# Songs you don't want to admit you enjoy **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** music\ **Created:** [April 10, 2025, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-dont-want-to-admit-you-enjoy/1016879 "2025-04-10T23:00:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2025, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-dont-want-to-admit-you-enjoy/1016879/81 "2025-04-12T23:49:00Z")
John Denver had a beautiful voice. > [@MonkeysBrother](#): > > My darkest secret? I really like The Captain and Tennille’s “Muskrat Love.” That’s, uh…pretty dark, man. You might need an exorcism. ---
**Author:** ![ParallelLines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/parallellines/32/3575_2.png) [@ParallelLines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParallelLines)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2025, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-dont-want-to-admit-you-enjoy/1016879/82 "2025-04-12T23:55:47Z")
Liking John Denver was fine when I was a New Mexican. It’s cliche and tired now that I’m a Coloradan. > [@Majestic](#): > > His “Rocky Mountain High” is brilliant! One of my favourite songs And I love it as well, but… OMFG, _especially_ after marijuana became legal here now these many years ago, singing that song often gets you “tourist!” eyeballs from locals. ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2025, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-dont-want-to-admit-you-enjoy/1016879/83 "2025-04-13T04:26:09Z")
I like the _Islands in the Stream_ duet with Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers. ---
**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2025, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-dont-want-to-admit-you-enjoy/1016879/84 "2025-04-13T04:33:57Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > Smash Mouth. I might as well throw in _All Star_ also. I work in a restaurant kitchen. Booties shimmy a bit when this one comes on. We’ve all heard this song a bazillion times, but … sometimes you just need to hear someone tell you you’re a rock star! > [@solost](#): > > …gotta admit “Friends in Low Places” is a fun sing-along. Booze helps. A lot. > [@Bullitt](#): > > like the _Islands in the Stream_ duet with Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers. Shit, coupla months ago, my manager and I absolutely _belted_ this one out during closing duties. The other guy on the crew just sighed. ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2025, 10:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-dont-want-to-admit-you-enjoy/1016879/85 "2025-04-13T10:45:07Z")
> [@purplehorseshoe](#): > > > [@Bullitt](#): > > > > I like the _Islands in the Stream_ duet with Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers. > > Shit, coupla months ago, my manager and I absolutely _belted_ this one out during closing duties. > The other guy on the crew just sighed. Funny! Yesterday morning at my local coffee shop, it came on the radio sound system. That’s what led me to eventually make my post, last night. Anyway I started singing a little, aloud but softly as I waited for my cup. It’s a small café and there wasn’t much of a crowd. The owner who knows me pretty well heard me as I stood nearby, and he surprised me by saying, “Sing it, @ **Bullitt**! ---
**Author:** ![ZonexandScout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zonexandscout/32/544_2.png) [@ZonexandScout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZonexandScout)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2025, 11:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-dont-want-to-admit-you-enjoy/1016879/86 "2025-04-13T11:18:50Z")
Fair enough, **Tzigone**. You can tell that “Brokenheartsville” is newer (2002) simply from the official video. But it sticks with me as 90s country, I also tap into some “Who’s That Man?” and “Wish I Didn’t Know Now” on occasion. ---
**Author:** ![BlankSlate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blankslate/32/80_2.png) [@BlankSlate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlankSlate)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2025, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-dont-want-to-admit-you-enjoy/1016879/87 "2025-04-13T13:10:27Z")
_MMMbop_. I’m so ashamed. 😳 ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2025, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-dont-want-to-admit-you-enjoy/1016879/88 "2025-04-14T15:59:32Z")
When I was in high school in the 70s I would never dare to admit that I loved ABBA. I would have been ridiculed mercilessly. It’s a nice feeling that nowadays, while nobody would call them hip, it’s generally acknowledged that they made some great songs. ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2025, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-dont-want-to-admit-you-enjoy/1016879/89 "2025-04-14T16:27:48Z")
> [@BlankSlate](#): > > _MMMbop_. I’m so ashamed. 😳 I don’t know what extent of behind the scenes songwriting and production help they had to make that song, but it’s an [insanely catchy tune](https://youtu.be/NHozn0YXAeE) created by three children. I wouldn’t describe myself as a ‘fan’ of Hanson, but I’ve never quite understood all the ridicule that song got. I wish I had been that talented at that age (or ever, for that matter). ---
**Author:** ![ParallelLines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/parallellines/32/3575_2.png) [@ParallelLines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParallelLines)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2025, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-dont-want-to-admit-you-enjoy/1016879/90 "2025-04-14T17:47:45Z")
MMMbop brings this thread to focus for me for two reasons. First, my wife likes the song, and purchased it as a single from iTunes many years ago, for just the reasons mentioned. Second, it immediately made my mind jump to another _unspeakably_ catchy song that will occasionally show up in my older playlists, including my workout playlist (and yes, I have the single). Prepare for ancient, goofy, CGI graphics, and resist bobbing you head to the beat if you can! [Eiffel 65 - Blue (Da Ba Dee) [Gabry Ponte Ice Pop Mix]](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=68ugkg9RePc) But as one youtube commenter put it, “I can’t imagine the level of confidence it took to not only write these lyrics down, but then to sing them in such a cadence.” ---
**Author:** ![XOldiesJock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/ec9cab/32.png) [@XOldiesJock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XOldiesJock)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2025, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-dont-want-to-admit-you-enjoy/1016879/91 "2025-04-14T18:01:23Z")
> [@solost](#): > > _I’ve never quite understood all the ridicule that song got._ You would if you shopped BJ’s Wholesale Club, where that seemingly endless ditty plays at full blast on the PA system **every G-D time you’re in the store!** ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2025, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-dont-want-to-admit-you-enjoy/1016879/92 "2025-04-14T18:05:15Z")
> [@ParallelLines](#): > > Prepare for ancient, goofy, CGI graphics, and resist bobbing you head to the beat if you can! I just listened to / watched the video for the first time. I thought it really blue 😉 > [@ParallelLines](#): > > But as one youtube commenter put it, “I can’t imagine the level of confidence it took to not only write these lyrics down, but then to sing them in such a cadence.” Sure, both that song and MMMBop have some nonsensical lyrics, but hey, they can’t all be masterpieces of poetic lyricism, like for example The Beatles’ Hey Jude 😏 _Yeah-yeah-yeah, yeah-yeah-yeah-yeah (na-na-na, na-na-na)_ _Na-na-na-na, hey Jude_ _Na-na-na, na-na-na-na_ _Na-na-na-na, hey Jude_ _Na-na-na, na-na-na-na_ _Na-na-na-na, hey Jude_ _Na-na-na, na-na-na-na_ _Na-na-na-na, hey Jude_ _Jude, Jude, Judy, Judy, Judy, Judy_ ---
**Author:** ![XOldiesJock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/ec9cab/32.png) [@XOldiesJock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XOldiesJock)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2025, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-dont-want-to-admit-you-enjoy/1016879/93 "2025-04-15T14:30:50Z")
Years ago I made a compilation disc I titled “A Dozen Guilty Pleasures.” They’re not bad songs. They’re just songs that I like, by people I ordinarily wouldn’t. The kind of songs that when I played them on the radio, I cranked up the monitor to 10. Among them: “Run to You” by Bryan Adams. (Hated everything else he ever did.) “You Spin Me 'Round” by Dead or Alive. (Did they ever do another song half as good?) “Hands” by Jewel. (Silly/serious I know but for some reason it moves me.) “I Want You” by Savage Garden. (Just a really catchy tune by this now-forgotten duo.) “Ah! Leah!” by Donnie Iris. (Gotta love a Pittsburgh-area guy.) And silliest of all: “Shake Your Love” by Debbie Gibson. (Great late 80s Teen Pop.) ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2025, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-dont-want-to-admit-you-enjoy/1016879/94 "2025-04-15T15:10:44Z")
> [@XOldiesJock](#): > > “Ah! Leah!” by Donnie Iris. I freakin’ love that song. Some people don’t? 😕 ---
**Author:** ![Sitnam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Sitnam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sitnam)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2025, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-dont-want-to-admit-you-enjoy/1016879/95 "2025-04-15T15:53:58Z")
> [@Knowed\_Out](#): > > Nickelback’s “I Wanna Be a Rock Star” > > I don’t get the hate. They’re just as genuine as any other rock band. It hits different later in life also. They seem almost bitter about the fakeness of the lifestyle while in the middle of enjoying all of it’s fruits. Almost achieving REM levels of ennui and that isn’t easy. ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2025, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-dont-want-to-admit-you-enjoy/1016879/96 "2025-04-15T16:36:35Z")
Tom-Tom Club - “Genius of Love” Lipps, Inc - “Funky Town” I hear Genius of Love popping up in commercials all the time and it becomes an instant earworm whenever I hear it. Funky Town always reminds me of the “Malcolm in the Middle” episode where Hal is teaching Malcolm how to roller skate. ---
**Author:** ![GESancMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gesancman/32/2923_2.png) [@GESancMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GESancMan)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2025, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-dont-want-to-admit-you-enjoy/1016879/97 "2025-04-15T17:10:10Z")
> [@Dung\_Beetle](#): > > > [@XOldiesJock](#): > > > > “Ah! Leah!” by Donnie Iris. > > I freakin’ love that song. Some people don’t? 😕 Right? I’ve never heard that someone would be ridiculed for liking that one! ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2025, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-dont-want-to-admit-you-enjoy/1016879/98 "2025-04-15T17:20:16Z")
I have never heard of this song, so I’m playing it now. Nice bit of power pop! ---
**Author:** ![kitap](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b9e5f3/32.png) [@kitap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kitap)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2025, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-dont-want-to-admit-you-enjoy/1016879/99 "2025-04-15T18:48:01Z")
I prefer the Pseudoecho cover of _Funkytown_. ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2025, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-dont-want-to-admit-you-enjoy/1016879/100 "2025-04-16T17:05:31Z")
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