I just got done watching a Gilmore Girls episode where Rory gives Lorelai endless shit over having a Barry Manilow CD hidden under the driver’s seat. And I was transported back to my childhood, when one of my favorite albums (vinyl, even!) was this one Barry Manilow album, This One’s For You. If we’d had parrots instead of parakeets, the things would’ve ended up being able to sing every single song. I nearly wore that record out.
And you know what? Manilow isn’t quite my thing anymore, but I’m not among the Manilow haters. Oh, no. I may not proclaim my enjoyment of his musical stylings in certain company, but if the subject comes up, I’ll (usually) admit to it. I thought he was a thoroughly talented lounge-type singer. “Copacabana” is still one of the best songs of all time to end an evening of karaoke with, especially when you can get a mixed crowd of punks, country-westerners, heavy metal aficionados, rap enthusiasts, and fans of other assorted genres involved in the conga line.
So yes, he’s something of a guilty pleasure for me, but still a pleasure. And this is still a really lovely song.
So your mission this week, if you choose to accept it, is to reveal one of your guilty pleasures. Yes, you can remain anonymous – if you don’t want to proclaim your pleasure in the comments, it’s perfectly fine to email me at dhunterauthor at gmail with your link. I am an ordained minister in the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster, so your confession is protected by confessional privilege.
I’ll just leave you with one more favorite Manilow, since y’all are always sticking me with more than one song (not that I mind). This one has some dreams and hope and always made me feel really happy.
Come to think of it, this may be where my willingness to try to reach for the stars started… Thanks, Barry!
Well, what can I say? I love this group, and Joe, and the way they handled the drummer’s arm loss, and their arrangements, and they just rock me out. I had a choice between this and Gregorian Chant (which I grew up on) and thought this was more fun.
I own 6 Jimmy Buffet albums on vinyl. I’m actually not at all ashamed of that, I think he’s a really unappreciated songwriter ;)
https://youtu.be/aGFRYI8ZfO4
I’ll unabashedly admit that I adore “Call Me Maybe” by Carly Rae Jepson.
Chris De Burg, a lot of his songs but especially this :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8kNwvIEQsg0
Not cool but still ..
Well, let’s see…
Misogyny – check
Patriarchy – check
Slut-shaming – check
Body shaming – check
All delivered tongue-in-cheek, along with some amazing musicianship, so…
Guilty pleasure – check
Here’s my guilty pleasure: sun, sand, surf, tropical nights, no worries… the Beach Boys’ Kokomo.
I gather we need more for this category so I’m just going to say one word here since no one else has yet :
Abba
Pretty much any of their classic songs. (Mamma Mia)