New 'guilty pleasures' thread

Post by **runcible** » Wed Nov 12, 2008 11:33 pm

Here's 3 songs I've recently enjoyed but been rather reticent about. I'm bold enough to show my colours here.

1. Scissor Sisters - I Don't Feel Like Dancing
Curiously enjoyable.

2. Snow Patrol - Spitting Games
Truly one of the great pop songs of the last few years. Seriously.

3. Lily Allen - LDN
Sorry - I have no explanation for this one. Catchy though.

flamingrev · Post by **flamingrev** » Thu Nov 13, 2008 12:09 am

Oh man, the Scissor Sisters are a GREAT singles act. One day they are going to have a terrific greatest hits. Their albums aren't bad at all, but there's definitely some filler.

What do I have that I would feel the need to explain if somebody noted it in my collection...

I've got a Mariah Carey album because I love that song she does that samples Tom Tom Club. I can't remember the name of it but it was a huge single 8 or 9 years ago. I bought it recently for $3 and hate it apart from that song.

A Barenaked Ladies album for the same reason. There was one song I liked a lot and the CD was dirt cheap.

I love ABBA. I hadn't really heard any ABBA apart from Dancing Queen until a couple of years ago.

The Wife has some Ani Difranco and some other lesbo rock, but that's her business.

I think that's it. Most of my stuff is fairly canonical and critically vetted. And I sell stuff when I decide I don't like it anymore.

Post by **runcible** » Thu Nov 13, 2008 10:20 am

flamingrev wrote: I love ABBA. I hadn't really heard any ABBA apart from Dancing Queen until a couple of years ago.

I love that song - I'm old enough to remember it when it first came out and it still sounds great. I think I stuck that in an earlier 'Guilty Pleasures' thread.

nickh · Post by **nickh** » Thu Nov 13, 2008 1:31 pm

I love this thread

The Feeling â€“ Sewn. I know I am being well and truly manipulated here but I love this. I know nothing of their other stuff and Iâ€™m not interested either but this is f***ing great!

U2 â€“ The Sweetest Thing â€“ same sentiment as above. I really donâ€™t like U2 at all and Bono is a bastard for making me dig one of his songs.

Stereophonics â€“ I wouldnâ€™t Believe Your Radio. Lumpen stadium rock is not my thing at all but this is a sweet little song (easy to play on guitar too), always liked it.

Scissor Sisters brightened up a very wet & muddy Saturday morning at Glastonbury in 2004 and I will always have a soft spot for them for doing that.

bunnyben · Post by **bunnyben** » Thu Nov 13, 2008 2:25 pm

i like britney spears, dido, u2, harry potter, star wars novels and feel no guilt whatsoever!

Post by **runcible** » Thu Nov 13, 2008 2:34 pm

I drink Croft Original sherry. That's meant for old ladies!

Post by **spzretent** » Thu Nov 13, 2008 3:34 pm

i'll chime in here.
George Michael Faith & Listen Without Prejudice are both on my list.
So are the odd Madonna tracks like Ray Of Light, Justify My Love, Beautiful Stranger etc. Seems she always has one track per release thats excellent.

jahman · Post by **jahman** » Thu Nov 13, 2008 3:50 pm

George Michael's "Freedom" is a super jam.
I reluctantly like Gwen Stefani's "Rich Girl", catchy as hell.
ABBA is greatness, but no real guilt felt there...
good thread!

Greeny · Post by **Greeny** » Thu Nov 13, 2008 4:18 pm

I don't do pop music. End of. I despise it's cheesy "let's all have a good time" conceit. I'm quite happy being a miserable c*nt who doesn't dance, thank you.

That said, I think Frank Sinatra is the greatest recording artist who ever lived, and if I suffered the proverbial house fire I'd save my Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab vinyl box set (featuring the best of his Nelson Riddle and Billy May collaborations) before anything else in my collection, including Jason's canon of work...

shalloboi · Post by **shalloboi** » Thu Nov 13, 2008 4:37 pm

i like the carpenters. if i'm around the wrong group of people i have to pretend like it annoys me and it's kind of difficult. i usually claim that i don't have guilty pleasures because i'm not ashamed of anything i listen to, but typing that i like the carpenters here is a bit difficult.
'faith' is a great song. when i was a kid i really wanted to learn how to play it whenever i ended up learning how to play guitar. i figured it out on accident when i was 18 and i saw that as a really good thing. i was also surprised that i still knew all of the words.
i also know all of the words to 'baby got back' by sir mix-a-lot. i'm a very reserved person so my wife will sometimes get me to recite that for people who don't believe i could or would do it- the look on their faces is always priceless.

mc · Post by mc » Thu Nov 13, 2008 5:08 pm

Ooh, good thread. A few of mine are:

Meat Loaf - Bat Out Of Hell II
The first album I ever got, and I still love it

The Levellers (first 4 albums)
More music of my early youth I still have a soft spot for.

Alisha's Attic - Alisha Rules The World
This is a great album, really! It's full of fantastic pop songs.

All Saints - Pure Shores
I love this song for some reason.

Madonna - Ray of Light
Another great song.

flamingrev · Post by **flamingrev** » Thu Nov 13, 2008 5:52 pm

I dunno, I think that enough time has passed that ABBA and The Carpenters aren't really as taboo amongst music geeks as they used to be.

Hell, it wasn't that long ago that admitting a love for the Beach Boys would be laughable in many circles.

And remember how HATED disco was for a very long time? Now it's a perfectly acceptable reference in modern music. Quality music that becomes dated and hated has a way of floating back up to the top once another generation approaches it without the associations of it's era.

nickh · Post by **nickh** » Thu Nov 13, 2008 7:25 pm

runcible wrote:I drink Croft Original sherry. That's meant for old ladies!

nickh · Post by **nickh** » Thu Nov 13, 2008 7:30 pm

mc wrote: All Saints - Pure Shores
I love this song for some reason.

Great song, I really like Never Ever too, not aware of anything else they did/do.

angelsighs · Post by **angelsighs** » Thu Nov 13, 2008 8:20 pm

Seems that the girls do the pop thing better than boys. I'm also partial to a few Madonna songs- Ray Of Light, What It Feels Like For A Girl, and the awesome Like A Prayer. Pretty much all of Girls Alouds songs are also insanely catchy and enjoyable.

Also:

Back For Good- Take That. Mighty pop song.

nickh · Post by **nickh** » Thu Nov 13, 2008 8:39 pm

angelsighs wrote:
Back For Good- Take That. Mighty pop song.

Tune!!

Post by **spzretent** » Thu Nov 13, 2008 9:50 pm

Another:
TLC Waterfalls!

bunnyben · Post by **bunnyben** » Thu Nov 13, 2008 11:28 pm

spzretent wrote: So are the odd Madonna tracks like Ray Of Light, Justify My Love, Beautiful Stranger etc. Seems she always has one track per release thats excellent.

i like frozen

Post by **MODLAB** » Fri Nov 14, 2008 8:25 am

Snap! rhythm is a dancer extended dance mix.
madonna also... oh and the first Enigma album MCMXC a.D.
abba

M

ORBITAL · Post by **ORBITAL** » Fri Nov 14, 2008 12:02 pm

'Paddling my Ass' by the Vinegar Stroke Quartet.

Also

'MincePie with Stalin' by Unicycle Hedgerow

or

'Burn Down your Balls' by Temptaion Lossiemouth II (from the Leatherbag sessions)

if you cant track don those try

'Murder on the dancefloor' by Sophie ellis bextor but thats a pretty rare one.

Post by **runcible** » Fri Nov 14, 2008 2:12 pm

I like some Madonna too. Open Your Heart is fantastic. Later on Ray of Light and Beautiful Stranger indeed.

I'll openly admit to cringing at some of what people have confessed to here. That's the idea though!

In a previous guilty pleasures thread I admitted to liking some Appleton and Sugarbabes.

bunnyben · Post by **bunnyben** » Fri Nov 14, 2008 3:24 pm

robbie williams songs like 'angels', 'she's the one' and 'no regrets' etc

TheWarmth · Post by **TheWarmth** » Fri Nov 14, 2008 3:40 pm

I still enjoy the occasional Kula Shaker tune and/or album:

Tattva
Hey Dude
SOS
Shower Your Love

burst · Post by **burst** » Fri Nov 14, 2008 4:15 pm

Gilrs Aloud have continually made some decent singles. 'Love Machine' and 'Call The Shots' are great!

tied up · Post by **tied up** » Fri Nov 14, 2008 4:28 pm

push the button - sugababes

just keep rockin' - rebel mc. my four month old daughter loves this for some reason.

Fuzzhead · Post by **Fuzzhead** » Fri Nov 14, 2008 5:11 pm

bunnyben wrote:robbie williams songs like 'angels', 'she's the one' and 'no regrets' etc

Ben, that's unforgiveable.

mojo filters · Post by **mojo filters** » Sun Nov 16, 2008 3:14 pm

Fuzzhead wrote:
bunnyben wrote:robbie williams songs like 'angels', 'she's the one' and 'no regrets' etc
Ben, that's unforgiveable.

Sorry Adrian, but whilst I can't say I care for any other tracks I've heard by Robbie Williams, I don't see much difference between the anthemic and emotive Angels, and a track such as Soul On Fire - apart from the presumptive musical credibility of the artists concerned. In fact Angels has a special sentiment for me (from a long since past relationship), whereas Soul On Fire (in electric guise, at least) always sounds like a poor man's Stop Your Crying...in fact it's the only track I'll skip when listening to Songs in A&E.

Another alleged 'guilty pleasure' I often struggle to comprehend why I should defend as such, is Alanis Morrissette's Jagged Little Pill. It's not all good, but has a few great songs including some such as the 1st track ('What I Really Want') that sound even better on her 1st live DVD. What happened to her after that album Christ knows, but I think credit where credit's due.

ThiefofFire · Post by **ThiefofFire** » Tue Nov 18, 2008 10:09 pm

I'll confess... I liked Scarlett Johansson's album of Tom Waits covers

. I was appalled at the very idea of the album when I heard about it (and I wasn't crazy about her guest appearance when I saw Jesus and Mary Chain), but unlike many critics I was able to overcome this prejudice when I actually listened to it. David Bowie shows up on a couple tracks, and producer David Sitek (from TV on the Radio) is one of the best in the business as far as I'm concerned; the album has a great sound to it. But still... the guilt lingers on

purpleorla · Post by **purpleorla** » Wed Nov 19, 2008 12:07 pm

ABBA ABBA ABBA, I just love em and I don't care who knows. God knows they're better than a lot of other stuff I loved as a kid.
I also have to agree with a good few of the other songs mentioned already- Ray of Light, a bit of Britney, even a bit of Take That or Kylie.

It's funny how everyone considers pop a guilty pleasure. I understand that the manufactured side of things makes the genre very fake, and that the person taking the glory usually has very little to do with the writing or production, which is possibly what leaves most people cold. But pop itself is a happy little genre, dedicated to making people dance and feel happy, and as this thread proves it manages to do that despite how much we may try to fight it. IMO there are far worse genres you could admit to liking...80's-90's pretty boy "metal" anyone?

On that note I shall admit to Welcome to the Jungle

Also, nothing guilty about The Carpenters, as the tribute album IF I were a Carpenter proves...

Post by **runcible** » Wed Nov 19, 2008 12:49 pm

Ah but pop can include so much great music that isn't generally considered a guilty pleasure.

I'd call a lot of The Stone Roses 1st album pop. What about The Chills? The Beatles? There's lots.

Chart music, on the other hand, is a different matter. So little of what gets into 'the charts' has any appeal for me - in fact I dismiss 90% of it as shite. When you think of bands who are genuinely massive today - stadium acts - there are very few that I consider to be any good. And of those I can't think of any whose records I buy. There was a thread a couple of years ago about really massive bands who are actually good. When you think of huge acts of the past - the Stones, Led Zep, Beatles, etc. - these bands were all great. I know the Stones are still about but you know what I mean. All had chart hits (albums or singles) and in my opinion they all made terrific music. I remember looking at a top 20 album chart from the summer of 1967 - stuff like Jefferson Airplane, Hendrix, the Beatles etc. was all in it. The days of having genuinely high quality music as 'chart music' are, for me anyway, in the past.

rameses · Post by **rameses** » Wed Nov 19, 2008 2:15 pm

TheWarmth wrote:I still enjoy the occasional Kula Shaker tune and/or album:

Tattva
Hey Dude
SOS
Shower Your Love

I'm with you on that one - but I also really like Govinda.

Superstar · Post by **Superstar** » Fri Nov 21, 2008 10:46 am

I'm going to conjure up all my courage and throw Will Young and his simpering smile into the mix. I fear I may even be word perfect on one of two of the more melancholy "numbers"...

toomilk · Post by **toomilk** » Fri Nov 21, 2008 8:37 pm

I like Dido.

Muscles · Post by **Muscles** » Thu Dec 11, 2008 8:00 pm

I too feel something in my LOINS for DIDO!

here we go.

ALANIS MORRISETTE "JAGGED LITTLE PILL" the whole fucking thing!

i used to hate it to bits! but after a break up with some slut i found it soothing!

this one is pure embarrassement!

fucking HOOTIE AND THE BLOWFISH! "LET HER GO" or whatever it's called.

i have heard that in the grocery store or SUBWAY lately and it makes me fucking sing along!

sad as fuck!

and i still LOVE BRITNEY SPEARS!

"BREAK THE ICE" is actually the only thing i listen to!

i know!

THE GUILT.

magnetized · Post by **magnetized** » Thu Dec 11, 2008 9:25 pm

ive kinda got a thing for this donna summer song,it has a spacy feel to it,the feeling i get from spacemans work.i also like the way she moves!
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=k8TBmeK9Abg

and dont leave me this way,thelma houston,once again reminding me of set me free/ive got the key from spacemen3.
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=EWjBl5sRhuk

Post by **spzretent** » Thu Dec 11, 2008 10:29 pm

magnetized wrote:ive kinda got a thing for this donna summer song,it has a spacy feel to it,the feeling i get from spacemans work.i also like the way she moves!
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=k8TBmeK9Abg

i would call Dim All The Lights by Donna Summer a guilty pleasure.

simonkeeping · Post by **simonkeeping** » Thu Feb 19, 2009 10:23 am

Im resurrecting this thread. Ive been listening to the duffy album alot recently. And I found out that Bernard Butler produced and played alot of the instruments on there which is quite interesting. I know shes a pop artist but alot of the tracks are good songs. 'Im a dreamer' is just beautiful. There Ive said it. Its out there.

Post by **runcible** » Thu Feb 19, 2009 11:03 am

I bought Appleton's 'Everything's Eventual' album as the tracks I had downloaded got scrapped when my hard drive crashed and I hadn't backed up all the music. That's right - I paid actual money for it. A quid I think.

I do feel the shame but will admit I really like a couple of tracks (Fantasy - nice harmonies, Don't Worry - nice guitar and chorus) although the rest is largely very poor. The Sugarbabes tracks I have soft spots for are better though.

Quite how this all happened is beyond me.

My eldest daughter is currently obsessed with Abba. She watches every clip she can find on Youtube - live stuff, documentaries, interviews. I've found myself warming to a few songs (Dancing Queen apart which everyone should love). Mind you the sight of a 13 year old girl singing loudly 'Gimme gimme gimme a man after midnight' rather worries me.

jesus son · Post by **jesus son** » Thu Feb 19, 2009 11:43 am

burst wrote:Gilrs Aloud have continually made some decent singles. 'Love Machine' and 'Call The Shots' are great!

I don't have the urge to smash shit up when Girls Aloud come on the radio, unlike most of what passes for chart music these days.

I'm sure I read somewhere that Doggen played the guitar riff on Sound Of The Underground, or am I mistaken?

Post by **runcible** » Thu Feb 19, 2009 11:59 am

jesus son wrote: I don't have the urge to smash shit up when Girls Aloud come on the radio, unlike most of what passes for chart music these days.

I'm sure I read somewhere that Doggen played the guitar riff on Sound Of The Underground, or am I mistaken?

Wow - that'd be great. Can anyone verify?

I have another confession. I saw Girls Aloud live last year. My children all wanted to go and it was their first ever gig so we went - I even managed to meet the band and have a classic photo of my kids, 3 Girls Aloud and me wearing a Heads t-shirt! Pretty turgid I have to say and rather dull as far as I was concerned. But the 'Girls' strutted their stuff for 90 minutes and gave a decent show. The crowd went nuts throughout. Interestingly at the end the 5 girls left the stage and the backing band played a curiously heavy instrumental cover of AC/DC's 'Back In Black.

jesus son · Post by **jesus son** » Thu Feb 19, 2009 4:42 pm

runcible wrote:
jesus son wrote: I don't have the urge to smash shit up when Girls Aloud come on the radio, unlike most of what passes for chart music these days.

I'm sure I read somewhere that Doggen played the guitar riff on Sound Of The Underground, or am I mistaken?
Wow - that'd be great. Can anyone verify?

I found a page where there's a list of all the people used on the first Girls Aloud album:

http://www.artistdirect.com/nad/store/a ... 58,00.html

About a third of the way down is one Tony Foster aka Doggen!

flokie · Post by **flokie** » Thu Feb 19, 2009 6:03 pm

i like some girls aloud songs but i haven't pushed it as far as going to a gig.
i did go to a kylie gig though, in paris in 2001, small venue (for her, about 2,000 capacity) and she was brilliant. i danced pretty much through the whole gig

looking at the credits for doggen, as i said i don't mind girls aloud, but olive?! or is that another tony foster?
http://www.artistdirect.com/nad/music/a ... 30,00.html

rameses · Post by **rameses** » Thu Feb 19, 2009 8:11 pm

I have a bit of a liking of Biology - no idea why though.

Stuart X.Hunter · Post by **Stuart X.Hunter** » Fri Feb 20, 2009 7:35 am

The red head would make a great Heath Ledger stand in for the next Batman movie...

simonkeeping · Post by **simonkeeping** » Sat Feb 21, 2009 11:28 am

Doggen on Sound of the underground. Thats great! Ive always had a soft spot for that song. They were the runners up that year too on Pop Celebrity Factor Idol. the others are now lurking in the background on Corrie I think? I have to add that I think Love machine is great pop song too. And you have to respect the ginger Girls Aloud girl for sticking it to Chris Moyles a while back, he resally is the vilest man ever allowed on radio.