Ten songs I refuse to be embarassed to admit that I hugely enjoy, and that I turn up loud every chance I get:
- Michael Jackson, “Billie Jean.”
- Billy Squier, “Everybody Wants You.”
- Britney Spears, “Oops! I Did It Again.”
- Garth Brooks, “Rodeo.”
- Bananarama, “Cruel Summer.”
- Drivin’ and Cryin’, “Fly Me Courageous.”
- Petey Pablo, “Freek-a-Leek (Dirty Version).”
- Bonnie Tyler, “Total Eclipse of the Heart.”
- Big & Rich, “Save a Horse (Ride a Cowboy).”
- Beastie Boys, “Paul Revere.”
And you?
Shameless
Hell yeah! I like most of those too, especially “Fly Me Courageous,” “Oops I Did It Again,” and “Billie Jean.” I always thought “Paul Revere” was a hipster song that people are proud to enjoy. “Straight to Hell” by D’n’C is great, but I’m sure you like it too.
Oh, and “Total Eclipse of the Heart” is fantastic, whether it’s by Bonnie Tyler or Air Supply. I own both “Bonnie Tyler: Super Hits” and “Air Supply’s Greatest Hits” on CD.
I bet a lot of people, if they could see my CD shelf, would declare the whole thing a wall of shame. I’m not ashamed of much, but I’m ashamed that I crank up “Mmmm Bop” by Hanson when it comes on, and that boy-band song (not sure if it’s N-Sync or the Backstreet Boys, or 98 Degrees even) that has “Bye Bye Bye” in it.
I’m hoping Rob will back me up on this: in the Army, we had this one Victory Thunder rapid deployment exercise where a few of us had to haul some milvans up to the Port of Savannah, and we wound up waiting for them all to get lifted onto the frigate and bored to tears. I think it was day 2, in the rain, when we set up chock-blocks and MRE boxes on the tarmac in a softball diamond, and wadded some aluminum foil into a softball and tried to use the steel spare-tire boom from one of the trucks as a bat.
I think it would qualify as the silliest and most half-assed softball game ever played in an asphalt playground bounded by trucks, were it not for the fact that Ski knew all the words to “Paul Revere” — and, by the end of the wretchedly rainy mission, so did we.
I am so hooked by the Fine Young Cannibals’ first CD that I would have assumed they’d make everybody’s I’m-not-ashamed-really-I’m-not list.
OK I BOUGHT the Oops I did it again CD-single…and now that I’ve published that online, everyone will know. I also enjoy the dance remix of Total Eclipse of the Heart by Nikki French. Don’t get me started on some of the more embarassing tracks I’ve purchased from I-Tunes! 🙂
Becky, I always thought FYC were the critics’ darlings. And Daisy, it’s funny, because Nikki French is the reason for my fondness for Bonnie Tyler’s version: I spent a summer on temporary duty hauling cadets around in the backs of 5-ton cargos at West Point, and that summer was when the Nikki French version was big. My comrades and I spent every night drunk at the wretched little pool hall in town, and the two songs on the jukebox that the girls at the bar always played were Bonnie Tyler’s “Total Eclipse of the Heart” and Patsy Cline’s “Back in Baby’s Arms.”
I highly recommend Richard Thompson’s (formerly of Fairport Convention) version of Oops…. Really a nice take on what sounds at first blush like a really insufferable song.
How about songs that we never did like, despite the acclaim from the masses? Like “Stairway to Heaven,” which was played at every single dance-formal and informal–that I attended in high school back in the 70’s. Oh, how I hated tha song and could never understand the excitement that came over my peers when the band began to play “She’s cliyimbiing the stayerrway to hevuhhhhn.”
I’ll agree that “Stairway” is a downright silly song to play at a school dance — I mean, really, how the hell do you dance to a song like that? — but still, that guitar solo gets me every time.
And speaking of songs of that era to which one can’t possibly dance:
FREEEEEEEEBIIIIRD!
“Billie Jean” was the jam back in the day. It is hard not to sing along when it comes on the radio. I have in my 80s playlist on iPod.
One of my favorite songs is “Wind Benath My Wings.” Yeah, I know a lot of people have dont that sontg. However, my favorite version is the one Bette Midler did in the movie “Beaches.” If I’m channel surfing and I come across that movie, I must watch it and I cry everytime! I’m such a sap.
Sorry it took so long to respond. I’ve been out of town at a conference.
Yes, Mike I would be more than happy to confirm your story. That was so much fun. It is a testament to the creativity of the everyday person. When we turn our tv’s & radios off and remove ourselves from the static of everyday life we can be pretty fun to be around. I have quite a few experiences floating around in my head just like that one. By the way, the band that I absolutely love, but am sometimes shunned for is Styx. I love the album “Paradise Theatre” and know almost the whole album by heart. I also have a great fondness for Neil Diamond. (as I cover my head and wait for the stoning to begin)
Did Mike ever tell anyone that I do a bitching impression of “Johnny was a racecar driver” by Primus (a band by the way that I loathe).