# Bands you ought to abhor but like **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 21, 2000, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-you-ought-to-abhor-but-like/30187 "2000-08-21T18:00:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2000, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-you-ought-to-abhor-but-like/30187/1 "2000-08-21T18:00:27Z")
Abba. The Partridge Family. Marilyn Manson. The Shaggs. Moistboys. The Archies. Anyone else? ---
**Author:** ![EnochF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/779978/32.png) [@EnochF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EnochF)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2000, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-you-ought-to-abhor-but-like/30187/2 "2000-08-21T18:14:20Z")
The Monkees. I even like most of their episodes… even the ones that focus on Mickey Dolenz… ---
**Author:** ![monster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@monster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monster)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2000, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-you-ought-to-abhor-but-like/30187/3 "2000-08-21T18:54:33Z")
I LOVE THE MONKEES!!! ::screams like a teenage girl and faints:: ---
**Author:** ![xizor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xizor/32/102_2.png) [@xizor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xizor)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2000, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-you-ought-to-abhor-but-like/30187/4 "2000-08-21T19:23:59Z")
I love Neil Diamond tunes. Which is not in itself a crime but it is radically different from anything else I listen to. ---
**Author:** ![Me\_Joe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ecccb3/32.png) [@Me\_Joe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Me_Joe)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2000, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-you-ought-to-abhor-but-like/30187/5 "2000-08-21T19:57:54Z")
I can’t believe i’m about to admit this, even online where I’m nothing more than a faceless poster, but I always liked Big Country and A-ha. Yes, both of these bands were nothing more than forgetteble young telegenic pretty boy bands churning out third rate “new wave” pop songs (the early 80’s equvilants of Boyzone or Millenium), but I always end up whistling or (God help me) singing along whenever I hear “In a Big Country” or “Take on Me.” As long as i’m baring my darkest shameful secrets, I will even ‘fess up that I love "These Boots Are Made For Walkin’" by Nancy Sinatra. Not love in the cool '90’s ironic kitschy self-knowing way, but really love that song. I have it on tape, and when my room-mate is out, I’ll sometimes play it over and over again. ---
**Author:** ![Samonek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@Samonek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Samonek)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2000, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-you-ought-to-abhor-but-like/30187/6 "2000-08-21T20:25:58Z")
lissener, the shaggs? Come on! Do you like them in a kitchy self-knowing ironic way like fat angel mentions, or is that dreck truly pleasing to your ears? There’s nothing wrong with it if it is, just checking what kind of “like” we’re talking about here. As for my guilty pleasures: (please don’t tell anyone.) Robbie Williams Garth Brooks SpiceGirls Shoot me. ---
**Author:** ![SoMoMom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/41988e/32.png) [@SoMoMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SoMoMom)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2000, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-you-ought-to-abhor-but-like/30187/7 "2000-08-21T20:29:06Z")
Well, I like Hanson. I know that their first CD was total bubble gum but that’s OK, they still wrote all that stuff themselves. Then their second CD is a little more mature and two of them are still very young. If they don’t get all burnt out and used up, I think they will make some truly great music someday. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2000, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-you-ought-to-abhor-but-like/30187/8 "2000-08-21T20:42:38Z")
So who here owns a Shaggs CD? They fascinate me, but the joke never seemed QUITE good enough to justify the expediture. My guilty pleasures: The Lovin’ Spoonful Jimmy Dean Quicksilver Messenger Service I also put on the Ernie Kovacs album once in a while and sing along with “Hot Cakes and Sausage.” ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2000, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-you-ought-to-abhor-but-like/30187/9 "2000-08-21T21:25:25Z")
ABBA. Since they’ve crossed over into writing musicals, I’m not quite so ashamed. ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2000, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-you-ought-to-abhor-but-like/30187/10 "2000-08-21T21:28:32Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Samonek \* > \*\*lissener, the shaggs? Come on! Do you like them in a kitchy self-knowing ironic way like fat angel mentions, or is that dreck truly pleasing to your ears? There’s nothing wrong with it if it is, just checking what kind of “like” we’re talking about here. \*\* What does “pleasing to the ears” have to do with it? One of my very favorite artists is Diamanda Galas, who is hardly pleasing to the ears. But she’s pleasing to the soul. I really enjoy listening to the Shaggs, and not entirely in a “self-knowing ironic” way, though I can’t deny the pleasure of kitsch. Yes, there’s humor involved, but I also get some kind of visceral kick out of their music’s utter lack of guide posts. It continually astonishes me how easy it is to get lost in it. And I don’t mean the way I get lost in a Beethoven symphony or a Kate Bush album; I mean the way you get lost in the woods at night if you don’t have a flashlight. There’s no path in a Shaggs song. The tourettic drumming leaves you stumbling around in the dark, bumping into sharp corners and guitar chords. And it’s not like you can follow the sound of voice to find your way out of it. I don’t know any other music that so innocently and joyfully drags you into the dark and just leaves you there. It’s kind of like the Blair Witch Project, blindfolded, and with less swearing. Not “pleasing to the ears,” but a pleasurable experience nonetheless. ---
**Author:** ![CrankyAsAnOldMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crankyasanoldman/32/11670_2.png) [@CrankyAsAnOldMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CrankyAsAnOldMan)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2000, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-you-ought-to-abhor-but-like/30187/11 "2000-08-21T22:05:25Z")
I also like ABBA. And LOVE Neil Diamond. I also have greatest hits CDs for Journey and Eddie Money and Duran Duran. And even though I can’t THINK about Bachman Turner Overdrive without laughing, I find myself unable to not sing along when they come on the radio. I actually paid money, real money, for a new (not used) Backstreet Boys CD. Talk about an impulse buy. I know that when I read responses after mine I’ll be kicking myself for the ones I forgot… ---
**Author:** ![irish\_bill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/ac91a4/32.png) [@irish\_bill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/irish_bill)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2000, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-you-ought-to-abhor-but-like/30187/12 "2000-08-21T22:18:15Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by SoMoMom \* > \*\*Well, I like Hanson. I know that their first CD was total bubble gum but that’s OK, they still wrote all that stuff themselves. \*\* Hanson are cool. I saw them play live on TV. They can really do it. My mates think I’m queer for the singer, but far from it (though he is kinda cute). ---
**Author:** ![rackensack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e5b9ba/32.png) [@rackensack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rackensack)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2000, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-you-ought-to-abhor-but-like/30187/13 "2000-08-22T05:03:00Z")
Lessee . . . . **Blondie** , or at least anything where Clem Burke’s drum’s are up in the mix, especially “Dreaming”. **Sly and the Family Stone**. A whole bunch of '80s synth-pop stuff ( **Soft Cell, Yaz, Human League, ABC** , etc.). **Dexy’s Midnight Runners** , so long as we limit it to the Northern Soul-inspired _Searching for the Young Soul Rebels_ (though I didn’t hate “Come On Eileen” and the rest of that stuff as much as a lot of people I know). **Roger Miller** ---
**Author:** ![dpr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/8797f3/32.png) [@dpr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dpr)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2000, 6:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-you-ought-to-abhor-but-like/30187/14 "2000-08-22T06:14:09Z")
Just about every musician/band mentioned so far (minus Hanson and Marilyn Manson) plus SClub7. ---
**Author:** ![Myrr21](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e495f1/32.png) [@Myrr21](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Myrr21)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2000, 6:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-you-ought-to-abhor-but-like/30187/15 "2000-08-22T06:24:26Z")
How on earth is Sly & the Family Stone a guilty pleasure? It’s a kick-ass, beat-driven, bass-thumping, aurally-pleasing happy pleasure. Geez. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Geek\_Mecha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ecae2f/32.png) [@Geek\_Mecha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Geek_Mecha)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2000, 7:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-you-ought-to-abhor-but-like/30187/16 "2000-08-22T07:06:28Z")
I occasionally sing New Kids on the Block songs to myself and when I go karaoke. And there’s nothing wrong with Robbie Williams. ---
**Author:** ![casdave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c6cbf5/32.png) [@casdave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/casdave)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2000, 7:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-you-ought-to-abhor-but-like/30187/17 "2000-08-22T07:56:49Z")
**Shakatak** They are deceptively sophisticated IMHO. Couple of my faves have already been named and they surprise people who know me as I generally listen to anything that is loud except rap. Mind you with my hearing it all has to be loud - wonder why. ---
**Author:** ![nevermore](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a587f6/32.png) [@nevermore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nevermore)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2000, 7:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-you-ought-to-abhor-but-like/30187/18 "2000-08-22T07:58:38Z")
Steely Dan. Marilyn Manson. Live. Sex Pistols. The Velvet Underground. ---
**Author:** ![casdave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c6cbf5/32.png) [@casdave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/casdave)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2000, 7:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-you-ought-to-abhor-but-like/30187/19 "2000-08-22T07:59:58Z")
**Audrey** That reminds me of the time when a boy band went touring in California and got caught up in a major earthquake. Inspired the press to come up with the headline, NEW BLOCK ON THE KIDS ---
**Author:** ![SoMoMom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/41988e/32.png) [@SoMoMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SoMoMom)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2000, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-you-ought-to-abhor-but-like/30187/20 "2000-08-22T17:05:58Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by CrankyAsAnOldMan \* > \*\*I also have greatest hits CDs for Journey and Eddie Money. \*\* If you think you’re not supposed to like them, you need a better class of friends. I was gah-gah for Journey in high school. I still think they are OK. Alright maybe a little pretentious. They’re Ok though. Eddie Money rocks! I just saw him open for REO and Styx. He was the best part of the show in my opinion and I’ve been an REO fan since I was born almost. (It was mandatory in St. Louis. LOL) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-you-ought-to-abhor-but-like/30187.md?page=2)