# Musical Guilty Pleasures: Cheesy or Uncool But You Love Them Anyway **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 21, 2003, 6:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musical-guilty-pleasures-cheesy-or-uncool-but-you-love-them-anyway/163049 "2003-03-21T06:46:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Gundy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b782af/32.png) [@Gundy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gundy)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2003, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musical-guilty-pleasures-cheesy-or-uncool-but-you-love-them-anyway/163049/21 "2003-03-21T16:47:47Z")
\*When the children cry Let them know we tried… ---
**Author:** ![MSU\_1978](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac8455/32.png) [@MSU\_1978](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MSU_1978)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2003, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musical-guilty-pleasures-cheesy-or-uncool-but-you-love-them-anyway/163049/22 "2003-03-21T16:53:55Z")
Neil Diamond’s Hot August Night. Sure, the lyrics are ca-ca but dang he can sing. ---
**Author:** ![h.sapiens](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e0b2c6/32.png) [@h.sapiens](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/h.sapiens)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2003, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musical-guilty-pleasures-cheesy-or-uncool-but-you-love-them-anyway/163049/23 "2003-03-21T17:04:21Z")
The Carpenters, and almost anything by Burt Bachrach. Hey **Labor** , I like Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass, too! ---
**Author:** ![Homebrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@Homebrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Homebrew)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2003, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musical-guilty-pleasures-cheesy-or-uncool-but-you-love-them-anyway/163049/24 "2003-03-21T17:28:27Z")
Another confession. I absolutely _love_ **Ace of Base**. ---
**Author:** ![Kyomara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/8edcca/32.png) [@Kyomara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyomara)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2003, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musical-guilty-pleasures-cheesy-or-uncool-but-you-love-them-anyway/163049/25 "2003-03-21T17:42:48Z")
Frente! and their first record, _Marvin the Album_. The ! is an official part of their name, if that tells you anything. But the record is absolutely wonderful. ---
**Author:** ![Harli](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c0e974/32.png) [@Harli](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harli)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2003, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musical-guilty-pleasures-cheesy-or-uncool-but-you-love-them-anyway/163049/26 "2003-03-21T17:50:33Z")
I LOVE _Frente!_ ! Their second album wasn’t so great. Hmmm, I wonder if I still have my cassette around somewhere… I unashamedly admit that I am a HUGE _Aqua_ fan. I cried when I heard they broke up. I have the Video Diary and all the albums. I’m not such a fan of their first hit “Barbie Girl” but I am still a “Cartoon Hero”! Oh, I usually listen to ska, punk, and reggae -type music, so _Aqua_ is waaaaay off from that type. ---
**Author:** ![scotandrsn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a4c791/32.png) [@scotandrsn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scotandrsn)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2003, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musical-guilty-pleasures-cheesy-or-uncool-but-you-love-them-anyway/163049/27 "2003-03-21T17:51:27Z")
I have many guilty pleasures, but the two that stand out when the question is posed to me are: Earth, Wind and Fire Bob Seger Queen is not a guilty pleasure, and in my mind, neither is Yazoo. Both excellent bands. ---
**Author:** ![pepperlandgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f17d59/32.png) [@pepperlandgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pepperlandgirl)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2003, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musical-guilty-pleasures-cheesy-or-uncool-but-you-love-them-anyway/163049/28 "2003-03-21T17:53:58Z")
How can Earth, Wind and Fire and Bob Seger be guilty pleasures?! If loving them is wrong, then I don’t want to be right. ---
**Author:** ![scout1222](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/34f0e0/32.png) [@scout1222](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scout1222)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2003, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musical-guilty-pleasures-cheesy-or-uncool-but-you-love-them-anyway/163049/29 "2003-03-21T17:59:27Z")
**Homebrew** , I am your partner in Gordon Lightfootedness. I just went to see him in concert last summer! It was great. And I’m pretty sure it’s not cool for a 29 year old to like Barry Manilow and Neil Diamond, but I must admit I like some of their stuff. Same with the Bee Gees, although I must be selective. Some of it I can’t stand. ---
**Author:** ![Zanshin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e274bd/32.png) [@Zanshin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zanshin)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2003, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musical-guilty-pleasures-cheesy-or-uncool-but-you-love-them-anyway/163049/30 "2003-03-21T18:35:24Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Gundy \* > \*\*\*When the children cry > Let them know we tried… \*\* I’m ashamed to admit that I’ve seen them in concert. \ (Although my favorite concert from that era is still Great White, Winger, Aldo Nova, Mr. Big and the Scorpions.) ---
**Author:** ![HelloKitty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ecccb3/32.png) [@HelloKitty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HelloKitty)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2003, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musical-guilty-pleasures-cheesy-or-uncool-but-you-love-them-anyway/163049/31 "2003-03-21T18:50:11Z")
James Taylor uncool and cheesy?? How can that be…I have heard him referred to as one of the “grandfathers of grunge”. Well, I guess he would sound a little cheesy to you young whipper-snappers. As for the epitome of cheese and uncoolness, I hereby give you two words: **Milli. Vanilli.** C’mon, you know you love “Blame it on the Rain” and “Girl You Know It’s True”. Who cares who the real singers were, they are toe tappin’ songs. I’ve got **MV** ’s greatest hits around here somewhere on CD and listen to it unashamedly. ---
**Author:** ![pezboy2u](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ecc23a/32.png) [@pezboy2u](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pezboy2u)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2003, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musical-guilty-pleasures-cheesy-or-uncool-but-you-love-them-anyway/163049/32 "2003-03-21T19:02:00Z")
For me it’s the Supremes…I still remember the look of horror on my friends face when he saw that cd sandwiched between Superchunk and Swans in my cd rack. ---
**Author:** ![Gundy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b782af/32.png) [@Gundy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gundy)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2003, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musical-guilty-pleasures-cheesy-or-uncool-but-you-love-them-anyway/163049/33 "2003-03-21T19:16:08Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Zanshin \* > \*\*I’m ashamed to admit that I’ve seen them in concert. \ > > (Although my favorite concert from that era is still Great White, Winger, Aldo Nova, Mr. Big and the Scorpions.) \*\* You’re a loser, all right, but it’s okay. Somewhere in my 8th-grade memories box is a cracked cassette of Def Leppard’s _Hysteria_. If it wasn’t cracked I’d still listen to it. C’mon, Steve, hit it! ---
**Author:** ![ChalkPit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a88e4f/32.png) [@ChalkPit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ChalkPit)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2003, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musical-guilty-pleasures-cheesy-or-uncool-but-you-love-them-anyway/163049/34 "2003-03-21T20:03:53Z")
‘Rasputin’ - Boney M Anything by Russ Conway ---
**Author:** ![pcarney](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ea5d25/32.png) [@pcarney](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pcarney)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2003, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musical-guilty-pleasures-cheesy-or-uncool-but-you-love-them-anyway/163049/35 "2003-03-21T20:18:44Z")
“The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald” always brings a lump to my throat… ---
**Author:** ![NoCoolUserName](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5fc32e/32.png) [@NoCoolUserName](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NoCoolUserName)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2003, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musical-guilty-pleasures-cheesy-or-uncool-but-you-love-them-anyway/163049/36 "2003-03-21T20:24:31Z")
I like stuff just BECAUSE it’s “Cheesy or Uncool.” Well crafted pop songs, ABBA is a perfect example, are well written, well played and catchy. My personal favorite is “Jessie’s Girl” by Rick Springfield. Funny lyric, excellent melody, impeccably played with a tasteful arrangement. Also, one of the great bridge lyrics of all time: And I’m lookin’ in the mirror all the time Wondering what she don’t see in me I’ve been funny, I’ve been cool with the lines Ain’t that the way love’s supposed to be? ---
**Author:** ![hardygrrl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a3d4f5/32.png) [@hardygrrl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hardygrrl)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2003, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musical-guilty-pleasures-cheesy-or-uncool-but-you-love-them-anyway/163049/37 "2003-03-21T20:33:23Z")
The Monkees. Beatles ripoff and products of studio svengalis, but I love them. ---
**Author:** ![Chicken\_Scratch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ce7236/32.png) [@Chicken\_Scratch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chicken_Scratch)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2003, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musical-guilty-pleasures-cheesy-or-uncool-but-you-love-them-anyway/163049/38 "2003-03-21T20:40:01Z")
Hoo boy. I love the **Spice Girls**. Love them, I tell you! I even have the movie. Am I gonna get kicked off the SDMB now? ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2003, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musical-guilty-pleasures-cheesy-or-uncool-but-you-love-them-anyway/163049/39 "2003-03-21T20:44:24Z")
I’m also a Herb Alpert fan (though not “This Guy’s in Love With You” – he’s a trumpeter, not a singer). I also love popular music of the 1930s (Gershwin, Porter, Berlin, Warren, Kern, etc.), which the unastute often deride. ---
**Author:** ![DaddyTimesTwo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f07891/32.png) [@DaddyTimesTwo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DaddyTimesTwo)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2003, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musical-guilty-pleasures-cheesy-or-uncool-but-you-love-them-anyway/163049/40 "2003-03-21T20:51:39Z")
How about _Katrina and the Waves_? Not all day every day, but on the local 80’s radio station or VH1 Classic on cable, I like to sing along to it. I used to listen to **The Best of Bread** a lot when I was a teenager. And I really like _Dan Fogelberg_. And probably everything else I like too. 😉 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musical-guilty-pleasures-cheesy-or-uncool-but-you-love-them-anyway/163049.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musical-guilty-pleasures-cheesy-or-uncool-but-you-love-them-anyway/163049.md?page=3)