tear out the perfume ads and savor the rest.

    Gotta go to the … bathroom now … where’s my latest ish?

    And oh yeah, speakin of fashion and music…

    Lou’s right. Rhythm Nation has a couple of tracks…maybe three…that are freakin’ masterpieces.

    And Janet by Bruce Webber is a goddess.

    Patrick Works
    3rd Decade of Shootin’ Humans for Money

    0

  226. I only listen to what the celebrities and advertisers tell me to listen to. Why should I trust my own tastes? I have made a notation of each musician mentioned on this thread, and with the exception of Justin Timberlake, vow to never listen to any of them again, unless of course, Lou Reed, Leonard Cohen, Joey Ramone, Richard Carpenter, Joni Mitchel, Brian Wilson and Christine Aguillira, also listen to them!!!

    0

  227. I basically only listen to what the voices in Lou’s head tell me to.

    Bruce asks: “Matt and Toby -- Have you guys met…do you know each other??”

    Geez man the details you come up with! In these modern times what does it mean to “meet” someone? To shake hands and put on your best presentation as to what you want to represent? To share lies for ten minutes? Or did you mean biblically- have we “met” ? 😉 (We’ll always have Paris!)

    Truth be told Matt says we did meet. I was drunk that decade and can’t remember. He didn’t mention me committing any atrocities, saving me from either an uncomfortable apology or taking the fifth.

    The real question is have you and I met? We played with the Injections several times, though I only remember details of one time (I was drunk that decade- did I mention that?) Did you play that empty gay bookstore gig next to the BRass Rail that got broken up before we got a chance to play? Did we play on a boat in San Diego Bay?

    0

  228. Patrick Works -- great story… Andy and Miles “Trane”?? NOTHING gets by this old burnout!!

    Lou -- you always had the best musical taste of anyone here. Dion, Birdies the Word, Be My Baby, Famous Blue Raincoat, Swimming Underwater. You have no guilty pleasures…just pleasures!

    Do you still have ‘Letter From Terry…”??

    0

  229. Oh My God, well yes I guess we have met..definitely played the empty gay bookstore. What band we’re you with at the time??
    Did you hang out with Marc, Tony, Terry, etc…

    BTW, every Injection show got broken up…that was our trademark, and proud of it.

    I was never drunk…LSD decade for me, lots of weed, some beer.

    TOBY -- you are so funny man…met biblically! I can see that in Matt maybe, but not you macho-man. I just wondered if you hung with the CHE crowd ’cause I obviously never did. Left SD in ’81.

    0

  230. I went to the Che twice or thrice- once was a cover band with an asian lead vocalist who was really good at mimicking various iconic punk singers- one was an insolents gig, don’t recall specifically what the others might have been. I would not have been involved with those bands, though I knew a lot of people associated with them. I was doing different stuff at that time, not so much involved with music.

    I met Marc a couple times before he headed up to L.A.- I was just a little kid playing Bass in Personal Conflict. I knew Terry M, Terry Tall, Arturo, Chris Smith, Barry, Lou etc… just from playing in the band and being a little squeeby mohawked kid running around punk shows and a big city unsupervised.

    0

  231. OK, so you and Matt weren’t best buds or anything, you did know the Injections on some level, you like Casablanca, and you acknowledge that there are, indeed, voices in Lou’s head!!

    Ever go to parties at Front Street, Cliff Cunninghams, or Herman Ave???

    Is Matt also a Bass player?? I love playing bass…not very good at it…never owned one just pick up other peoples basses at gigs and go for it.

    0

  233. McDonald’s nasty deep-fried glue pies
    cheesy magic shows
    cowboy boots with chains
    predictable romantic comedies
    I really care whether the Red Sox win a game.
    Sometimes those maudlin posters with “inspirational” sayings catch me off-guard and actually inspire me for a moment.

    0

  235. Went to many impromptu parties at Cliff’s house in Golden Hills.

    We were supposed to be good at it? Now you tell me.

    0

  236. We used our instruments to beat people off us, nothing like the butt of a guitar to the head. Usually worked pretty well. Singers used mic stands. That was a big part of being good at it then.

    0

  237. >>We used our instruments to beat people off us, nothing like the butt of a guitar to the head.

    One of the guys who taught Dave Rives and me at Blue Ridge in Encinitas used to tour with country-rock bands. (He was teaching us bluegrass.) Opined that a Strat is the best guitar with which to concuss aggressive audience members … Makes sense to me, although a double-cutaway solid-body — like a Gibson SG? — would probably provide a better-balanced swing.

    Bruce: I do have a few clear recollections of Toby from the mid-’80s, and we’ve got lotsa friends in common. Hyperkinetic! Little guy, larger than life! While the term “gonzo” has been badly overused, it’s the adjective that I keep returning to when I think of young Mr. Gibson. Watching him in action, I was utterly charmed (if slightly vertiginous).

    0

  238. Toby said,

    “I didn’t know that about Miles Davis. He was such a straight laced boy when Charlie Parker got hold of him.”

    I think all of the older musicians around were pretty surprised when young Mr. Davis ended up getting strung out (I used to read a fair amount of biographical material about him and Charlie Parker and others). There’s a lot of great stories in his autobiography written with Quincy Troupe. Charles Mingus’ book “Beneath The Underdog” is also very good. For Jazz critique, I enjoyed Gary Giddins “Riding on a Blue Note” and “Bebop and Nothingness” by Francis Davis to cite a few that were memorable.

    0

  239. >>Moonage Daydream … Matt is right. Some of these folks ARE us!

    Bruce: A detail I left out of my tea-party-at-American-Girl-Place story … There’s a harp player (not in the Chris Negro/Patrick Works sense, but in the Harpo Marx sense) in the NY tea room. And when we were there with our dolls having tea, she started playing a lot of old Bowie.

    It was really cool — she did a killer version of “Space Oddity”! I turned around and grinned at her, and she smiled back just a bit … Busy rockin’ out in the American Girl tea room.

    0

  240. Bruce: When were you at RISD? My dad taught there in the late 70s / early 80s.

    David Byrne just played a GREAT GREAT show here in Bklyn. I’ve never been a huge talking heads fan--just not my vibe--but man, he was great. If anything, the show was too polished, with back up dancers and nary a off note.

    0

  241. Megan: My neighbor Ed Kensinger was a classmate of the Talking Heads and saw them play a lot of RISD parties. (Ed is now creative director at Siemens and one o’ them cool cats in corporate jobs.)

    And I hear you about fandom: The Talking Heads are a band I liked — but never quite as much as I was supposed to.

    0

  242. That whole…”while we were there with our dolls…Harpo marx…
    Space Oddity thing” is just too cool. I feel like everyone is hip, or at least has access to, what was once a small underground.

    Thanks for the Books Paul. I read “Early Jazz” last winter by Gunther Schuller. All about King Oliver, ODJB, Bix Bieiderbeke, …
    Good stuff.

    0

  243. Courtship of Eddie’s Father? Peh.

    I was ALL about Diahanne Caroll, in Julia.
    Julia

    And, Of course Nichelle.
    Uhura

    0

  244. Guilty:

    BeeGees (It’s NOT that long a trip from Al Green “Still in Love with You”)

    Dooobie Brothers -- (Michael McDonald CAN be a great soul front -- certainly better than that old Paul Weller!)

    Particular Jefferson Starship bits.

    No apologies:

    Boz Skaggs -- Silk Degrees

    Steely Dan (doses have to be small.)

    Taste of Honey (Boogie Ooogie Oogie is NOT a “throwaway” -- watch those two play Bass and Guitar while managing the harmonies. This is the creme!)

    0

  245. silk degrees was my moms favorite. thus, i know it back and forth. didn’t know that wasn’t cool. i love the boz.

    this morning i had “god is the deejay” stuck in my head. pink sure does write/do some catchy damn tunes.

    0

  246. Megan -- My ex-wife was at RISD 81-85. Hung out there a lot. Textile Design mainly. What dept. did your Dad teach in?

    Jeremiah…Julia, Ha! My sisters favorite show at the time! Also Family Affair, Room 222, Lost in Space, Gilligans Island….man there were great shows back then. Before everything became Law and Order and Housewives!!

    Bee Gees, Steely Dan, Boogie Oogie..pretty good stuff…no apologies there.

    0

  248. Jeremiah and Ava, “Silk Degrees” was the first LP I ever bought, back when they used to sell records at K-Mart.

    Jeremiah, Nice one for referencing Nichelle Nichols, oof. I bought her autobiography at a dollar store in central Florida on tour during the middle of a bunch of cancellations that left us staying in dumpy motels and eating at Cece’s. Interesting woman, she had a career as an entertainer singing and dancing in nightclubs before trek. She didn’t get along well with Shatner (a lot of the cast didn’t) and after the first season confided to Martin Luther King that she wanted to quit the show. Dr. King encouraged her to stay. Zoe Saldana did a nice job in the new trek movie.

    Bruce, my pleasure for the book references. I haven’t read “Early Jazz” have to check that out. Gunther Schuller is a musician too right ?

    0

  249. Nice to know that Dr. King had a hand in saving some element of Start Trek!

    I think Gunther Schuller is just a historian, but I haven’t read a better book on early Jazz and where it came from…vaudeville, tin pan alley, burlesque, delta blues, New Orleans Funeral Bands…crazy American invention.

    I just heard a great segment on NPR that featured a trumpeter David Douglas? , I think, and all the cool stuff he’s doing blending jazz, classical, pop, …. some brilliant new music.

    0

  250. Bruce, nah, Schuller Played french horn and composed too. Recorded with Miles Davis, I think he took part in the “Birth of the Cool” sessions.

    Yh, early Jazz, what a wonderful amalgamation. Boy am I glad that those musicians back then weren’t purists. Local resident and record store owner Lou Curtis has written some nice articles about the genesis of Jazz music.

    0

  251. Thanks for the update Paul…I study all styles so I am an authority on none!!

    Early American music of all kinds fascinates me…could only happen here!!

    You are SO right about “not purists”…an amazing blend of all races, talents, abilities, etc….. could talk about that all day!

    0

  252. Bruce, Of course you’re right, Early American music could only happen here, in America. Jamaican music is super interesting for similar reasons. Lots of the same influences at play.If you ever get a hankerin’ to find out a bit more about Jamaican Music (boy, talk about amalgamation) here’s one I read recently. “This Is Reggae Music: The Story of Jamaica’s Music” by Lloyd Bradley. The parts about Sound Systems were of particular interest to me. The excellent DVD “Musically Mad” (about sound systems in the UK) http://www.musicallymad.com/index.htm also is highly recommended (by me anyway).

    0

  253. Haven’t heard about David Douglas, but oddly enough, the blending of Jazz and Classical was one of Gunther Schuller’s intersets too, he called it “Third Stream” I’ve never checked out any of it… so little time.

    0

  254. That has a special significance to me. I spent a couple years in a serious Rock Steady/Ska band…recently.

    These guys were so well versed in early Jamaican music and the way it should be played. I played skank guitar and found it really hard to keep the needed groove. Great experience and education!

    Jamaican music is SO much more than Bob Marley, eh??

    0

  255. I’ve quoted this many times, even on CHE, but it is SO true.

    “A lifetime is not enough for music”
    -Mendelssohn

    Now that I’m old, a music teacher, ex-roots, rock, reggae, classical player, I’ve made the quantum leap into Jazz. I feel like a plebe…like a newbie.

    I’m on a couple of serious Jazz forums and I bow down to the guys and dolls there. I never really liked Jazz and don’t really listen to a lot, other than American Songbook stuff….BUT. Now that I’ve taken it on I feel compelled to fully learn all the history, theory, and performance that I can. Yikes!! I’m busy!!

    0

  256. I played in a couple of incarnations of a local Ska,Reggae, Rocksteady band called “Unsteady”. Singer, Songwriter, Sax Player John Roy schooled me on an awful lot of Jamaican Music. Ska guitar definitely falls in to the category of simple but not easy. We opened up for the Skatallites a bunch of times, what a treat to get to watch those guys play (particularly for me the Lloyds, Nibbs and Brevitt). You’re right about Bob Marley, obviously a fantastically talented and hardworking artist, but not even close to being the end all be all that a lot of people think he was. I sometimes think a lot of people who “don’t like reggae” haven’t been exposed to much else. My favorites are, Horace Andy, Dennis Brown, and Gregory Isaacs .

    I’m a total noob now doing the DJ stuff, oh well, keeps me out of trouble. I’m ignorant to so much good music because of being focused on certain things at certain times.

    0

  257. damn, paul! why didn’t i know this? wow. skatallites? really? *bowing in your honor* have any recordings? i’d like to get a cd of that next. of course i will be satisfied w/ the dubstep one coming to my mailbox soon. ~your humble rudegirl

    0

  258. yeah, It’s hard to be a “universal man” in music. Man, we covered the Skatalites, obviously. Can’t believe you met them. We opened for Toots once…our big gig!!

    Playing that skank is really hard…even tough it’s often just two chords.

    0

  262. Okay, here’s another try:

    Stuff I like that, while I don’t feel guilty about it, it seems I should: Queen, Christina Aguilera, Yes, Kiss, Cheap Trick, Billy Squier, singing “Smoke on the Water”, the soundtrack to “Hair”, disco-era BeeGees, ABBA, Guns ‘n’ Roses.

    Stuff I don’t like, that it seems I should: The Smiths, Janis Joplin, Donovan, reggae.

    0

  263. Hi Kevin -- That’s quite a wide spectrum!

    Stuff you SHOULD like: The Smiths, Janis Joplin, Donovan, Reggae. ha ha

    0

  265. WHAT the ?? Duck, run…. what have you got against Andy Warhol and bananas??

    At least give her Pale Blue Eyes a chance !

    (She actually wasn’t very talented, just a muse)

    0

  267. Wow…good trivia.

    I want to keep Rays thread on top. Why don’t we all just talk about everything there??

    Will the site have thread categories again?? Lots of stuff is getting buried this way. Lori missed so much stuff and it’s hard to find and bring back. ( thanks for the tutorial on finding threads though, Matt).

    0

  268. Bruce Injection Says:

    “Paul -- this was the sound we were trying for in my band The Psychads.”

    Wow Bruce, a tall order to be sure. Killer Rhythm, Super Sweet Vocals, Nice horns.

    0

  269. Yeah, a killer sound for sure, and incredibly laid back. It’s SO hard to be that smooth. We had a 10 piece so the horns were sweet!

    Miss the Skank, (and the Chronic), but it gave me wicked Carpal Tunnel!

    0

  273. Yay!! Toby is here. Dude, you really should quit your job….you’ve missed a hundred posts again! (on a few different threads)

    No, Fugees didn’t suck…just trying to find you or paul again…figured good bait!

    NICO is cool…sometimes that’s better than being talented.

    0

  274. bruce, toby and i would both quit our jobs and write if we didn’t each have kids to support!

    personally, it’s the stupid amount of student debt i have which paralyzes me.

    ray, is it terrible of me to admit that i never liked pynchon? i couldn’t get into him. or hemingway. i tried. but the man himself made my stomach turn, so reading his work made me uncomfortable. abusive, drunk, mean dad to a passel of girls who are all half mad (or dead) from the trauma. yeah, couldn’t do it. then again, if i were to go into assessment of each artist based on such criteria i would probably not have very many books to read or songs to hear.

    0

  275. David…Stevie and Landslide are great! Kind of pure, simple, music like Dolly Parton, Allison Kraus, Iris Dement, would write. Great American folk. But, what would I know…I’m still mesmerized by Donovan!

    0

  276. david, man, you nailed it. listening to some of that 70’s feel good rock is transporting. my mom and i would rock out in our little vw when we traveled up and down california. philadelphia freedom still gets me stoked.

    best cover i ever heard was a poet friend of mine in eugene who did muskrat love. it wasn’t done with hipster irony, just verbatim love.

    0

  277. So Bruce, so the Fugees thing was posted in bad faith ? You don’t think the song sucks but you wanted to chum the waters ? Bo-ring. I’ll give you credit, you sparked a big “controversy” which I shall post in it’s entirety.

    “Bruce: “You’re killing us softly. ‘member the bad Fugees cover??”
    Was it bad?”

    0

  278. David R -- nice call. Grand Funk Railroad’s version of “Locomotion” totally gets the sweet spot. Other covers that rock (besides the Fugees Killing me Softly) are “She’s not There” by Santana and “Summertime Blues” by Blue Cheer.

    0

  279. Haha. I totally listen to Van Halen in stealth! “Hot for Teacher”. “Jamie’s Crying”. “Ain’t Talking ’bout Love”. I love that stuff. And people have given me shit about it for years. I also like a few Motley Crue songs. “Too Fast for Love”…..okay. I like Heavy Metal too. It’s all gonna come out…I’ve blown my cover….
    One of my fave albums is Slayer’s “Reign in Blood” and Metalica’s “Kill em All” is fabulous for getting housework done. I guess it’s my inner snakeskin jacket, my “wild at heartness”…..
    Celtic Frost’s “Mortal Tales” is also pretty awesome….

    0

  281. David,

    At various points, The Shambles have worked on covers of “Love Lies Bleeding”, “Saturday Night’s Alright for Fighting”, and “Lady Samantha”. Bart and I are both EJ fans.

    0

  282. Real Van Halen (BEFORE Sammy Hagar)! Ain’t Talkin’ Bout Love, Runnin’ With the Devil.

    I was exposed to Elton John in the early seventies through my big sister Elisa--I love everything up through Rock of the Westies. He and Bernie Taupin wrote some absolutely beautiful songs as well as some great rockers like Saturday Night’s All Right for Fighting . . .

    Remember: Hey man, is that freedom rock? Yeah man! Well turn it up man!

    0

  285. Yeah, thinking about it, my iPod has almost all the songs from that first Van Halen album. Maybe one or two later ones (“Panama” and “Hot for Teacher” come to mind), but it’s mostly that first album. I also have 4 songs from the first Boston album (nothing after that), and probably a good 50% of Zep’s catalogue.

    Never got into Styx or Kansas AT ALL. Or REO Speedwagon. (Dave Amato is a hell of a nice guy, though.)

    0

  286. Ray,

    You would recall correctly. (Whereas I did not recall at all!) Though now that you’ve reminded me, I do remember recording it with the belief that it was not intended for release. But, Bart being Bart (love you, man!), it was, of course, released. More than once, I think.

    However, “Harmony” was a track on side four of “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road”. I’m pretty sure that the B-side of “Don’t Let the Sun Go Down On Me” was “Sick City”.

    0

  288. No the Fugees weren’t really to chum Paul. Not my cup of tea but they didn’t SUCK per se. I just thought you and Toby would like them so I claimed that they weren’t all that great…

    It seems like Elton has quite the universal appeal here though. My sisters played the early stuff a lot when I was a kid so I’m partial to stuff like, “where to Now St. Peter” etc….

    0

  289. Kevin--right you are. In my early record buying days, I dealt exclusively in singles. 98 cent singles, if I recall correctly. At my house we had Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, Bennie and the Jets, Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me, Philadelphia Freedom and Island Girl, I think. My older sister had all the albums.

    0

  292. I see your teeth flash, Jamaican honey so sweet
    Down where Lexington cross 47th Street
    She’s a big girl, she’s standing six foot three
    Turning tricks for the dudes in the big city
    Island girl
    What you wanting with the white man’s world
    Island girl
    Black boy want you in his island world
    He want to take you from the racket boss
    He want to save you but the cause is lost
    Island girl, island girl, island girl
    Tell me what you wanting with the white man’s world
    She’s black as coal but she burn like a fire
    And she wrap herself around you like a well worn tire
    You feel her nail scratch your back just like a rake
    He one more gone, he one more John who make the mistake

    0

  293. I think we have a winner RAY -- It seems like Elton is a universal Guilty Pleasure…mostly do to our sisters!

    0

  294. Some of my favorite Elton John/Bernie Taupin moments:

    Get Back Honky Cat
    I Feel Like a Bullet in the Gun of Robert Ford
    Rocket Man
    Daniel
    Someone Saved My Life Tonight

    and his version of Pinball Wizard in “Tommy” is pure genius! I love how he’s dressed as a skinhead, towering over the pinball machine keyboard in gigantic Doc Martins, playing the Who guitar riff on piano.

    0

  296. “Some punk with a shotgun, killed young Danny Bailey…in the lobby of a downtown hotel”

    I’m glad everyone is mentioning Bernie…Elton says he never wrote a lyric i his life!

    Elton may be the biggest “STAR”, for what it’s worth.

    0

  298. Is Bernie Taupin American?? It seems like many of their songs really nail the American experience. Honky Cat, Philadelphia Freedom, Roy Rogers, Saturday Night….

    If I were to write a song about the Brits all I could come up with is Fish’n’Chips, bad teeth, and spotted dick!

    0

  299. I must admit, to sleeping overnight in a ticket line at the Boston Garden to see Elton John 1974? I heard when he was announced as the surprise musical guest at Sturgis a few years back, all you could hear was a roar of motorcycles starting and a mass exodus. Elton was cool until he switched teams.

    0

  301. >>I heard when he was announced as the surprise musical guest at Sturgis a few years back, all you could hear was a roar of motorcycles starting and a mass exodus.

    Considering the “musical guests” over the past few years--Def Leppard, 38 Special, Styx, Toby Keith, Steve Miller Band, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Keith Anderson, Charlie Daniels, Poison, Billy Idol and Kid Rock--I’d say that’s a pretty good endorsement.

    0

  302. Ray -- I have to give you credit for starting the best thread since the Injections!

    Guilty Pleasures is definitely “This Years Girl”.

    SO many posts and not one mention of Jesus or Hitler…OH SHIT!

    0

  305. The gangsta rap station is the #2 button on my car radio. I turn it up too loud and roll with the windows down.

    0

  306. I always liked Van Halen’s Eruption (the dawn of diddly diddly) and Kansas’ Carry On Our Wayward Son.

    0

  307. Jeremiah…I will still stand by “Eddies Father”

    Uncle Norman was was the photographer foil to Eddie’s Father (the loathed editor)

    Eddie’s father had a secretary named Tina who was the on/off GF of Norman.

    So…Norman had the studio, the model chicks on location, and Tina when he came home to roost.

    And why else would you want to live? What else would your rock star sorry ass want to do?

    My first professional role model…and my last.

    Norman as normal.

    As can be.

    or was anyhow

    Patrick Works
    Throwback Media Child

    0

  309. I really like Tony James too. (He and Steve Stevens have quite a bit in common!)

    Billy Idol is outstanding in this song. I love this song also.

    0

  310. Generation X was a good band for sure. I wonder what happened to the other guys when Billy went all “American” on us.

    Didn’t Billy, Sid, Johny, and all those guys start out in Flowers Of Romance together??

    Who’s Tony James??

    0

  312. Yeah, I read a fanzine a million years ago that had a “family tree” of London punk. It was pretty amazing to see what grew out of a small circle of friends and bands.

    Thanks for the history update!

    0

  313. I was sure people would groan at my Billy Idol reference…hence the “guilty” pleasure!

    0

  315. Billy Idol the Sting of punk rock true, but I still have that first Generation X album on my IPod, on e of the very best ’77 bands in my opinion. One song that stands out on that album for me “Kiss Me Deadly”. I occasionally cover that one on acoustic guitar – try it, you’ll like it (the tabs are on Chordie). You guys remember that Chelsea actually played at King’s Road in SD? They ended up being fronted by a guy named Gene October.

    Kevin, Man I am still reeling (though not “in the years”) from that version of “The Real Me” that you guys pulled out at the Che Games – WOW! Man, I would LOVE to hear what you guys do to “Saturday Night’s Alright for Fighting”, another song with an irresistible revved up guitar riff! I bet you guy rock that one!

    In fact, yo Matthew, I wanna add this to the “What’d Ya Wanna Do Next List” -- how about we record a Che Underground compilation album of Elton John covers? I wanna hear:

    • Jeff Lucas sings “Rocket Man
    • What Noise 292 will do with “Crocodile Rock”
    • Fleminger’s lead on “Benny and the Jets”
    • The Injections’ cover of “Honky Cat”
    • A Maddocks/Brandes duet of “Don’t Go Breakin My Heart”

    The Wallflowers get dibs on “Funeral For A Friend”. We can call the record “Che Plays Gays” or something…

    0

  316. BTW ot mentioned in the Wiki, but Tony James also toured with Johnny Thunders at one point. Japan I think?

    0

  319. David,

    Thanks. I’ve hinted around, but I guess I might as well finally mention that Morgan and I are exploring the possibility of doing the entire Quadrophenia album. We’re not in a rush, but it’s certainly something we’d like to do.

    0

  321. Ray, that’s what got it started, really. Some time in the late 90s, the Shambles were asked to contribute a track to a multi-band Quadrophenia tribute on 1+2 Records in Japan. I don’t know if we asked for or were assigned the song, but we ended up with “Is It In My Head?” Bart felt it was something I should sing. So I did my best to channel Daltrey, as there’s really no way to do justice to any of their 70’s stuff without going full-blast on the vocals. When I realized I could do that, I thought, “hmmmm…..” This led us to attempt “The Real Me”. Though I must admit I’m a bit wary of “Love Reign O’er Me”.

    0

  324. I love that video of “Kiss Me Deasdly” that’s on YouTube. Particularly where the producer comes on and basically says “nobody needs a million dollars to make a record”.

    Great that Uncle Lou’s gang is on board with Project Elton.

    Kevin, after Quadrophenia, let’s get on with Elton-ophenia. Instead of mods versus rockers, it’ll be glam rockers!

    0

  325. BTW MArk, I think it was Tommy James and the Shondells. But close enough with Rick James. Or maybe it was Jesse James and the Shondells?

    0

  328. Elton John, “Daniel,” just transfixed me in the supermarket. I’m a sucker — I like that song a lot. I’m going to go home and learn it, but I’ll never have the nerve to play it outside my living room. 🙂

    0

  329. (Is ’70s Elton John REALLY a guilty pleasure, or is he another one of those acceptably unacceptable things that you can “confess” liking over canapes at an art opening? I suspect the latter. In which case, me grooving to him in a supermarket and disclosing it on the blog is just kind of … Twee.)

    Discuss!

    0

  332. I like Marshall Crenshaw and don’t see any reason to entertain guilt for liking smart (but not TOO clever) straight-ahead pop. A week or so back, I took my 5-year-old to The Smithereens at the Santa Cruz Boardwalk (both shows, Baby!). And we loved it! And we ate corndogs, drank lemonade, and rode the Cave Train three times! No guilt at all!

    If I succumb to my temptation to take the same lad to hear Eddie Money at the same venue, THEN I will allow myself some guilt…

    0

  335. At the risk of dating how late in life I was buying horrific to marginal pop records, I’m thinking back to the first time I defrauded a record company and took a dozen albums for a penny. I don’t remember all of them but I know I got Elton John- Yellow Brick Road, Foreigner- the original title album, ELO- Out of the Blue, Styx- The Grand Illusion, and Beach Boys Endless Summer. Don’t recall what else I got, but it was about the equivalent of that I’m sure- maybe some Boston and Kansas and a few other place names. Which was for the most part a HUGE diversion from what the rest of my family thought was good rock music, really- though they were always kind to Elton John. My family were purists, a fact that I am still thankful for today as I glommed a tiny bit of musical class off of them as I mucked my way through most of the worst bands of all the best genres, loudly declaring their brilliance. (The next time I defrauded a record company for a penny I got Van Halen, Tom Petty, Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, The Doors and Jefferson Airplane. Aside from the Halen and some of the Petty- it was Damn the Torpedoes, which I give credit as being a pretty tight garage rock album in it’s own right- I think I was learning.)

    Eminem and Elton John

    0

  337. Matt wrote:
    (Is ’70s Elton John REALLY a guilty pleasure, or is he another one of those acceptably unacceptable things that you can “confess” liking over canapes at an art opening? I suspect the latter. In which case, me grooving to him in a supermarket and disclosing it on the blog is just kind of … Twee.)

    Discuss!

    canapes at an art opening…now there’s a guilty pleasure!…as is using the word “twee”. But dammit our families paid good money for our Vis Arts degree…I’ll even say it’s ” a tad twee”.

    Back to the subject at hand.
    Everything up to Captain Fantastic is mos def (who’s a fan of The Wire?…that’s right…it’s me) acceptably unacceptable. Along the line of bragging about bringing the house down at the Lamplighter with your rendition of “Anthony’s Song (Moving Out)” by Billy Joel. I’ll even throw in “You May Be Right”. Which if Tom Petty sung it, everybody would say…Oh what an amazing tune that is.

    As an aside…I lived with a woman for many years and we had very different tastes in music and at one point she mentioned how she stopped liking Billy Joel after he stopped “rocking” (at the time I was very snobbish about music and the last word I’d use for The Piano Man was “rocking” )
    …and I’d chide her quite a bit about this “Rocking Billy Joel”.

    I see her point now.

    ….wondered how she’s doing…

    uh…what was the subject again?

    0

  338. >>canapes at an art opening…now there’s a guilty pleasure!

    Chris: Patrick Works and I spent a couple of weeks canvassing Bay area art openings in search of free food and artsy wimmens. Made a whole science out of it, with Bay Guardian clippings and pins in maps. Lotta cheese cubes!

    0

  339. can you top this?
    In my early 20’s, a certain member of Dark Globe and I would get together for hours playing Strat-o-Matic baseball. He was a D+D’er, so the 20-sided die came in handy.
    If that ain’t ultimate geek I don’t know what is.

    0

  340. I still have all my Jesus Hitler LPs.

    Do a look up on the banjo version of Eruption. It’s nothing short of amazing.

    Elton is decidedly NOT a guilty pleasure. He OWNED the 1970’s, back before we were all upptiy about punk rock, or the Nuggets comps. So if you didn’t like Elton you had to avoid radio altogether. I thought he was real pretty standard until Island Girl.

    0

  342. I am a complete sucker for Moog and Bass, pseudo-jazz lounge music from the late ’90’s. Morchheeba can be allright, but “Moon Safari” period Air is like dope:

    0

  344. Toby -- what an outpouring of guilty pleasure. I never would have guessed!!

    “She comes out of the sun in a silk dress running like a watercolor in the rain.”

    0

  348. “Crocodile Rock” covered by the Joneses on “Keeping Up With The Joneses” was a great cover though.

    0

  349. >Seventies nostalgia for the ’50s was usually a little … Twee.

    A lot twee. ‘Specially “Grease.” First season “Laverne and Shirley” was fun twee.

    Is it possible not to like “Muskrat Love”? It’s like McDonald’s fries: Everyone knows it’s bad; but we all have to have it sometimes.

    0

  350. sorry to bust in on this rather heady discussion but>

    matt…is your e-mail not working?

    i was wondering if you were ever going to post those fliers?

    0

  351. >i was wondering if you were ever going to post those fliers?

    Clay: Yes, I will post them with pleasure. I’d asked whether you could write me a bit of history to provide context to a post. (I don’t think I received that, although I am a bit behind on my e-mail sorting.)

    There are two issues that regulate the clockwork delivery of submitted materials as publicly available posts: my own bandwidth to prepare the content and scheduling that will present it to its best advantage.

    1. Any post that includes significant graphical or multimedia assets takes me several hours to prep. I have to optimize and crop all images and upload them in a pleasing way, crediting everything properly as I do it.

    2. Given the wealth of material, I need to pace posts so new stuff isn’t running older stuff off the page before it gets time to be viewed. Right now, I’m sitting on a couple of flyer collections; a lengthy band biography with MP3s, flyers and photos; and a slew of stuff from our recent reunion. (Plus-plus, conversation-starters like this thread right here need to alternate with more historical posts like the one you propose that get lots of viewers but often inspire fewer reader responses.)

    Bottom line: Your flyers will have maximum impact if I can get some prose from you to illuminate them. And I need the time to do the post justice and the timing to play it properly.

    0

  353. it wasn’t clear to me that it was your intention to couple the flyers with a MOC bio…..i was hoping that wasn’t going to be the case.
    it’s my opinion this band held a very unique place in sd punk history,
    one which touched the lives of those that were part of the very early 80s.
    i’m not sure a full telling of our story, including what events led to our demise, can be accomplished without breaking at least one rule around here.
    i did suggest in my last mail that i may need your advice and perhaps editorial help in regards to this.

    0

  355. >>it wasn’t clear to me that it was your intention to couple the flyers with a MOC bio.

    Clay: It needn’t be comprehensive or overly revelatory … Consider Joey’s brief intro to the Injections. Hell, you don’t even need to do that — but it certainly helps me expedite showcasing contributions if the contributor can give me even a couple paragraphs to set the scene.

    0

  356. i was really hoping the fliers might appear in some small corner of the site…..originally thinking it would be just a mixed-fliers page.

    that would’ve suited me…but perhaps you’re right.

    0

  357. ray brandes mentioned wichita lineman.
    i have a couple muzak versions of that song that’ll send you back to an airport lounge only our parents can remember.

    emaculate boxed-muzak LP sets which the covers alone
    qualify as masterpieces…..nevermind what’s inside>
    for this i’ll surely go to hell.

    0

  358. We just watched Cirque du Soleil’s “La Nouba.”

    I really like Cirque du Soleil … Am I alone? Anything that assembles a small army of impossibly agile Klaus Nomi-looking personnages to do awesome tricks is A-OK with me! Plus, I think it’s really cool-looking.

    Am I being a total mime again?? :-/

    PS: My kids loved it, so I don’t feel guilty anyway!! 🙂

    0

  359. Toby mentioned Oasis up above. (I just heard they broke up, again, so it reminded me.)

    My crack when people called Oasis “the Beatles of the ’90s” was to say they were more the ELO of the ’90s. A little dismissive — but actually, there are worse things to aspire to. 🙂

    0

  363. Oh, boy. I just listened to this Rolling Stones cover by Susan Boyle, the not-so-photogenic Scot who got all that media attention after her talent-show appearance on British TV. I’m skeptical of the hubbub, I thought that song she performed was overdone, and I don’t expect I’ll be buying the album.

    But … I listened to this expecting to post it in “I don’t get it” … And I think I’m deriving guilty pleasure from it instead.

    0

  367. >Tom Petty, “American Girl.” Sorry! Do your worst.

    ??That’s a brilliant song.

    My original and favorite guilty pleasure was on the radio last night, “You’re the Reason God Made Oklahoma.” Sang along shamelessly as always.

    0

  368. The muzak at Duane Reade just reminded me that I bought Michael Jackson’s *Bad* solely for Man in the Mirror. I would play it over and over again and happy-cry. As evidenced by my recent behavior int he toothpaste aisle, it still has that effect on me. oh well.

    0

  375. I’m going to throw some fuel on this old fire by confessing that I think Justin Bieber — like most kiddie sensations — is talented and charismatic.

    My younger kid’s a fan (at least as of this writing), and y’know what? I couldn’t have delivered that kind of performance when I was 16.

    That’s not to say that I personally am a devotee of the Bieber tome, but I have to admit that these tween sensations do have some presence.

    0

  376. P.S.: I’ve been getting a TON of media training lately for my day job (I usually ask the questions, not answer ’em on camera). And I’m finding out just how hard it is to look comfortable on the spot. And my hat’s off to any pipsqueak who makes it look effortless. 🙂

    0

  377. No love for the Bieber here, my skin crawls when I see him flash his faux peace sign and ‘shout out’ to his peeps. My son is annoyed by his existence as well. That said I do like Flem’s 800% reduction post…

    Pipsqueak effort is easy peasy, the dude has no concern other than looking cool and making sure everyone’s happy.

    0

  378. >>Pipsqueak effort is easy peasy, the dude has no concern other than looking cool and making sure everyone’s happy.

    Not a Bieberite myself, but I dunno if any of these things are that easy. Being “on” for the media takes an insane amount of focus, IMO.

    I’m a recovering tween thespian who did all kinds of children’s theater and such. And for sure, all the grooming and handling in the world couldn’t have turned me into somebody who could handle a huge live audience, TV appearances, any of it.

    It’s a lot of work, and it’s no wonder so many of these kids go bughouse by their early 20s!

    0

  379. I guess my point is, I find criticism better directed at questions of authenticity and content than on focus; effort; and, hey, even talent. I think even the most manufactured of these pop idols has an unusual level of those last three, or they’d be smashed flat instantly.

    0

  380. I’m not particularly a fan either, but blatantly the kid is talented and hardworking. His story is actually pretty interesting. He’s a multi-instrumentalist. He used to busk outside the Shakespeare festival in his small hometown of Stratford Ontario Canada. He was in a local talent show that was a knock off of American Idol. It ran for several weeks and his mom posted some videos of his performances on youtube so that members of the family who weren’t local could see the performances. He started catching a lot of positive comments and people asking for more videos. He started making more and they went viral. Long story short, that’s what sparked a bidding war between Justin Timberlake and Usher. He ended up signing with Usher’s label and becoming ridiculously successful.

    Again, no I’m not a fan, I saw a documentary on him on one of the music channels.

    J-Biebs is not a guilty pleasure for me but since that’s the name of the game on this thread I’ll give you one. Jersey Shore. There I said it. I ain’t proud of it but there it is.

    0

  383. >>He used to busk outside the Shakespeare festival in his small hometown of Stratford Ontario Canada. He was in a local talent show that was a knock off of American Idol. It ran for several weeks and his mom posted some videos of his performances on youtube so that members of the family who weren’t local could see the performances. He started catching a lot of positive comments and people asking for more videos. He started making more and they went viral.

    Paul: Now that is DIY!

    0

  385. I thought I was going to humiliate myself completely by mentioning “Landslide” by Fleetwood Mac … But looking back, Dave Rinck and Bruce already confessed — so, yeah, it’s a neat song.

    0

Leave a Comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

© 2024 The Che Underground • Powered by
The Che Underground