Bad Tunes - The Spinoff
Had enough of the Bad Movies concept? What Do I Know? has a post on guilty pleasures in the music world. (note - if you notice an eerie resemblence to that site's look and mine, you damn well should ...it served as the inspiration for this one)
I think the rules here allow for a lot more likemindedness ... I would argue that music needs to be listened to more than the movies viewed in order to know the background. Some movies live a full life in the minds of the public via reputation. How many times have you known the ending to movies like The Crying Game despite never having seen it, yet being totally unaware of the significance of Dexie's Midnight Runner to the music world, you feel completely lost in evaluating their tunes?
About the only debating points that pop up are when one looks at ... say ... "Love of a Lifetime" by Firehouse and says: "Wait a minute! That's a damn good song!"
That said, I think some obvious tunes missing from the list are:
Final note ... the power ballads on the original list are too good to have as a "guilty pleasure." But then again, I'd also put "The Warrior" off limits. Patty Smyth was perhaps the most underrated female vocalist of the new wave era (right up there with Dale Bozzio). All of her stuff rocks. And its worth noting that the song was co-written by a fave of mine: Nick Gilder. For completely different reasons, the person who comments about "Crazy Love" by Poco deserving listing should be shot.
Comments
Now if The Pretenders did "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun", that would interest me. But then, if Chrissie covered "Disco Duck" it would probably come out somewhat palatably.
Anyway, I've tried to put much out of my mind but let's see... bad songs...
SATURDAY NIGHT - Bay City Rollers
CONVOY - C. W. McCall
AIN'T THAT AMERICA - John Cougar (although he's good on other things)
TURN ON YOUR HEART LIGHT - Neil Diamond (although he's good on other things)
LOVE THEME FROM MANDINGO - Trent Reznor and the Feedback Loops (OK, that one's bogus. No, really.)
Posted by: Pete/ | December 5, 2003 02:54 PM
I'm with you on the first two. That's about it, though. Neal Diamond ... I'd have to review his work a little more closely. I'm sure he's got to have something that warrants making the list. I'm just not sure about that one being the tune that is most deserving.
Posted by: Greg Wythe | December 5, 2003 03:23 PM
Love on the Rocks, perhaps? September Morn?
Posted by: Ulysses | December 5, 2003 03:49 PM
You dumbasses have totally forgotten the musical abortion that was WHAM! (yes, the exclamation point was in their name). I hereby nominate both "Freedom" and "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go".
Even though it won an academy award, I'm gonna have to put Stevie Wonder's "I Just Called to Say I Love You" up here as well. Compared to anything off Songs in the Key of Life, this song is like nails on a blackboard.
And although this might get me a lifetime ban from Greggo, "Unskinny Bop" by Poison should be erased from memory.
Oh, and Pete, the name of the song by Johnny Cougar is "Little Pink Houses", not "Ain't That America"
Posted by: Uber | December 6, 2003 10:53 AM
I'll agree with the following:
"Wake Me Up ..." definitely belongs. Despite having more cheese than a Wisonsin dairy farmer, I can crank that song anytime.
And no, I'll not award a lifetime ban for suggesting the deletion of "Unskinny Bop" from human memory. It damn well should be erased. It gives even a band like Poison a bad name.
Posted by: Greg Wythe | December 6, 2003 03:05 PM
One should distinguish between WHAM! and Michael's solo work. The later stuff is good for dancing in bars but in 1984 when WHAM!'s first thing (gogo) came out, I'm sorry to say that I was standing in a production room in an AM radio station in BFE, listening to it on a 45rpm single and hearing a guy say "this is gonna be a hit". I was disheartened but I figured he was right, and said so at the time. OKAY, lessee... more...
ANY WAY YOU WANT IT - Journey
ALWAYS ON MY MIND - Willie cover by Pet Shop Boys
I SHOT THE SHERIFF - any version
THE REAL SLIM SHADY - Eminem
TELEPHONE MAN - Meri Wilson (peaked at #18 in '77)
Posted by: Pete/ | December 8, 2003 10:28 AM