Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion The Water Cooler Guilty pleasures. . .

Enya.

<ducks>

Not so much a guiltry pleasure - but still a terrible CD...

In college, I bought a CD that was titled something like "Music of the adult film industry." It had pictures of naked ladies inside plying their trade, if you get my meaning. I bougth it thinking that it would be a fun disc to spin when having parties or fooling around late night with some lucky lass. I thought that the disc woudl be loaded with great, funky hooks and lots of waa-waa peddle.

Imagine my disappointment when I got the cd home and checked it out, only to discover that it was that bad music that plays on skin-a-max late at night. Terrible stuff really. I still have that cd though.. Haven't listened to it in years and years (or ever, really).

For me, it's definitely Boy George. I've been following his career since I was 13, and I'm now 36! So that's 13 years of putting up with people's sh*t whenever I mention it. Simply put, I find his voice quite pleasing to my ears, and he's a good songwriter. Culture Club's, "Colour By Numbers", never sounds dated except for the cheesy "Karma Chameleon". Oh...and I also like, *ahem*, Clay Aiken.

Nothing I'm embarassed about, but quite a bit that my wife and friends razz me about. Top three

Abba - Abba Gold
Gordon Lightfoot - Gord's Gold
Duran Duran - Greatest (I'm listening to it now since my wife's out of town )

Sonic,

I don't like any of Clay's studio efforts, but when he lets go on his live covers of "To Love Somebody" & "Unchained Melody", it gives me chills.

If it's a rainy Saturday and the kids are restless, I'll throw on Walking on Sunshine by Katrina & The Waves, or Gloria by Laura Branigan. We jump around all over the place, screaming the lyrics & acting crazy. Takes the blah's right out of the day!

In reply to:

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Some classical snobs view with disdain things like Orff's Carmina Burana, Ravel's Bolero, Gliere's Ilya Murometz, Shostakovich's 7th Symphony and others, all of which I have multiple copies and enjoy greatly. It seems that some have the view that if it's popular with the general classical audience that it must be trash.

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That's interesting, JohnK. Why are those works looked down upon? I've heard Bolero (and seen the movie, but that's another topic. . .) and liked it. Is it considered simplistic?

OK...I'll admit it. I own this...and LOVE it!

Like you, I do find Boy George's voice pleasing, but if my friends ever caught me with one of his CDs I would have a LOT of explaining to do.

Sean, the view isn't all that widespread, but some academic music types appear to get upset with the fact that they or their students can't compose anything the classical audience finds appealing. Works that are melodious and/or thrillingly dramatic and are loved by the public can indeed sometimes be dismissed as simplistic(e.g. Bolero and the others that I mentioned).

One example involves Rachmaninoff(probably my favorite composer)and the Oxford music dictionary edition shortly following his death in which a "modern" composer commented that his music was of no real distinction and wouldn't likely be of lasting interest. Of course 60 years later Rachmaninoff's music is highly popular and it'll live forever with listeners who appreciate beauty and emotion. The music of the composer who wrote the criticism is just as dead as he is.